How do you know if your car can handle a long trip?
 

I'm thinking of taking my car on a long trip of 6 plus hours out of town each way. What you you recommend I check before I leave and what should I bring just in case. My car has been running fine since the conversion but I haven't done long hrs on the highway with it and am probably overworried. Thanks.

That first long trip in any older car is always nerve wracking. You hear every little noise and think it is something ready to break. It is also, at least to me, the time for bonding with the car. Before the first long trip, we are uneasy partners, but afterwards we are true friends. Keep in mind if you have been driving your car on a daily basis with no problems you will probably have no problems on a long trip. Highway driving is actually much easier on the car than in town driving. The first time I ever drove my '86 Carrera was non-stop from Mid-Ohio back to my home in Mid-Missouri, about 550 miles. And that was after the previous owner, a member of this board, drove it from his home in Maryland to meet me in Ohio!

When I purchased my 80SC I drove in from North Carolina to RI and I was a nervous wreck. Driving a 22 year old car that you know knothing about was a big leap of faith. I am glad to report that I had no problems and the car ran great. Now that I've owned the car for almost a year, I have a lot of confidence in the reliability and would consider a long trip. Bring the basics, spare belt, oil, some tools and a laptop computor so you can get help from the board members on the roadside.

Have a great trip!

Don't get off at an exit to let your child go pee in the middle of nowhere farm country. Wait till you get to where there is a gas station at least. If the car decides not to restart after being shut down, you will be thankful that there are humans around.

Speaking from (bad) experience.

You take a long trip in your car, and if you make it back under your own power, you know.

sjd
nothing is for sure in the world... EDIT (except death and taxes)

By making the trip; seriously this is when the maintenance and driving history of the car can manifest itself. It is also helpful to have replaced belts, rubber fuel lines, CIS air hoses and o-rings. One can carry spares (belts, fuses, light bulbs, clutch cable, fuel pump, etc.) and tools but this can really weigh down the car if you get carried away and pack too much. A cell phone and credit card are good things to carry. It mainly comes down to courage and your mental attitude and your schedule/pocketbook (can you afford the time and expense of a breakdown). We have really gotten into the mode of living where we want everything predictable. I had two different grandparents venture out onto the great plains of the United States just after World War I in Ford Model T's. Traveling hundreds of miles over dirt roads/wagon tracks, buying gas at livery satbles, drug and hardware stores. Making their own repairs and camping out. Last year my wife and I drove our "new to us" 1976 911S on a 3000 mile trip out west and of course we broke down in Idaho. My words to her were, "Now the adventure part begins." However with overnight parts from California and a few tools from a local Checker Auto store we were on our way to Yellowstone National Park the next day. The breakdown turned into an interesting and pleasant experience. I wonder what my grandparents would have thought of our breakdown? Amazement or big deal? Take your long trip if you can afford it; you never know what might be down the road. Cheers, Jim

I bought my 82sc from washington dc by auto trader on line, didnt get a ppi, lets just say the car made the 750 mile trip but when i got home i found so many things wrong it scared me, cancelled my check etc reworked the deal and i got the car for 6000 only to you guessed it to put ten more in, take a cell and a cooler of drinks in case you break down, a can of fix a flat, incase you are some where you wanna leave fast, but truely if you have maintained the car and everthing is up to date I dont think I would worry, I just took a 87 chevy conversion with 100000 miles on a 3000 mile trip to florida driving 70-75 miles an hour, I think you will have a blast doin it, so have a great time, Kevin

I purchased my '73 targa in Orange County, CA. (admittedly the car was well known to me, but had not been driven much for about 2 years). The PO had a oil change, valve adjust, check everything service done, telling the shop that I would be driving it back to Texas.
I left there at 7:30 AM on a Sunday alone (cell phone, AAA card, P-car tool kit, torque wrench, soft socket, leaky spare & some fix-a-flat) and drove to Van Horn, Texas that day. Over 1000 miles.
The wiper mechanisim seized between Lake Forest and San Diego, so I removed the wipers. Once off the coast they were unneeded anyway.
Got up the next morning, marveled at how filthy the car had become in one day, hopped in and finished the uneventful trip to Austin by dinner time that day. Another 500 miles.
BTW, this was in June of 2001, and the ambient temp was 100+ most of the way home. Mobil 1 15W-50.
These cars are so well built (for the German enthusiast) that the type of rigors we ask of them in the US are rather mild by comparison I believe. That is why German cars are so well regarded her IMHO, Porsche in PARTICULAR!!:D :cool: ;)

For the real answer.

