[BOUNCE mgs@Autox.Team.Net: Non-member submission from [Joe Peck
<mgnut@cyberage.com>]]
Date: Sat, 19 Apr 1997 18:30:56 -0400
From: Joe Peck <mgnut@cyberage.com>
Reply-To: mgnut@cyberage.com
Subject: Trip report - DC to Texas
Well, I've made it from DC to Austin in my little 80 B, so I thought I'd
follow up with a trip report.
First off, I had a *fantastic* time driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The first half hour was wonderful, zipping along at 70-80 mph. Smooth
road, beautiful scenery, nothing but curves and hills. Top-down
weather, although another 10 degrees warmer would have been nice. Had
the stereo cranked up and the CD plugged in. the dogwood trees were in
bloom.
Then I noticed the speed limit on the entire length of the parkway is 45
mph. Dilemma. I was driving midweek, and since it's not yet tourist
season I had the road literally to myself. I think I passed about five
cars in 250 miles, and I passed any that I came upon.
So I decided a fun drive was worth the price of a ticket. Luckily I
didn't get one.
The car ran great. I'd replaced the kingpins and bushings before I left
and it made a *huge* difference in the handling. I recommend this to
anyone whose MG isn't handling that great. Actually I only replaced the
kingpin and bushings on the lefthand side, since I ran out of time
before leaving. It still improved the car's handling 1000%. I'll get
to the right side kingping once I move into my house in Austin.
>From Ashland, NC I took route 19/64/74 into Chattanooga and stayed there
for the night. The next morning I saw a fellow in a TR-3 pulling out of
the motel parking just as I was leaving. He had New Jersey plates and
the spare tire was strapped to the lid of the trunk (boot). We beeped
horns at each other and waved, but he headed south out of Chattanooga
and I headed west. Pretty cool looking car. From Chattanooga I took
route 64 across Tennessee into Memphis. It was a nice drive, but
they're widening the road in many parts from one lane each way to a four
lane divided highway. I liked the winding two lane road better than the
"improved" road. The hills and curves, along with pulling out to pass
slower cars, makes for a much more interesting drive than the larger
highways.
I ran into a heavy thunderstorm in Memphis so I stopped for dinner and
waited it out, then drove in the dark up to my Dad's place in northern
Arkansas.
Everything was fine to this point. The car was running much better than
I expected. But then the Lord of Darkness, Sir Lucas, stepped in and
caused some problems. Saturday morning was cold in Arkansas, in the
twenties. My car has been having weak battery problems, hard to start,
plus the carb isn't adjusted right and is way too rich. So when I did
get the car started on Saturday, after flooding it, I only had spark in
two cyclinders. We tried rebuilding the carb, hoping that would help.
(It looked like we had a stuck choke). No luck, it was still only
firing on two cyclinders, even after new plugs and wires. So I rented a
tow dolly from U-haul and towed it the rest of the way to Austin with my
Dad's pickup truck. Bummer.
Other than that, the trip was great. I did notice that I had a back
ache after two and a half days on the road. It's a week later now and
my back still hurts, but it's centered on a spot where I'd broken a rib
a few years ago (um, that was from the accident where I totalled my
Jeep. another story :-). Redoing the seat cushions and upholstery is
on the list of things I've still got to do, so I'm hoping that will help
give a more comfortable ride on future long trips.
It's funny the reaction I get from folks when I told them I drove the
car out instead of having it shipped. I just tell them that the car
will make it the whole way next time :-)
Cheers,
Joe
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