Hey all,

I've been promising a write up on this trip for six months or so. I finally got a pretty good one done, and posted a lot of pictures up on my cardomain page. If you want to read it, the link is below:

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/382847...ntiac-firebird

Enjoy,

-cal30sniper

 

very cool!

 

Very cool, I made part of that same trip many years ago while still in the Navy. I traveled part of the North Cascade Highway and crossed from Washington into Canada at Osoyoos and continued east on Trans-Canada 1 to Sault Ste Marie and crossed back into Michigan, my destination was in the lower peninsula. Canada was quite scenic, even the open country in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

 

I loved the bit where I got up on the Yellowhead highway and cut some of the backroads up there. Some very scenic farms and ranches. I think the best part of that leg of the trip was the North East side of Lake Superior though. That was some untouched and very beautiful country.

 

I almost wish I'd made more stops than I did. I drove through Calgary and saw the winter Olympic Park, though it was summer time. Saw the Canadian side of Glacier National Park and Banff. I thought that the Great Plains through our Midwest were big until I drove through Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Entering Ontario was the beginning of the hardwood forests and finger lakes, like Minnesota, and Thunder Bay on the northwest shore of Lake Superior was quite scenic.

About that trip, I always liked how I could say I exited Washington and entered Michigan without crossing through any other states

 

Very nice, I dream of the day I could take on even a fraction of what you've done in my 91... minus the accident of course. Good luck with the new car!

 

nice write up....cant beleive some of the pics of scenery/wildlife....also, driving thru snow drifts???? way more guts than me lol

 

Ouch - it cost you a nice Thirdgen. Nice trip though. I always wanted to do something like that.

 

Wow! I thought I drove a lot.
I've gone from Toronto to Edmonton several times both through Canada and the US.
New Hampshire and Boston one year. Vancouver another. Every year for the last six down to Virginia.
All in one Camaro or another.

Nice trip. Tough luck about the accident.

 

Toronto to Vancouver? That's a haul in itself. Did you take 1 all the way across? I think one of the pretties parts of the trip was the drive coming near Vancouver itself. I took 3 from Osoyoos to Vancouver. There was some real pretty country in there.

I was up in Toronto last winter with a couple of buddies for a 3-day weekend. We took my old Suburban up there to do some sight seeing. It was my first time in Canada, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think Toronto is the cleanest, nicest big city I've ever been in.

-cal30sniper

 

Toronto to Vancouver was by way of Edmonton. You mentioned the Yellowhead Trail. That's my route from just west of Winnipeg right into the centre of Edmonton. Then Edmonton to Jasper and somewhere along the way I missed a turn and got lost in the mountains for a couple of extra hours. Plenty of scenery though as you've said. I never made it across to Vancouver Island though. Wish I had.
If you make it to Toronto again, get north of the city into cottage country. Plenty of hiways and back roads. It's definitely driving country.

 

That was amazing! I felt like I was there!! Very well wrote!!

 

Very cool, I took my Trans AM across from Toronto to Vancouver back in '97. Had 3 weeks off work, 1 week out, 1 week in van/mt. st. helens, 1 week back.

 

Similar Pictures hehe! I have more but don't want to overload the thread. Was just fun seeing a few pictures that were like mine



And the covered tunnel:


My fuel pump overheated while in one of those.... up hill and on a curve. Logging truck coming up the hill too hehe! Had to roll back down out of the tunnel with in neutral with no power. Scary hehe!

 

Love the color!! I've never seen one like that!! Looks Beautiful!

 

Fyrstorm, those are some nice shots. I'd love to see more if you get the chance to post some. I remember that Sasketchewan sign, that's on Highway 1, isn't it?

-cal30sniper

 

That reminds me of another story I have from the trip. When I toured Mt Rainer, I hadn't filled up since I crossed back into the U.S. at Bellingham. Along the way I'd been through Whidbey Island, Bremerton, and Tacoma Narrows, so I was a bit low on fuel by the time I got ready to leave the Mountain and head for Yakima (read: running on fumes). I had originally planned to fill up at one of the little gas stations at the edge of the National Park on the east side as I headed down the mountain. Who would have guessed that they all close at 6pm?

Realizing that the situation was desperate by this point, and seeing that there was a long downhill ahead of me coming off the east slope of the mountain, I kicked her in neutral and turned off the engine. I put the key back to run so I could still steer, and away we went. 24 miles later I turned the engine back on, haha. I didn't know it was possible to coast for that long, but in that part of the world it is. Scary part was I filled up at the first gas station that was open west of Yakima, and put in 14.7 gallons. That's as close as I ever want to push empty.

Good times.

-cal30sniper

 

I think it's a MAACO special, it didn't last very long. It's currently flat reddish orange fade hehe! I love what the previous owner did though, ran an 80's style thin to thick stripe pattern just above the door ground effects all the way around, gives the car another dimension for looks.

