Documenting the ongoing project of flying across the country to buy cars that should have been trailered… then driving them 1000+ miles home anyway.
If a car costs less than $7,000 and has under 160,000 miles, it deserves a chance to prove itself on a 1,200 mile journey.
Trailering is for people with good judgment and working credit cards. We have neither.
Every trip starts with the same lie: “It’ll be fine.”
Oklahoma to Iowa. Made it, but the cooling fan clutch decided to grenade itself in Kansas. Drove the last 4 hours with the heater on full blast in July to keep the engine alive.
Oregon to Iowa. This one actually made it without major drama. Still felt like we were pushing our luck the entire way.
Washington to Iowa. Soft top in February. We froze the entire way. The heater worked about 40% of the time. Still better than flying back empty-handed.
Classic. Made the trip, but the turbo started making concerning noises around mile 600. We just kept the boost low and prayed.
Missouri to Iowa. Surprisingly reliable. The only car that didn’t try to kill us. We were genuinely confused.