Adam and David's Excellent Adventure

August 2006, after only 215,000 short miles my 1986 Honda Civic Wagon blew its head gasket. Since Rama (my cat) and I were in Richmond the smart thing to do was to leave the car down there and borrow Lee's (Fran's father) van for our return to NY. The Honda had cost me $2,500 when Fran bought it from her cousin Branch so that's the price I started looking at. I checked thousands of used car and dealership ads over the internet and learned that the market had changed over the last 14 years.

Honda Civic Wagon 1986 - 2006

You can still get a car for $2,500 but only if you get a middle aged (10 year old) Ford Bronco or other gas guzzler. If you want a compact you can get cars like a Neon or Geo but only if they are on the far side of 150,000 miles. I realized that I needed to decide what I wanted in my new car – small and easy to park, reliable transportation, good gas mileage and enough room for a passenger, Rama with his litter box and a reasonable amount of luggage.

I found a dealership in Maryland that was selling a nice 1983 Jaguar XK6 for $3,500 with a 3,000 mile warranty, so I started looking at Jaguars! I spoke to my quasi-semi cousin (another story) David who has several old cars (a Packard, an Alpine, a Crosley etc.) and he suggested that I look on eBay for an Alpine. I saw that eBay motors has a pop-up menu listing cars by make (Honda, Ford etc). One night I just started with Acura, sorted by price and looked at all the cars for under $3,000. Then I did the same for Alfa Romeo. By the time I had worked to the end of the list (Willys) I had a selection of cars that I liked and fit all my needs.

David suggested the MGB GT as something easy to maintain. Tracking the offers I found out that 1967 was the best year for GTs. In 1968 they had to be modified (Federalized) for emission controls and after that the labor unrest in Britain resulted in poor workmanship.

I bid on what seemed like a great car, "original paint, never in an accident, original seats, no rust" etc. I called and was told the reserve was $5,000 but I bid anyway. I won the auction with a bid of $3,202.03 however that was below the reserve price so there was no sale. Friday September 8, 2006 I agreed to pay $4,500 on the condition that if the car was not good enough I could void the sale on picking it up... in Hot Springs, Arkansas!

David had a load of papermaking equipment (a beater, a press and a drying box) to deliver to Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia so a simple plan was hatched. He would rent a 6 by 12 foot trailer from uHaul and load his equipment on it. Mid/late afternoon on Tuesday September 12 he would drive his van (with the trailer) to Richmond while I drove Lee's van down. We would spend the night in Richmond and I would return the van to Lee. Wednesday morning we would drive (in David's van) to Longwood and unload the equipment and continue to Ashville, North Carolina so we could sleep at my sister's place. Thursday we would look at a building that Donna David's wife and my real quasi-semi cousin) was interested in and then drive towards Hot Springs, stay in a cheap hotel overnight and get my car on Friday morning.

I would drive my car the first hour or so and then switch with David, after that we would load the car on the trailer and shoot straight up Interstate 81 to NY. Since it is a 19 hour drive we would alternate driving and sleeping and probably spend Saturday night in a motel and arrive back to NY on Sunday in time for David to return the trailer and be fresh to teach at FIT on Monday.

The trip would be a relaxing tour of the South, sampling BBQ all along the way and perhaps we could see a few sites like the Grand Ole Oprey and Graceland. Before the 30 day "temp tag" on my car expired I would drive back down to Richmond and get the Title on the new car transferred to me, get it inspected etc. I would also handle donating the old Honda to a worthy cause.

Ever hear the expression, "Man plans and God laughs"?

Crosley and Drying box in front of David's shop (Sunbeam on lift inside)

Tuesday afternoon, I get Lee's van out of the garage and drive out to David's workshop in Brooklyn. I'm almost ready but the beater is not. I arrange for insurance coverage for my new car, tie up a few loose ends and then pitch in with getting the beater finished. Progress happens slowly, while loading the trailer I measure the loading gate. It is 56 inches wide. I check the internet... my car is 59 inches wide – oops!

