ChiliPepperGarage

Last summer I bought a 30K miles C5 Z06 out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and drove it home about 2500 miles. I stuck to mostly two lanes and it was an amazing trip. I posted a thread about it in the C5 section.

I now want to do a long cross country trip in my C3. I have to do some work to it first to make it reliable for the trip and am considering a trans swap so it has an overdrive. Either an auto or preferably a 5 speed manual but not sure if it is worth the cost and effort (it has a T350 now). Will also need the a/c working and cruise control installed.

Let's here your road trip stories for some inspiration!

OldCarBum

I hope this thread takes off, it could have some good story lines and pictures.

Rowdy Rat

I used to have a 1969 L-89 convertible that I drove EVERYWHERE!

Bought the car in Tennessee and drove it home to Pennsylvania to start everything off. Made trips to Orlando, FL, Springfield, IL, Effingham, IL, Collinsville, IL, Boston, MA, Bowling Green, KY, and Cincinnati, OH to name a few. I put about 50,000 miles on the car in the years that I owned it. Only issue I ever had was tossing the fan through the radiator on my trip home from Cincinnati… Fortunately did it about 25 miles from a restoration shop run by a couple buddies of mine outside of Pittsburgh so it was a short trailer ride back to their shop. Lots of great times in that car!

Edited the post to add this photo. This was taken on my trip to Bowling Green, KY… This is in Paris, KY outside of the dealership that originally sold the car back in July of 1969 (then called Sam Cummins Chevrolet).

Attachment 48331676

Car was a stock L-89 with 11 to 1 compression, M-21 four speed, and 4.11 rear… No overdrive needed or wanted.

Regards,

Stan Falenski

ED DINAPOLI

I have always been an advocate of driving your corvettes. I am the original owner of a 72 base motor AC 4 speed corvette. I drove this car every day in NJ for 2 years, took it off the road in 1975 (babies came along). The car today is like new, winning every NCRS award except (Bow Tie). I just drove it to the NCRS National from NJ to Mobile Al, 1345 miles. The car performed flawlessly, during the 95 degree drive, even the AC. I had the car Judged (for the last time), in Mobile and received a raw score of 98.3 (no driving points), and a total score of 100%. I also had a 67 purchased new, and drove that every day for its entire life of 118,000 miles . Vacationed from NJ to Fl and Nova Scotia. Maintain them and drive them. Sorry be being long winded.
Ed

Rowdy Rat

Ed,

If I remember correctly, didn’t you receive the Sam Folz award for longest driven Top Flight car at one of the NCRS National events?

Regards,

Stan Falenski

ED DINAPOLI

Hello Stan,
I sure miss you. Hope you are well. Yes Sam Foltz at Novi, Michigan in 2011, drove 1963 miles. Had the car judge their for a Top Flight, I think 97.3 raw score. After that trip I did not want to get back in the vette for a while. My wife is a trooper as she comes on all the Road Tours. The only thing that concerns me with driving any distance anymore, is a break down that I could not perform a fix on the road, and who I would get to work on a 51 year old car. I getting to old to just start throwing wrenches on the side of the road.
Ed

4-vettes

In the fall of 08. I hopped in my 77 C3 with little if any preparation. Headed down to Saint Louis Mo. To visit cousins and friends before I left the country. (Left from Wisconsin) headed up through South Dakota , Wyoming, Idaho, into Washington state to visit my Son in northern Washington state. Then down US 1 to LA to drop my car off at the shippers. Well over 4,000 miles as I remember. I had 3 issues on the trip. About 40 miles out of Wall South Dakota my gen light came on and my volt gauge dropped to battery voltage.
****!
Pulled off the freeway into Wall South Dakota. Found the main power ring connector on my Alternator had snapped off. There was a hardware store in Wall. Bought a package of ring connectors and a crimper. And with the leatherman I always keep in the car got it repaired.
coming down the mountains in Washington state heading towards Seattle. My left rear exhaust bracket broke. Exhaust striking the ground on bumps. Nursed it to my Sons home north of Seattle like this. Got it to a exhaust shop the next morning. Told them my story. They welded my bracket for free and wished me a safe trip.
last issue was a door panel screw that came loose just north of LA. Made a rattling sound and was annoying. Leatherman fixed it up.
loaded my car in a container. Got on a plane and headed to the other side of the planet.
several months later my car arrived as ships are slower that jet aircraft. It came out of the container, the clock still kept perfect time. It fired right up and I drove it to it's new home.
Would love to post photos but I am certain that was several computers ago and most have been lost.
was a heak of a drive.
Always wanted to drive my Vette down US1 and see the giant redwoods. Got to do it.
great memories.

