Re: "Long Distance Travelling"

[pontiacvince]

I haven't been on in a while and just read the "Long Distance" thread. Great coincidence that's what this post is about...my recent trip from Washington State to Texas and back. It was for the eclipse, my daughter's 40th birthday and visit family and friends. Most people that came from California to my Dad's place camped and slept in tents. I bought one of those air mattresses that fit in the cargo area of my Suburban.
I ain't very smart and I drove straight through, only stopping for food and gas. I took one nap for about an hour on the way there and about 2 hours on the way home. Went through Idaho, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico and saw some beautiful country. The Suburban did really well on the trip down and the lil 307 ran great. Ran 80 - 90mph most of the way and hit 100 in a few places. The 307 doesn't have the grunt to be hauling up long mountain roads and I will be addressing that in another post.
On the way back there were a few issues. The shifter rod from the trans to the column came off. I stopped at a station and put it back, but it came off again and I made the decision to just drive it all the way back in 3rd gear (regular drive) since I was having to downshift going uphill.
Then, in Price, Utah the fuel pump went out. There was not ANY place (Auto Zone, O'Reilly's, NAPA, etc.) that had a fuel pump on the shelf for a small block Chevy. I finally found one at a 4x4 garage. They brought the pump to me and helped install it and REFUSED to charge me for the service call.
After pulling into my driveway a tire went flat.
A few minor hiccups, but all-in-all a good trip. A total of 3991 miles in 5 days. I felt like I was gonna die for a week.

[CDA 455]

Cool flight debrief!

How was ride comfort/interior noise?

[HO455]

Great stuff. Good to hear your Burban is up for trips like that.

It's great when people come to help just because someone is in need.

[pontiacvince]

Originally Posted by CDA 455

Cool flight debrief!

How was ride comfort/interior noise?

When I was rebuilding the whole thing, I could see that without a headliner, side panels, etc., it would be very noisy, especially with a decent exhaust that I wanted. I added the sound deadener/ heat shield EVERYWHERE and added a headliner with extra 1/2" foam padding on top. The ride was great and very little noise.