Road trip, 450 miles. Ready for 2000? Options

[emerygt350]

Well, I took the 914 to Erie PA and back in a terrible rain storm last night, uggh. The driving rain, fog, and window defogging were terrible. Thank God for my sliding rear window glass. Eventually had to turn the heat on and the front fresh air all the way up. 'Baby's breath' my arse. Maybe a baby from the seventh level of hell.

464 miles on the odometer, 15.5 gallons. I am surprised by that since the hills are pretty long and high (1200 feet up and down). 70 mph on the way there in beautiful weather, 60 mph on the way home in probably my worst night drive in decades.

Checked the oil this morning, right on the top notch where I started. At 70 the head temps climbing the mountains (long, long climbs) would get up to 390-400, cruise at 370 and below. Drop down in to the low 300s rapidly on the descents. When I got home last night the engine was happy as could be, even though I was ready to collapse. Cruise afrs were all within safe ranges, plugs looked good in Erie.

I am seriously considering driving it out to Minnesota through Chicago in two weeks. I need to drop my son off in Chicago and figured I would just keep going to visit the family in Minnesota.

The road noise was a little loud, and my butt hurt after a while, but it gets better mileage than the Mini, far better mileage than the Mustang. The Mustang is like driving a sofa and has AC so I am seriously considering it as well. Looking for a butt and lower back cushion that breathes. Anybody run across a good one that can be got at the chain stores?

[Root_Werks]

We've done a few long trips in a 914 before. The last was picking up our converted six from CA and driving home to WA. We did this over two days, roughly 500 miles each day.

I think a 914 can be a decent road trip car if:

Fresh air fan, controls and tubes all work free and clear.
Ditto for heater, no stinky oil or rusted out boxes that turn the interior into a steam bath.
Seals good and windows adjusted.
All sound deadening and interior in place to keep things as quiet as possible.

Luckily, the six we bought had 993 HE's and the fresh air system worked very well. We got caught in more than a few downpours. The 914 did surprisingly well. Windows stayed clear, wipers wiped etc. The only complaint we both had was the noise level. A six sure sounds cool, but after 15 minutes of a multi hour drive. Then it's just noise.

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You took notes what bothered you, start working to resolve each item.