Greetings!
After prepping the MGC (replacing a differential gasket and refilling it
with Lucas 85-140 Hypoid..which I can now vouch for as a FANTASTIC
product!..and
of course a general cleaning) on Tuesday, Jean and I were ready for the "Road
to Parsippany" on Wednesday morning!
My buddy and fellow Spuriite, Pete Mantell of Sidney, IL, arrived at the
Chateau Ingram at 6:45am in his 1969 MGB V8 conversion (Ford 302)....and we
were
left for points east at about 7:10am...Both cars ran splendidly as we drove
east towards Indianapolis on I-74, transferred over to I-70, and headed toward
Columbus.
The weather was GREAT today with temps in the mid-70's (F)...which both Pete
and I were thankful for as neither of our MGs like hot weather.
Typical "NASCAR fuel and goes" were the order of the day for "pit
stops"...we stopped east of Indy for our first re-fuelling; our second
re-fuelling was
made on I-71 just north of Columbus.
Lady Luck was with us most of the way as we encountered virtually NO
construction! through Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio on I-74, I-70, I-71, I-76,
and
I-80! Our luck left us temporarily as soon as we entered Pennsylvania on I-80
and we slowed to a 5mph crawl and watched the temperature gauges creep towards
HOT.....but we both lucked out and neither of us experienced overheating (a
HUGE difference from my past experiences while driving the MGC to Vancouver,
and to Dallas!)
We made a third fuel stop just inside the Pennsylvania border (and after the
construction) and then made our way to our first "official" stop of the
day....Danville, PA and the Days Inn. We checked into the hotel and immediately
inquired about the whereabouts of some good "pub food"....and were sent to BJ's
Steakhouse....a GREAT choice!
While at BJ's we recapped the days events....a 1969 MGB V8 and a 1969 MGC
both ran flawlessly during 10 hours and speeds that generally hit 75mph. Both
Pete and I got ran off of the road (once each)...we passed a distributor dear
to our hearts (Summit Racing in Ohio)...for the first time on a road trip we
were UNABLE to find a Hooters Restaurant....I have not seen so many "left
lane bandits" on the road for a long time!
We head out on Thursday morning about 7am to continue our "Road to
Parsippany" adventure...the second leg should only be about 120 miles! (Kind of
reminds me of the trek Jean and I took toMG '95 at Lake Tahoe with Rob
Weatherall,
Mike Satur, Ian Pender, and Scott Williams....at which we had two very long
days of driving and a third day from Reno to Tahoe in about an hour or so!)
I'll keep you posted on the activities on MG 2004....and our adventures
throughout!
Cheers!
rick ingram
St.Joseph, IL USA
1969 MGC #6165
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