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Will a $500 car make it across country?

I would at least change out the coolant hoses and thermostat if they haven't been done yet. And replace (or at least have one in the trunk) the timing belt and other belts. Cheap peace of mind
 
I drove a $400 m46 240 for almost 2 years and my buddy smashed the oil pan in so bad it broke oil pump and steering rack. Couple bucks at junk yard it kept running
 
Hello All!!!

Let me first apologize for the terrible thread up keep. I stupidly switched phones in the middle of the trip. And I have now decided...I don't like this phone. So I'm taking it back tomorrow. So tonight I'll dump the pics it holds. Which is the second half or so.

Clutch held together fine. I have some wiring issues for sure, to hunt down. Somewhere in Georgia, right after the sun went down, the dash lights decided they weren't going to work. 45 minutes at a truck stop fiddling with wires under the dash, they came back. But now the temp gauge doesn't work.

Other than that it really was a smooth trip. Clutch slipping was a non issue. Never overheated, Though I suspect I cracked the heater core at some point. The floorboard on the driver side began to soak and some steam through the vents when the heat is on. The familiar smell of syrup. Used a little bit of oil. Probably about a quart, or almost a quart.

Gonna change the oil tomorrow and get a thorough look at it. Looks like the valve cover gasket is seeping. I'll take some engine shots.

But she did it. We went from Medford Oregon, to Reno, then through Utah and part of Wyoming. Down into Colorado, then through Nebraska and into Illinois to stop in Chicago for two days. Surprisingly where we saw the most wildlife activity. Then from Chicago to Bowling Green. From there , home To Just outside Tampa, Fl.

We put roughly 4K miles on in a week and a half in a $500, rusty, Craigslist Volvo. And We loved every moment.

I'm gonna start uploading pics here shortly. Gotta put my phone on the charger for a bit.
 
These are from a State park near the Colorado/Nebraska border.

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We pulled off the highway in Tennessee for a quick side trip to go up a small mountain and sweet roads and found this little spot.

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This is my temp gauge not working
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So that's the second half of photos from the trip. Pics from the first half are on my other phone. I'll post those tomorrow, as well as a general engine shot and what the oil looks like once I change it.

She performed gloriously. A trip across the US in a $500 car was my own mini Top Gear challenge. She rolled over 200k, a milestone I was happy she shared with us. Here's to the next trip.
 
That moment you know the guy came across the country to buy your car with a onewayticket and starts to drop the price half..

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Nice work, I was watching for updates throughout the trip but very excited to see the end result!

I know. I'm disappointed in myself. It was hard to muster the energy at the end of the day to host and post after traveling so much. Next time I'll have a better setup to help facilitate that.

And these are just the pics I took. The other travelers have just as many if not more pics.
 
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