Made it to the Canadian border! Would've loved to cross and explore but current covid restrictions made it seem like a task better suited for another trip.
We did spend a few hours at Grand Portage state park hiking and exploring though. Angry is right it's beautiful up here.
Pictures don't do any of this justice. It's like a post card. The north shores of Superior are stunning.
My wife was equally as I was excited to be taking the Merc. I'm a lucky man!
I miss the North Shore. Stop by Betty's Pies on the way home.
Nice pics, Killer ride!
In reply to Gunchsta :
My wife's people are from Grand Marais. Her grandmother (98 in Jan) and all her uncles are still up there. We try to get up there once a year.
It really is gorgeous there. Recharges my batteries real good.
Made it home! Probably 650 miles altogether on the old Merc, no issues at all! What a nice comfortable cruiser.
In reply to Mr_Asa :
It's a very quiet peaceful little community, wasn't what I was expecting- in a good way. Voyageur brewing is exceptional
Also this has been a bit of an unintentional bucket list car- the wheels and exhaust were a bucket list item, as was the trip to the Canadian border. I'm really pleased how well the car worked and that my wife kinda pushed/wanted to take it. Of our fleet it was her first choice!
I'm very happy, what a fun trip and vacation.
Not much to report, cold morning so I let the car warm up a bit. Thought the exhaust looked cool in the tail lights.
Are those LED tails? They look very bight.
I am debating replacing all mine on the travelall.
In reply to java230 :
Nope, regular old bulbs. The contrast makes them look much brighter than they actually are.
I did LED tail lights on my Cougar and the difference is amazing.
In reply to wawazat :
Sorry to derail....
But awesome! I was looking at "trailer marker lights" they are 7/8" hole mounted. Removes all the socket issues.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Had some fun with the Merc these couple of days off. Went for a nice cruise and finally switch out the stock muffler for something a little noisier. Ended up going with a parts store Cherry Bomb brand turbo muffler. Basically as close to original size and location as I could with a little more v8 rumble.
Being that I was going to be installing it and leaving the rest of the exhaust alone I wanted a straight forward fit so the bellflower tips stayed in their place.
Original (most likely) muffler in place
Old vs New
New in place.
Honestly it sounds very much the same just rumbles a bit more. It still sounds 'vintage' which is what I was hoping for. I wanted to avoid the Flowmaster chambered muffler sound as it doesn't fit the spirit of the car.
Gunchsta said:I wanted to avoid the Flowmaster chambered muffler sound as it doesn't fit the spirit of the car.
And for that, the world thanks you.
Hooker Aero Chamber is my go-to muffler, but they're neither cheap nor widely available on a walk-in basis.
In reply to DarkMonohue :
I absolutely love Hooker Aero Chambers. I've got a set for next time the truck needs doing.
In reply to DarkMonohue :
I've never ran the Hooker mufflers, good to know.
For something with some cam and compression I really like the Borla xr1, almost has an exotic sound.
As I get older I have a harder time changing things for the sake of changing them. I've been plotting making this car louder for probably a year but always got hung up because cutting the muffler off seemed like such a juvenile thing to do.
Now that my inner child has been pacified with a slightly louder muffler I'm glad I did it because the car seems to run a little better. The old one was, well old. I doubt very much it was truly clogged, but it was starting to rust and sounded like a rain stick when you turn it over. So, perhaps this muffler replacement wasn't completely unnecessary after all.
It's early February, I look at the car every day in the garage but I haven't really touched it since probably my last post.
Anyone else that puts their car away for winter missing it? I wish I was driving this one today. Forecast says 39 on Friday, maybe I'll roll it out of the garage and fire it up.
Those of you that do store cars for a couple months at a time, do you fire them and let them idle occasionally? Let them sit? I've done both and I can't decide which I think is better.
Beyond that I'm hoping for another good summer of use out of the old gal. Some spring bullet points I'm daydreaming about:
Something I maybe should do but will likely postpone another year - front suspension bushings. They're all pretty well shot, but the car drives wonderfully. I have some other little projects (bicycle and vintage-ish dirtbike) I should finish before starting another.
That is all, spring is just around the bend!
Not much to report but it was 40 and sunny yesterday so I fired this old girl up and let it run in the driveway and get up to temp. It fired right up and aside from a lifter seemingly taking a while to pump up it absolutely purred.
My new muffler this fall has a poor connection somewhere because I can hear some extra exhaust coming out under the car, not behind it, so I'll have to address that in the spring. Otherwise it seems pretty ready to go. It was good to hear it run and see it out of the garage.
Gunchsta said:It's early February, I look at the car every day in the garage but I haven't really touched it since probably my last post.
Anyone else that puts their car away for winter missing it? I wish I was driving this one today. Forecast says 39 on Friday, maybe I'll roll it out of the garage and fire it up.
Those of you that do store cars for a couple months at a time, do you fire them and let them idle occasionally? Let them sit? I've done both and I can't decide which I think is better.
I've always had a winter car and a summer car, and I let the summer car sit untouched during the winter. Unless you can take it out and drive it for a decent distance, I don't think letting them idle in the driveway will do the car any good - it doesn't put the engine under load, and it doesn't do anything for the transmission or the rest of the drivetrain. And, of course getting the car out and driving it is not good for the body since there's all that salt residue on the roads. So, even though it's tempting it's best to let them sit until spring.
Hopefully, we only have to wait one more month. 
I need to follow this thread...
Not much to report but this morning (after a 5" snowstorm last night) I'm daydreaming about adding some state park bumper stickers to the old girl this summer.
When we went up north in October I got a nice one from Tettegouche state park, and I think it would be cool to add to the collection. Old fashioned bumper stickers, on a chrome bumper, from places I've visited. I did this a little bit with the 83 GMC my wife and I took on our honeymoon.
Unfortunately I usually don't keep cars long enough to really get a good collection, but a fun dream to pass the time on a snowy Wednesday anyhow.
I like to start cars up and let idle in neutral till up to operating temperature. I roll the car back and forth and use the brakes. I try to put in non ethanol gas in storage tank with some stabilizer. I don't fill the gas tank, not sure either way on that. I keep a battery tender on too.
Yeah I always try and run non-oxy gas in this old hog just because it isn't used as frequently as other cars.
Sometimes I think hearing them run for a bit is like chicken soup for the soul, a nice little reminder. Might not be great for the car, but maybe it's good for the owner.
Either way, I'm excited to take the first trip to work in it this spring!
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