MN69Grande 203 Report post Posted December 28, 2014 Ok, So I know this is 6+ months out. But I've booked hotels for a long weekend to do the first couple days of Hot Rod Magazine's Power Tour for 2015. http://www.hotrod.com/events/power-tour/?dis=A43FC6FA-D753-44BA-B496-CB7AF5DE345E& It's from June 6 - June 13. Starting in Madison WI (I guess they had issues with Wisconsin Dells last year) and ending in Baton Rouge. I'm just going from Madison - St. Louis then I'll head home. Has anyone participated in this event before? Any Tips/Tricks? Anyone else thinking they might go? It might be cool to get a group of Mustangs together for part of the drive. 4 Miltonlob, Robertpr, Ernestgaig and 1 other reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Total Control Products 24 Report post Posted December 29, 2014 (edited) One of our customers, Bob Guido, has done drag week the last two years in his '69 coupe. He lives in Canada and drives down. In 2013 he hit the wall but still finished, then rebuilt the entire car. Last year he had an engine issue and had to trailer home right after the event ended. You can read about the rebuild and see more pics here: Edited December 29, 2014 by Total Control Products Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeStang 247 Report post Posted December 29, 2014 I plan on doing the Tour in my Car this year... I live in Baton Rouge So Ill be driving up and back. I would like to try to make the Long Haul.... She has made it to Cruising the Coast and this past weekend to Houston and back, but that was only total of about 11 hours driving. But Im finding the little things I need to get fixed before the Tour kicks off Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SM69Mach 68 Report post Posted January 2, 2015 I would love to hit part of the tour this year, as I was still out of commission last year. Just a long ride to get there and back from NC, so not sure what I will actually do. Need to get some miles on the car this spring to see how she holds up on longer trips. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MN69Grande 203 Report post Posted January 3, 2015 I would love to hit part of the tour this year, as I was still out of commission last year. Just a long ride to get there and back from NC, so not sure what I will actually do. Need to get some miles on the car this spring to see how she holds up on longer trips. I know that feeling. My original plan with my coupe was to drive it to the 50 in Vegas. But in March we figured out the motor was never going to run right (as it was built). Even with a crate motor it was the end of the season before I got on the road. But I was still able to get 850 miles of driving in a month with no issues. So I'm hoping I can do a 4 hour trip this spring and then I'm just going to go for it. I'll just up my AAA membership right before hand. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
prayers1 153 Report post Posted March 11, 2015 Anyone have a road map showing the driving route. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MN69Grande 203 Report post Posted March 11, 2015 Anyone have a road map showing the driving route. This is what they sent to people that registered: 'Route/Driving Directions – we’ve had a few emails regarding where someone can find the HRPT route. We will post the actual driving directions in the Hot RodPower Tour section of hotrod.com about a month before the event. Printed copies will also be available at credential pick up and at the main stage each day. ' On the registration site they do list all of the locations: http://www.hotrod.com/events/hot-rod-power-tour/2014/hot-rod-power-tour-2015-dates-locations-registration-and-faq/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
prayers1 153 Report post Posted March 12, 2015 Thanks for the info. I was hoping they would of made it into Arkansas going South. Closest is Memphis Tenn. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
louie69 10 Report post Posted March 14, 2015 I did the Tour in 2013. Lots of fun. Best advice I can give is make sure your cooling system is upto snuff. I'm planning to go this year as well but will be adding a bigger radiator soon. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rip Rock 13 Report post Posted March 14, 2015 One of our customers, Bob Guido, has done drag week the last two years in his '69 coupe. He lives in Canada and drives down. In 2013 he hit the wall but still finished, then rebuilt the entire car. Last year he had an engine issue and had to trailer home right after the event ended.You can read about the rebuild and see more pics here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.495279637243798.1073741838.301204599984637&type=3 Holy crap, that guy live way up in Grand Prairie! That's one big commitment. He's about 6.5hrs north west of were I live. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MustangGT 11 Report post Posted April 23, 2015 I did the tour last year -- left the house with about 150 miles on a complete rebuild of car (every nut, bolt, screw was taken off) and pulled into the driveway at the house with about 3075 on it. Was a blast. Like has been said -- cooling, cooling, cooling -- some of the lines to get into the venues played hell with the temps. Had to run the heater in the car a few times. I plan to doing the long haul again. Got the rooms reserved and registered with HotRod. The tour route usually takes you on back roads through lots of small towns. In most of the towns people come out and watch the cars roll by -- in a a few of them we drank them dry of premimum fuel. If I had a nickle for every photo taken of my car I think I could buy a Shelby :-). Car even made it into HotRod magazine and on the website. