Road trip in the Waygun

Every year I travel to New Jersey to visit some Mopar friends.
This weekend I drove the Waygun there and back to check out some cruise nights and bring back some parts to get rechromed.
Hence,the car was needed to carry a big front bumper for 62 Chrysler which would not fit in my 2006 300C.

I got up before dawn so I could enjoy the rest of the day after the usual 6 or 7 hour drive.
I took these shots while driving as the sun was coming up..cool.

 

All was well and the car pulled awesome since upgrading the ECU and distributor to FBO recurved units.
That is until I was just a mile outside of Binghamton,NY.
Pulling up the hill she quit!
I quickly pulled to the shoulder from my 70ish cruise.
No spark.
I had a spare ballast resistor.
No spark
Swapped a spare coil
No spark.

 

So,I had to do something and kept a cool head even after the NY State trooper stopped to see if I needed help.
Luckily,I have a friend in Bingo who was at home when I called.
With his blessing,I called my motor league and towed Waygun to his house so we can safely proceed with the diagnostic and repairs.
I was roughly 15 minutes from his house,so the tow was free.

 

Danged. Let us know what the problem was.

 

Good thing she quit somewhere close...If i was out in the middle of nowhere,I would have been royally screwed.
With the help of Firedome and his son,we diagnosed the ECU crapped out.
So,we jumped in his son's Turbo Saab to the local AutoZone for a new ECU.
back to the car,she fired up.
But still had some serious misfiring.
HHmmm..the jobber ECU do not match the recurved dizzy.
Back in the Saab we headed to yet another parts store for an el cheapo reman dizzy.
Plopped it in,set the timing by ear and hope for the best.
So,in theory,I replaced pretty much all the ignition related items other than the plugs and wires.
BTW,I wanna send out a big thanks to Josh (left) and his Dad Roger (right) for helping me out.
I owe youse guys a big favour!
Thanks!

 

Firedome (left) and me--Waygun!
Photo op after getting her running before hitting the road.

 

Leaving NY and entering PA

 

We expect a full report on how the Waygun performed.
As we've all learned lately, new parts are not necesarily good parts. :confused:

 

The timing was off,but once I got to my destination,(Wharton,NJ) I borrowed a timing light and vacuum guage to set it properly.
One of the main events was going to the cruise night at the Chatterbox Drive In.
http://www.chatterboxdrivein.com/
This Saturday show is huuuge!
I was all over the place trying to soak up all the cool cars.
Plus I had parts for another member for his 67 C body Mopar wagon.
Here is Waygun at the Chatterbox..

 

Even with the timing tuned in,she was still breaking up between 1550-2000 RPM.
Back at my friends house we pulled the plugs.
This is what we found..
Tannish carbon buildup that fouled up the left bank.
Cleaned them up,re-install and rechecked everything else.
Did a road test and jumped the timing a couple more degrees to go through the Pocono Mountains.

 

Glad you got Waygun going again!

Sometimes it's those unfortunate events in life that allows others to be a blessing in our lives. And it feels good to be blessed occasionally.......

Marshall

 

I an only assuming the super duper FBO ignition system was not meant for my car.
I always carry spare everything,but this time no spare ECU and that kicked me in the ass.
I broke a couple plug wires--I even had spares of them!
Just goes to show that the one thing you forget WILL GET YOU!!
Oh,well.it was a simple fix and only made the trip even more memorable.
here i gassed up to go back to Canuckville.
There are no Gulf Stations in Canada yet.
But I thought it was cool since I remember them all over Canada when I was a Kid

 

Well,I made it home after 7 hours driving that included a stop in Syracuse to Sandy's Bumper Mart
http://www.sandysbumpermart.com/index.html
and a stop at my favourite ice cream parlour in Clayton,NY
I must have done something right since i ran the SAME TANK OF GAS getting here.
First thing I am doing is change the plugs.
Just wanted to share my story and chuckle over it the same time.
Again a big thanks to all those who helped along the way.
Car guys and gals always will look out for each other..that's a fact!

 

Great adventure! Thanks for sharing! I worked at a Gulf service station while I was in HS. Great memories of the times there! Gulf pulled out of the Atlanta market some time ago though.

 

Nice story...well maybe not "nice" but interesting. Love the pics too, thanks for sharing.