by SnarkyPoet Tue Sep 07, 2010 3:17 pm
Sooo... I almost made it home.
I drove from Athens, GA to NJ without any issues, but then my coil started breaking up at low rpm's. I was approaching the toll booths on the Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge when it crapped out. (I couldn't keep the rpm's high enough in stop-and-go traffic.)
I was stuck in the middle of five lanes of traffic and it wouldn't restart. The carb started percolating and my coil was still super-hot. Of course, as soon as the engine quit, the fan stopped spinning and she overheated, even with the aluminum radiator. (Those headers put out a lot of extra heat.) I had steam rolling out of both front windows...
I managed to use my starter motor to creep over to the breakdown lane (in the midst of an epic storm of profanity and single-digit salutes.) I managed to kill my battery and my starter doing this, however. The breakdown lane was only about half-width, so cars were actually hitting my curb-feelers as they were driving by... scary stuff.
I called AAA of New England, who transferred me to AAA NY... who transferred me to AAA NJ, who told me they couldn't help me because the bridge and surrounding area are Port Authority property. I then called the Port Authority, who told me that they thought I was still on the Interstate, and couldn't help me either. Ugh.
I ended up calling a private towing company to get me off of the Port Authority property. They towed me 200 yards or so and dropped me in a plaza in Fort Lee, NJ.
I then called AAA back and asked them to come get me. I have the AAA plus plan, which gives you 100 miles, four times a year. I had them tow me up to a rest area on I91 in Connecticut. (96.75 miles from the bridge.)
I managed to convince the driver to drop me in one of the angled truck parking spaces... facing downhill toward the exit of the rest area. As soon as he took off, I pushed the van downhill, popped the clutch, and floored it all the way to the Mass border. I made it about 50 miles before it blew up again. This time, it started misfiring and bucking like crazy and I had just enough momentum to make it off an exit.
So I called AAA again. Initially, they told me that I was going to have to pay for a tow, since I used my 100 miles already. I explained to them that I had gotten it running again and driven 50 miles before it died again. Fortunately, they didn't argue very long before agreeing to dispatch another truck.
They picked me up with a flatbed and hauled me the last 112 miles to my home. I had to pay overage for the last 12 miles at 4.75/mi, but all things considered, that seemed a small price to pay to get home safe.
I started tearing it down yesterday. I replaced my battery, coil, cap & rotor, and voltage regulator... but my starter is still toast. It won't spin the motor fast enough to build compression. I ordered one of the high-torque mini-starters to replace it. I should have it later in the week.
Judging by the film of soot and engine oil on the back of the van, I'm guessing my rings are probably shot too. I'm debating now about whether I should deal with the time and expense of a rebuild or swap, or if I should just drop the price and sell it.
I had it listed anyway, but I've been going back and forth about selling it. My '66 is super-nice, and I don't have enough dry storage for both. New England winters are rough on cars. The '65 is super clean underneath, being from CA, and I hate to see it sit.
What do you guys think?