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MN69Grande 203 Report post Posted May 11, 2015 Ok so I'm one of the suckers. Last week they sent an email pushing the VIP pass. It was $200 rather than the $300 I think they originally wanted and my buddy who's coming along wanted to do it. So we split the cost. For that much money it better be a really good BBQ I'm getting and I hope the "Special" parking is worth it. Just no one tell my wife where I'm hiding the receipts for this trip alright! Can't wait to do this. I loved Car Craft Nationals while they had it in St. Paul. I like going to Mustang Shows, I like going to for shows, but I think cruising is where it's at so a long trip like this should be a blast. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MustangGT 11 Report post Posted June 4, 2015 Less than 48hrs before I head out for Madison ... Looking forward to it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MN69Grande 203 Report post Posted June 4, 2015 Less than 48hrs before I head out for Madison ... Looking forward to it. Yeap 36 hours for me. I can't wait. Hope the car can make it the 3 days we are on the tour. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SM69Mach 68 Report post Posted June 4, 2015 Good luck guys and get plenty of pics. Didn't work out for me this year. Maybe next year. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MN69Grande 203 Report post Posted June 4, 2015 Good luck guys and get plenty of pics. Didn't work out for me this year. Maybe next year. Sorry you couldn't make it. To my surprise everything line up for me this year. I'm planning on attempting to go-pro a time lapse of the drives if I can get it to work. Otherwise we have 2 DSLRs going for the rest of it! 25 hours.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MN69Grande 203 Report post Posted June 6, 2015 Probably not the most exciting thing out there. But I got a hold of a GoPro and shot most of our trip from the Minneapolis area to Madison. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MN69Grande 203 Report post Posted June 7, 2015 Wow... I'm Car'd out for the day. 9-10 hours of Hotrods. I've got a few hundred photos I can share later. But tonight I uploaded some Autocross videos. Some new stuff, some old stuff, and a Beetle. I can tell you this power doesn't do a lot of good on a small course. The best car was a very old Toyota MR2. https://youtu.be/XqJ-_B05cBo https://youtu.be/bowEdmP0CsE https://youtu.be/PZ05JpusFu4 https://youtu.be/3Te6wAFTiQU https://youtu.be/C5Q9N3GXKwA https://youtu.be/3Te6wAFTiQU http://youtu.be/JX8NyeyO_bk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MN69Grande 203 Report post Posted June 11, 2015 Well not sure if anyone is following this but our Power Tour trip was unexpected ended early. The plan was to go Saturday through Monday and then return home Tuesday from St.Louis. From previous posts everyone would know that we made it from Minneapolis to Madison just fine. We participated in Day 1 and completed 95% of the cruise Day 2. Unfortunately 15 miles from the Day 2 venue in Champaign we started to hear a growl coming from the front of the car. I immediately pulled over on I57. We could find anything loose, the wheels were not hot, and there was no fluid anywhere. So we started up again. Louder growl. Pulled over again and called AAA. I thought about trying to limp to the venue and get help there but I figured I pay $170 a year for AAA and never use it. For those of you on the tour you know it was raining all day off and on. At about 4:45 it was a full on t-storm. Well we got really lucky because the car was on the flatbed and we were in the cab when the rain hit. Luckily no hail. AAA hooked us up with a guy out of Paxton that is an ex-Ford Master Service Tech of 10+ years. Which was just dumb luck. He opened his shop on Sunday night so we could use the lift. Sure enough the Passenger wheel bearing was out. More luck for use Advanced Auto Parts was still open and they had the bearing. SCORE! But it was not to be. Once we got the car rolling again we noticed what sounded like a rocker/lifter tick. It was already after 9pm so we headed to the hotel for the night crossing our fingers. After a 50 min drive in a torrential down pour we made the 25miles to our hotel. Once we checked in the rain had subsided. We went to park the car and now we could hear... The ticking was 10x louder. A sleepless night. Lots of internet searches about the crate motor I had installed last summer. My companion was no help endlessly talking about worst case scenarios. The next morning we decided to go back to the shop to see if we could get some assistance. I could have pulled the valve covers in the parking lot, we brought tools. But if we didn't have to - why. There my friends in a small shop in Paxton, Il our Power Tour adventure ground to a halt. Metal Shavings were found in the oil. A morning of phone calls with Ford Racing left us with decisions to make. The motor was still well under warranty. But to action said agreement the motor must be sent to Ford. They pay freight (luckily). So whilst the other Hot Rods cruised to St.Louis for some light Drag Racing. We sat in a shop with hard choices to make. 1.) Rent a Truck/Trailer at $800 to haul the car home to pull the motor in my Garage 2.) Have this shop pull, crate, and sent the motor in. Deal with ford, and put the new motor in for $900 3.) Attempt to limp home and cross our fingers the motor didn't blow up on the way. Well I know I wouldn't have time to pull the motor until August at best, and with the Warranty clock ticking I decided to let the shop pull the motor for us. As I travel for work I have some free rental day certificates and used one to get a car for us to drive home in. But now my ride sits in a shop in Illinois waiting