Why is it so hard for people to believe an "old car" can't be driven cross country ??? . . . most comments on trip were : "you actually DROVE that all this way ??" sure a slant6 won't win any drag races, take time to get up to 60mph compared to 318 or bigger, but it will run all day long . . . The 64 Falcon Futura Convertible has been across Canada a couple of times, the 6cyl running perfect, 22mpg all day long . . . so it was update with an alternator and Ford duraspark electronic ignition, but that was all for reliability in long run . . . and it has been . . . (pics of car in Newfoundland)

As many have said, enjoy the journey, takes tons of pics to remember the trip !! . . .

You're kinda missing the point on this. It's not that this particular car is old. It's that it's old, mostly original and poorly maintained. Basically worn out. But it is a Mopar. Which, unlike a phord, doesn't have to be as good as new to go across the country.

And that always makes for a great road trip! It brings excitement to life.

I have to say, at 10 mpg with a slant 6, I would have spent some time looking for that gas leak when the car was in IL. Past that, the rest of the stuff is a "as long as it keeps moving, keep driving" event. If something breaks that you can't patch up, you can always get it hauled the rest of the way home. I think too many people are afraid of having a little trouble, that they miss out on a lot of fun stuff.

We drive our 48 Plymouth coupe all over the country, its probably a lot better maintained then this B Body is, but even with the new shiny paint on our coupe, people are always asking us if we drove the car to wherever we are when they see us. They have been programed to think a car has to be new to be reliable. Its kind of like the old Mopar guys that think a car has to have a carb on it to be reliable, but drive the newer stuff that probably has more then 100,000 mile of trouble free use. I worked in a gas station back in the early 70s, there were not many 60s & 70s car that survived past 100,000 miles. Maybe that is why people question driving the old cars so far from home... Gene

The hot start issue is most likely caused by today’s gas. It has a lower boiling point than the gas back in the day. It’s formulated got fuel injection. Can’t boil when under pressure. Had the same problem with my Super Bee until I put EFI in it. It would stall setting at the light due to the fuel boiling over in the og bowels and flood the engine.

Let me start by saying….WE MADE IT! Over 2000 miles from door to door. Yesterday however was where the trouble began. We left Albuquerque and we’re cruising along happy as could be. Had some beautiful rainstorms coming through Arizona and a great lunch near the Grand Canyon. We crossed into California and were coming through the desert near Needles with around 100 degree ambient temp. I felt the engine lug hard and smelled coolant. I pulled over and saw the upper radiator hose had burst. Here’s where the good luck/bad luck starts. Fortunately the upper hose burst close enough to the T stat housing I was able to shorten it and reseal. We only had about 1 1/2 gallons of water with us so I added that and tried to limp it to the next gas station that was only 1 mile away thank goodness. Unfortunately while limping it to the gas station the lower hose burst. Fortunately it split larger but still close enough I could trim the hose and just get a bite on the water pump. Unfortunately this made the hose take a path where it would run the belt. Fortunately I was able to use zip ties to hold the hose away from the belt. We were back on the road but unfortunately the zip ties broke and the belt rubbed a hole in the lower hose. Fortunately I was able to bolster some electrical tape with some sports tape (we had been training pretty hard in Illinois) and make a temporary patch. I left the cap loose so it wouldn’t build pressure. We were trying to make the auto parts store in Barstow CA before they closed at 9 pm but had to take it slow to keep things from steaming over. Made it to the parts store 6 minutes before closing. They WERE NOT going to wait for me to pull the hoses for comparison so I had to drop $75 on two flex hoses that were a complete guess. The top was way off but the bottom cinched down ok and we were able to get back after it. It was a long, long day but we were so close to home I wanted to keep on rolling. Quick truck stop power nap and we hit the road rolling in the driveway a little after 2 am. WE DID IT!

Love that old Studebaker

Glade you made it home safe.

Thank you for sharing your interesting trip. Making memories like that with ones offspring is priceless; they will last a lifetime.

Ragnar in Iceland

Congratulations! Cel phones make trips like these a little easier, but you still showed a lot of ingenuity and creativity getting home.

I guess now you'll be giving her a proper going-through...

Great story/trip/car/pics thanks for sharing!Take care bee safe!

a big CONGRATULATIONS to you guys !
THANK YOU for the story !

I don't know who/what I am prouder of.......you guys or the old Satellite.

Anyway, my hats off to you and CONGRATULATIONS!

You made it, all safe and sound, no major problems, and some great memories! But $75 for a couple flex hoses? Did they give you some Vaseline with those? Holy Crap.I carry spare hoses in my road runner and D 100. Can't wait for the updates on your car!

I remember when we went through Missouri, it seemed like there were UHH, adult entertainment stores at every exit. maybe he got HOSED at one of them LOL
Glad you made it home safe and you have bigger cajones than I do

Well done! You will look back n this trip fondly, I guarantee. Nothing beats a family road trip!
Until 1996, when I traded it for a good amount of $$ and a '68 Charger, I owned a 1964 Polara 500 for 16 years. Bought it from the original owner.
My wife's son's bio father lived in Bakersfield, CA - we lived in Kirby, AR. A little better than 1500 miles, each way. We would take the boys to CA in June, pick them up in August. Fortunately, it did have A/C [added less than one lb in the time I owned the car]. We took the Polara until the boys outgrew it, like in 1994. The A/C got turned off and we drove at night, west of Kingman. Way hot!!
That car had 337 K on it when I sold it. We went EVERYwhere in it. Gulf coast, Chicago....

I think the point is . . . no matter HOW OLD or HOW LONG the vehicle has been sitting, looking after the basics, will get you going and you might not catch every issue, but then that makes for memorable trip !!! . . .

Great story. Thanks for sharing and congratulations on making it there. I love road trips and would like to do something like that someday.