The farthest I traveled in my original '67 Spitfire was roundtrip from Los
Angeles to San Francisco, logging about 1,200 miles roundtrip with a lot of
other driving going on. In the middle of the journey, the splines on my
right front wheel wore down and the whole wheel fell off going down a
freeway offramp at 60mph.
My second longest journey in my current '67 Spitfire was 19 miles before my
left front wheel fell off, going 6 MPH in a parking lot.
Funny how history has a way of repeating itself!
Cheers,
Jeff in San Diego
'67 RHD Spitfire Mk3 aka "Mrs. Jones"
www.ohms.com/spitfire/spitfire.shtml
----- Original Message -----
From: <SJagGo@aol.com>
To: <spitfires@autox.team.net>
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2000 10:58 AM
Subject: Long distance Spits
>
> Greetings:
> What's the farthest drive any of you have taken in your Spitfires?
> My personal best, no CO-driver has been 6100 miles, including the last
1500
> (Lava Hot Springs, ID to Springfield, IL) stopping only for gas, oil, and
> fast foods. That's what the 1500 really stands for-1500 miles.
>
> The quirkiest has been Springfield to Macon, MO to Columbia, MO to St.
Louis
> back to Springfield. Over 500 miles. Why? A girlfriend called and
wanted
> to go for a drive. "How far?" I asked. "Till I say to turn back," was her
> reply. She fell asleep about 50 miles out and never told me to turn back
> until she woke up near Macon. We ate a very late dinner at a country bar
> with live band in Macon and headed home by way of St. Louis. Great
> sunrise-darn those bucket seats and parking brake handle!
>
> If you've gone 1500+ miles, what breakdowns occurred. In my case, the
gasket
> between the head exhaust pipe and the exhaust manifold blew out. Found
one
> in Missoula, Montana. A couple thousand miles later on the return trip,
the
> headpipe broke away from the flange attaching to the exhaust manifold. I
had
> it welded in Arlington, Oregon.
> Bill Brockschmidt
>
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