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Another Scrambler Purchase/Road Trip - UPDATE- BODY ON FRAME AGAIN

I made it into Hurricane about an hour ago safe and sound, Scrambler performed about 95% great, so happy about that. Kind of funny, pull into a town that I have never been to before in my life, wore out and tired,and the first thing I see is BigWalton cruising down the main drag LOL
 
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Just a quick recap of the trip so far. Basically, Biloxi to Dallas no drama. In Dallas, which I hate driving through, missed two turns, so lost about 30 minutes time. Everytime I drive through Dallas there is some snafu. Dallas to Amarillo was pretty uneventful, except for sporadic rain the last hour or so, plus great lightening show for about the last 3 hours.

Leaving Amarillo, heading west on I40 today sucked. Super strong unrelenting head wind the entire day today. On I40, I drafted an 18 wheeler for about 150 miles, easily maintained 70-75. One he got off on an exit, it was hell fighting the wind. Stayed on I40 till Gallup, then headed north on 264 through reservation land. I thought getting off I40 would help with the wind, nope. Relentless wind all day. Once I started gaining altitude, and fighting the wind, I just kept it in 4th hear, 3,000 RPM, 65-70 MPH. And it got. 15-16 MPG LOL. I took 264 to 89, then 89A. Very beautiful drive, big stretches of absolutely nothing, but beautiful scenery, so a really cool drive.

I highly recommend 89A, simply beautiful scenery. But, part of it is pretty grueling, you climb in altitude very quick on a very twisty narrow road. On parts of this, I was 3rd gear, 3,000 RPM, 45 MPH. On the most twisty hilly parts, I would have a single hiccup, like a quick starve for fuel moment. About 5 of those moments. I am thinking this could be because the tank was about half way empty, maybe the pick up sucked air. Once I got out the twisty hilly part, ran it hard for the next hour and a half with no issues.

I'll check the fuel pressure later on this week, make sure it is still good. I checked it before I left home, about 33 PSI at the rail, jumped to 40 with the vacuum line pulled off the regulator. After those few hiccups no problems, so hopefully just the pick up tube sucking air. I will probably install an internal fuel pump on this one soon, and leave the external mounted up as a backup.

I will have to average all my mileage numbers, probably got around 15 on this trip. Besides the gas hiccups, the only other issue so far is the headlights go out if you hit the high beam switch. Pretty sure I have a spare switch with me.
 
Time for some Utah trip pictures. Been busy playing catch up. I'm not the best photographer, but here we go. Some of this will be boring, but here are my pictures.

Starting miles:

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Loaded up. Not too much stuff since I wasn't camping. The large ice chest has shoes/jack/some tools, etc. inside. Great way to keep stuff dry. The big red bag is a waterproof bag, made for kayaks. It is 100% waterproof, it will even float. I have been using it since my first Moab trip, love it.

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Entering Louisiana:

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This is how fast I typically drive on the interstate. The tach/speedometer are accurate:

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Stretch of I49, somewhere south of Shreveport, LA:

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Entering Texas:

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I did not take any pictures while driving through Texas, been through here too may times to count LOL.

Entering New Mexico:

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Trying to catch up to an 18 wheeler to "draft" on I 40. There was a ridiculous headwind I was fighting when heading west to Utah. Without "drafting", I could hardly maintain 65 mph. By "drafting, I could stay at 75 with half the throttle.

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I missed the "Welcome to Arizona" signs, but here are my first pictures of Arizona, somewhere west of Shiprock on Highway 64.

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On the way to Utah, I took the route my phone suggested, said it was fastest. Not sure on that, it was very scenic/desolate. Basically, I turned north off I40 in Gallup, New Mexico. Headed north on 491, then west on 64 to 160. Then, north on 89, to 89A, to 389, and finally to 59 and into Hurricane, Utah. Anyway, very scenic drive, i highly recommend it. But, it is very hilly, high in altitude (around 9,000 feet) in some places.

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On one stretch, I drove for 1.5 hours without seeing another vehicle!!!!!!! There are a few stretches of absolutely nothing. It is beautiful, but be prepared. I had extra gas, food, water and clothes. If you break down, might be on your own for awhile. Most of these roads run through Reservations, so just a few "cities: here and there. Artsy fartsy picture:

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I believe these are from near the Vermilion Cliffs:

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And finally, Utah. This picture is from the parking lot of my hotel/resort:

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And of course, I go to the desert, it hails the first night LOL:

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Some trail pictures. I went on the "easy/scenic" run the first day, don't remember the trail name. Anyway, it stormed the night before, so the normally ankle deep creek was flooded, and this waterfall was more spectacular:

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These pictures are from the top of a hill near some radio towers:

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On the last day, I went on the scenic tour. Pretty cool canyon where we stopped for lunch.

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Share the road!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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That is all my trail pictures, too busy driving to take pictures :-(

On the way home, I took 89 down to Flagstaff, then I40. 89 to Flagstaff was a nice drive, I believe this picture is from just north of Flagstaff.

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Somewhere in Texas, around Childress, on 287. I take I40 to Amarillo, then 287 down to Dallas. Anyway, pictures of the storm clouds, figured I was going to get soaked, but I didn't hit bad weather to Louisiana.

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I thought this was neat, caught it just in time LOL. I turned my odometer back to zero when I rebuilt this Scrambler 9 years ago.

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My engine is a "new" 4.0 from Hesco. It maintain this oil pressure the entire time on the highway at 2,600 RPM:

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It will drop to 25 on a hot idle, jumps to 40 with any throttle input. Pretty happy about that.
 
Damage/Upgrades/etc.

I do not like my open air filter. I had to clean it before I left Utah. I am going to the junk yard, going to pull an air box off a Cherokee, and install it. This way, I can just grab a common air filter, throw them away when they get dirty. Hard to tell, butthe entire engine is very dusty, except for the air filter I cleaned. It was clogged up.

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Good news, the valve cover does not leak!!!!!!!!!

Scraped up the driver side rear flare pretty good, better then paint!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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POS rear view mirror broke on the way home. High speeds and head winds did it in, I guess???? The weld on the arm is from my first Moab trip. Made in China steel just ain't what it used to be!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Even with a winch in the way, the bugs did a number on the AutoZone aluminum radiator. It is not leaking, but many of the fins are bent. I will have to pull it to straighten them out.

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I never have fixed my binding wiper issue. But, by leaving the motor mounted loose, they work. KInd of crappy, but it works.

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All cleaned up, waiting on its next adventure.

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I'll be interested in how the Cherokee box mounts up. What is the diameter of the hose where it comes out of / goes into the engine ?
 
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