I just got back from a trip to visit family and be there for Mom’s 85th birthday. I took the 57 Plymouth, and put just a bit over 4000 miles on it over the last week.

I called my Insurance company (Grundy) before the trip to find out if the car would be covered on the trip and was told that it would be if I was travelling to or from an automotive related event like a car show. I did some checking before I left and found out there was a small show/cruise in the Quad Cities, so I spent last Saturday at that. It was pretty much the last event for the year back there and a lot of guys had already put their toys away for the winter. The turnout was still pretty good and I saw some old friends and met some new ones.




While I was back there I picked up a lot of my granddads and dads old hand tools, mostly stuff from the 1920s-50s, so I probably had 300 extra pounds in the trunk on the way back.

I left to come home Tuesday, but only made it to about Des Moines before the clutch came apart (one of the release arms broke at the pivot and caused the clutch to not release). I limped it into a parts store and they recommended a small independent shop (the owner is a Hot Rodder with a pretty neat twin turbo Trans Am. I spent most of the day there, mostly waiting on the parts and was back on the road by early evening.

I still managed to run ahead of the rain and snow that went thru the area on Wednesday and Thursday but the wind thru Texas was pretty brutal. I stopped at a truck stop in New Mexico on the way back that incorporated a small car museum….they had some pretty neat cars and autoorabilia.



Overall except for the clutch problem it was a great trip and the old Plymouth did really well. I cruised 75-80 most of the time and mileage was still just under 20MPG…. a little less than the last time I made the trip. I don’t know whether it was the wind I was running into or the 10% ethanol I was forced to run most of the trip.