74 NovaMan’s … Novas

[silver_bullet]

We kept the faith...and you made it... BangShifters are a hearty bunch!!
Are you going to be at Rock N Rods in July?? (see thread in the powertour section)
Hope to see you there!!

[Huskinhano]

Cool trip looks like you had a great time. One day I'd like to do the tour. Speaking of air bubbles, I had that problem on an old '78 Econoline van with a 351W. The problem was a heater hose. It had a slight arc wich was just a little bit above the top hose. I had to tie wrap it down so it wouldn't trap air.

[74NovaMan]

We left Charlotte at 8:00 this morning. We knocked down 800 miles in 12 hours. We are in Normal, IL for the night and about 430 miles from home. Tomorrow we get to sleep in our own bed!

[TheSilverBuick]

Sounding like a very successful trip for plan A!

[Deaf Bob]

Aren't you glad you didn't do plan B?

How was your temps?

[74NovaMan]

Bob - yes and very good. More detail later. We are home. Almost 4,000 miles. 1,200 of those in the last 32 hours. More details later...

[silver_bullet]

sorry about the rain for your return...glad you kept on truckin...

[pintoboy77]

Nice meeting you Chris I like to put as many faces with the names as I can.

[74NovaMan]

Nice meeting you Chris I like to put as many faces with the names as I can.

It was nice to meet you too Greg. I thought I was going to miss you.

[74NovaMan]

Car Prep for Power Tour - Costs:
Rear Springs
Radio
Headliner
Water Pump
Trans fitler and gasket
Trans fluid
Water neck, T-stat, Temp Sender & Seals
Air Shocks
Distributor/coil/lower hose
Fuel pump
Transmission Rebuild
Radiator
Trans Fluid #2
Temp Sender #2
Alignment & Exhaust Tips
TOTAL: $2,700

Hotels – 10 Nights - $1,709

Gas – 239 Gallons – Avg $3.58/gal – 16.5 MPG over 3,957 miles

Misc expenses - $1,050 - $105/day

Total Power Tour Expenses $3,600 (not including car prep)

Repairs on Tour:
I pulled up next to Donna & Mike at a stoplight on the way to Texarkana and they asked how it was going. I said it was going great and they invited me to run with them if I wanted. I thought that was great and got into the throttle at the light trying to catch up and within 2 miles the torque converter lockup was acting weird. Unfortunately, I lost the freaks and had a bit of panic when the lockup started engaging and disengaging at a rapid rate a few miles later. Thinking back to my conversations with the trans rebuilder about the need for a lockup in a light car like mine I pulled the fuse for the lockup. I later confirmed that this was likely OK with my rebuilder. Trans worked flawlessly for the rest of the trip.

On the way to Charlotte from Chattanooga the speedometer cable started chirping. It was not too bad for the 350 mile leg and I thought it would be ok for the ride home. About 20 miles from Charlotte on the way home it became very clear that something needed be done or lives would be lost. I applied the Siri gadget on my iPhone and located an O’Rieliey Auto 1.4 miles off my current route. 20 minutes and $2 later we were back on the road with a much better outlook on the next 1,200 miles. I have an NOS cable in my garage that will be installed soon.

The only other thing I did to the car on the tour (besides adding 239 gallons of gas) was add 1 qt of oil at about 1,000 miles after initial installation. 3,000 miles later I needed ½ a quart to top it off. I run Castrol Syntec 5W50. I am due for an oil change.

To Do List based on the last 4,000 miles:
Oil Change
Fix Transmission Lockup and make adjustments
Fix Visors
Fix Rear View Mirrior
Fix Shifter Knob
Blinker Lever
Plug Wires
Shorty Headers
Swap Springs - Drivers side lower
Sticky stuff on floor - Carpet??
Wiper Refills
Long Haul Sticker
Battery hold down
Replace speedo cable
New windshield
Front Speakers
Headliner
350 Emblems

We are so glad we were able to go with plan A on the tour this year. The car ran great and my wife and I had a good time on tour and meeting all the Forum Freaks. She even kept up with her “Insanity” workout schedule while we were on tour. We hope to see you all on the road someday.

[74NovaMan]

Oh yea! I forgot to talk about temp issues. The thermostat needs to cycle on first start up or if it has been sitting long enough. On start up it will heat to 220-230 before dropping to running temp (180). Interestingly enough, when runnning down hill through the mountains, the motor got soo cool that the thermostat "cycled". I was running under 170 and when I started applying some load I looked at the temp gauge and saw 220. It started to drop almost as if it had been caught out. When it did it the second time I killed the engine for about 90 seconds, restarted and it cooled down immediately. Outside of startups and the couple of wierd mountain bits I never saw anything over 200, even in 90 degree heat and stopped traffic.

[Scott Liggett]

I would replace the stat if it were mine. It obviously shows that your cooling system is up to snuff, but that constant cycling would concern me. My Impala's 180 stat opens when cold around 195. Doesn't move from that. My Caprice's opens right at 160, but goes up to 190 in traffic.

[TheSilverBuick]

It might be the thermostat, but I'm still thinking low on coolant, but you'd know better than me as I'm 1,500+ miles from the car =P

[74NovaMan]

Scott - The 2 new stats I had installed previously did not work as well as the 10 year old one. That being said, I have a replacement from the GM dealer that I will probably install.

Randall - I've logged over 4,000 miles with no change in the overflow tank level and everytime I open the radiator cap coolant dribbles out. Does that still sound like low coolant?

[TheSilverBuick]

I still think it could be, but as I said I'm 1,500+ miles out, you'd know better than I now for sure. 3 thermostats, I just find improbable is all.