THE DOWN-UNDER DUO DOES THE DISTANCE…AGAIN!

Another 3,500-mile fl og with E-Berg and Dowell, Another 3,500-mile fl og with E-Berg and Dowell, this time eastbound in a dead-stock Cordoba. this time eastbound in a dead-stock Cordoba.

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OVID: What a huge impact it had on our lives—and

CMopar activities. If you were with us back then, in the fall of 2018, we drove a slammed-together 440-6 1970 Plymouth Road Runner from NY to San Fran, with only a leaky (40-year-old) power steering pressure hose causing a minor hiccup (see page 45 for the article index).

Yours truly has driven the US coast-to-coast at least 25 times, starting in approx 1967. About half of those trips were made while competing in the One Lap of America, sponsored back then by Car & Driver Magazine. 100% of those trips were in Muscle-era Mopars.

Since the Beeper 3 trip in 2018, we had began planning another cross-country flog, but the Kung Flu kept interrupting. Then, about a year ago, my son, Marc, relocated from Central Florida to the hills northeast of San Diego. So, we (myself and my alter-ego, Brian Dowell, from Melbourne, Australia) decided to reverse course, and drive a Mopar to the East coast from the Pacific Rim, catching all the stunning southwest sights along the way. Problem: We had no place to work on a car in SoCal, so we needed to find a Mopar that would make the cut with little to no wrench-twisting, neither before, nor during, the shlep.

First by remote control (read: online listings), and then while in SoCal for about 10 days, we searched for something from the 1962–’72 era that would make the grade to no avail. Then we widened our search parameters, to include later ’70s

We wish the ’Doba had as much teeth as these dinosaurs at Anzo-Borrego State Park in California, our first stop on the long trip back east.

Mopes. Brian hit pay dirt with an original-owner 1977 Cordoba, 360 4-Bbl. This car blew our minds, with a documented 77K on the clock and zero, and I mean zero rust.

The only obvious (and admitted) defects were the “fine Corinthian Leather” had turned to dust, and all the R12 in the A/C system had vanished into the ozone layer. It had recently passed California Emissions testing (“Smog Check”) with room to spare. Still 100% dead stock, it ran like a top, although the CA emissions clearly did an excellent job of horsepower reduction. With a stack of service records as thick as an old Manhattan phone book, we bought it, hoping against hope that we could get the A/C functional. Thus, you should know up front, this would not be a project car, just a cross-country travelogue vehicle.

Once in our possession, we quickly found, much to our chagrin, that the power seats had bought the farm. Stuck in an “on the floor” position, it’s not the greatest for spinal health, so fixing those seat mechanisms required nearly a day of wrench-twisting, using little more than a $20 (really) Harbor Freight Barbie tool set.

We weren’t so lucky with the A/C. We bought a R134 conversion fitting set, and had it charged locally, but it leaked out quickly. Out of time, we faced the fact that this was gonna be one hot trip, with predicted temperatures in the southwest hovering at triple digits. At least the sunroof worked great, and nothing leaked, not one drop.

The Cordoba’s body was—and still is—100% mint, 100 original paint. Not even a door ding.

The seller actually delivered the ’Doba to Marc’s house, and Marc reported no problems after a few local test drives. Once loaded up, we got it weighed. 4,760 pounds with 2 riders up and a few bags in the trunk. Easily 700 pounds heavier than a similarly equipped ’60s B-body. Weight hurts everything. A lot.

Removed from the car, Brian got the power seat working. A roll pin had slipped out of position, jamming the power jackscrew mechanism. He did this with no more than a basic tool set—the cheapest they sell—from Harbor Freight. Alas, no help for the A/C system on our schedule. After sitting for a few weeks, one of the first stops was the D-I-Y car wash. A smog-choked 360 with single exhaust and two cats, in a nearly 4,800 pound (2,131 Kg) late B-body does not a performance car make. The only non-original parts we could see were the voltage regulator, radiator, ECU, belts, hoses, and ignition secondary wires. A true survivor, it used zero oil. At all. Ever.

EASTWARD HO!

At 9:30 on the morning of June 4th, we left Ramona, California, with no pre-planned route or even destinations. I knew that all roads east from Ramona were awesome, and they did not disappoint. The Shelter Valley (SR78) route east from Julian was right out of the best Hollywood car-chase movies. Our first break was Anza-Borrego State Park, primarily checking out the giant sculptures in the Borrego Springs area. We had also wanted to take a noted canyon hike, named simply “The Slot”, but the brutal temperatures put the kibosh on those plans. From there we turned north along the shores of the horrendous Salton Sea, a true environmental disaster. We passed through Joshua Tree National Park, with lots of enticing walks and hikes around every bend—but, again, it was simply too toasty. Summer is not the best time to be in the desert (duh!).

Lunch was in Twentynine Palms, with steak sandwiches that required the teeth of the steel dinosaurs we had just seen, or at least a carbide chop saw, to get through. Complaining to the waitress, she allowed “My husband won’t eat here either.” Thanks for telling us earlier, bitch. Somehow, we lived through this, but, stomachs aside, the temperatures were really getting to us both and it was only 2:00 p.m. Where’s the A/C?

We paid $120 to have the A/C sucked down and charged. It blew ice cold—for about 30 minutes. That’s $4 per minute of cold air. Ugh. And we were outta time to chase the leak.

After blasting across the aptly named Sheephole Valley Wilderness, we made our first gas stop at Vidal, CA, 226 miles from Ramona. With regular hovering close to $7 bucks a gallon, I was pleased when the pump clicked off at $75, it seemed that maybe the ’Dober was getting decent fuel economy—11 gallons for 200-plus miles, not too shabby. Wrong, the pump had clicked off because the credit limit was $75! It took another gold card, and another $40, to top off the 25.5 gallon tank. This set the stage for a crazy expensive transcontinental fuel bill, the car averaged 13 MPG, despite the 2.76:1 cogs and large diameter tires!

