Fortunately, I have a small carpet cleaner onboard...

Leaving first thing in the AM, trailer in tow. Should be in southern KY for the night, arrive R Mtn mid day on Friday.
Looking forward to seeing my Barth friends again.

We're leaving sometime tomorrow, will be there tomorrow night.

Hello all, unfortunately we will not be able to join you due to a change in work schedules. So there is an extra site available, it is site number 19. Hope you all have a great get together, and we will try to make the next one.
Mark

Did you cancel your reservation with the campground?

Take lots of photos and post them all...
so that those of us who did not get to go
will see what we missed!!

Doug, just got here, promise to take pictures tomorrow.

Wish you were here.

Mary, yes we cancelled the spot so it is available. Have fun all!

Nice coach, sorry you had to cancel, hope you can come some other time.

Finally made it here.

Drove 500 miles on Thursday, running better than ever, gas mileage up from 6.5 to 7.0, great day. Spent the night in a rest stop in Kentucky.

Woke up Friday morning, about 275 miles to go till Marguerita time! Ten minutes into the run, we go dead like somebody turned off the key. Hmm…

Just past exit 105 (naturally) but we coasted over to the end of the on ramp so at least we weren't right on the road.

I checked for spark, none. Good thing I have spare parts. Belts, hoses, starter, alternator, water pump, O2 MAP and TPS sensors, fuel pump, plugs, wires, distributor cap, coil, modules.

Checking the ignition system, swapped modules. Still nothing. Then I realize I need to check the basics. Pull off cap, crank engine. The distributor is not turning!

Oh crap. Pulled the distributor out of the engine. The drive gear is all chewed up.

I used to carry an entire distributor. I converted to the later style with the fuel injection system and I sold the old distributor and gave the spare to Danny Z. Meanwhile, this distributor was so new I just kept the modules for spares. Wrong…

That decision cost me 26 hours on the side of the road. Exit 105 has a Pilot truck stop and nothing else. No motels, etc. Elizabethtown is 15 miles south. Sorry, no rental cars available on holiday weekend. But the NAPA store has a gear! Very nice folks drove it out to me! Yeah! Oops, wrong gear. Can't get the right one till Tuesday. poop…

Auto Value can have one by 7:30 AM Sat and will deliver after 9!

Both of these places normally deliver to local shops but were willing to bring it out to me. The people at the Pilot service center were really helpful, got me the phone numbers, etc. Kudos to all.

So, 24 hours after stopping, sitting alongside a very busy freeway, I was where I would have been had I brought a spare distributor. Lined up the timing marks, dropped in the distributor. Had a 50/50 chance of being cylinder 5 or 8. Naturally it was on 8 and didn't start. Pulled out distributor, rotated 180 degrees, started right up.

Set the timing, ready to roll.

In all fairness, it wasn't that bad. We were sitting level, about 100 yards through the grass to the Pilot service center. The Honda generator kept the AC running on the 90 degree sun. Noisy and boring, semis rocked the coach all night.

We take off, things are great, but the fun is not over. 10 miles later, on a long hill, we're running HOT. Uh oh, no charging either. We just lost the belt! Pulled over, engine boiled after shutdown for a few minutes. Let it cool a few minutes, changed the belt, topped off the rad. I had checked that belt before we left, looked OK then. Oh well, back on the road in about 1/2 hour.

Took off, climbed hard on the long hill, no cooling trouble, life is good.

The fun's not over. 20 miles later it gets really loud on the pass side. Blew an exhaust doughnut. When will this end? Pulled over next exit for lunch, swapped in the new gasket. When the engine quit, I think the backfires caused this problem. Another 1/2 hour.

Finally we're on our way. Escaped from Kentucky, drove to Raccon Mtn! What a great time now. Good to see old friends, meet new ones, park in a quiet place.

I will post gear pics later.

Steve,
It sounds like you must have had a materials compatibility issue with the cam in your new 454 and the drive gear on your distributor. The wrong combination can cause exactly the condition that you describe. It may be worth while to recheck some part numbers which are installed now to be sure that this does not recur in a few hundred or thousand miles. Here is an interesting article on the subject...

http://www.onedirt.com/news/it...-gear-compatibility/

Steve G

Excellent link!
I had heard of compatibility issues but never saw a good discussion like that. I will have to do some more research to determine the composition of the cam and if I need a different gear material. I may already be screwed if the cam gear is chewed up, it may need to be replaced when I get home.

I have good friend who works at a GM dealer. I will put him on the chase soon. I have the GM number for the cam so I should be able to find the info.

Meanwhile, I will pull the distributor before I leave and check the gear for wear.

MacGiver [AKA Steve VW] comes through again! I got the quadrajet back in this morning and she purrs like a kitten. Getting ready to take her out for a test drive. Hope you all have a blast up there and tell everybody hi from Suzie and me.

Hey Danny, we missed you here. Hope to see you and Suzie again soon.

I checked the distributor gear this morning. Very slight wear, so far, so good. I will check again when I get home.

Thanks again, Steve G. The link you gave was excellent. A good example of what you don't know can hurt you. When I get the photos done I think I will post a thread on 454 distributor gear wear and compatibility.

Not the first time someone called me MacGiver, but just remember: HE'S just the actor, I'M the real thing!

Have Barth, will travel, finally.

Danny Z, sorry you didn't get to come but David supported the local economy on this Holiday and my Birthday and he said to tell you that he took up your slack and kept the Budweiser beer flowing.