Longest you have traveled for a Car or Part.

OK since I just packed the truck up for another crazy trip with my father to pick up a car. Whats the longest you have driven to get a car or part that you wanted.

Today is a mild one at ~14 hours or so total with meals, but its 14 hours with my Dad so I am ecstatic to do it.

But at the end of it another hot rod project. If everything checks out.

Longest has been flying to Michigan and driving a Prowler back in what should have been a illegal number of hours.

Any fun stories. Just itching to get on the road but not leaving until around 11ish tonight so I can avoid all the traffic.

Waco, Texas to pick up a 73 Capri 2300 miles for a $475 car, S Carolina for a Stag via the Rolex. Oklahoma for a Honda via the Mitty, hell where haven't I been

The farthest I have gone is from Southwest Michigan to Southwest Indiana (6 hours one way) to strip down a TR-7 and strap the shell to the back of a large pickup.

It was 16VCorey's, and it was free. I still have not used it for anything.

When I sold my Locost, the guy drove from Iowa to Connecticut, straight through.

Then he loaded it up, turned around and headed home. He didn't make it. He had to stop in Ohio and get a hotel room.

I can't compete on that level.

I didn't go specifically for a part, but I ended up bringing an A-Series long block home, to Milwaukee, from a Mini Meet in Charleston, SC. It spent the trip on the front passenger floor of the Mini (on the trailer).

Ended up being a borked block. A pin retaining ring let loose and scoring the hell out of the bore. The guy I bought it from swore it was a good motor when he pulled it, though.

Sweet hot rod, btw. A Flathead powered rod is on my bucketlist.

Farthest I have gone is from Columbus, OH to Little Rock, AR for my WRX, 12 hrs one way.

I drove 450 miles each way from the Chicago 'burbs to almost northern Wisconsin for a Datsun Roadster 1968 2000 that I won on ebay for $128.00. My wife looks at it and suggest I take it right to the junkyard and try to get $50 out of it.

I parted it out on ebay (back when ebay was good) and gross over $2,000. This funds the next project along with a nice gold ring for the wife's birthday.

Chicago to Dallas for 911. Chicago to Baltimore for an e28. To Louisville, KY for a TR4

A few years ago with my bronzit E30, I woke up at 2am. Drove from Stillwater, OK to Sherveport, LA in an E30 with no interior (no carpet, door cards, insulation, etc, just a driver's seat). We then pulled a mint black sport interior out of the seller's car, put it in my car, and I turned around and drove home. Got back around 10pm. THAT was a long day.

My silver 318 E30, Nov '09, flew to Newark, partied my a$$ off all night, then left in the morning with the intention of making it from Newark to Tulsa in one stop.

I only made it as far as St. Louis...............still about 1000 miles with a raging hangover and 5 hours of sleep.

My 3 big trips were to Greer SC, Springfield Ill. and El Paso TX. I live in East Texas and El Paso was the longest in both miles and miles of driving through nothing.

Bruce

I flew from Philly to Atlanta to buy a '95 Neon ACR sedan in about 1999. Twice, in fact, since the first time the clutch cable took a dump as I was backing it out of the airport garage space. The seller and I managed to get that fixed and I drove him to his house, where upon it promptly seized up and couldn't be turned over.

I flew home diappointed. The next weekend, the seller started trying to take it apart and see why it seized. Turns out the brass washer from the end of the clutch cable had jammed between the starter pinion and the flywheel and it popped right out when he dropped the starter. Car was fine after that so I flew back down (this was when 1-way airfare was about $60) with my nephew and drove it home straight through, about 14 hours.

That was the ACR featured in GRM's "Fast Four Doors" article from about 1998 or so, before I bought it.

I brought an intake manifold home in my carry-on from Dallas... does that count?

I left Norfolk, VA to go to Columbus, OH to get my Mini. About 600 miles each way. The fun part was that I had been thinking about the Mini and was talking on the phone to a friend on Friday evening. We decided we should just go and check the car out. We both had to work Sunday so had to be back in Norfolk at 6:00 AM. We left around 10PM crashed at my in-laws house in WV for a few hours then made it Columbus Saturday morning. After a disasterous test drive where the car stalled and would not start and we ended up getting lost. I bought the car and attempted to make the 600 mile drive back home. Not a great plan. We made about halfway when a distinct lack of oil pressure forced us to park the Mini in Ripley WV. It was getting close to midnight and there were no U-haul places open and we had to be back to Norfolk for duty - so I parked the Mini in a mall parking lot and off we went. I was more than a little tired that duty day.

