Scotty Paisley writes:
> Sooo, I guess I had better start shopping for that parts car before I
> leave eh? Need a tow-bar too I guess. (for the parts car :-) Things I
> need to do to the TR6 before the journey are:
>
> . blast and paint the wheels I bought at Carlisle (old ones
> are bent)
> . new tires
> . new u-joints
> . new gators for the steering rack
> . tune up
> . maybe a rebuilt differential would be a good idea. :-)
Having made the trip from Montreal->TRF->Nashville->New Orleans->Dallas->
Grand Canyon->Las Vegas->Los Angeles->San Francisco->Davis and a few other
marathon Atlantic Canada trips several years ago in a TR4A and MGB-GT, I
have a few pointers to give.
Aside from some of the obvious:
- don't expect wires wheel to last the trip if the car is heavily loaded.
- don't expect old rear shocks to last if the car is heavily loaded.
(we brought spares, and needed them)
- bring lots of assorted screws, nuts, and other fasteners.
- make sure everthing is torqued up properly (wheels/suspension/steering).
- bring spare electrical bits.
- If you do run into trouble LOOK around for any other LBC, its owner
will likely know where to find parts locally.
This last one saved us in Alexandria, Louisiana where we were treated like
royalty by the owner of a construction firm. We simply walked into a full
waiting room and asked the secretary to "speak to the owner of the MGB
out front about where he gets parts". A few minutes later we were in
the owner's office chatting about LBCs and he began calling around various
foreign car junkyards to find TR4A front wire wheel wheel studs. Five
hours later we were back on the road!
...robert "I coulda sworn I heard a clunk..."
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