IT’S FIXED !!!

We got the Cord to my friends shop in DesMoines, IA this afternoon to finally get the right tools to check out the oil leak ( otherwise known as the Exxon Valdez oil spill). After pulling off a couple inspection plates it was discovered that the cork seal at the front of the oil pan had worked it’s way out of its seat and was hanging out of the oil pan allowing the oil to leak out.

The solution was to remove the oil pan and make a new cork seal to replace the failed old one. The seal was made installed and 4 hours later we were back on the road!!! It was great to be out of the Uhaul and tow rig and back in the Cord driving on its own again covering the back roads of Iowa, heading towards Auburn, IN.

We are spending the night in Cedar Rapids, IA…..if all goes well, we should hit Auburn late tomorrow afternoon.

Once again Team Foster Farms Chickens looked into the eye of adversity and came out victors…..no drive to scary!!!

On To Auburn!!!!

 

Smoke along Hwy 88

Smoke along Hwy#88 in the Sierras from Yosemite fire

Smoke along Hwy#88 in the Sierras from Yosemite fire

 

 

More smoke from Yosemite fire

More smoke from Yosemite fire

 

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The tow rig in action…..we can’t wait to get to Iowa so we can be back under our own power

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A typical motel parking lot scene with Luke holding court…..the Cord really attracts a lot of attention, especially when we are in our full Foster Farm Chicken outfits …..as a side note, we try to avoid KFC !!

 

As you can tell by now, the video link is not working so i will focus on a text update and forget about the video for now till we get it figured out.

Team “Foster Farm Chickens” left the Bay Area Sat morning headed to Auburn IN for the annual Au burn, Cord, Duesenberg car meet over Labor Day weekend. We are lucky enough to be driving a 1936 Cord Westchester belonging to Mr. Josh Malks of Capitola CA.

 

Our journey started by heading out of the Bay Area and crossing the Sierras via Hwy #88. We were expecting some killer scenery along the way, however, because of the fire near Yosemite, the visibility was very poor due to the smoke. The closer we got to Carson City the worse the smoke became….I’m talking LA in the 60’s haze…burning eyes, difficult breathing etc.

At Carson City we headed east on Hwy #50 towards Fallon….the garden spot of the metropolitan desert . Anyway, at that point we noticed an oil leak developing at the front of the engine, starting out rather small, however, by the time we hit Fallon we were leaking about 1 quart of oil per 60 miles…..not good but doable. The following Sunday morning we started out of Fallon and things stayed pretty much the s leak wise, however, we made the decision to stop our planned “road less traveled backroad route” and head north to I80 were we would be able to get help/repairs if things got worse. We spent the night in Park City, UT …..coming out in the morning to an impressive oil slick under the car. Yes we cleaned it up.

The I80 route change turned out to be a good decision as by the time we got to Evanston WY Monday morning we were down to leaking 1 quart every 30 miles. Obviously this was not good so we stopped to consider our options….maybe hiring an oil tanker to follow us with a hose connected to the oil filler tube, rent the car out to ranchers oiling dirt roads ….you get the idea.

Anyway, a decision was made to rent a Uhaul truck and car dolly and tow the car to Iowa were I have access to a shop to see if we can figure out the leak and do the needed repairs. So thats the big plan…….we are currently spending the night in Kearney NE and will out early tomorrow for Iowa ……wish us luck on the repairs.

More later

The “Foster Farm Chicken” Team