Mountain Adventure in 4 states with the '79 Duster

slant six

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I had a nice Trip through the mountains over the weekend with the '79 Volare
/ Duster F body coupe.
The route I had planned took me through the mountains and highlands of
Western PA, extreme Western Maryland, Eastern / Central West Virginia, and
Central Virginia.
Mountain Peaks and Twisty Roads abound everywhere, as I only ran about ~20
miles of interstates on the trip south.

It seems that The Megasquirt II EFI is running pretty good. I had a little
hiccup on the way to my destination where the sock filter in the fuel tank
pickup came off and then allowed some trash to get lodged in the fuel pump.
I was able to nurse the Car about ~100 Miles south on US 220 Through WV and
VA until the Traffic Lights got dense and the car was unable to safely run
in traffic at 17-22 AFR..I pulled over and it was towed the last 60 miles. I
got 21-23 MPG through the mountains and was not using "OD" on the return
trip back to PA.

We dropped the fuel tank to find that the spectra premium fuel sending unit
lost its' sock filter -It was replaced and clamped back onto the the pickup
tube.. I guess it's a pretty poor fitting part as I have never seen that
happen before : :shock: We flushed the gunk out of the fuel pump and
reassembled pump and tank as needed.

That solved the issue - the Return trip home was all good except it wanted
to get stuck in "OD" and not shift back to 3rd gear.... Issues caused by me
not checking engine block / to bell housing runout when I installed the OD
trans about 20 years ago. That all needs fixed now... Or I might just fix
the bellhousing runout and put a T5 Transmission in the car. ( that's what I
should do).

Some trip documentation:
Got an early start from Home:

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Trip Included US 219 in Maryland and Seneca Rocks in WV - Stopped for a
morning hike to the top of the rock. I had it all to myself :)

US 219 In Maryland Near WV Border:
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Seneca Rocks, WV
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slant six

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Mountain Adventure continued:

A Nice Vista on Mountain Valley Road / VA 39:
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A Cool old Sign in NC..
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Morning Hike to an old Water Mill Site:
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On the Way Back - US 33 in VA then WV.
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Some Glamour shots of my rusty old daily driver along some beauitiful valley pulloffs on the route:
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770 Miles Round Trip, not extensive but a good spring trip.
 

slant six

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Thanks! it was a fun Trip, even with the fuel issues / towing and OD Hiccups. But you hafta expect some of that stuff when you drive old stuff.
 
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