Day 9: October 1, 2014 Home at Last!

Here is Bill and LaSalle, finally back in New Mexico

With only 270 miles between Clayton and home, Ken and I expected a very easy cruise home.  Not so!

While driving US 56 between Clayton and Springer, a bouncy section of road seemed to cause resurgence of the surge we had a couple of days before.  I decided this was a continuing problem with the points, since a small adjustment usually cleared it up.  Or perhaps the points are just too warn to be stable?  Who knows?  We decided to just motor on anyway since adjusting the points on a hot engine is not much fun. The surge was annoying but we still were able to keep the LaSalle climbing the gentle hills around Springer.  Lowering our speed to about 55 also reduced the phenom so we stuck with that.

Lots of bugs and a few paint chips

Just outside Springer I noticed another problem:  our generator, which had so dutifully supplied lots of amps for day after day and mile after mile, suddenly stopped working.  I thought we could make it to Albuquerque running off the battery, but couldn't be sure.  Our electric fuel pump draws 5 amps or more and would eventually draw down the battery. Ken said he needed a new 6V battery for one of his cars and offered to buy a spare for us to carry.  Ken was amazed to find that a very small Car Quest retailer in Springer had a new 6V battery in stock.  We found a place to stow it on the front floor.  Off we went with just a bit less leg room.  In the end, it was not needed.  We managed to get all the way home on our original battery.

Total miles traveled?  According to the odometer, we went 3724 miles.  Clearly the LaSalle needs a bit more work to serve as a reliable touring car.  But I think she did rather well in her first outing on the road since 1963.   This car is incredibly comfortable and capable.  It is so smooth and quiet, we often felt we were traveling in a modern car.  She sure gets lots of attention.  It is still a very stylish car appreciated by young and old.  I can't wait to clean off all those bugs, make a few repairs, and try another road trip soon.

Meanwhile, we are both delighted to be off the road and back home with our families.