touring through the Southwest

pat in Santa Cruz

pat in Santa Cruz

Well-known member
We just returned from a 2000 plus mile tour from central California, South through the Tehachapis into Nevada, Arizona, Utah and back over the Sierras. Most of the Model A's performed flawlessly in high heat and up to altitudes over 11,000 feet, with only minor glitches like flats, condenser failure, water pump issues, etc. One major break down, a frozen pinion bearing was most likely due to neglected maintenance. We were followed by 3 moderns, one of which ( a 2008 Chrysler) had a major breakdown. On a percentage basis, the Model A's had a better record for reliability.

There is a blog here with photos and films:
http://www.scvcma.org/

over on the left side of the page, click on "blogs"
then click on "The Meneelys"

the last days post is at the top.

The newest entries are always at the top . You can click Older Posts at the bottom of the page to read the first few day's posts..

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IMG_1863 by tiopato2000, on Flickr

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IMG_1875 by tiopato2000, on Flickr

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IMG_1924 by tiopato2000, on Flickr
 
Pat, thanks for posting the blog link. I just went through the whole trip record, and it sounds like a great tour. We were in that country last spring in a modern car, but I'd love to do it in my A.

Just one question, though: The videos (which were a lot of fun to watch) all seem to have been taken from the driver's seat. Was the camera mounted to the driver's forehead, or what? :p
 
700rpm said:
Pat, thanks for posting the blog link. I just went through the whole trip record, and it sounds like a great tour. We were in that country last spring in a modern car, but I'd love to do it in my A.

Just one question, though: The videos (which were a lot of fun to watch) all seem to have been taken from the driver's seat. Was the camera mounted to the driver's forehead, or what? :p
Click to expand...

I think Patti held the wheel while Bob filmed. In one sequence, they say as much. My wife did some filming as well, but she's still editing it. I can post that when she decides its up to her standards.


It was great fun...every day brought more beauty than the previous one and the cars ran like jeweled watches for most of the trip.
 
That is a nice looking 31 s/w . Any modification to it besides the wheels and fog lights. Looks a lot like my car.
 
My 1930 station wagon and my 31AA are 100% original to the JS. I love original cars, but touring in them on high speed freeways is not good for the car nor safety, so my 31 touring car is modified.

it is set up for touring: Brumfield head, Stipe 330 cam, Volvo OD, Engine built by Stan Vermeil with counterweighted crankshaft, King insert bearings, .060 over Ross pistons, Antique Engine Rebuilding insert rods, a 1931 Winfield S downdraft and manifold, bigger intake valves, Aries HP muffler.. This trip put the mileage on the engine since rebuild in 2007 at 45,000 with no breakdowns. It used one quart of oil on the entire 2200 mile trip. Compression is 120psi + or - 3psi on all cylinders.

Maintenance during those 45K miles has been regular tune ups and oil changes, frequent chassis lube, replace voltage reg in the 6 volt alternator (thank you Tom W) , one leakless water pump replaced and a set of rod inserts at 10K miles.

(I flattened the bearings driving in high wind up I-5 in Oregon after the Cottage Grove NWRG meet. I could not hear the pinging in the wind noise. The car still got me home ( 900 miles) before I replaced them. I re set the advance so it is impossible to go beyond 28 degrees with no further bearing trouble and it still idles at 25-30psi when warm.)

In the Las Vegas heat it idles at 15psi with 15/50 Mobil 1.
 
Pat ;

Are you running a pressurized radiator ? Also ,what type of rear main seal are you running. How about A/C . That looked like great trip .Thanks for sharing with us .
 
Duffy:
the radiator is stock. I did have to add about 1-2 quarts of water during the hotter days, but when the temp was below 95 the coolant stayed at 1 inch over the baffle. The cars with a sealed (but not pressurized) recapture system needed no fluid added during the entire trip. The rear seal is from a 350 Chevy. Its not the best system, I think a Burtz with the crank ground correctly is better, but it works OK after I had to re seal it with Permatex#2 when I changed the rod bearings. 350 seals are 2 piece, and need a sealant at the parting line. RTV was not good enough as it failed around the same time as the first rod shells, and began leaking. The more serious problem with using a 350 seal is that the crank needs to have some way to build it up to fit the seal. Many installers fully weld a piece to the crank to do that. Some build it up with weld and grind it to size. The welding weakens the crank and they break at the flange. Stan only spot tacked it with a tig so the crank was not compromised.That has proved to be good. After talking with Terry Burtz, I think his sytem is better, as it requires no welding and is a one piece seal. However, the crank must be ground to his specified diameter at the seal surface. Apparently, many grinders are not that careful.
Of course it has AC...you just open the windshield and spray your face with a spray bottle of water ha ha

Tom:
no, the pistons were fine. I noticed the oil press at idle was lower than normal after that hard run up I-5 and suspected bearing wear. There was no rod knocking so I drove it home as is. I tore down the engine when I got home and found the top shells were flattened a bit, maybe .002-.003 clearance at the very top. Not bad but enough to lower the oil pressure at idle. It was fine at running speed. I know what you mean about pistons failing...I have seen them crystallized and melted with a hole right through them before, but those were not Ross pistons. Ross pistons are a very tough alloy. With a .006 clearance, they are noisy though, especially when cold it sounds like a diesel....
 
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