Yesterday, the first day of the tour was full of travel woes. Everything was going so well, we were making good time and Emma was cruising along at around 70 mph. We estimated a mid afternoon arrival in Los Angeles. Plenty of time to stop for supplies and catch up with our welcome party for cocktails and a beach barbeque before the party started. Then all of sudden, somewhere in deepest California along the I-5 the winne lost all drive in her engine and Emma had to pull her to the shoulder. She tried restarting her, but she just ticked and ticked.
We fought and fought with the bonnet but were unable to release it to have a look, but were unable to break in. It was 105 out, the air was out and we were starting to cook. Poor Ridley was panting like there was no tomorrow. Many frantic tweets and phone calls later we were advised that we were probably suffering from Vapour Lock, where the gas mixture is so hot that it evaporates in the Carburetor before it has a chanse to ignite. Solution: Wait for the fuel lines to cool down a little. Preventative Measure: Silver foil!
After about 20 minutes we decided to try starting her again, and that beautiful roar when an engine comes to life was the sweetest sound we had ever heard. We carried on for a while and Tony took over driving. Shortly after that she broke down again. And again. And again. Eventually we managed to pull her into a rest stop and wait for a mechanic to come and have a look since we had agreed to drive really slowly (less than 50 mph) and watch the temperature guage (which was hot, but in “normal”).
Conclusion: Nothing wrong at all. Breaking down is expected behavior when driving a vehicle like our in Overdrive uphill in temperatures reaching 105. You say Overdrive, are you mad? Why no, but the makers of our dear winnie were. Overdrive is switched on when the indicator light is off…
So we have decided, for the moment, to drive during the night as much as possible to avoid the heat of the day. It also means we can actually spend some time in cities rather than pull in for the party and then pull out again which is awesome.
Tags: drive, engine, fail, fuel line, heat, night, overdrive, speed, temperature, whuffaoke, winnie
Congrats on rapid recovery. So, no net effect on dates/times? Or do you expect some downstream shift by next Saturday?
We won’t be able to make it to Boulder due to the mechanical problems. It is disappointing, but we are looking forward to getting back on the road soon. In the meantime, we are coworking in Salt Lake City at Betaloft. Our Salt Lake City Ambassadors have made us feel right at home. Thanks for following our journey!
Bummer on the Boulder trip, I was stoked to get my Denver peeps out to support the tour, but as long as you are all moving along safely, I am happy.