Andy tying down the Press on the trailer

Finally we are ready to roll... at 3:19 AM Wednesday. Realizing that you can no longer take trailers through the Holland Tunnel we go to the Lincoln Tunnel instead, unfortunate but it only adds a little more the an hour to the trip. I wonder why they feel the need to give more protection to the Holland Tunnel (Canal Street) instead of the Lincoln Tunnel (Times Square).

We drive until 5 AM and sleep in the Molly Pritchard rest stop on the Jersey Turnpike. We awake 40 miles from NY instead of 335 miles. Off we go, slowly due to the loaded trailer. We get to Richmond, VA around 1 PM, park Lee's van in front of the house, have a quick chat with Lee and Mary, then drive to Farmville. It starts to rain but not hard enough to slow us down any further. Pull into Longwood at 4 PM and unload the equipment. This goes very smoothly with the help of several students. By the time we get done setting up the machines and demonstrating their usage its 7 PM. What the heck, we can trade off driving, the trailer is empty and we head towards Ashville, NC. We make good time until we the rain starts – pouring – hard – really hard. Yahoo said it is a 6.5 hour drive but it takes us just over 9 hours. Thursday morning at 5:15 AM and we finally crawl into bed at Sarah's.

David petting Ralph on Sarah's porch in Asheville, NC

Up a little after 10 and into the shower'the first in 74 hours. I decide that the discovery of fire was important but only as a way for mankind to enjoy the miracle of hot water. I check email, David calls the broker about the building Donna wants us to see and we head out in time to have breakfast at 2 PM. We find a place called "Fat Buddies", it is the first BBQ of the trip, mediocre despite our hunger and the last BBQ until I'm back in Richmond.

We look at the building and another one across the street. Before we head out if town why not cruise around and get a feel for the neighborhood while I call uHaul and see if we can exchange the trailer for a car transport or at least drop it off? Because you just might wind up at the bottom of a hill, with no room to turn around and unable to back up because the wheels just spin on the leaves and acorns covering the pavement.

While David keeps trying to back up the hill, uHaul agrees that we can drop off the trailer – but only if we pay double the round trip contract price! Eventually a man comes out of his house to watch and I walk up his driveway to ask if he has any suggestions. He tells me how the hill is impossible when ever it rains or snows. Several years ago he had a dirt track made behind his house so he would not be stuck with guest that had gotten snowed in. I call David who drives up the driveway but before he can go around the house we see that the van is hemorrhaging transmission fluid.

We make it to a gas station, buy a few quarts of transmission fluid and get directions to a transmission shop. The directions don't work for us and we just make it into the parking lot of a convenience store before we the last of the fluid dribbles out. It is ten minutes until 5 PM and everything seems bleak until we look diagonally across the street and see Tri-City Transmissions. They are very nice and seem competent so we leave the van and trailer with them and head off to Hertz. I rent a car, one way to Arkansas, 24 hours for $117 - which becomes $206 when we return it.

Loretta Lynn's Kitchen (Buffalo, Tennessee)

David with Lorretta's Buffalo

My turn!

Driving and sleeping in shifts we make it to Hot Spring in 12 hours and 50 minutes, have breakfast and go find my car. I'm buying it from the owner of JagEnterprises whose name is Troy Munchrief but might as well be named Bubba since he is a "good ol boy", genial and yet as dishonest as the day is long.

The car is really nice but not as advertised... it is not the original paint or seats, the bonnet (hood) has been replaced, it has some minor rust and the starter is jammed. However it is still well worth the price. If he had been honest I would have taken it anyway but this way he had to include several hundred dollars worth of parts. Before we leave Hot Springs we replace the wiper blades on the car, get a case of oil and a few other car supplies.

