Jonathan and the AMC are home

I guess Misty started this new post and then got distracted, so I'll finish it.

Had a (nearly) uneventful trip back from Dayton, OH with the "new" car. Except for getting stranded in Bland, VA (named after some historical figure, not a reflection of the town's character I've been assured), the car did great. It only needed 2 quarts of oil...per fill-up. Luckily those fill-ups only rolled around about every 100-120 miles. Let's see, 11.5 gals. @ 120 miles is about 10.4 miles per gallon (eek). Not bad for a car who's timing was totally wacked and has oil seeping into and out of everywhere! Hence the necessity to overnight in Bland. By the time I crept to the top of the final long rise in those chilly Virginia mountains, sputtering and backfiring all the way, the old girl finally drowned herself (or more precisely, her distributor cap) in oil, and gave up the ghost.

Thank God I was cresting that long upward stretch when this happened and was able to coast about a mile-and-a-half into the next town: Bland, VA. That pulsating port of refuge and aid for the road-weary, the frost-bitten, and the motion-sick vagabond (oh yeah, and the hopelessly optimistic and slightly foolish car-lover). O.K., so it's more like a wide spot in I-77, but it did have a Dairy Queen (where I supped) and a motel (where I slupped) and a mechanic that was open on Saturday morning! After setting the points to the propper position and blowing out the remaining oil from the distributor cap, I was sent on my way and it wasn't yet 9 o'clock in the morning!

After that little tune-up, the old girl never skipped a tic and it was all I could do to keep her under 70 coming down that mountain. I think the gas mileage even improved to a much more "respectable" 14 or 15 mpg! She still leaks oil like a siv out the rear seal. I just thought of it as an easy way to change the oil. Let the old stuff leak out the bottom, put the new stuff in the top, and voila! fresh oil in the pan. I figured if it's work all this time for Harley Davidson, then it could work for my old AMC! The only other thing I noticed between Winston-Salem (the last place I filled-up) and home was an overwhelming odor of non-combusted fuel mixed with the acrid scent of burning motor oil and a persistent light-headedness that I can only assume was caused by the inhalation of unhealthy amounts of carbon monoxide. Not to worry, though. It turns out that the last time I fueled the car and topped-off the oil, yours truly failed to cap the oil fill tube (which typically connects to the air intake and recirculates all those noxious fumes) allowing all those gasses to be routed staight into the cabin and straight into my nostrils! I've since replaced the cap and all should be well...for next time!

Thanks to everyone who prayed me home on this trip. God certainly protected and provided for my every need while out on the road. I hope we are able to post pics and updates during the next few weeks and months showing the progress being made in repairing this old beast of an automobile! Keep in touch, and let us know what you think of the project.