Ended up going back for it the next weekend with a trailer. I had called the mall on Monday to tell them my car was there and to not tow it away. They were ok with that. Only took about a year or so until I drove the Mini again after a new gearbox and engine rebuild.

SE MI to Richmond VA for an '86 Audi 4kq, and my current one, SE MI to Mooresville, NC for a '91 Miata.

Cincinnati to Ocala, FL for a hood, l was lucky that I had to bring some stuff down for my mom's move to FL. I just had to leave a few days early.

Cincinnati to Atlanta to tow my brothers car he just purchased which he threw a rod on his way home from picking it up.

July 2007: London, Ontario to Shiprock, New Mexico for a $900 Starion. Grand Cherokee + car hauler trailer. Trailer was purchased the day before leaving. Jeep caught fire in Colorado. Fixed it & kept going. A/C failed in the middle of the desert. Meh. 3000 km each way.

May 2008: Potsdam, Germany to Blackpool, England for a £3500 Lotus. Flew in, drove it back. On two cylinders. Ignition coil failed, had no tools, nothing open on Sunday. Thought I had insurance, found out later I didn't. Ffffffuuuuuuuuuuu... 1500 km each way.

Have I learned better yet? Was looking at dodgy French cars on French Ebay all last week. So no.

Jay wrote: July 2007: London, Ontario to Shiprock, New Mexico for a $900 Starion. Grand Cherokee + car hauler trailer. Trailer was purchased the day before leaving. Jeep caught fire in Colorado. Fixed it & kept going. A/C failed in the middle of the desert. Meh. 3000 km each way.

How did you like Shiprock? I've been there once and think it is very beautiful scenery.

Sorry for the threadjack.

EvanB wrote: How did you like Shiprock? I've been there once and think it is very beautiful scenery. Sorry for the threadjack.

Loved it down there. The town of Shiprock itself (or Farmington for that matter) isn't very impressive, but the surroundings blew me away. Definitely one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. Actually the drive between Grand Junction and Shiprock is one I want to do again someday, in something sportier than a Grand Cherokee. Incredible roads.

We vacationed around for a week or so at the same time, saw Albuquerque, Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon... I was big into Tony Hillerman's novels at the time too so it was really cool seeing places he mentioned in the books for myself.

I still have some photos of the trip up here.

Yes, North Rim of the Grand Canyon is one of the most beautiful places I have been. Albuquerque is good (my grandparents live there) I have been up Sandia peak a few times and it is always fantastic.

Asheville NC to Ponca Nebraska in a NA Diesel Rabbit to pick up a TD Diesel Rabbit and drive them both back, did it in about 48 hours round trip over a weekend. It's about 1100 miles each way.

Asheville to Outside Philidelphia PA to pick up a 1984 Rabbit and drive it back, done round trip in 30 hours plus or minus.

I didn't do this myself - but when I sold my GTX shell, the two guys who came to pick it up drove from London, Ontario to Grand Junction, Colorado, then on to Salt Lake City, Utah to grab some more parts and (I think) another car. They then drove home.

Non-stop. One guy driving, one guy sleeping. They came through Junction at around 10 pm, I think.

According to Google Maps, that's a 3,710 mile trip. For a $900 car with no engine.

Gainesville, FL to Connecticut and back with no stops for sleep to pick up a TII RX7. IIRC it took 38hrs. Good thing I had a co-driver.

Tampa to Elizabeth City,NC to drop of a GTO parts car, to Raleigh to drop off LS1 to Gulfport,MS to trade a 4L65 for T56 to Lake City,FL to pick up a $450 L33 and back to Tampa. Sometimes when you find a deal you just gotta go.

Wow. You guys put me to shame. Longest I ever went was about 3 hours with a U-Haul rented trailer behind my Dooley to pick up the '66 Chevy.