Back in beige

[jury]

Anyone tell you, you take a mean pic.

Yeah, he's pretty good ain't he

Look forward to seeing things progress Jamie, safe travels to LA !

[jamie]

Starting to look like California now



Lunch at an In-N-Out, of course

[dizzycap]

Awesome car! Awesome trip!

About it looking like a pig and potential restoration: do not be afraid of not touching it. In my opinion it looks great. Make sure it's reasonably reliable, can withstand rain, has interior that does not ruin Significant Other's clothes and you'll have tons of pleasure out of it. From the looks of it, I'd say you're almost there already!

[jamie]

It looks nice, but the floors are rotten, the tops of the sills are rotten and the wings look like crap. It has a nice patina, but I don't imagine it would go through an MOT.

Here are some photos I took up till lunchtime at In-N-Out Burger (a few iPhone 3, a few from the Nikon):





Bit leaky in there:



Not much space, either:



Tach didn't move a mile during the whole trip:







Headlamps were sealed-beam units borrowed from Gray. I couldn't bring myself to fit the chrome trim rings.



Up until the lunch stop, the car had been running well. Bouyed by the smooth progress that had been made, I did a covert victory skid out of the car park, whereby the throttle pedal jammed open and I screamed up the freeway entrance at WOT. It was manageable, so I went with it for 10 minutes (focused the mind somewhat), then pulled-over to investigate. The first bell-crank in the throttle linkage was bent and had wedged under the opening to the tunnel. This is because I hadn't fitted the pedal board and there was no stop for the throttle pedal. Stupid.





I bent it back, but it felt weak. Then the temporary electric fuel pump, tapped into the turn signal feed, blew its fuse:



I swapped some fuses around and continued on:



... but the pedal jammed again. I stopped to play with the linkage, and realised I didn't have any tools with me. Not one. So I used my fingers, and it hurt.



45 minutes of fiddling later, I was back on the road.





Somewhere before Ventura, traffic started to build. I lifted the throttle only to discover it jammed again, only somewhere around 50%. I crawled through the traffic with the power on, using my brakes, hoping they wouldn't catch fire. I eventually made it to a petrol station, whereby I found this...



Fuggin bell-crank completely snapped off. Now what?

Ever checked what motoring repair items a modern petrol station shop has to offer? Absolutely f*** all. No spanners, tie-wraps or even a roll of tape. Then I remembered there was some duct tape in my lighting bag, so I dug it out and constructed this awesome fix:



... which got me to a nearby Lowes, whereupon I bought all the bits I needed to make a proper job of it. Here's the snapped bell-crank, tie-wrapped to the pedal:



An hour or two later I was in Torrence - job done. I booked a hotel.







I got into my hotel room in Torrence about 8pm, around 12 hours after leaving San Ramon.

[hot66]

loving this road trip Jamie

can't wait to see what tomorrow's adventure is

[Mitch]

Love this pic. Great seeing that little quarterlight open along the way too

Sorry to see you had troubles and maybe not the ones you expected... but good use of cable tie technology!

[KS]

Great story! And I love the fact you had chance to stop and respray the car Leaf Green, too. Much better

[jamie]

You're right. Flouro lights + tungsten white balance.

[Mike]

Anyone tell you, you take a mean pic.

Yeah Jamie's a great photographer, this one's my personal favorite

Fantastic read and looks a great trip, well done that man!

[jb]

It is so good to have you back with us.
It sounds like a full-on adventure you are having there.
Duct tape and ties seem to be just the most useful tools you can carry.
BTW What is the story with the Rebel. Is it not in England?

[jamie]

Yeah Jamie's a great photographer, this one's my personal favorite

Shot this one through a stocking using a Rolleiflex and Fuji Portra 100T, +2/3 on the clip test and printed on silk by Italian hermit photo-monks.

[jamie]

BTW What is the story with the Rebel. Is it not in England?

Hi Jason. It's in the UK. AAIB accident report might be out by now if you search for the reg - G-BWFZ.

I really need to get on with it!

[jb]

I found it and it looks great in an old picture but it seems to have bitten a few pilots over the years!
You be careful in it.

[jamie]

Yeah - something about someone shockloading the old O-235 Lyc that was in it, and not getting it checked out.

I can't explain the last crash though - I think he mushed it in. It's high-cambered wing, so I suspect that when it stalls, it stalls good and proper.

[Mike]

Shot this one through a stocking using a Rolleiflex and Fuji Portra 100T, +2/3 on the clip test and printed on silk by Italian hermit photo-monks.

Ah, that explains it, the stocking should have been over the lens, not your head!