LA to Chicago- am I crazy to try and drive it?

[prsncat]

To further expand on my posting... if the car is within a reasonable distance of me in Irvine, I will offer the following services:

1) If you make arrangements with the seller, then I will go pick up the car from him/her and bring it down here to Orange County.

2) My mechanic will probably inspect it for free for me and generate a list of things that have to be done to improve your chances of a trouble-free trip.

3) If you pay him for the services performed on the car (you can do that through me if you want), then the car will be ready to roll when you arrive.

I will pick you up at the airport and send you on your way from here in Irvine.

Brian Foster

[eastsidebimmer]

LA to Indy in an ENCLOSED transport was $1150 in Sept 05

I had the same thoughts, but the cost of gas with hotels, made it nearly as cheap. I will admit, waiting 2 weeks for it to arrive was not exactly a vacation.

good luck,

Ben

[BarryA]

afford the time to drive it home, take Brian up on his offer, have the car checked out and issues resolved, and have a great time driving home.

We (wife and I) drove our '69 from Sacramento to O'fest in Colorado and back on US 50 in '02 (3000 + miles on the original 170k engine) through 110 degree heat part of the way with no mechanical problems at all (other than the failure of the original fuel pump, which was suspect before we left CA). Wouldn't trade the memories of the trip for anything.

[SteveH]

If you have the time, your crazy if you dont try it. Assuming the car is safe (brakes and steering), the worst that can happen, is the car breaks down. The further it goes, the less you pay in towing costs.

02s are all about adventure, get used to it. Good luck, and pack heavily with tools and supplies for the passengers.

[SteveJ]

Yeah, you are crazy.

But then again, you are asking the wrong group of people as we are just as crazy.

Do it.

Plan for every type of failure or hardship you can imagine, then keep a sense of humour and adventure for when the failure is something you did not anticipate.

An understanding SO and a credit card can be helpful here.

Survive the trip and return with memories and stories that you can not get if you just unload the car from a truck trailer.

[Gordon]

During the winter months, I would recommend taking I-40 to Oklahoma City then I-44 to Chicago. You want to stay out of the mountain passes in the Rockies this time of year. 15 years ago I moved from St. Louis MO to CA and drove my former 74 2002 that same route. If you have more than 2-3 days, take the old route 66 which parallels interstate 40 and 44, it's an old school road that will bring back memories. I had no problems during my drive except having my windshield cracked by a rock thrown up by a passing semi (scared the crap out of me).

Gordon

[MN2002]

owner. Flew to Sacramento and drove it to Minneapolis. Cruised at 80 mph with no problems. Great gas mileage. Differential started making noise so had it inspected in Denver. Fluid topped off. Met a chainsaw artist in Nebraska. Would I do it again? Hell yes.

I did have a good seller who drove the car regularly and had it serviced before I picked it up. I had no real tools except a roll of duck tape a co-worker gave me.

[Guest Anonymous]

Wow, thanks for allthe input and kind words!

The car has been gone over by Jack Fahuna of JFPRO Bmw, he says it will make the drive no problem, but y0u just never know....

[MN2002]

Wow, thanks for allthe input and kind words!

The car has been gone over by Jack Fahuna of JFPRO Bmw, he says it will make the drive no problem, but y0u just never know....

I have heard Jack is one of the best, so go for it. Bring a laptop and digital camera and post updates and pictures.

[Guest Anonymous]

Every single last one of you has it wrong.

First off, if you have any faith and trust at all in whatever the hell it is you're trying to drag/flog/beat across more than one state and several time zones, stay at home. Trust only breeds failure, and is the first sign of those damned to spend eternity at a rest stop in southern Bumblewhizz or North Calatucky waiting for new relays, a ground strap, and everlasting hope.

Everlasting hope does not grow in Bumblewhizz. Stop looking.

Secondly, this car cannot be yours. If you just bought it, that doesn't count, unless of course you've managed to actually have someone work on the thing. If some God-forsaken mechanic's wrench has actually passed over it in the week prior to your odyssey, then it's your immediate and universal duty to open the hood and start poking at things until something - something - changes about the way the car runs. Or looks. Even better if it's the latter. Smoke gains you bonus points, and redeems things suitably so that you can go ahead and get on the road.

Thirdly, if at some point a mechanical problem crops up and you stop, it's almost bound to get worse. Do not stop. Pass Go. Keep running, Forrest. Run. In fact, the harder you drive the car - regardless of whether it's an idle problem or massive rod knock - the more you're guaranteed to reach your destination intact. Anything under 85 miles an hour is considered tempting fate.

We do not tempt fate. We ignore it, even when it's standing by the side of the road holding an "Albequerque or Bust for $100 Plus Blowjobs" sign and has a chest the size of two Superdomes.

Especially if, in this particular incarnation, it happens to be a man.

Collect everything that falls off, unless of course it requires stopping, at which point the former sentence becomes null and void. There is no stopping. When the car starts to ping and overheat at anything over 45 miles an hour, you simply drive it at 44. You do not stop to find out why 45 is no longer possible, in fact, you barely acknowledge things have changed at all. If there is a radio, this point would be a good time to turn it up. Music soothes the savage something something something. It also drowns out the sounds of pistons hitting cylinder heads.

Incidentally, in such a situation, avoid - at all costs - recognizing you have an issue. Discretely pull plugs, yank injectors, do what you must, but above all else, Do Not Admit The Problem. The Problem will only beat you over the head until you scream out loud that, yes, in fact, you are an idiot, and then it will start spitting coolant out from places it does not normally come out of.

Lastly, above all else, plan for a longer trip than is entirely necessary. If you think you're going to make it, you will, in fact, make it. Half of your car will end up by the roadside at the halfway point, most of your friends will consider you a Stone Cold Batshit Raving Dorkweed by the time you get there, and your car will most likely resemble some forty-year-old piece of lawn machinery, but you'll get there.

And that, kids, is half the fun.

-Sam

'68 02/ITB

etc.

P.S. I gotta admit: I'm the wanker who drove Justin's car from Chicago to NYC for him and Vince Strazzabosco, with absolutely no preparations, spares, tools, or anything whatsoever, and yes, the car did blow up at mile 819 of 820, and after hounding down the interstate for nearly ten hours at 85-plus mph. I am not proud. Just really, really stupid.

(I've also done the LA to Chicago trip in an '02 I didn't know form Adam, and can attest that if you actually prep the thing, it's an easy drive, if a little stinky in a car with no A/C.)