road trip

[boldtu]

so I want to drive my 71' across the country to pick up my friend in New York, and then back to CA. I have good compression, and the cooling system is very tight when I tested its seals with pressure. it is essentially stock with an upgraded dual throat weber. My question what do you guys think I should check and replace before my trip, other than oil and coolant and all that, are there any lines that I should replace? and tuning? maybe a valve job? I also plan on putting in the five speed and 3.91 rear end before take off.

thanks

chet

P.S. I will be posting pics and a miniature journal on the faq for those interested,

thanks in advance

[Guest Anonymous]

So where in NY are you coming to? Maybe a welcome party can be arranged. Having agonized over my trip to Vintage last year, I ended up just assuring the hoses and belt was good, fresh tune parts (plugs, etc.) and bringing some spare parts, which are detailed in other posts. Then take a 100+ mile shake down cruise. Also bring a cell phone and join AAA. Finally, I'd install the 5-speed, but not the 3.91 diff (presuming you have a 3.64) until you get back to the West Coast, to keep your highway rpm's lower. Good luck.

___________________

Roger

'72 Malaga

[BillWilliams]

Plan your trip to cross the desert at night.

[Jim_75Sahara]

Chet, Great idea, do it. Bring your copy of "Friends of BMW". If you come through Ohio, let us know. We had 2 separate gtg's for William and Jessie when they drove cross country. Kfunk drove his through Death Valley & over the Rockies in his crusty '74. His destination was here in Ohio, so we adopted him.... His blog of the trip was fascinating. (Paging: William and Kfunk for your input.)

[c.d.iesel]

try a 400 mile round trip from your home this weekend.

After - make a list of what went wrong along the way.

Now you have time to re-phrase your question,

and have ample time to make 'adjustments'

[JohnC]

Chet, sounds awesome! I remember someone put together a list of things to bring for a road trip but I can't remember where I saw it. Maybe someone else can identify it.

Yeah, I would do the basics, change the oil, new points, plugs condenser (if you haven't yet installed a pertronix), check timing, adjust the valves, check the brakes, check the hoses and fan belt. While you're replacing the tranny, of course you'll have the opportunity to renew your clutch if needed and upgrade your shifter, and torque everything to spec.

If the car hints at running hot, then consider a radiator upgrade.

John

[Paul7002]

besides tunes, snacks, cooler, weed, money and AAA card:

My answer: Spare water pump, fuel pump, thermostat and sufficient tools to replace them on the side of the road. Also, rotor, cap, fan belt, assorted hoses and clamps, DUCT TAPE, Wire Coat Hanger, Jack, 1x6 board, 50/50 coolant mix, paper towels, Windex, blanket, road atlas and phone numbers of FAQers along the way.

Good luck, be safe, and as my mother used to say, "if you can't be good, don't get caught."

[BillWilliams]

Did your mother tell you to wear clean underwear just in case you got hit by a train?

My smart remark went something along the lines of "if hit by a train, no underwear would be clean". Still did not get me far.

To the matter at hand. Make sure your driveline and brakes are up to it.

Guibo, wheel cylinders, flex lines, brake shoes, drums, etc. Like I said initially, make sure your car is like new.

You may need to think about getting over the Rockies. Be prepared to change your plugs at the top, or when you get to the bottom. They will fail of foul. If your car is carbed, you may need to change jets before you head up the moutain. Some of the folks did in 2002. If you are driving a tii, good luck and just change the plugs when the car acts ugly.

My longest trip was Baltimore to Keystone, CO. Three - four days out and almost made it back in almost one day, we were haulin. Well, not necessarily one day, no overnights until an alternator went kaput on one of the cars.

Here is the "drive until we get home gang" back in 2002.

[boldtu]

I went up to santa barbara last weekend. It ran great, I have no complaints. The alternator and the starter are new. It has pertronix, and I think I will put in a 320 radiator first. thanks for the advice on the rear end, I wil hold off on the diff until I get back. the trip is still in conceptual stages, so I will have at least month before I leave, probably more depending on school. thanks for all the advice.

chet

[Paul7002]

Interestingly, Mom never mentioned underwear

Guibo! Given that I've replaced mine twice, you'd think I'd remember to add Spare Guibo to the list of parts to take along. I know I've got one in my trunk right now.

