Neil and Tom's Arizona Adventure!

I don't have many more photos, I became very tired and underslept. Photos became a chore and I didn't bother.

Somewhere along the way we overheated and pulled over under a bridge out of the hot sun. We flushed the coolant system and filled it up with fresh stuff. What came out was ugly and full of chunks!

We finally hit Canada and while driving along the 401 hwy in Toronto, we hit a bump and the engine died.

What the....???

I deduced that little plastic gear was broken again. It was.

We didn't have a parts place anywhere near us, no spare parts...Tom managed to use a Bic lighter and a knife to melt and shape the broken gears and then we got looking and realized the distributor had a lot of up and down play in it. Could this be the problem? We robbed some washers from that electronic distributor I had to buy back in Tulsa and we removed the play and stuck her back in.

I remembered the parts van I had bought a few weeks ago but hadn't dragged home to Ottawa yet was about 1 hour away. We set all the timing again and took off, making a Bee line for that van and its distributor.

Half way there it skipped a tooth again and began running like crap again. We did manage to make it to the parts van and rob the gear from it....but the van has not run right since..

We had a 4 hour drive home from there, backfiring and stumbling the whole way.

We arrived home around 1am on Tuesday, I guess I would call the trip a success because I got the van of my dreams home in one piece, but in hindsight it would have been cheaper to have it delivered. The whole idea was to get two vans and sell one, thereby offsetting the costs....but it's okay because we had a great time!

Tom woke me up once we arrived back as his place and said "I've got!! I don't know why I didn't think of this, it's Autoshop 101. The centrifugal gear in the distributor is damaged or out of whack and that's causing the stumbling/bad running. If not that, then the timing chain must be completely loose and skipping gears back and forth."


Either way, we're going to try a new distributor and check the timing chain...and if that doesn't work then I'll be putting in a new motor.

The van is home safe and sound and the kids are so happy to have the Scooby Doo van in their driveway! I hope to one day paint it into a Mystery Machine because the kids will love it and it's a great fun way to own a van.

Thanks for all the support everyone and I hope you've enjoyed my little recap. Neil, early van owner, finally!

Great story Neil!!!! Must have been one hell of an adventure. Glad you made it home safe and thanks for sharing the experience. wideload

I wish I had documented things a little better and taken the time to enjoy the different places we visited, but reality is we had to get back fast. I got back yesterday and today I have to go to work...that's life I guess.

Better a short trip than no trip at all I guess!

A lot of people on the road enjoyed seeing the van, you just don't see them anywhere anymore. I barely saw any old cars/trucks/vans at all actually....anywhere! Seems old cars are just becoming museum pieces. They look so much better driving down the road, where they belong.

great story!! That Tom is pretty crafty, my hats off to him!!

bro, I think you did a fantastic job sharing the story. Welcome to the world of earlies... it's official now!

Wow, what a story! I t's fantastic how Tom comes up with these "work around" solutions on the fly. His grasp of how things work amazes me. Glad to hear you guy's made it home safely.

See ya,
Don

hahaha...first plans? Well tonight we figured out what's ailing the motor. It's got a burnt exhaust valve and a broken valve guide. I guess we could pull the head and have it fixec, but why do that when I know a guy with an 18,000 mile slant 6 from his '72 Demon for $100? I'm going to pick it up tomorrow night!

Then, I hope to get the mechanicals fixed up, then weld up some holes on it, paint the floor inside and do the seats etc, then eventually get the outside painted. It'll be a multi year project for sure.

Hey Enbor,

Really great the way this played out, it was pretty cool to jump on a couple times a day to see if there was an update..

I think you now need to plan a follow-up trip for the second van.

After that, if your up to it, I was told about two more in North East Texas, one Van, one Pickup..

Congrats on the new project, looking forward to the updates.

The motor seems to have developed a bad valve and bushing. Seems it was already there, but the 3000 mile trip made it worse.

Luckily I found a new motor for cheap, so..........here's what's going on -> https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/between-the-seats-a-f16/replacing-the-6-in-the-mystery-machine-t589.htm#1341

And i thought my trip to pick up the 64 was long. The ol lady sends her best wishes to your ol ladys. She said shes glad i have a van addiction instead of a drug addiction. Way to go guys. That parking lot paint job looks pretty good for house paint. Hey tom, wanna help me with mine......

Tom suddenly phones me "Neil, I want that van. I can't stop thinking about it. We're going to fly down and get it."