doorgunner

I want to reserve a spot in this thread...just in case I finish my basketcase '68 project this year



That reminds me...since my car was a basketcase I enlarged the cargo area to hold suitcases, tool box (with bearing puller), and 2 jack stands, along with spare parts...JUST IN CASE...I learned how to replace Rear and Front wheel bearings

Mako72

I bought my '72 in 1974 from an owner in the metro St. Louis, MO area where I live. In 1975 I drove it west and spent a whole summer in the San Francisco area. End of summer, I drove south to LA then back home via the southern route.
Drove it locally thru the years. Around 2007 my boy was old enough to see over the dash and I started running the Hot Rod Power Tours with him. I installed a 383 and Tremec 5-sp overdrive trans which really helped. I ran the HRPT events 2007 thru 2015 and put thousands of miles on the car. During those years I also attended an annual veterans charity event at the Talledega Superspeedway driving the car down to Alabama and back to St. Louis each year. Each year the car would hit speeds 140-145 on the track. Thru all the miles and years I have driven the car, it's been dead reliable, it has never stranded me but once. Only time it ever got trailered was when I broke a halfshaft ujoint drag racing it at St. Louis Gateway dragstrip. It's just been a great car. I'm around 130,000 miles on her now. I don't do long distance anymore with it, those duties have been taken over with a '17 GS.

Dirty Dalton

1977 Cross-country trip

As it says. Mass to Colorado, Arizona and Utah, then up to Yellowstone. Next leg to Coos Bay, Oregon. Then to SF, next to LA, and the last, before home, LA to Watkins Glen, NY.

Some fun times along the way! No other multi-day trips. Montreal once, Owl's Head, Maine, twice.

Stroh

Respect. Gotta give you guys big props on being able to endure those seats for hundreds of miles. I love cruisin.' And I really like a road trip, but several hours in original seats in a stock c3 was a bit much for my narrow ****. (I do plan on some longer ones in my restomod with c5 seats in my 70 -- which are great, by the way.) A couple hour tour along the Michigan coast is typically all I could handle in the c3.




I did do a top down convertible c5 tour of the upper half of Michigan's Lower Peninsula (Traverse City, M22, Boyne, M119, Cross Village, Petoskey and Harbor Springs) Absolutely Beautiful. We did the B&B thing, and I sweat the car did improve the experience 200%.

Tom69

On our first major trip in the C3 we did the Rt. 66 run. Heading east on I-40, we were about 30 miles west of Albuquerque when suddenly a "Thump, Thump,Thump" started. Pulled into a Firestone to have the tires checked. We had the beginnings of a tread separation in progress, and also learned that my tires were more than seven years old (yep...my fault)! So in the photo below the C3 is proudly waiting for a set of Coopers.

Then to add insult to injury, for the third time on that trip I had a trim ring pop off. I carried a rubber mallet (no, I'm not related to Pelosi's husband's attacker) to religiously tap the trim rings after every stop. Well...I had a trim ring fatality. While coming to a stop I heard the familiar "clink" followed by the rear of the car briefly bouncing up. When the right front trim ring separated, it was promptly squashed by the rear tire.

After the 6,000 mile round trip, the first thing I did was to buy chrome wheels for the C3.

