Two people, two dogs, and a 1973 1800ES. ~7700 miles. Home after 24 days on the road.

Notable things car related:
1) Stone chip near Badlands NP, South Dakota. Had repaired at a glass shop next morning.
2) Already compromised resinator got hole somewhere in PA due to heavy rains, deep puddles, age. Replaced resinator with straight pipe while waiting for ferry in Cape May, NJ. Oil changed at same time (had filter on hand). Notices slight play in U-joint, did nothing about that.
3) Headlight dimmer relay starts getting funky, somewhere around West Virgina. But kept working.
3.5) Tach getting inconsistent, sometimes reading ~2k high. Sometimes accurate. At one point, pegged. I have a pretty good feel for speed without gauges. No biggie.
3.7) Speedometer quits near Birmingham, Alabama. 5900+ miles into trip, and 99,300 and change on car. Easy to extrapolate total miles from there.
4) Load car nearly to suspension stops in New Harmony, Indiana. Planned to ship the stuff, decided to just take it since its already loaded up.
5) Scary weather. Tornado warnings and tennis ball sized hail warnings. Covered car with blankets and stuff. Thankfully, all major weather passed by.
6) Headlight relay gives up ghost on foggy morning in eastern Colorado. Brights only, which was fine in fog.
7) Very slow drive home in the mountains, dirt roads. Car running hot for the first time for the final 1/4 mile. Will investigate. Also started hearing a clunk in front end. Tie rod or ball joint, maybe a bushing. Will investigate first thing.

Overall, the 40 year old Volvo performed brilliantly. Never skipped a beat, always started instantly. Never anything unexpected.

A fantastic trip, seeing fantastic things, and unexpectedly dropping in on old friends that have not been seen in years and years.

Just fantastic!

Yellow X on the map is home. Route drawn is approximate. Took lots of little side road excursions.

Oh, and at some point in Eastern Kentucky, we decided it'd be a good idea to go to Miami. That was not in the original plan.

All pics of trip at:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3559841232979.2136110.1181235237&type=1&aft=3678789206604&l=4a3a386741

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-Matt I ♥ my ♂

Great trip! I have traveled that road north in Nebraska several times, much more fun than the I routes.

Are you being spared from the fires????? I think of you when ever the news is on. Frightful!

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My name is Klaus and I am a V ♂ lv ♂ holic

Thanks Klaus! yes, it was a great trip.

Spared from fires? yes and no. This most recent 'High Park' fire has us under evacuation, so in that regard... safe and spared.

As of most recent map update (late last night) we are just under 2 miles from the fire line, and many friends and neighbors are much closer. Time will tell.

That said, hundreds of folks have surely lost homes. Many of which are good friends. It is with those folks that my thoughts are. This is a tight community, and this will hurt for a long time.

Volvo content? The ES is safe. If our place goes, it'll likely take a 544, 2 1800s,a 122 wagon, a couple 145s, a 164, a few 240s at my place. Many of which are parts cars so no great loss. And there are others at neighboring properties. There was nothing we could do. I saw the smoke early on Saturday maybe 3 miles away, and it blew up by Saturday afternoon... so we bolted.

Fingers crossed, but as said, other folks have it far worse than us and prayers go to them and the firefighters.

Few pics here.. first half are from our property, last few are from town after having left: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3764309784565.2139830.1181235237&type=1&l=741d93e89b

Many thanks for your thoughts and concerns!

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-Matt I ♥ my ♂

if no pic.. it's here:

http://i551.photobucket.com/albums/ii452/dixiekoko/52712-21RouteApproximate.jpg
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-Matt I ♥ my ♂

Wow! Your route was even less direct than mine.
We went through Vinita, OK, Joplin, Springfield, Sikeston, MO, Wickliffe, KY,
Clarksville, TN, Bardstown, Lexington and Ashland, KY, Charleston, Morgantown WV,
Cumberland, MD on to Mechanicsburg, PA, and then Carlisle and the tour around Lancaster.
On the way back we went the PA Turnpike and I-76 to Akron, then down to Ashland, OH, I-71 down to I-70 across to St. Louis and then I-44 back to Vinita, OK, US60 from there to Bartlesville. 2784 miles. Great trip! ~111 gal of gas.
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George Downs Bartlesville, Oklahoma

At the same time we went to Carlisle, PA in the Yellow Peril. Only thing comparable
was John Holtzapple's covered bridge tour around Lancaster, PA. MUCH like a rally!
Almost 2800 miles, never opened the tool box. Did have to change to "Super" gas starting
in West Virginia and back to Tennessee. Not sure why as the mid-grade was advertised at
the same octane as here (where it NEVER pings).
Got an average of 24.97 mpg with some tanks as high as 27.7. These are corrected for
a 7% increase in tire circumference, so that an indicated 70 was really 74.9.
Total distance was 2784 miles. NO electrical problems.
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George Downs Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Looks like you guys had FUN. I recently took my family for a holiday at the coast in my 1974 144. It was a run with the classic Volvo club. Many 122s, 1800, and my 144 was the newest. Of course the distance was a fraction of what both of you have covered, but it has been over ten years since we took the 144 for a road trip.

I was thankful I had the air conditioner upgraded and the engine cooling system up to the mark. The outdoor temp was breaching the century mark, coupled with the humidity. No serious overheating, even as we idled on the freeway due to heavy traffic. The cars performed splendidly, even exceeding 80 mph at some parts of the drive.

My mother came along for the trip, and riding in the 144 again brought back many happy memories of family vacations with the car. After 37 years in service with us, the car is more like family than a piece of machinery.

I got to agree with Matt, the old pushrod Volvos are virtually everlasting, and are still capable of covering thousands of trouble free miles, with minimal servicing. I have no plans of getting rid of it. I'll just keep driving it until it quits, if that will ever happen.
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1974 144GL, 1996 940 GL LPT

Great to hear all went well for you too, George! Sounds like a fun trip.. and as you see, we weren't far from where you went in Lancaster.

That Volvo junkyard in the pics I posted are in eastern PA between Reading and Allentown...

Yay for '73 Volvos! Still viable long distance runners!

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-Matt I ♥ my ♂