Tom puts in a call to Mike, answering machine. The next day Mike phones back. Yup, still has the van. Yup, he wants to sell it. Yup, right away.

Turns out the guy has been getting the @#$% kicked out of him in the real estate markert and his painting business is gone in the crapper....he's going to move back to Canada (did I ever mention he was a Canadian citizen?) So he wants to clear it out soon....

Tom and I are figuring out how we're going to do this?

Plan A: ship a running reliable motor down there, fly down, install and drive it home

Plan B: have the van shipped here (expensive and not much fun)

Plan C: fly down, buy a slant 6 down there, install and dive it home (not sure about the reliability factor)

Plan D: get that motor cleaned out so it stops overheating!

With Plan D in mind, anyone know how to clean corrosion, calcium buildup and gunk from the coolant channels in a slant six? Will running the motor with CLR (Calcium Lime Rust cleaner) work?

This is great,

I might have to fly out to Arizona just to meet you two..

I wonder if CLR would eat the rubber hoses?

Dont suppose that guy would pour some in now?

Compare the prices of buying the motor there or shipping one.

The CLR guys don't recommend using it to clean out car radiators for fear if not completely rinsed out it might cause problems. How about a plan E where you take down a good radiator to swap into the Van? Not as heavy as a slant 6. You might be able to wire brush and flush the motor coolant channels out, put in the new radiator and head out on the adventure home.

Under FAQ at this link (http://www.jelmar.com/CLRproducts.asp) I found the warning below
"Can I use CLR to clean out my radiator?
No, CLR should not be used on a car radiator for two reasons. First, CLR may not be compatible with the internal metals of the radiator. Second, it could have adverse effects if the CLR is not rinsed out completely. "

It seems CLR is acidic (the site has the MSDS which shows the ingredients), so if you insist on using it a rinse with baking soda will neutralize the acid, follow with lots of water.

awesome makes me want to do it again soon! hey embro what part of az?

Good luck to both of you! I drove a '69 Chevy and a '77 Dodge from Los Angeles, California to Cleveland, Ohio. The '69 needed a repair in Albuquerque. The Dodge made it all the way. Take lots of pictures. I wish I could do it again.

enbro, you might be addicted!

Plan E: Tom drives down there, rents a trailer, drives a few hundred miles back and picks you up at the airport to help drive the rest of the way home. Just kidding.

If your looking for another road trip without the headaches, I'm thinking Plan A.

I used a radiator cleaner that I didn't realize contained acid. Next thing I know the parts van is leaking water from a lot holes in the radiator. At least $300 damage, but a learning experience.

Thanks guys, I never even thought about the radiator! Chances are, it's plugged solid too!

The more I think about it, the more I think we need to just get that van shipped up here or get a trailer and tow it. Perhaps we should consider flying in, buying a nice Dart or Duster or something, towing the van and then selling the car when we get back. Rust free Arizona metal is always in demand here.

I just finished towing my 64 Econoline ~700km (~400mi) from Calgary behind my 85 C20... it was pretty heavy on the hitch. The uHaul auto Transport trailer (all 4 wheels on the trailer) had too much weight over the tongue, and really made my van work. But my Class III hitch passed the test. You probably should be driving a 3/4 ton with class III hitch to be safe.

Damn Corey, you finally got your E back home?! Guess the guys at Vannin did you a solid in terms of getting your hitch issues resolved.

I take it the U-haul trailer had surge brakes? I wonder if they have weight distribution hitches that will work with them.

Just about didn't make it... had a ruptured fuel line sucking air into the carb particularly under load... backfiring, rapidly losing speed, 18-wheelers up my arse in a heartbeat, thought my whole rig was gonna die! When I finally found the problem, I had spare fuel line in the Ford... and she went strong after that! And my DIY hitch install... definitely owe those guys on vannin some kudos or Canadian Brew, as the hitch passed with flying colors! Thanx for asking, man!

Back on to the trailer, it had a master cyl much like these ford vans have on the tongue... if the hitch came unhooked, the trailer brake would actuate. Don't know if that's what you mean.

Even if my hitch ball was mounted higher, the trailer itself didn't seem properly balanced, so it still would have pulled down. My suggestion is to check a couple sources to see if the wheel stops can be adjusted back and forth... the hitch shouldn't have to support the gravitational weight, just ideally the pulling weight. The trailer I rented had the wheel straps fixed right to the front of the trailer.

Enbro, borrow someone's big truck or van, and a good trailer! Go and get it!