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04-23-2023, 01:43 PM
Hey guys - just got back from my road trip to the Lonestar Roundup in Austin. If you are in to old school hot rods and kustoms this show is a must see. The venue is the Travis County expo center and the variety of cool cars that show up has to be seen to be believed - there really is something for everyone.
The weather forecast was dismal, but I had already booked the room and registered for the event and decided to chance it.
I thought I had the hard top sealed up fairly well but I have no wipers. We were sticking to 2 lane back roads for the trip up there (about 150 mi.) so I wasn't too worried. I just really wanted a chance to drive the car away from the city and traffic where you can have some fun with it.
I applied a fresh coat of Rainx to the windshield and we hit the road.
The drive up was pretty uneventful except for 1 thing - I'll be damned if it didn't trip the fuel pump inertia switch again, while making a high speed pass around a big truck. Hard on the gas in 4th gear,
I swing out and around the truck and about the time we are cutting back in to our lane the car just loses power. I have the small hand held display for the Holley ecu stuck to my dash and see the fuel pressure go to zero so I knew exactly what happened. It did the exact same thing last year on the same stretch of road. Anyways, we coast to a stop about 1/4 mile down the road, I jump out, pop the trunk, hit the button, jump in and burn rubber. I'm sure the truck driver is wondering what is going on with this goofy SOB. Last time it happened there was a rough patch of pavement as I was passing but this time I didn't really notice anything unusual, although the botts dots do produce a pretty good vibration as you cross them at speed. That is the only times there has ever been an issue with this thing. I think I am going to replace the switch.
One other issue that popped up was when we were getting ready to hit the road the next morning, I drug the bottom of the radiator on the center of the gravel driveway and put a nice dent in the bottom of the tank. Luckily it didn't crack or start leaking (yet) so we were able to continue on our way.
The hot rod seemed to draw quite a bit of attention at the show and around town, not only because of the appearance but because of the sound emanating from the uncapped headers. I have some baffles installed and turnouts on the headers and it really brings out the sound of the cam. It really does sound rowdy and is great fun to drive around like that , at least for a little while. More than once I had somebody approach at the gas station and want to know what it was and proclaim it was the coolest car they had ever seen...lol
The sheet metal interior was also something that a lot of folks seemed to like.
The car ran great on the road and the ideal cruise speed seems to be about 75-80. At 2200 rpm, you are running 85mph with the tko in 5th (.64 ) gear , a 3.73 rear end, and 29 in tall tires. In fact I got my best gas mileage (18.5) on a stretch of hwy 71 between Austin and Houston where a large part of the way the speed limit is 75mph and the flow of traffic is 75 - 85. Around town though, the mileage drops to almost half - ouch!
The small gas tank, ensures that fairly frequent stops are required which provides some welcome relief from the noise and a chance to stretch.
We ended up really lucking out on the weather , only catching one small shower while out on the road and none while at the show. However, while out to dinner thursday night, all hell broke loose. The forecasted thundershowers finally arrived and there was no way I was going to attempt to navigate downtown Austin traffic during the downpour occurring. Finally, we got a lull in the rain and decided to make a run for it back to the hotel about 15 - 20 minutes away. It was not fun. Even though the rain had mostly stopped for the time being, the combination of mist from traffic, and the glare from all the lights made it all but impossible to see anything. Rainx doesn't really work unless there is airflow to help clear the water droplets. For whatever reason, my car seems to get no direct air flow across the windshield, so all the fine droplets just hang there, at least at low speed. It was really hairy trying to navigate in a strange city, in traffic , and all but blind. Luckily, I only hit one curb and we finally made it back to the hotel unscathed. Not going to do that again.
Other than that, we had a great weekend and had a blast with the car. Here are just few pics of the show but this doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of all the cool stuff to see. If you are into real hot rods this event is a must see.
The weather forecast was dismal, but I had already booked the room and registered for the event and decided to chance it.
I thought I had the hard top sealed up fairly well but I have no wipers. We were sticking to 2 lane back roads for the trip up there (about 150 mi.) so I wasn't too worried. I just really wanted a chance to drive the car away from the city and traffic where you can have some fun with it.
I applied a fresh coat of Rainx to the windshield and we hit the road.
The drive up was pretty uneventful except for 1 thing - I'll be damned if it didn't trip the fuel pump inertia switch again, while making a high speed pass around a big truck. Hard on the gas in 4th gear,
I swing out and around the truck and about the time we are cutting back in to our lane the car just loses power. I have the small hand held display for the Holley ecu stuck to my dash and see the fuel pressure go to zero so I knew exactly what happened. It did the exact same thing last year on the same stretch of road. Anyways, we coast to a stop about 1/4 mile down the road, I jump out, pop the trunk, hit the button, jump in and burn rubber. I'm sure the truck driver is wondering what is going on with this goofy SOB. Last time it happened there was a rough patch of pavement as I was passing but this time I didn't really notice anything unusual, although the botts dots do produce a pretty good vibration as you cross them at speed. That is the only times there has ever been an issue with this thing. I think I am going to replace the switch.
One other issue that popped up was when we were getting ready to hit the road the next morning, I drug the bottom of the radiator on the center of the gravel driveway and put a nice dent in the bottom of the tank. Luckily it didn't crack or start leaking (yet) so we were able to continue on our way.
The hot rod seemed to draw quite a bit of attention at the show and around town, not only because of the appearance but because of the sound emanating from the uncapped headers. I have some baffles installed and turnouts on the headers and it really brings out the sound of the cam. It really does sound rowdy and is great fun to drive around like that , at least for a little while. More than once I had somebody approach at the gas station and want to know what it was and proclaim it was the coolest car they had ever seen...lol
The sheet metal interior was also something that a lot of folks seemed to like.
The car ran great on the road and the ideal cruise speed seems to be about 75-80. At 2200 rpm, you are running 85mph with the tko in 5th (.64 ) gear , a 3.73 rear end, and 29 in tall tires. In fact I got my best gas mileage (18.5) on a stretch of hwy 71 between Austin and Houston where a large part of the way the speed limit is 75mph and the flow of traffic is 75 - 85. Around town though, the mileage drops to almost half - ouch!
The small gas tank, ensures that fairly frequent stops are required which provides some welcome relief from the noise and a chance to stretch.
We ended up really lucking out on the weather , only catching one small shower while out on the road and none while at the show. However, while out to dinner thursday night, all hell broke loose. The forecasted thundershowers finally arrived and there was no way I was going to attempt to navigate downtown Austin traffic during the downpour occurring. Finally, we got a lull in the rain and decided to make a run for it back to the hotel about 15 - 20 minutes away. It was not fun. Even though the rain had mostly stopped for the time being, the combination of mist from traffic, and the glare from all the lights made it all but impossible to see anything. Rainx doesn't really work unless there is airflow to help clear the water droplets. For whatever reason, my car seems to get no direct air flow across the windshield, so all the fine droplets just hang there, at least at low speed. It was really hairy trying to navigate in a strange city, in traffic , and all but blind. Luckily, I only hit one curb and we finally made it back to the hotel unscathed. Not going to do that again.
Other than that, we had a great weekend and had a blast with the car. Here are just few pics of the show but this doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of all the cool stuff to see. If you are into real hot rods this event is a must see.