Hawk's Cross Country 70 Road Runner Trip

[HawkRod]

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for following along with our adventure - and it is an adventure!

Day 9 we drove from Washington following the Lewis and Clark trail - Route 94. This driving was so much fun! It was a twisty two lane road and I had the Road Runner cranking! It was certainly not boring driving! We then ended up in Jefferson City, MO, which is the capital. It is modeled after Washington DC. We got a couple of cool pictures there. We ended the day in Knob Noster state park camping. This was a really nice park too, and a great way to wind down the day with a fire and a cold beer.

Barry forced me to pull over so we could get a shot of the historic signs. Driving this road like this makes having a cool car like the Road Runner so worth it. Passing people with the Air Grabber sucking in small birds is just awesome!!! :grin:


Here are a couple of shots of us in front of the MO capital building. Very nice!





We thought this was cool. An industrial area so we figured to put the car next to a big locomotive.


Parked at Knob Noster




Christine has NOTHING on me... :devil4:

 

[HawkRod]

Day 10:

Today was a rough day, for the car and for long driving.

We started slow this morning and then drove south of Kansas City to head towards Dodge City. We stopped at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. This is the epitome of Kansas and the prairie environment. We were buffeted by high winds, and when we hit 85-90 MPH the car was getting blown around quite a bit. From a drivetrain perspective, the car was as happy as could be, but aerodynamically it was not ideal. My firm feel stage II steering is also really nice, but I think I need stage III to dive at 90 MPH with strong buffeting winds!

It started getting late so we bailed out prior to Dodge City at Newton, KS.

The car took it tough today. From a minor standpoint, Satman will be happy to know that LOTS of grasshoppers met their end on my front end! It was a gooey mess by the end of the day. We stopped at a grocery store to get some food and I kid you not: birds were eating remains off of my K-member under the car!!!

Most concerning, we are losing the third gear synchronizer. We have been double clutching the trans, but we may have to stop and try to address that. The final insult to injury was about 20 minutes before we stopped the A/C fan stopped working. It is not the compressor; we may have tripped a fuse or something. I am not too worried about the A/C; we can always wind down the windows as we go North! The transmission concerns me. We can continue to double clutch it, but what I don't know is if it is about to grenade on us. (By the way, the "third gear" on this A-833 transmission is actually the normal 4th gear, and is 1:1. Third is used as the overdrive and is .73:1. The O/D is fine.)
I will check the A/C fan tomorrow morning and see what I can diagnose.

If anyone has any transmission suggestions I am all ears...

Here are some pictures from the day. Here is from a small town in Kansas.


A few of the prairie






This one is for Satman, and this was only midday! Look closely and you can see the goo dropping off the front of the car. I think the bugs and me both would be happier if they just avoided the car...


At the exit to the park. This was a very well done park with many buildings and history. I won't bore you with it here, but we enjoyed checking it out.

 

[zyzzyx]

I can overnight the trans to you! I dunnow about the bill!

 

[HawkRod]

I can overnight the trans to you! I dunnow about the bill!

You da man! Jamie Passon has volunteered to do the same. The big question is: if it is only the synchronizer, can we just double clutch it and get by? The A-833 is supposed to be a tough transmission. Can we get another 3000 miles on this one?


If not, then Jamie may send us out another and we will do a quick swap perhaps in Colorado. I have been in communication with Jamie, and we are working on a plan. While I can piss and moan about the issue, Jamie is coming up big and offering whatever support is needed from 1500 miles away. Things don't always go as we plan, but I like guys that stand by their product and do the honorable thing. So far Jamie is OK in my book...

 

[Derwud]

Well, I know where I am going for trans parts from now..

 

[NZ 70 RR]

I am so enjoying your trip, great photos . Creating so many memories too.
Glad to hear that I an not alone with the toe flick clutch pedal . What was the rattle in the door, had one on my trip ( tiny compared to yours ), was the nut that secured the quarter window frame.
Great to meet fellow FBBO members too.
833's are tough, know it will get you to the pacific . Safe travels.

 

[396 Signet]

If anyone has any transmission suggestions I am all ears...

