In the process of getting everything prepared for a 9-month stint abroad, I decided to take the 53 Dragon from Texas to Utah, to store at my dad's house--and not only TAKE it but DRIVE it! With 100+ degree weather all through Texas and into New Mexico, I had challenges with both overheating and vapor lock. Every time I stopped for gas, I had to pour water on the fuel pump and spray starting fluid into the carb to get it started again. The fuel pump had been rebuilt, but was leaking oil badly, and I thought that part of the problem might have been that it was pumping fuel weakly, so I switched it out with an old pump I had brought along as a spare, and it seemed to help with the vapor lock--at the very least, it didn't lose as much oil! But to say that it didn't lose ANY oil, would be a stretch of the imagination. I put about 20 quarts total in it during the course of the trip (3+oil changes right there!), what with the rear main seal and some judicious burning of oil. I also replaced the thermostat thinking that that was the cause of overheating, but it stayed very hot the whole time, and that was with me running the heater in that weather (no, comfort was not my object!). I think the radiator will need to be boiled, and told my father he is welcome to do that, freeze plugs and any other maintenance he wishes (including an engine rebuild) while I am away.
The good news is that the old Dragon made it the 1,255 miles and averaged over 20 mpg to boot (with Hydramatic!). Fun trip, but would have been better in Fall with cooler weather.