Tom

Dirty Dalton

Well that sounds a challenge! Somehow, in the Summer of 1977 I’d finagled 4-weeks vacation. That seemed ample for a 6,000 mile trip to California and back. Two problems presented themselves:

· Gas budget

· The seats weren’t even fit for a buckboard



Autoweek provided the solution for the second problem with an add for some seats. I ordered a pair and, low and behold, they actually pretty much fit. Comfy, too.


Use left first, when all else fails, the right is Purple K

I don't have a picture showing the entirety of the seats at this time.

The first problem was more daunting, but I hit upon the idea of advertising for a rider, splitting the expense. An add in the Boston Phoenix, I think it was, caught the attention of one inclined to join me on the venture, but only as far as Coos Bay, Oregon. Not perfect, but a fair subsidy.



We left shortly after Labor Day figuring to minimize traffic and sleeping accommodation issues. My goal on day one was to make it to Colorado. Somewhere in Kansas a cop took offense at this pair, top down, with a Massachusetts plate, travelling more or less with traffic, at about 75 mph (speed limit, back then, was 55). That got me a ticket, $50 cash, and a warning that the next ticket would be $100, cash. I’d only brought $100 in travelers checks… We ended up sleeping on the side of I-70, still in Kansas.

Spiffed up and ready to go!

The morning after spending the night on the side of I 70 in Kansas.

I'd planned to make Colorado the first day, but, as noted in previous pic, we spent the night sleeping in a rest area on the side of I-70. That was because a Kansas Statie couldn't take the idea of two in a Corvette, top down, Mass plates, more or less :-) keeping up with traffic. $50 cash, and a 'warning' that the next time would be $100, and I'd only brought $100 in travellers checks.... The rest of Kansas was VVVVEEEEERRRRYYYYY LLLLOOONNNGGG.


Next stop, Denver. My rider had a contact there, and we got to sleep in real beds. Then into Rocky Mountain National Park. Oh poor Piggy, jetted for 10’, LOL, really struggled at 14,000 feet. We were like a WWII destroyer laying a smoke screen, especially when starting. We stopped with some frequency to take in views, get a bit of a hike, etc. We spent the night in my tent.





My tent in the foreground, somewhere in Rocky Mountain National Park. (And if anyone can ID any of the above pictures - 1977 was a long time ago.








Next was off to Telluride, via Leadville. Somewhere in here, thanks to my rider’s knowledge, we took in a hot spring. I need to look at my slides to get the time line correct. Ignoring that aspect, at the hot spring there was a person from Hingham, MA, who knew my cousin. Small world.



























The blue building, that was the lodge we stayed at, sleeping on the floor.

That's the road I walked up. Note vehicle at right side.

In Telluride we slept on the floor of a large inn pictured above. It was cheap, we had pads, and got to use the sauna. Took a hike one day, and the next off to Arizona and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.



















I think this will do for the Grand Canyon. I've got lots more!

Going North on 89, IIRC, we were driving well over the limit :-D, then onto 89A, still cranking, when all of a sudden all hell broke loose, the radar detector flew off the dash, and I hit the brakes, hard. Look at a map, 89A takes a hard left; those rumble strips kept me from tunneling straight into the cliff face. I think we spent two days at the North rim, and then off to Zion. For those who haven’t been to Zion, there is a tunnel, and there’s nothing like a nice motor and an empty tunnel.












Next stop, Yellowstone, but my rider was getting nervous that we would not get to Coos Bay on time to make the first day of class. We stopped at a bus stop in Salt Lake, and between the fare and schedule, the decision was made to stick with me.















Yellowstone proved ‘unfriendly’ as in snow, and other than crossing paths again with a couple we’d met previously, we were heading for Coos Bay after one night in my tent.