If it more or less started suddenly my best guess would be a bad synchro spring, the ones that push on the slider struts if you ever took one apart. Bad news is only way to diagnose is to fully disassemble which would not be fun on a camp ground. Good news though, believe the spring is captive so won't grenade. Just deal with the rough 3rd gear shift & keep driving!

Great post & pics, keep it coming!

 

[tallhair]

Great pics and update

Sorry to hear about your trans woes ... cool on zzyyzz and Jaime for looking out for you with trans assistance.

I hope you make it on the one you have though.

p.s. i edited the one state capital pic that was on it's side.

 

[747mopar]

Yeah, that's not what I was hoping to read at all. I think if it were me I'd wind 2nd up a bit more and just skip 3rd altogether justvto be safe. Glad to hear you at least have a backup plan. Keep on plugging along, your going to have some stories to tell after this trip.

 

[Riverdawg]

Great pics. it's fun following your adventure.

 

[HawkRod]

Stopping for lunch, so just a quick note:

A/C: the issue was just a fuse. It was one that I reused from the original fuse box. It "blew" in a strange way at the bottom. Fuse has been replaced and unless it blows again I think that problem is solved.

Trans: it is working fine, and we do skip 3rd when we can. I have been in communication with Jamie and he was ready to drop ship out another whole trans to me. However, that seemed expensive and excessive, so we'll just double clutch. While I am not happy about the synchro, Jamie's willingness to do what it takes shows the difference between him and, for example FAST, who just gave me excuses and BS. No one likes to have issues, but I appreciate Jamie's willingness to work with me.

Now back to the road!

 

[440+6]

Been enjoying this thread Hawk, keep the updates and pics coming and I hope you don't have any more problems, I agree that Jamie is a top notch guy, I have dealt with him a quite few times and he took care of a few problems I had immediately.

 

[CoronetDarter]

Traveling around this great county would be a great adventure in just about any vehicle, but to do it in a RR is just so cool. Looking forward to your next posts.

 

[zyzzyx]

We ALL have your "6"

 

[tallhair]

Stopping for lunch, so just a quick note:

A/C: the issue was just a fuse. It was one that I reused from the original fuse box. It "blew" in a strange way at the bottom. Fuse has been replaced and unless it blows again I think that problem is solved.

Trans: it is working fine, and we do skip 3rd when we can. I have been in communication with Jamie and he was ready to drop ship out another whole trans to me. However, that seemed expensive and excessive, so we'll just double clutch. While I am not happy about the synchro, Jamie's willingness to do what it takes shows the difference between him and, for example FAST, who just gave me excuses and BS. No one likes to have issues, but I appreciate Jamie's willingness to work with me.

Now back to the road!

Jamie's probablly gaining a lot of points from the way he's handling this and it's deserved IMHO .. I already want one of his new 5 speeds and this is really giving us all, lurkers too, positive vibes I would imagine. I was going to make the same suggestion as Devin .. or just keep doing what you are doing.

Glad it's not keeping you down or diminishing from the fantastic trip

 

[NJRR]

Jamie did my auto to 4 speed conversion in my RR and I have nothing but good things to say about the whole experience. Jamie knows his stuff, is a straight shooter and meticulous in his work. I am not surprised that he is so willing to help Hawk out. And Tallhair, I saw his 5-speeds when I was at his shop. They are sweeeeeet looking !!!!!

Jamie's probablly gaining a lot of points from the way he's handling this and it's deserved IMHO .. I already want one of his new 5 speeds and this is really giving us all, lurkers too, positive vibes I would imagine. I was going to make the same suggestion as Devin .. or just keep doing what you are doing.

Glad it's not keeping you down or diminishing from the fantastic trip

 

[HawkRod]

We camped at San Isabel at the foot of the Rockies last night - didn't even have cell phone reception! This morning we drove up Pike's Peak. Hopefully I can find a WiFi connection soon and update with some pictures. I think we got a couple of good ones.

Hawk

 

[Darius]

I can't add to any discussion about the transmission but I can say it is a good thing you don't have the honeycomb grill like the GTX, it will be tough enough getting those bugguts out of there, just imagine having to clean all those little "hex" openings in the GTX style grill!

 

[satman72]

I need more bug pics!!!!:hello2:

 

[MarPar]

Hey Hawk, do you know what's the last thing that goes threw a bug's mind when he hits your car?