Joemac8

I am on the fence about taking my 67 L79 on a 220 Mile road trip. I am not a whiz bang when it comes to auto repair. With specific instructions I can do straight forward things, taking 4X the time to do them. Also, my expiration date is way past due, and I have two replacement hips and need a knee replacement.

I have owned this car for 17 years and the farthest I drove it at one time was probably 100 miles each way, and that when it was new to me. When purchased it had a frame on rebuild sometime in it's past. Right after I got it, I had the Ford mechanic who lives across the alley from me rebuild the engine. It has spent a lot of time as a garage queen. I have new tires that are a year old on the car. I have rebuilt the brakes (that took 3 months). I change the oil twice a year even though it primarily just sits. I just replaced the brake lights with LED as well as the turn signal lights. I also replaced the turn signal switch. I still don't know if they work as a mice infestation caused me to remove the seats and clean the carpets. That is where the car sits right now, with the seats out.

Steering is difficult and so I bought a Borgeson unit (three years ago). It is still in the boxes. In April I contacted a local to me garage that does Corvette work and asked him to install the Borgeson. I dropped the car off with him. He took it on a test run first and the engine started to act up due to a failed exhaust valve. It was towed back to his shop and the engine taken apart. This is what he found:

"I had some concerns about the condition of the engine especially considering you told me this engine had approximately 400 miles on it. The pistons have light scoring a few of the cylinders, and honing marks are very faint. Certainly, the engine was rebuilt previously, but not nearly as fresh as indicated. While what I found is not catastrophic by any means, I just want to make aware of what you have. On a brighter note, the pistons are of a .030 oversize and there is not any sort of ridge on the cylinders. There is plenty of room for a rebuild in the future. The pistons that are installed have compression right at 9:1 given the cylinder head chamber in place.

Sadly, these are not the original cylinder heads. While they are a 462 casting, they have the smaller valves and thus not installed OE on the L79 327. When the engine is together, no one will know. Again, just want you to be properly informed. The machine shop called today and told me the heads are finished. There was another exhaust valve that was ready to fail like much like the #3 exhaust valve did. They also informed me while all of the valve guides had been replaced, they did not have any oil grooves in them. All 16 guides were replaced with grooved guides, a couple of valves were replaced along with a damaged valve spring. The #3 exhaust rocker stud did get pulled out a little bit. It was pressed back to it's correct height and pinned in place. A fresh valve job was completed as well.

The new oil pump has been installed and reassembled. I have all of the parts in my possession cleaned up and ready for reassembly. I will snug the fasteners on the carb, but there was plenty of evidence of the carb leaking on the intake manifold. I'll have to see what transpires there once I get everything up and running."

After he finished, I paid for the work and drove the car five miles home where it now sits.

Proposed ROAD TRIP: A fellow who lives about n220 miles away has offered to install the Borgeson. Also, near him is one of the few shops in Northern Wisconsin that is able to correctly do a four wheel alignment on a C2. It could be two birds with one stone.

So my question: Do I take a 440 mile round trip through Northern Wisconsin by myself, or do I put it on a trailer and drag it? I keep going back and forth.

65hihp

Without a doubt, make that road trip. Your 67 could do it without even breaking a sweat.

Tampa Jerry

I would put a few miles on the car locally to "cement" the engine work. That said, I would take the car on the trip and bring a cell phone instead of a tool kit. Have fun, Jerry

Bluestripe67

In your case, I would do an operations check of everything while doing 10-20 mile long local drives. After each, check things like belt tension, hose clamps, fuel line clamps especially. If all works out, drive on for the additional work. Dennis

Railroadman

Damn, that shouldn't be a problem. As Tampa Jerry said, drive it on a few shorter trips to build your confidence, and find any glitches. A few very basic tools should be with you, add in AAA membership and a credit card and you should be fine. You have a friend who can come to your aid, maybe others on here are located in between. Absolutely drive it, that's what they are made for.

And take pics, and post on here how things went!

pop23235

Take the trip. Your engine will appreciate it. Short trips are what has aged it.

ricks327

Take the trip. You will only be a little over 100 miles from home, no more because once you get to your destination you only have the same mileage back home. What type of car insurance do you have? Most offer a roadside assistance package that would cover the 100 miles of free towing.
Correction: You first stated a 220 mile road trip then clarified it to 220 miles one way. Take the trip.

leif.anderson93

This is what these cars were made for. This time of year the weather must be spectacular where you live. You and your car will love the open road...go for it!!!

John BX NY

I'd take a 1/2 and 9/16 wrench and a spare alternator belt and make sure the spare tire and jack work and hit the road...

C3POL82

Yes, take the trip. You can always carry a gallon of anti-freeze and a couple quart of oil, but it should be fine.

Joemac8

It is a 17 mile ride into town. On Thursday after I get the seats in, I'll drive to town to fill up and then home. Hopefully any little issues will show themselves.

Joemac8

[QUOTE=ricks327;1604000356]Take the trip. You will only be a little over 100 miles from home, no more because once you get to your destination you only have the same mileage back home. What type of car insurance do you have? Most offer a roadside assistance package that would cover the 100 miles of free towing.
Correction: You first stated a 220 mile road trip then clarified it to 220 miles one way. Take the trip.[/QUOTE


It is 220 miles each way. So a 440 mile trip.

SJW

This is exactly the reason you SHOULD do the road trip. And as many more of them as you can.

As several others have already recommended, a few local shake-down runs first, with follow-on inspections of the usual suspects (fluid levels/leaks, belts, hoses/clamps, tires, etc), would be a great idea.

Seems to me all you would risk would be calling for a tow from wherever might be necessary en-route. And your alternative plan is to tow it the whole distance both ways. I guess I must be missing something.

It's a car. Drive it. Often.

And you don't need to change the oil twice a year unless you're keeping up with Steve Stone or the guys who drove from SoCal to Carlisle.

Live well,

SJW

Redbird

Enjoy the car. Breakdowns are part of the learning experience and telling your grandchildren all about it!

Joemac8

You mean my great-grandson! (How the hell did I get so old so fast?)

Matt Gruber

When was the gear lube in the rear last changed?
When were the trailing arms rebuilt, including repacking the wheel bearings? No sense doing an alignment if it has old bushings.
Also might want to look into the CAUSE of 2 hips and a bad knee. Did your Dad, and his Dad have the same problems? If so, it could be genetic. If NOT, then find the cause.
I found the cause of my pain, now that i eliminated chronic pain, i feel 20 years younger. See my profile for the names of my Dr's.

LouieM

With a credit card, AAA card and cell phone, there's not much uncertainty to modern drives. Make sure your AAA membership includes the 200-mile towing option. Preprogram useful numbers in your phone. Then hit the road.

FLYNAVY30

I didnt read the body of your post, or the comments...

ALWAYS TAKE THE ROAD TRIP!!!!

ricks327

Spot on or another saying.....Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

tuxnharley

I agree with all the comments above, which have a lot of good advice!

Take the trip!