for Ford Racing to make good. Today I talked to the mechanic. He stripped the motor down there is scaring in on cylinder either a bad ring or a froze wrist pin. Surprising for a motor with less than 3000 miles on it. So it is a good thing we didn't try to limp home on the motor. There would have been a whole in the side of the block. The silver linings if you want to call them that are thus. The motor failed while still under warranty. Had we not gone on Power Tour it is possible it would have been next summer before it failed, past the 24 month period. The second is I think I found a great shop to deal with it. I hope at least. He even cleaned out a separate garage for the car to sit in while it waits for a motor and promised he'd be the only one to move it. When I watched him work he always used fender covers, moved slowly, and kept things in order. So hopefully next week I'll hear from Ford Racing about how soon we can resolve this. And some time in July or August I'll have 17 hours of driving to retrieve the car. Also I wanted to say that we had many, many offers of help from the Power Tour crowd. Had we not called a truck we had no less than 3 chances to get towed for free to the venue. So many thanks to everyone offering assistance! Maybe if the route comes close enough next year I'll try again! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SM69Mach 68 Report post Posted June 11, 2015 Sorry to hear about your bad luck on the trip. These old cars are always an adventure, but sounds like it is good hands to the repair work and hope it all works out. At least you got on the road some, my motor is out of the car for some wiped cam lobes and bad cam bearings. So I feel your pain. Good luck with all the repairs and getting it back on the road. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MustangGT 11 Report post Posted June 16, 2015 Wow -- tough luck and great luck at the same time. The one thing about the tour is that is puts the car through the wringer -- 7 Days 7 Cities will find the weak points. On the tour last year I ran a little hot -- nothing to bad but it was in the back of my mind this year. On the way to Madison she got warm again, and then warmer otw to Champaign and St. Louis. While in St. Louis (also home) I decided to pull the thermostat to see if it was stuck -- it wasn't but I it did open very slowly so I switched it out. The trip to Memphis was any better so decided to try the water pump (I was running the originial stock pump [rebuilt] to get better flow. Put in a HD water pump -- flow improved but car still got hot going into the remaining events in Birmingham, Gulfport, and Baton Rouge. Kept in it check by running heater full blast -- not fun during the summer in the South. Coming home temps were a little betters thanks to the ton of rain from Baton Rouge heading. Gonna look at replacing the radiator with a 4 core or adding an oil cooler. The clock is ticking down to the next Power Tour. I think I might have seen MN69Grande going into the venue in Madison/Champaign (they start to blend). You were going in VIP entrance at the same time I was leaving -- there was a single guard at the gate and the entrance was toward the rear of the venue. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MN69Grande 203 Report post Posted June 17, 2015 Wow -- tough luck and great luck at the same time. The one thing about the tour is that is puts the car through the wringer -- 7 Days 7 Cities will find the weak points. On the tour last year I ran a little hot -- nothing to bad but it was in the back of my mind this year. On the way to Madison she got warm again, and then warmer otw to Champaign and St. Louis. While in St. Louis (also home) I decided to pull the thermostat to see if it was stuck -- it wasn't but I it did open very slowly so I switched it out. The trip to Memphis was any better so decided to try the water pump (I was running the originial stock pump [rebuilt] to get better flow. Put in a HD water pump -- flow improved but car still got hot going into the remaining events in Birmingham, Gulfport, and Baton Rouge. Kept in it check by running heater full blast -- not fun during the summer in the South. Coming home temps were a little betters thanks to the ton of rain from Baton Rouge heading. Gonna look at replacing the radiator with a 4 core or adding an oil cooler. The clock is ticking down to the next Power Tour. I think I might have seen MN69Grande going into the venue in Madison/Champaign (they start to blend). You were going in VIP entrance at the same time I was leaving -- there was a single guard at the gate and the entrance was toward the rear of the venue. Yeah that was us in Madison. Our plan was to go to St. Louis and head home. ALMOST made it to Champaign. I talked to one of my mechanics he thinks the 6 hours of stop and in Chicago land is what did in our wheel bearing. Said the Kelsey-Hays style brakes can get real hot. No biggie there. I'm just hoping Ford stands behind the motor. It's already enroute, I guess 1500 miles of break in wasn't enough on that motor. wahwah. As my over sized travel companion said. We signed up for an adventure and that is what we got! Now that I've had a week to let it sink in he's absolutely right. And he's a huge trooper. 6'8 3 bills and he road for 3 days in the 69! At least I was planning to pull the tranny anyway so I'm only out a few extra dollars to have the motor stripped and shipped. Just wish it was being done locally. For those of you that haven't been I can only describe the event as Car-vana. My head was on a swivel and for 2 days I had perm-a-grin. Everyone was so cool I loved the variety. So if your car can take or even if not... I'd say go for it next year! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