When I start driving the '12 regularly, I'll most likely have a cell phone with me, along with my shop manuals, and a small toolkit. That way I'll NEVER need them.

Mine's not been run since '78 or the early 80's...I've just about got her to the point where I'll get it registered, and start taking small trips...

sjd

Take plenty of cash as well as your credit card. And don't tune/modify/f' around with your car for at least a week before you go. If it is going ok, it will probably remain ok, unless you touch it.

I bought my car sight unseen from the other side of the world (I got an extensive PPI done by Ruff BG though), unloaded it from the container, registered it, threw my surfboad in the passenger set plus a tent and a few clothes. Then set of on a 3,000 mile, 4 week holiday in it - no problems and had a v. good time.

see below.

I took my latest purchase, a '73 911, on a 2000 mile journey. Here is what I learned:

1. Get towing insurance. Pay extra for the long tow package!
2. Carry a cell phone and cigarette lighter charger.
3. Beware of loose ground wires.
4. Make friends with tow truck drivers. They are people, too.
5. Long trips will bond you to the car and make you a tougher, more worldly human being. I never felt more alive.

AAA Plus- Can tow up to 100 miles.
 

And a car phone.
Make sure maintenance items are in good shape.

I also drove my 87 Targa 600 miles home from Florida and was very, let's just say anxious, about the trip also. First just assume something may happen and be prepared. That way if it does'nt happen you'll be really excited like I was. Second, practice. Take the car out for a well planned (in case of breakdown) trip of a couple of hours. If it handles that successfully you'll probably be in good shape. Good luck!

Michael

Best piece of advice I got
 

I did a real long trip this summer. Best piece of advice I got:

"Carry an inflatable Toyota"

Seriously, I would bring:

- coil of bailing wire
- 12 gauge wire for hasty elect. fixes
- multimeter
- extra fuses and relays
- big piece of cardboard to lay on when crawling under the car (works better than a towel).
- jackstands

If you don't have the space for all this, bring a cell phone and a AAA card. Lots of snacks and tunes.

6 hours.........no big deal. I have to drive that far, for our once a year PCA DE.

I bought my Carrera on EBAY site unseen. Picked it up in Baltimore. Drove to Missoula, MT. in 2 1/2 days. Now that’s pucker factor. 100 degrees going by Chicago. Dropped down to Iowa to miss 6 inches of rain in Minnesota.

After getting it home and doing maintenance on her.
I would have been scared to death to drive it to McDonalds.

I'm with Jim. Every once in a while you need a little adventure.

I just purchased my most recent Porsche (911SC 1982) from a person who met me at the airport in Jackson, Mississippi and drove ot back to Abingdon, Maryland. The car had 157k and now has 158K. left Jackson 1:00PM on Friday, stopped over the South Carolina boarder, slept from 12:30AM to 7:30 AM, returned to the road and arrived in my driveway Saturday evening around 10:30PM. No problems at all. WHy you ask?, realizing this vehicle was over 20 years old, I wanted to enjoy it once returning to Maryland. Did the speed limit (70MPH in most southern states), stopped every 2-3 hours to give the car a rest (rested for 30-45 minutes before returning to the road), paid the seller in advance fo a fresh oil change, air filter, fuel filter and proper tire inflation . The key is proper maintenance and not dogging the car out on the road. Alot more than 6 hours!

LETS SEE, I BOUGHT MY 87 CABIOLET SLANT NOSE IN FLORIDA,
FLEW DOWN WITH THE WIFE AND IN THE NEXT THREE DAYS COVERED 1800 MILES DRIVING BACK TO WICHITA, KANSAS. NEVEROUS AT FIRST UNTIL AFTER THE FIRST HOUR OF PACING A ZO6 ON HIGHWAY 75 AT 125MPH I FIGURED THE CAR WOULD MAKE IT HOME. REALLY GOT TO HATE B&B MUFFLERS ON A CABRIOLET FAST. WAS A WEEK UNTIL I HAD THAT LOUD POS
OFF AND A BURSCH BACK ON. TOOLS I DIDN,T EVEN KNOW IT HAD A TOOL KIT UNTIL WE UNLOADED AT HOME! BALLS THE CANDY
THAT GIVES COURAGE.
KEITH

