Road Trip in a new ride

[spacepirate]

I’ve never done something like this before so here goes… it’s gonna be a long winded one so grab a drink and settle in...

I work as a producer in the reality TV world but my passion is old cars. (I’m currently building a 68 Camaro- full DSE front and rear, LS3, t-56, etc...) I’ve been fortunate enough to work on some great shows, namely Top Gear US and Street Outlaws. (Please hold your TG US hatred for another thread) It may sound glamorous but it’s a hard job where my average week runs about 75-80 hours. Sure it pays great, but when you add up the hours, it’s not as good as one would hope. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I get to go all over the world, meet all sorts of people and drive some amazing cars. My job has taken me to Germany, Scotland, Canada, Cuba and pretty much every state in the US. However, lately I’ve been feeling burnt out, stuck in a rut, exhausted and needing a break from the constant go go go of the fast pace LA lifestyle. I just hit 36 on Sept. 23rd and it was time for a life experience. I’ve thought about this for a long time and I’ve always wanted to take a road trip by myself. Whatever happens, happens. I want to share my journey with you guys, as I’ve been a member here for several years and thought you might enjoy tagging along for the ride.

THE GOAL: Find a classic truck somewhere in the US that’s mechanically sound enough to make a trip; fly out to buy it, and hit the road. This could go terribly wrong or awesomely cool! Hell, maybe both.

It took me 3 solid days of scouring Craigslist nationally, emailing every potential seller. And I don’t mean a few minutes here and there, I’m in between gigs at this point. I literally spent 7 hours one day and about 8 hours the next going through every city and state on CL to see what was out there. My search was wide - 1966-1973 under $7500. (no reason just felt like the right years and price I could afford) I like the look of old Chevy trucks and finally after emailing about 50 ads, I stumbled across a cool 71’ C10 about an hour outside Eugene, OR.


I spoke with the owner; a retired guy who had a girlfriend in Eugene, who was using the truck to drive round trip 120 miles about 3 times a week to see her. He quickly realized that this truck might not be the most economical choice. HA! After speaking with him about an hour, I realized this was the truck I swnated. He’s owned it for a year, before that it was a local firefighters truck. It’s a long bed (prefer the short beds but the price was right), with a 15 foot paint job, 350 sbc, with some cheap 18” and 20” wheels. I really dig the blue/white combo too. He seems like and honest guy and has agreed to drive the truck over an hour to meet me at the airport.

So that's what I did. I booked a flight this morning from LAX to Eugene and sure enough he was waiting for me curbside. This was my first time actually seeing the truck in person and luckily I wasn't let down. He swapped out the front seats for later model buckets and they're definitely more comfortable. But the gave the the bench seat to have. WIN! Here it is:



We drove to his buddies house about 30 mins away and we chatted about the truck along the way. It drives and runs good but will definitely need some attention down the road. We negotiated the price, he took a hit on it and I headed straight to a tire shop to address the worn out front tires. The back ones are alright.



I knew something was weird with the front setup because the driver tire was worn very unevenly and as soon as they pulled the rim off we found out why. The hub was slightly too big and the rim wouldn't sit properly. About 15 minutes later with a grinder and she's good as new! Now, I'm at a small motel in Eugene for the night. I'm gonna research my route tonight make a plan and hit the road in the morning. If anyone has any suggestions for places to see and stop please let me know. I'll be traveling down HWY 1 for the majority. Here's a couple more pics.




I'll keep posting more pictures as I get the time but for now its time to hit a parts store to stock up for the trip tomorrow. Wish me luck!

[minendrews68]

Well..............Good luck,and have a safe trip.

[Zoomin]

That's a whole lotta cool for $7,500.

[sd67]

Always wanted to do the same thing but will be living vicariously through you. Will be following the thread though, great deal on that truck!

[Flash68]

Awesome.

A buddy (here on Lat-G) and I did this back in 2014... but we went from Maine to Socal.... in January.... also sight unseen from ebay. A '74 F-350 ramp truck.

We used a Food Network app and a Brewery locator app to take care of the man fuel along the way.

Not matter what happens, you'll have a story to remember (and tell) forever.

Enjoy and be safe.

[ironworks]

Just FYI - They have search engines that search all of craigslist at one time for the same search terms.

http://www.searchtempest.com/

[will69camaro]

Originally Posted by ironworks

Just FYI - They have search engines that search all of craigslist at one time for the same search terms.

http://www.searchtempest.com/

I was thinking the same thing when I was reading the first post.

After that...

CONGRATS! I've always wanted to do this with a classic car! I know when I bought my 99 SS and my Lightning, I was primarily searching out cars from out of town so I could have the experience of the roadtrip when i got it.

I took the 99 SS from Scottsdale, AZ to College Station TX (11-1200 miles) and did that in two days!

I will be following this thread to watch the updates! I agree using a brewery finder and food finder to find interesting local places. Where are you planning your trip through currently? Highway 1 will be awesome in the old truck and definitely memory building. Maybe take a detour on the way and hit up some of the national parks to the East?

William

[rustomatic]

Good timing on your trip--it looks like the weather should be okay. If you're headed south, consider stopping somewhere along the Rogue River, which heads toward Grants Pass going east. What's cool about this section of river is the use of mail boats--these are hot rod jet boats that haul booty and skim the surface of the river (sometimes doing 360s). They run a lot like air boats on swamps in the South, except the scenery along the Rogue is way better. What's even better is that several companies along the Rogue are there to give tours.

There's a lot of good beer along your route as well, if you're into that kind of thing . . .

[WSSix]

Good luck! You've got some pretty country to drive through.

Once you get into California, go down Avenue of the Giants in Humbolt Redwood State Park. It's just off 101. Then find yourself a road that cuts back west to 1. If you're not in a hurry, you can cut back east after coming down the coast to get into wine country. Just be prepared with extra gas. The winding roads through the mountains between 1 and 101 take a while to get through. To me though, it's wonderful scenery around every turn.

I just got back from Northern California and this is what we did for a couple days. Just took our time and enjoyed the scenery.

[spacepirate]

Originally Posted by ironworks

Just FYI - They have search engines that search all of craigslist at one time for the same search terms.

http://www.searchtempest.com/

Oh I used SearchTempest too but I've found it doesn't really hit all the cities.