3 minute read
Hot Rod Power Tour ’22
Tour, which started in Memphis, Tennessee, and ended at Atlanta Motor Speedway five days later. On top of all those obstacles, Mother Nature decided it would be a terrific time to cover these states in a heatwave like one we have never felt, which is the absolute worst nightmare for any classic truck owner. Although, if you build it right no problems should arise, right? That’s what we thought. To prepare of Square for this trip, we did everything we thought needed to be done to make a bulletproof Bow Tie. We swapped out the entire suspension for a new QA1 coilover system, we replaced all the brakes with upgraded parts from Wilwood, we took out the original small block and replaced it with a completely rebuilt 6L LS stuffed with all new Eagle
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Specialty parts from Summit racing, and we even removed all the factory interior and swapped it with heat and sound protection from DEI, as well as a new factory fresh interior from TMI Products.
When all was said and done, the truck looked spectacular, ran like a brand new vehicle, and was cool and comfortable inside the cab. So, in our opinion, all our T’s were crossed and our I’s dotted. Yeah, we still found ourselves on the side of the road after a few hundred miles.
W E A K EST L I N K
In our case, the weakest link was the one we didn’t see coming. We bolted a perfectly functioning 4L 60 E to the 6L LS engine with no questions on its reliability. It had low miles, it worked completely fine before it was removed, and all the fluid was removed and completely replaced.
Unfortunately, the heat built up after driving a few hundred miles destroyed the rings inside the transmission and left us with only third gear. It was devastating to say the least, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the rest of the trip.
OLD R E L I A BLE
After a quick 350-mile tow back down south, we parked the pickup and fired up our ’78 Blazer. Old Reliable was ready and able to complete the entire power tour, and we’re proud to say we picked up our long hauler plaques at the end of the trip. It was a crazy and wild week of truck lifestyle fun, and one that we are sure to torture ourselves with again next year. Have you ever gone on a power tour? We’d love to hear about your experience!