I have never driven more than 250 miles in my Carrera (Iowa City to and from Chicago), but I always worry about the possibility of being stuck in the middle of nowhere (=western Illinois), far from a Porsche mechanic. I cope with it by applying a bit of cognitive therapy, asking myself "What is the worst that can happen?", and answer myself "The worst that can happen is that I will have to get it on a flat bed truck and pay for a long trip to Chicago or back to Iowa City". Then I feel better, and embark on the journey. As others have said, a cell phone and AAA Plus (100 mile tow) are great for peace of mind on a long trip.

Not that this is a one up, but last year I bought a '70 E coupe with 230K on the clock sight unseen. Flew to Seattle and drove it back to Dallas. Even took the scenic route down the left coast. 3000 + miles in 4 days - no probs. Much better than Cats...want to do it again and again...
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads/Buttonwillow.jpg

My car has a history of long trips. I bought it in May 99 with 15,552 miles on it, from a guy in Seattle, I live in the SF Bay area. That was a nice get acquainted trip. The guy I bought it from bought it in Sarasota, FL with ~9K miles on it and he drove it back to Seattle from Florida.

Last year my wife and I drove to Parade in Milwaukee and took some site seeing side trips through Denver on the way home for a total of 5400 miles (averaged 26 mpg too). Car ran like a top. This year I broke down 100 miles from home on the way to Parade and I thought it was just as prepared this year as last. I'd say make sure everything is in good working order, have a complete tool kit and a positive attitude if something does happen, and have a good time.

Took my new to me '87 Targa on a 1200 mile trip last autumn through Illinois and Missouri on mostly winding rural roads. Nothing bad happened, and to be in the autumn air on winding roads by rivers, with autumn colors in full force - well, I started planning my next trip before I even got home.

As a kid I took trips from Chicago to SoCal in a 1974 Fiat 124 Spyder (twice), a 1981 Triumph TR-8 Convertible (once), and a new at the time 1988 Yamaha FZ600. The Fiat broke in all sorts of interesting ways - from eating an alternator to losing its brakes on the downside of the Rockies into Denver (thank God for manual gearshifts!!!). The Triumph was flawless. The Yamaha boiled a little gas from the carbs on a hot-day stop in Kansas, but was otherwise perfect (that was the summer Yellowstone burned and the Mississippi dried up).

As a kid who didn't know enough about cars, I learned fast, and found help in all corners. The Fiat was fixed by friendly hands, across the country - about half the time for free (!!!). It gave me a crash course in what does what in an automobile. People with car knowledge seem keen on helping out a fellow car nut from some far end of the earth. Now that I'm older and more solvent, a long flatbed tow is the only likely outcome. Make sure you have a day or two extra if you need it, and everything else will take care of itself.

I recommend US 50 - "the lonliest road in the land" from San Francisco to Washington DC. It is what everyone says Route 66 used to be, through beautiful country and wide open spaces almost the whole way.

I too have a grandfather who travelled from San Francisco to Ohio for college in a Model T - he's 100 next week, so that would put it at about 1919 or 1920 - perhaps those stories were what made me love the open road. I can still see my grandmother and grandfather (then in their mid-80's) asking to take a ride with my brother in his 1974 914!!

"A civilized person who can renew themselves in the wild is what makes Americans different and more fortunate than other world citizens." By all means, take your machine into the wilderness. Whatever goes wrong will be worth it.

These cars love to drive and drive. My wife and I did a 6,500 mile road trip this summer in the 79 SC and the three of us loved it. Many driving days exceeded 800 miles.

I have an odd-ball suggestion to go along with the usual preventative maintenance and spare part recommendations. While I don't concourse my car, I treat it as if I did. Before we took the long trip this summer, I put the car up on stands in my driveway and detailed the bottom. Guess what? That's when I found a freshly ripped inner CV boot - just in time to replace it before it caused a problem.

