livinginsuburbania

When I last posted I had got the 99 Chevy Sub. that was DOA an after a couple of days got it running pretty well. I had not tested it that much and did not know how it would handle on a trip. After 9 hours of traffic, sitting at a standstill or at 75MPH it ran perfect. We had to stop at a Food Lion grocery store for a weeks worth of food & beverage. The truck was packed to the roof. Third seat was taken out also. As you can tell from the picture I even had the Air Head inner tube on the roof that was full of bottled water and a few cases of PBR. Once loaded up we continued for another hour until we reached the entrance to the Outer Banks of NC. We then drove North up Rt. 12 through Duck and past Corolla until we arrived at the entrance of the 4X4 beach access. We then drove another 10 + miles along the oceanfront until we were just 100 yards from the Va border. Up the dune hill and to the left was the 4 story house where all 18 of us family members were to spend the week. The truck handled great. Everyday I would throw all the beach chairs, boogie boards, skim boards, umbrella's, sand toys etc, and the big ICE cooler of drinks. I must confess that I had a knot in my stomach the whole trip down hoping that the truck would make it. Praying each mile, turning down the radio every time I heard or felt something. Checking the guages etc. nerve wracking with 4 kids in the back. Knowing that all my in-laws would be severely hard on me had it broke down, you know, "how could you take my daughter & grandkids in that truck!!!"... etc, you can imagine the scene. But instead,it was "wow, how did you get it going... did you really pay X for it?? etc... It was a calculated risk. A number of years ago when my wife and I got married I drove my 65 Plymouth Fury 3 all the way up the coast through Maine across the ferry to Yarmouth NS then all the way up to Cape Breton Isle for a two week honeymoon. that Fury drove excellent and got us all the way back home safe & sound. Call us crazy but you got to do with what you have.

73shark

Glad your maiden voyage went well. Nice looking truck BTW.

kevinkpk

Glad you posted, and had no issues. I have a 2000 with 164k on it that has only let me down once with a bearing issue. I also have had other work done on it, but great truck.

hicksvilleshick

Sweet! thats awesome!

RacerX

Bro its the same thing for me also. I get these cars for a song. Spend a while fixing stuff and THEN its time for the ROADTRIP. I say if I can make it to my Moms house 160 miles away AND back then I think it may be ready. Man, I had a 87 Grand Marquis that was the goats gut. Ugly on the outside but inside almost pristine. I would drive from NY to Baltimore and back(400 miles roundtrip). No problems. Drove my family from Miami back to NY(1300 miles one way). No problem WITH AC and meal breaks. I got rid of it last year when I got this Suburban. You know they crushed the car the same day? Awful man. But no one wants a 23 year old full size car with flaking paint, even though it ran like a dream.