running the numbers

[iridium]

google tells me that Charleston to DC is a bit over 11 hours, which may be more than i can manage alone in one day. Charleston to Durham is pretty much on the way, and is ~6 hours. *sigh* i was hoping to borrow/rent a car and make it to Georgia, Asheville, & Durham between Saturday and Wednesday, then drive straight up to DC as soon as Matilda's ready, but doing all of that may be beyond my capabilities. i'll very likely go back out to Bowman/Peyton Ferry this weekend, and i might make it out to Asheville, but i'm not sure.

sholladay, you up for a visit sometime either this weekendish, early next week, or late next week? if Matilda's ready to go by the end of the workday on Wednesday, i may head out up the east coast on Thursday...

also, i need to check and see if a new/rebuilt engine requires any particular sort of care for breaking it in.

current extremely-tentative schedule:
today - 4/22 or 23: charleston
4/22-3 - 4/25: middle-of-nowhere, GA; maybe asheville
4/26: charleston
4/27: to durham
4/28: to DC
4/29: to NYC
4/30: in NYC
5/1: to boston
5/2 - 5/12-13: in boston (roast = 5/5-7)
5/13-16: boston to minneapolis-ish(not sure of route; might include syracuse, oberlin, ann arbor/ypsilanti, chicago; also tempted by niagara falls and little canadian highways)
5/17: house on the rock, minneapolis
5/18: to badlands
5/19: badlands (also: devil's tower, mt rushmore, what else?)
5/20: to yellowstone
5/21-22: yellowstone
5/23-25: to seattle (might shift this around to get up to Glacier NP, if it's open)
5/26-27: seattle
5/28: to portland
5/29-30: portland (might shift this to spend more time on the coast drive)
5/31-6/1: to oakland, as much of the coast drive as possible.
6/5: start work again

Comments

[nacht_musik]

Looks like a rebuilt engine does indeed require special care to ensure a long life. Checking the oil frequently, having the oil changed at specific points, and a bunch of advice about avoiding constant RPMs and possibly about avoiding "long trips". I don't know if the "long trip" advice is more about the tendency on a long trip to have your engine RPMs stay at the same (lowish) levels for long periods of time, or about running your engine hot rather than cold; I'd suggest asking your mechanic.

I expect that instructions for such a big older-technology engine may differ some from the advice for current engines, but having googled for ["rebuilt engine" "break in" -motorcycle], here are some of the links: engines, motorcycle engines, and some random yahoos going on about engine break-in.

Regarding long trips, I take some encouragement from a comment made by some random yahoo in that last link, about how he did well "driving this way across Kansas for the first 500 miles - no normal driving, just repeated acceleration and coasting". (You should read the link for details...)

[iridium.livejournal.com]

changing the oil frequently sounds like a good idea. for the rest...i'm going to ask my mechanic for detailed instructions, i think, and figure out how that fits into the roadtrip. if i have to do a lot of break-in driving and then get things checked out again, i may not leave Charleston as early as i'd hoped. i know the engine has been run & tested at the factory, but i don't know how far that goes towards proper break-in.

"repeated acceleration and coasting" makes me feel kinda motion-sick, just reading it. *sigh*

...in any case, if you know a good mechanic in Boston, or know someone who might know a mechanic who's good with older cars, pass the info on this way.

erg.

[plymouth.livejournal.com]

I know a good mechanic in Cohasset, which is about 40 min outside of Boston. He took care of syren72 before I drove cross-country to move out here and I had no problems with her (other than the known problem of oil consumption which I am putting off dealing with). But that's definitely outside public transit range of the city so you'd need to carpool there somehow and I imagine you can find someone closer. If you can't though I can give you his info. My family took all their cars to him for years.

[iridium.livejournal.com]

thanks...i'll let you know, if i'm in need of a mechanic near boston. much appreciated!

[iridium.livejournal.com]

"rebuilt engine does indeed require special care to ensure a long life"

*laugh*...really, that's true of any engine, or complicated machinery. while i'll believe that some cars are driven through the break-in period at the factory, you're generally supposed to do break-in driving with new cars as well, and changing the oil and checking the fluids regularly is always always always important.

one good thing about this last bit of the drive -- it's gotten me more into the habit of popping the hood at gas stops.

[nacht_musik]

Indeed. (Though I meant to say "special break-in care".)