A detailed engine compartment and undercarriage go a long way in helping spot problems before they occur.

trip
 

drove to indianapolis with a friend. took very long inspection drive. purhased vehicle. checked oil, tires, battery, spare fuses. had cb's in each vehicle, left indianapolis about 3pm est arrived pittsburgh about 9:30 350+ miles as we took a wrong turn in indianapolis. friend drove it back did not let me drive it. no problems, i was amazed at 27+ mpg. attribute to good luck and knowledge of cars. the engine and transmission were strong, carry jumpers, jumper wire some tools and lots of dough as tow truck drivers like a tip.

I've taken many 500-mile wkd. trips in my 911 and it has always been fine. On one such trip I noticed my broken rear sway bar mount, but that was no biggie. I did, however, break down about 17 miles from my house a few wks. ago and that shook my confidence a bit. There was just no way I was gonna be able to do a fuel pump R&R on the roadside in the middle of nowhere, even if I had gotten the part delivered to me. Towing insurance at about $30 a year is quite a bargain. I may take the 911 to the Outter Banks in two weeks. I'm still debating that one.

Took my 73T from Atlanta to JFK Space Center a few weeks ago and back.................No big deal. All interstate, so if I got stuck I would get help one way or another. Helps to carry a copy of PANO to get the names and phone numbers of PCA members in the various districts to seek help with shop locations.

Hell, when I was in college (60's) and driving either my Austin Healy or Triumph back and forth I had an emergency survival kit complete with "C" rations, flares, blanket, tools, fire extinguisher and enough ZAP Comic books and contraband to keep me content for awhile until I could get repairs done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When it rained BRITISH CARS JUST STOPPED..PERIOD.

Don't get so freaked out driving long distancers in 911's...they love to travel...............have confidence fellas.

regards
Bob

This is an interesting post
 

I had similar concerns last weekend. I wanted to take my 87 911 on a 600 mile R/T trip to Watkins Glen for the vintage races, but was hesitant. It made the trip just fine, and as was noted above, provided some great "bonding" time. Damn I love this car.

http://members.rennlist.com/dennis/911.html

AAA plus card, cell phone, VISA card...

If you have all three, you likely won't have a problem. Our cars sense it when we are not prepared.

It's a Karma thing
 

Woe to the poor fool who doesn't believe in the Porsche Gods. If you have enough positive Karma accumulated with them, you and your car will endure and survive all.

I have to second the comment about just making the trip.

A friend bought a '73 914 1.7 form a guy in LA. We flew out, bought some spares and tools and took the 65 hour, 3100 mile road trip back to Boston. Sure, it take a few too little brain cells and big... um.. you know, but it was very exciting. So much so that what was supposed to be a once in a life time event will more likely happen again and soon if I have my way. I plan to by my 911 in CA or vacinity for the only reason of just making the trip again, just faster!

You're only going 6 or so hours. Get in, take the keys, and go on your way with little to no thought.

Good luck,

I drove my '77 home from Florida to upstate NY about a year ago. Put on fresh tires and wiper blades and was on my way.
Ran on 5 cylinders most of the time (occasionally # 6 would chip in). Buggered the timing part way home, too.
Forgot that between Florida and home were the mountains of West Virginia - it was damned cold at 2AM (did I mention there were no hoses from the engine to the heat exchangers? ) It was hot in NY and I was going to Florida, so I had packed only shorts.
Not long after getting home, the clutch cable mounting ear on the front of the tranmission broke off as I was adjusting the free-play. It had been cracked years ago, judging by the grease on the newly-exposed face.
Looking back, I think I was lucky to have made it. These days she's running beautifully, but I still haven't been more than 2 hours from home. (And when I got home from that trip I shut the car down in the street in front of the house to move the other car out of the driveway. Had to push it into the garage, because that's when the starter motor finally quit.
Adventure calls.

My wife, son and I just took a 600 mile round trip in the SC. Granted it was mostly highway driving until we got to our destination but all I worried about having handy was a cell phone and credit card.

Turned out to be a great trip and we all had a good time in the car together.

I say roll the dice and hit the road!

If your car has been running well, just do it. Do the normal service of course, pack the basic spares, cell phone, AAA plus, snacks and jams and hit the road. It is such a great adventure. Though 6 hrs hardly qualifies as a real road trip. Chances are you'll have a trouble free trip and you'll plan to do it again soon. [What you you recommend I check before I leave ...] Make sure the stove is turned off! Enjoy the drive!!!