Re: New member, setting off on a crazy adventure... PICS!!!

Posted by Craig the Clipper Man On 2018/1/17 13:53:25

"Somewhere West of Laramie ..." (Jordan car advertisement)

There are so many things about this "crazy adventure" that truly bother me. First, taking a 64-year-old car that has been sitting for years and attempting to drive it almost 2,000 miles is definitely crazy. Like they say about committing a crime: If you can think of 90 things out of 100 that can go wrong, don't do it!

I have a 1955 Clipper and I can tell you that even when I drove short distances things sometimes went wrong. Packards are reliable cars compared to their peers, but that does not mean they are nearly as reliable as late-model cars. Unless these guys are knowledgeable mechanics (which, by their posts, I doubt), counting on local repair shops along the road for emergency fixes might be counting too much. Take the Ultramatic transmission. Good luck finding many people who can actually repair one and if they can, expect to have to fork out more than $1,000.

The second point I would make about this adventure is their choice of the time of the year. I cannot see any semi-direct route from Oregon to Oklahoma that does not go through states that subject to intense winter weather. I would be concerned about driving through these states in my 2012 Infiniti, let alone a 1953 Clipper. Picture those the driver gripping the steering wheel while trying to see through a fogged-up windshield as vacuum controlled windshield wipers swish back and forth while snow drifts across the highway.

I sincerely hope that these guys are alright and that they came to their senses before they got themselves in way over their heads. When I was their age, I used to say, "No guts, no glory." Now I prefer to use my brain instead of my cajones.