I drive my MG and David follows in the rental car, for 70 miles, towards the airport in Little Rock since that it the closest Hertz place. Along the way we discover that my gas indicator has two settings – half full and totally empty. I coast into a BP station and after that we decide to just top up every few hours. We drop off the rental car, shift everything to the MG and are on the way back to Ashville by 3:15 PM Friday afternoon. Since we can share the driving we make good time.

At sunset we are just crossing the Mississippi and I see that Memphis has a pyramid.

Around 10 PM we fill the gas tank in Longview, Tennessee – after getting some snacks I notice a growing puddle under the car. Oil perhaps? No, its gasoline! The "Banjo Bolt" (between the fuel pump and the engine) is leaking but David figures out what to do. He buys some "Cold Steel" (putty) and covers the leak. After 20 minutes it has set and the gasoline has stopped leaking so we set off again. By 1:30 AM I can't take anymore and pull into the Loretta Lynn/Hank Williams Rest Stop. I haven't got the heart to wake David so we just sleep there until 7ish.

Zipping along we got back to Ashville in time to pick up the repaired van and trailer. We spend sometime getting my radio to work and adjusting a few things on the car. Since we now have to drive in convoy instead of shifts we plan on going to Richmond and sleeping there Saturday night. We head East on US 40 to Durham and then North on US 85. Walking back to the cars at a rest stop David notices that the front right tire on the MG is flat so I get to learn how to change a tire. We also find out that the spare is a larger tire then the other four – way to go Bubba!

Shortly after Midnight, almost to the Virginia border and desperate for sleep, we pull into the Bates Motel.

Luckily Mother is on duty instead of Norman.

We wake up early, have the second shower of the trip and off we go, getting into Richmond about 10 AM Sunday. David continues on to NY and gets back in time to return the trailer. I stay in Richmond so I can get the tube in the flat tire fixed as well as getting the car registered and inspected. After I take a nap I visit my friend Harry Davis and take him for a spin to my cousin Harry's place. Along the way Harry D. shows me where the local MG expert is (Mercer and Woodson). Everyone loves the car.

Monday morning and Lee is going to follow me to the garage but the starter is jammed again! I call AAA and to get it towed Mercer and Woodson, which is exactly on the 3 mile limit, and upgrade to AAA Plus. We drop off the car and head to the DMV. My clerk is very nice but no one has much experience with transferring title on a 39 year old car from California (Troy had not bothered getting it transferred to him in Arkansas).

I decide to not get Antique plates since that would restrict my usage and she starts totaling the charges. I make a mistake and say "$35 for Sales Tax? I bought it out of state – there should be no tax!". She tries to remove the charge, can't, and rabbits off to the expert. He comes back and asks how long I have had the car and I tell him that I just got it on Friday. He glowers and says "How did you get it from California so quickly?" With a straight face, I said that the dealer put it in a shipment of cars going to Arkansas and I picked it up from his buddy in Hot Springs. After a few tense moments he says "OK" and I get my new Title, Registration and License Plates.

Back at the house, I talk to Harry Davis who is interested in trying to fix the Honda so I bring it over to him and sign it over. Now that I have disposed of the Honda and removed the license plate I can call the insurance company and get it off my policy. I pick up the MG from Mercer and Woodson, where the flat has been fixed and it passed the annual State Inspection, my car is now totally legal. I'm relieved when they say I got a very good deal on the car. I haven't got the energy to drive back to NY so I spend Monday night in Richmond.

Tuesday morning I see my friend Boardman Bell and meet his girlfriend Mary. I leave for NY at 11:30ish. In Maryland I discover that if I go beyond a certain speed the hood pops open - no damage! I have no idea what that speed is since the Speedometer doesn't work but the Tachometer does. I watch the RPMs when I'm in Overdrive and finally get home at 6:30 PM.

New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, DC, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas. Nine states, 2357.9 miles in 8 days, lots of junk food and some great grits at Huddles (like Waffle House but not as classy).

MGB GT = My Girl Be Great Transportation!

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