[shipm_8]

Chet,

Last year, my wife Jessie and I took Tip Top, our 72tii, across. Naturally, I asked the board for their input. These guys and gals just blew my hair back with their generosity, not just with their recommendations during the preparations, but also hospitality along the way. Having this car as our Official Staff Car has opened a friendlier world, but I am sure you already noticed that. A few recommendations, compiled from our exchanges last year and what I learned along the way:

* As Bill says, make the car like new, as much as you can. To quote c.d., you don't want to end up doing roadside restoration. c.d. made the point last year with great illustrations, so it stuck in my little head—I'm hoping he will some day compile his pictures and advice into a coffee table book.

* Test drive. We had driven the car from LA to San Francisco, San Francisco to San Diego and various trips around California, so I was comfortable with the mechanical condition. Still, I took it to my local mechanic for a sanity check that led to two last-minute preventive maintenance tweaks: tires and wipers. My wife and I are SoCal types so we think of rain as an occasional curiosity. Remember that other parts of the US actually experience weather and carry around ice scrapers and other exotic foul weather contraptions, so be ready for weather.

* Visibility Because weather can be a factor, so is visibility. This is a challenge for roundies, so you might consider a bit of tail light refurbishing, and perhaps a third brake light, so people can see you. In some parts of the country, you will be driving the smallest car around, which makes for some friendly conversation at the gas pump. Bonus: you will not have to do gas pump yoga and search for the filler tank sweet spot during most of the trip.

* Consider staying off the interstate. Jack in Westborough MA suggested this, and following the suggestion turned what was going to be a "get there" trip into an adventure. We had the time to do it, a rare privilege, and it was worth it and particularly meaningful to us because we had been overseas for about eight years straight until recently. If you are interested in suggestions for a scenic route, just ask. At least, I'd take Jim up on the offer to go through Dayton and visit with the SW Ohio 02ers; what a great, warm group -- it occurred to me half way through a 4th of July hot dog while sitting in Mike and Carol's living room that Mike was The Mike, author of the columns I had been clipping and archiving for a while, and he is every bit as nice in person as he comes across in print. So go meet the SW Ohio 02 group. We weaved through to meet other 02ers also, and it was great fun: Kevin in Athens OH, Blunt in Wayzata MN and of course Bill and Ruth in Maryland; all very generous with their time and hospitality. It is a beautiful country.

* Gear list. Between tools and spare parts, I had probably 80lbs of gear, obsessive-compulsive that I was. My mileage was still around 27mpg through the trip. After driving 10,000 through 26 states in six weeks between the eastbound and the westbound legs, I only needed one spark plug wire, which I changed in Tysons Corner, Virginia after dinner. I compiled the list from suggestions, plus what I usually carry on trips. Of course, you can skip most or all and just have your cell phone and a credit card, but keep in mind that you can’t just stroll into an Autozone and get a windshield wiper arm for a 37 year old car. I know because both my wiper arms flew off five miles into a San Francisco-San Diego trip in heavy rain early 08, but thanks to rainX we made it to Double02Salvage in Hayward before they closed and still made it to Santa Barbara before the restaurants closed. Preflight checklist now includes checking the retaining clip on the wiper arms. Also keep in mind that, if you do stay off the highway, there are big chunks of this country that have no cell coverage; I’m a ham radio operator so carry a small radio with me but UHF/VHF but that’s not much better than a cell phone in the middle of the desert. And you do want to follow Bill’s recommendation and drive through the desert at night.

The all-inclusive, obsessive-compulsive, please-don’t-laugh-at-me-I’m-a-sensitive-guy 72tii Spare Part and Tools List:

Spare Parts/Consumables

• 550 cord (carrying parachute cord and duct tape is an old habit)

• alternator belt

• anti-seize compound

• brake fluid DOT4

• caps: oil filler, gas and radiator

• hose clamps

• dist cap, rotor, points & condenser

• duct, rescue and electrical tape. The rescue self-fusing tape rocks!

