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It took almost ten years for everything to come together so we could pick up the ’41.  There were times I wondered if it was actually going to happen.  In January of ’14 my wife Wendy and I were talking about a family vacation.  Our daughter was becoming a senior in college and we knew very well it could be our final one with her involved.  I thought for sure we would be going somewhere exciting, like a cruise.  When Wendy suggested that we go pick up the ’41 my jaw hit the floor.  I just couldn’t imagine both my girls agreeing to being cooped up together in a truck, driving cross-country to pick up an old car.  But they both seemed to want this to happen and plans started coming together.

Don’t think the wrong thing…this wasn’t going to be a non-stop dash from California to Ohio and back.  Nope, the girls had places they wanted to see.  We stopped at Zion National Park, ate Crown Burger in Salt Lake City, went to Mount Rushmore, saw the 1880 Town in South Dakota, visited the Spam Museum in Austin Minnesota, shopped at the Mall of America, stopped in Nashville, visited family in Dallas and friends in Abilene Texas and Las Cruces New Mexico.  Yep, you could say they had a few ideas on how this trip was going to go!

We ended up covering almost 5400 miles in 12 days!  We stopped everywhere the girls wanted to [and then some!], visited with family for 4 days in Ohio, and got back home safe and sound with the ’41.
All-in-all, one heck of a trip chocked full of memories and fun.  And not once did anyone complain about being stuck in the truck for 10-16 hours a day!  Man am I blessed!

After getting to Ohio and settled in at my Dad’s house, we all headed over to Uncle Tom’s to check on the car.  As you can see from the pictures she had been sitting pretty much dormant since right after my visit in 2005.  I gotta give credit to Dad and Uncle Tom, they worked on her off and on for two weeks trying to get her started and running…but no joy, she was not cooperating.  They did manage to get all four wheels to spin, and found all the paperwork, spare parts and special tools that went with her.

We spent a day getting her wheels back on and doing some minor repairs so all the doors and hood stayed closed.  Before loading her on the trailer my uncle informed me he still had the original engine and that we needed to get it in the back of my truck.  I was a little surprised and wondered just how that was going to happen.  My uncle reassured me he had it all taken care of…sure enough, add one bucket loader to the mix and the engine was tucked and secured in the back of my truck with minimal damage and no lost appendages.   There were a couple scary moments, but since there was no loss of blood my uncle says they don’t count!

Getting her loaded on the trailer required a good sized hill, a lot of pushing and a come-along.  I know, it sounds kinda scary but it all worked out and she was ready for the trip to her new home…

The return trip was a no nonsense trip back to California covering as many miles as we could in a day.  We did get the opportunity to visit friends and family, but mostly the return trip was about getting home.

We hit a few areas where the skies darkened and these mysterious drops of water fell.  It was very cool!
[Remember, it never rains in Southern California!]

I can honestly now say that the ’41 has gone 85 mph!  On the back of a trailer in West Texas, but she has still traveled at 85 mph…

The worst part of the entire trip was when we hit the California State Line.  You see, almost every other state in the Union allows pickup trucks towing trailers to drive at the regular speed limit.  Not in California…nope, all pickups towing trailers cannot exceed 55 mph!  And the California Highway Patrol absolutely LOVE to enforce this speed limit!  So after traveling over 5,000 miles in twelve days our last 3½ hours were spent driving 55 mph.  And it was miserable!

  Like I said, one heck of a trip loaded with cool memories.

Here she sits at her new home waiting to be brought back to life.

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