Yup! I have proof lol:



Drove to Winnipeg then Saskatoon then Regina and up to Edmonton to avoid a snowstorm (in JUNE!!!!) that was going towards Calgary. It ended up hitting Edmonton as well:



Jeebus! Hehe! Yeah that's close, on my daily driver I took it to only having 2 litres left out of 60. Its funny you mentioned flooding while in Manitoba, when I went there was a major flood. It even overflowed over the new flood bypass they had built to stop the flooding. Army was called in an everything. Heres another couple of my faves:





Current colour

 

That's exactly the way I ended up going. I stayed up in North Battleford that night and then headed on into Edmonton.


That photo reminds me of my trip up to Toronto last January. Me and two buddies decided to run up and see the city. We left about Toronto about 8pm on Saturday, planning to stay the night somewhere in Northern New York and then finish up the drive back to Annapolis on Sunday morning. Things didn't quite work out that way.

We started getting snowed on at Niagara Falls, and by the time we got across the border, things were getting pretty nasty. We decided to keep driving until we got south of the storm, and then find a place to stay the night. We ended up back in Annapolis at 9:30 am the next morning, we didn't get out of the storm until we hit Southern Pennsylvania about 7am! We never got over 30 miles per hour from Niagara Falls, New York to York, Pennsylvania. Talk about a long night...

 

Good memories with good friends that I wouldn't trade for anything...

-cal30sniper

 

Im considering taking a long road trip this summer in my iroc. Not your 10,000 mile trip but still over 2000 miles. I was just curious, what did you do to prep your car for the trip? Obviously change all fluids but I guess Im more concerned with leaks, belts, pullies. I dont want to have a breakdown in the middle of nowhere...Suggestions?

For the record: my car has 115,000 orig miles and is 100% stock and is very reliable around town.

 

Sounds like fun, where are you going?

I regularly pulled 2000-5000 mile road trips in my Formula, at least 2-3 per year. These were the following things I always kept up to date on, and I never had any problems.

-Serpentine Belt, Make sure you've got a new one on, and carry a spare
-Water Pump, Make sure it's in top notch shape. If it's original, change it now, and flush the system while you're at it.
-Alternator, Make sure it's charging good (13+ volts at anything but idle), and it's noise free. You can take off the belt and spin the pulley on it by hand, make sure it's smooth and not squeaking or anything.
-Radiator, Also make sure it's good to go. A new one is only like $90, and can save a lot of heartbreak.
-Hoses, check all radiator hoses and heater hoses. If they even look a little suspicious, replace them. Get new clamps when you do.
-Battery, if it's more than a couple of years old, I would definitely look at a new one before I went (and carry jumper cables in the back just in case)
-Tires, Check thoroughly for dryrot, in the sidewall and in the tread. This is one of the most common problems with a car that doesn't see much highway time, the tires start to dryrot pretty quick.
-Wheel bearings. Go about 50 miles down the highway on a warm day and then check all your hubs by feeling them. If one is abnormally hot, it's time for bearings. Another problem with cars that don't see a lot of highway time.
-Brake pads. Should be obvious, but be sure and check them too.
-Ignition Module and Coil. I always carry a spare set of these. You never know when one will go, and it is a definite game ender when they do. You're going nowhere unless you have a spare.

Finally, just carry a basic set of tools, and a jumper or something that you can pull on and get dirty if you have to. My car has never left me stranded, but there have been times that I've had to make a little repair here and there. It always helps to have all the tools you need on hand, huge confidence booster. I always carry a few bottles of important fluid (oil, trans fluid, brake fluid, etc) in the rear compartment just in case too. Last of all, don't forget to change your trans and rear in fluid when you do the fluid changes. These are very important, and almost always overlooked.

Check all that and you should be just fine. That's the stuff I always checked on mine, and it worked great! Plus, we're especially lucky for these cars. I've never gone into any parts store and ordered a part for mine that wasn't in stock. They just built so many of the durn things that everybody keeps parts in stock for them. On that note, make a habit of mentally noting when you pass a parts store while driving. That way, if something happens, you at least know where to go to get what you need.

-cal30sniper

 

Thank you so much! Thats EXACTLY what I was looking for.

Hey, on the radiator what would you suggest? I will be driving to southern Cal and know Ill be sitting in some serious traffic there. I do have issues up here in Seattle with stop and go traffic and the car getting pretty warm/hot.

 

Here is what I would suggest as far as cooling modifications go. I've made multiple trips through the gulf coast states and south-west Texas in the heat of summertime, and I've never had an issue with heat. (Stuck in traffic, or cruising at 90mph, A/C on or off, no problems at all)

1. Radiator - Nothing fancy required. Find the best auto parts store replacement that you can. Look for the thickest possible core and best warranty that you can find. I'm a sucker for Napa parts, but I've also had really good luck with O'Reillys and AutoZone radiators. Your standard aluminum core with plastic tanks design will do just fine. I noticed no difference in cooling between a Be-Cool radiator and a new factory-replacement unit with a stock engine.