• wire and electrical wire

• fuel filter

• fuel line, 1m

• fuel pump

• guibo

• injection pump belt

• injector pipes

• Loctite, wire ties

• lug nuts

• nitrile gloves

• oil

• oil filter and crush ring

• oil pressure sender

• paper towels, rags

• radiator coolant (50% mix)

• radiator hose, upper/lower

• rainX

• relays

• spare bulbs/fuses/screws/glue, etc

• spark plug W7DC/BP6ES, terminals

• thermostat

• water pump

• WD40

• windshield washer fluid

• wiper arms

• wiper inserts (Bosch 15”)

Tool kit

• air compressor

• bottle jack

• breaker bar

• car duster (having a California Car Duster is necessary not only to keep the car clean but also to establish your California-ness to anybody who doubts)

• fix a flat

• funnel

• gas container (I have one of those one-use gas-o-hauls that store flat)

• hammer

• jumper cable

• leatherman

• maintenance manual (still waiting for an iphone version of the shop manual!)

• multimeter

• nut driver, flex, 6mm

• pliers, adjustable, 12”

• pliers, needle nose, 6”

• pry bar (small)

• safety goggles

• screwdrivers (flat, Phillips)

• shears

• shovel

• side cutters, 6”

• sockets 3/8” 10/13/15/17/21/22 3/8-1/2, extension

• tire chock

• tarp

• tire depth gauge

• tire-pressure gauge

• vice grips

• wheel lock

• wheel lug nut socket 19mm

• wire strippers/cutter

• wrench, adjustable

• wrench, spark plug 13/16

• wrenches, combination 6-17mm

All fit under the back seat and in a bag in the trunk, and we still had room for luggage.

Have fun. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we are already thinking about our next trip!

William

check out last year's thread

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,57/page,viewtopic/t,306800/highlight,/

[BarryA]

72tii Spare Part and Tools List:

William

check out last year's thread

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,57/page,viewtopic/t,306800/highlight,/

After several long distance trips in our 200K mile 69, there are only a couple of additional items I can think of you might want to consider for a trip of this duration....

Parts:

One spare CV joint (or a complete halfshaft with cleaned, lubed and rebooted CV's if you have space)

One pair of spare front wheel bearings and a grease seal

Misc:

A couple of warm, lightweight blankets (and maybe one of those laminated Mylar "space blankets" in case you have a problem and get stuck somewhere at night).

Some sort of lighweight, compact rain gear in case you find yourself needing to make roadside repairs in inclement weather.

Second the suggestion to take secondary roads where possible - when we drove to Colorado from northern CA for O'fest is 2002, we took 2 lane most of the way - slower pace, less fast food, wonderful scenery.

I think Mike suggested having a copy of Friends of BMW with you - if you're NOT a BMW CCA member, it's probably worth joining just to get linked into the help network for a trip like this. If you contact the club office directly, they can probably get you signed up and get a copy to you in plenty of time for your departure........

[Jim_75Sahara]

Hey, man, it wasn't Mike -- it was ME who suggested the FOB book. Whew, got that cleared up!!

[ncoonen]

besides tunes, snacks, cooler, weed, money and AAA card:

My answer: Spare water pump, fuel pump, thermostat and sufficient tools to replace them on the side of the road. Also, rotor, cap, fan belt, assorted hoses and clamps, DUCT TAPE, Wire Coat Hanger, Jack, 1x6 board, 50/50 coolant mix, paper towels, Windex, blanket, road atlas and phone numbers of FAQers along the way.

Good luck, be safe, and as my mother used to say, "if you can't be good, don't get caught."

Great list and in correct priority order. Don't get too wrapped up in what could go wrong. Last fall, another FAQer and I drove a new-to-us just purchased and unrestored '61 Corvair Lakewood station wagon - oh, pardon - touring from Oakland, CA to Chicago with a modest box of spares and some borrowed tools. (We had some luggage issues on the way out to get the car.) It was a blast. We got to replace the generator and voltage regulator under the bright lights of Terrible's Arco in Reno the first night. The next morning, we bought four new King Star 185/80-13 radials in Winnemucca, NV. Get this - they had two choices in stock in that size! Sieze the adventure and enjoy the ride!!! You never know what could happen if you don't give it a try.

...ned.

'74tii

several Corvairs...

[SteveJ]

Glad to see I wasn't the only one to mention a bunch O parts and tools.

In all the long distance drives I have done, I have probably used my parts/tools to bail out others more than I have myself.

BTW: I weighed all the parts and tools and it came in around 50 lbs. Leaving one or more small children at home will take off that weight...but so will laying off the chimichangas or Lockeford sausage.