Some where at a food stop in Idaho, the waitress asked where we were headed, and when we said we’d be going through a place I don’t remember – “Oh, the cruising is so great there!” We crossed much of Idaho on Rt 20. For those who’ve not been on it, there is not much there. It was getting dark – passing through one town I figured no need to stop for gas, yet. Got to the next town. Closed. Got to the next town. Closed. This happened several times, but we were getting closer to Mountain Home, the Interstate, and clearly open gas stations. Finally I decided it was better to stop in a community with at least some gas, than end up empty, on the side of the road, who knew where.

I don’t remember the cross roads, but probably 50 to 100 miles from Mountain Home. All the gas stations were closed. But the bars were open, and surely someone could tell us where there was one open… Nope. But there was a solution. Someone called the Sheriff, and we were told to go to a particular gas station and wait. We did. And wait. Then I heard the Sheriff on the CB calling his deputy to bring the key to the no-lead pump to where we waited. I was unsuccessful in getting their attention to the fact that I didn’t want no-lead.

By now it’s probably midnight, or there abouts. It was cold and the top was up. We were dozing when the Deputy arrived – standing on the pump island he looked about 10’ tall. And, yes, he had the key to the no-lead pump. Using my flash light I looked into the tank, said a prayer, and I think I took 3 gallons and figured that would see us to Mountain Home. It did!

We tanked up and headed West on I-84, to maybe Ontario, and set off across Oregon, after midnight, and discovered quite promptly that we’d probably not find an open gas station across Oregon on that road ( Rt 20, maybe), at that hour. We settled on a wide spot on the road and attempted to get some shut eye in the car. You may wonder at this, but we were right a RR crossing. Made for a rude awakening. After that train went by we pulled up stakes and went further down the road to another wide spot.

We had breakfast at a little diner, ‘The Worst Food in Oregon’. It was good and, IIRC, the cook/owner was from Fall River, Massachusetts. The kid made it to Coos Bay, we spent a night in Corvallis, and then I was off to San Francisco, where a friend was living. That got me a real bed again!






My first view of the Pacific Ocean



A few more from Oregon





Next photo will be in California. Another stupid thing - Other than Colorado, I have no pictures of crossing state lines.









Next was LA. In with the spare in the tub, I had 4 unique ‘bicycle’ tyres which I was delivering to someone I no longer remember, who needed them for some sort of 4 wheeled toy. I remember 3 were alike, and one was the same size, but different brand, but beggars can’t be choosers. (At the time I worked for Raleigh Bicycles, and this guy had contacted Raleigh looking for these oddball tires of this old Raleigh product.)



Another stop was to John Bond’s. Yes, that John Bond, and his wife Elaine. He had also written to Raleigh with some steel questions about parts in the 3-speed hubs that were in use at the time. I answered his question, and noted that I’d be heading to California later, and he invited me to stop by for a visit.



I spent several days in Huntington Beach with neighbors from my childhood, and then it was time to head home.



I left Huntington Beach at about Noon, heading East on I-40. Next stop, Watkins Glen, NY. It was mighty hot across to Needles and the Arizona border. Somewhere along the line I picked up a hitch hiker. The shift lever was nearly too hot to touch, and when I stopped for gas I sprayed water on the radiator to cool the engine down. I have no idea where I dropped the hitch hiker.



My first stop of any duration was in Amarillo, TX. The day was breaking, and there was considerable fog, so I figured if I’m going to stop, might as well be when the visibility is poor. Some where in Oklahoma or Kansas I picked up a six of Coors – still a mystique beer on the East Coast. My next nap was taken after I’d made a pit stop, and no longer having a near overflowing bladder, I couldn’t keep my eyes open. This was somewhere in Illinois or Indiana, I don’t remember.



I made it into the Watkins Glen camp ground, found my friends at our usual spot, around about 5:00. Not bad, for doing it solo. I couldn’t manage anything close to that today!



And the Coors beer? It got stolen!
If you want more pix, that's real work. The ones posted are pix of projected slides. Now I have a gizmo, but there's no time in the immediate future for me to digitize a bunch of slides.

It was quite an adventure, and the car ran quite flawless.