2. Thermostat - 180 degree Milodon High-Flow thermostat. Dropping down to a 180 keeps the engine cooler for obvious reasons, as does the increased flow through to the radiator. Most regular thermostats really choke water flow due to their design. Stay away from Mr. Gasket thermostats at all costs. I had one of their "high performance" thermostats stick on me in D.C. traffic one time. It almost killed the truck before I could get off to the shoulder.

3. Lower the fan temps - You can either replace the sensor in the block with a hypertech unit, or program your computer chip to lower the fan temps. Factory is set at 220 degrees in the computer, and 235 with the sensor in the block, IIRC. (I.E., the computer turns on a fan when the engine reaches 220 degrees. The sensor in the block grounds out so the second fan comes on at 235 degrees.) I have my computer programmed to turn on at 195, and turn off again at 190. The block sensor is still the factory 235 degree unit. Hypertech sells one that turns on at 176 and off at 166 (too low for a 180 thermostat, your fan would be on all the time). The other switch that hypertech sells is on at 200 and off at 185. I would suggest going the programming route, as you can set the fans at a happy medium. I don't like my engine getting up to 200, but then again, I guess 200 is still relatively safe.

4. Water Pump - High-volume, preferably aluminum. Aluminum saves you weight, and helps a bit with heat transfer (not much, bet every little bit helps). I had really good luck with my Proform water pump, but I'm upgrading to an Edelbrock unit on my GTA just because I feel more comfortable with it. I'm running a Milodon high-flow cast iron water pump on my Suburban, and I give it 5 thumbs up.

5. Thorough Coolant flush - Before making the above modifications, run at least two separate radiator flushings through your original system (i.e., flush it once, then flush it again). I like Prestone's radiator flush, but that's the only thing I've tried. Follow the directions completely on this. If it says to let the engine run for 30 minutes with the flush in it, then let it run for a full 30. After you're done with the flushings, replace the items above, and re-fill with a 70% distilled water/30% antifreeze mix. It will cool better than 50/50 mix. Don't use garden hose water, the distilled water doesn't have any minerals in it. Water with minerals will leave nasty deposits inside your radiator, clogging up those pretty new channels.

6. Transmission Cooler - Guess what makes a major portion of the heat that your engine has to cool? Guess what is most susceptible to heat? That's right, your TH700. Ever wonder why people burn these up religiously? Part of the reason is because they run them way too hot. Put a good transmission cooler up in the grill and splice into the factory lines AFTER they leave the radiator. This allows the heat exchanger in the radiator to cool the fluid to slightly above engine temp, and then the separate transmission cooler to take it down even further. An old rule of thumb is that for ever 20 degrees you drop transmission temp, you nearly double it's life. I'd also recommend running Valvoline Max Life Dex/Merc trans fluid when you do the change. It's not that expensive, and it's a fully synthetic replacement for Dexron VI. I've had excellent luck with it.

7. Air-Dams and Spoilers - Make sure that all of your factory air dam package is present and in good order. If you're missing plastic ducting before the radiator, or your spoiler is messed up, you will never keep the engine cool. I was running all of the above mods with a Be-Cool radiator. I had a good front spoiler, but the rest of my ducting in the nose was missing. I could not keep the car cool on even a mildly warm day. Anything above 60 mph and I started overheating like crazy. As soon as I replaced all the ducting, I couldn't force it over 170 degrees, no matter what I did.

8. Electric Fan Motors - Here's the wild card. They're expensive, and hard to source. Most people never think about them, but I have burned up a fan motor on one of my trips, and it was no fun. I had been interstate cruising all morning and had no idea it was out until I started hitting traffic in Northern Virginia. I had to pull off the road and wait until 7pm for the traffic to clear out enough to get back on. You can survive without a cooling fan, I drove without one from Victoria, British Columbia to Ozona, TX. It gets real tough though, and traffic/stop lights become your worst nightmare. You're radiator will cool itself at anything above 30mph, but it heats up fast below that. This is one item that local parts stores won't have. I got mine through Rock Auto. I would also keep a spare cooling fan relay, or replace the one you have and keep the factory one as a spare. It's a small piece, and not expensive at all, but I have had them go out before.

The trick to making any of these cars dead-reliable is to use top-quality parts and practice preventative maintenance like it's your job. Cars from the factory are reliable not only because they're new, but also because they use top-quality parts. I highly recommend using original AC Delco parts whenever you can. Rock Auto carries almost everything in stock, and it's a lot cheaper than the dealer. There's a reason that AutoZone special is only $10. It's because it was made by the lowest bidder in a country that doesn't give a damn where you end up getting stranded when that part fails. It may have a lifetime warranty, but is it really worth changing it every three years when it goes out? Using top quality fluids is another huge help. Even if you get away with running cheaper fluids, the piece of mind that comes with the top quality stuff is irreplaceable on that lonely stretch of highway at night. And I'm a firm believer that it actually is better for your engine. There's a reason engines are lasting a lot longer these days, and a big part of it has to do with better lubricants. If it doesn't start with Valvoline, Mobile 1, or Castrol, it probably isn't finding it's way into my car.

Just my $.02. Hope it helps!

-cal30sniper