Thanks to everyone for all the great suggestions and hints regarding things to
watch for and tools/parts to bring. The trip worked out very well; I left Tulsa
at 11:00 AM Friday August 21 and arrived in Calgary on Monday August 24 4:45 AM.
Aside from a worn out fan clutch (which made lots of noise but no real havoc)
and a starter problem the car ran without a problem.
Here are some highlights:
- Driving with the top down in 97F and clear blue sky (Oklahoma panhandle).
- Getting intimate views of semi-trailer undersides at 60 mph (Colorado).
- Catching up on potato farming and transportation through CB conversations
(Idaho).
- Push starting my own car; ie. pushing it, jumping in and shifting into 2nd
(Montana).
- Driving with the top up through snow covered roads in 30F and low lying dark
clouds (Montana).
- Customs agents pushing my car across the Canada-US border (Montana/Alberta).
- Pulling into my home parking spot, attempting to lower the AM/FM antenna;
realizing that I first have to scrape off a thick layer of ice (Calgary).
- 30 mpg and lots of torque, start to finish.
- meeting many interesting people along the way, including several Spitfire
owners (I should add that many of these had at least one or two stories
about their Spitfire blowing up or bursting into flames).
- People telling me that I was crazy to be doing this (everywhere).
With this adventure over and done with, I'm looking forward to a road trip
from Calgary to Kelowna, BC (Sept 11-13)...those oh so nice windy roads.
Thanks again for all your help.
Greg Partyka
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