ChiliPepperGarage

Some great stories here.

One thing though, most take place back in the '70s when both our cars and we were young. I've done tons of long road trips in all kinds of cars over the years. Some of these trips were in old hot rods (like my avatar) that were loud, hot and uncomfortable making a C3 feel like a luxury car.

I'm now 66 and have gotten quite accustomed to the creature comforts of newer cars. The trip in my C5 was amazing as that is a modern car and with only 30K miles on it, I didn't worry about mechanical issues. It would make way more sense to take that car but there is just something about driving an older car on a road trip. On the Z06 trip I took my time and just drove as far as I felt comfortable with no schedule. I suppose doing the same in the C3 with lower expectations on the miles I could roll each day would make it easier.

Here is a link to my Z06 trip:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...to-me-z06.html

Stephen Irons

I noticed that most of the trips above were when the cars were relatively new.

We didn't start doing more "interesting" trips until our '78 was about 20 years old. Living in Kent, South East England, we travelled around the county to various events and shows etc, but in 1997 we made our first cross-Chanel trip, with a long weekend in Belgium and The Netherlands. Within a year or two we were going over to the Continent 3 or 4 times a year, racking up 500-600 miles each time, and close to 1000 miles for our annual Le Mans 24 Hour weeks.
In 2004 we moved to France, 40 miles south of Le Mans. The Corvette Club France organises a number of long-weekends each year for its members , in a different part of the country each time. With the exception of the north east of the country, we have now been to all four corners and most of the centre of France! Most of the weekends mean at least 700 miles, often more. A week in the Camargue was 1100 miles.
In September 2021 Autumn Rallye was in the French Alps. We drove from home to Albertville over two days, about 250 a day taking a scenic route. On the first "official" day of weekend we travelled on the fabulous D925 to Beaufort (for a visit to the cheese making co-op there) and then continued on the D925 via the Lac de Roselend and on over the Cormet de Roselend (1967m).








We travelled down to Bourg St Maurice and on to the D902, which we followed to the Barrage de Tignes, and a tour of the village and dam.
From there, on to Tignes le Lac, for our overnight stop.
The next morning we awoke to this




But never mind - we had an easy day ahead, all we needed to do was cross Europe's highest paved pass, the Col de L'Iseran (2770m) - in the snow!







One the southern side of the pass the snow cleared and we made a safe descent to Bonneval
​​​​​​Then it was onto more Alpine high roads to the Lac de Mont Cenis, our final stop, for Sunday lunch.


From there it was a short drive to drop down into Italy, so we had to do that of course, staying at a fab little hotel!


Then back into France and we followed part of the Route des Alps towards Briancon, then Grenoble and Macon, before turning west and heading home.





In April 2022 we were in Brittany and in September '22 Charente Maritime and the Il d'Oleron.

This April we visit The Somme valley in the spring, And the Dordogne in September.

But in May we will participate in a one day rallye form Paris to Deauville - a Corvette 70th Anniversary celebration event, with over 50 Corvettes so far, from every generation.

The old '78 has stayed reliable for all our trips, so I hope that continues as it turns 45 years old!

doorgunner

You members have posted some great New and Old Pics!

IF SOME of us would finish our projects ( ) there would be alot more recent road trip pics in this great thread!

Just saying.

interpon

wow .... just wow

grady white

did I meet you at the NCRS judging meet in Rahway nj in November .. did you own the blue 72

grady white

did a road trip in my 68 in 1982 from New York to Arizona and back Well I have to say worst trip I have ever taken!! That car broke down in every state in between . When the AC blew up my buddy couldn’t take it anymore so he left me and flew back to ny . I limped into Scottsdale found the closest car dealer ditched it and flew back home .. 2 years later with my same friend I took my Camaro RS/SS on the same trip the car ran flawlessly and we had a ball ..

doorgunner

Grady White...that sounds like Harley Davidsons...you either love 'Em or you hate 'Em.