LEAVING CALI BEHIND

We soon crossed into Arizona at Parker on a rather mundane highway bridge, in the shadows of a historic 1908 truss Santa Fe ne BNSF rail bridge. Following the Colorado River did mitigate temperatures a bit. Still, the temperatures in the 4-wheeled Chrysler steam cabinet were wearing us both down, as were the seats—we had been forewarned that the Cordoba seats were nowhere near as supportive and long-term comfortable as earlier (or later) Mopar buckets, and we validated this factoid, the hard way (really, too soft). In fact, the passenger seating position seemed to be slowly destroying the hamstring in my right leg, something that continued for the entire trip—and beyond.

The good news was that, with the smallblock under the hood, the car exhibited surprisingly good road manners, and the OEM rear swaybar added to the good handling, especially con-

We even ran the ’Doba at the local Indian reservation dragstrip (really). Good weight transfer had us hopeful, but it was a dog, barely 45 MPH in the 1/8 mile. Headers and dual pipes would probably add 50 HP.

Joshua Tree N.P. is a must-see if you’re in the ’hood, as the the tree-like cacti are cool. That’s figuratively since it was 99° F. in the shade here. The SoCal car culture is alive and well, we’re happy to report, $7 gas notwithstanding. The city of Ramona is loaded with gearheads. They have an actually rally-type cruise every Thursday evening. Over in Escondido, they close down several blocks for an upscale show, which is very well attended.

Roadside attraction? Just off 62 was this unattended Loran-C (I think) radio station, unattended but seemingly operational, with FAA warning signs. If I am right, this is a backup for aircraft navigation if our GPS system is jammed or somehow fails.

We crossed the Colorado River into Arizona at Parker. The highway bridge was boring, but the 1908 5-truss rail bridge was anything but. Pre-China, it is 100% American steel from Pittsburgh. The Mohave Desert is crossed by excellent, very lonely, highways, such as Route 62. Hammer time!

sidering only 6˝ wide road wheels. Brakes (stock 11.75˝ rotors) were adequate, although with a fully laden weight of over 4,600 pounds, adequate is the best that can be said. Steering, for unmolested, original, pure stock, was surprisingly precise. Overall, the car’s road manners cannot be faulted (when taken in context). Cruising speeds in the high double-digits was also acceptable, as were noise levels. Acceleration, however, was barely adequate. Passing on 2-lanes needed to be planned carefully, using every inch of available macadam. 40-odd miles up the Colorado, we stopped at the real London Bridge, which had been built in—duh—London in 1831, and was moved to Lake Havasu City, AZ,

Yes, that is really London Bridge in Arizona. No bull. It was taken away from the Thames in 1968, and by 1971, was reassembled here. Loaded into containers, it went through the Panama Canal, and was trucked in from Long Beach, California, then reassembled stone-by-numbered-stone. It is much more attractive than the “new” one in London, though able to carry less traffic. An artificial bypass channel from the Colorado River was routed beneath it.

SUPER SHLEPS

We slammed together this 440-6 Road Runner in record time, this would have been impossible without AMD body panels. The assembly process was greatly eased by the fact that both Brian and I knew exactly what size every fastener is, what color each wire in the loom is, etc. We drove it NY to SanFran in less than ideal weather. No worries, no hassles. Mopar or nocar. Indeed! PRIOR TO THIS CORDOBA RUN, our most recent transcon trip had us driving west in a 1970 440-6 Super Track Pack Road Runner, built in record time from a shell, which we covered in macro detail in our Dec. 2018—Dec. 2020 issues. The car ran, literally, like a quartz watch and was a total pleasure. 1962–’72 B-bodies were fantastic cars one and all, from a 225 Slant to a Street Hemi, you can’t go wrong. As you’ll find out, this trip was not as pleasurable… The Beeper3 Trip Remembered (print index)

INSTALLMENT ISSUE OVERVIEW 1 12/18 Intro & overview, look back at 2 previous Beepers. 2 2/19 Starting on the body and chassis. 3 4/19 Drivetrain prep and installation. 4 6/19 Install suspension, brakes, steering and tires. 5 8/19 Exhaust, wiring / electrical, dash / IP, steering column, seats / interior, heater. 6 10/19 Install windshield and backlight; first drive. 7 12/19 Last minute tweak before setting out cross-country. 8 2/20 Rick & Brian begin their epic 3,800-mile cross-country adventure. 9 4/20 Travelogue from New York almost to San Francisco. 10 8/20 Dropping the Beeper3 off at the shipping yard for its voyage to Oz. 11 10/20 Beeper 3 arrives in Australia. 12 12/20 Paint and interior details in Brian’s shop. Fini! –RE

in 1968. It was reassembled on dry land, and a river channel created beneath it. Today, it is a popular boating and watersports spot, Brian dipped his toes in the cold Colorado water.

We hadn’t decided where to spend the night, but a blowout and subsequent roadside tire change in the heat on the side of I-40 burnt us out. We overnighted in Kingman at a nice Holiday Inn Express, with zero chance of buying a new tire on Saturday night, then started Googling for a Sunday tire swap. After all, a new week begins on Sunday. So, with that noted, we’ll be back to tell you more next issue.

Our first day ended on a sour note, as we blew a tire at nearly triple digits on I-40 near Yucca. Yuck. Luckily, we had a full-size spare, and a mini floor jack.

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