My mother and I are off tomorrow for a 3,000 mile road trip to California. I am moving there from Raleigh, NC and she's along for the ride. We'll be taking a week to get there in my 1985 300TD along Interstate 40.

I hope to post updates and photos along the way so you all can follow along if you like. This should be an adventure as my car was just diagnosed as having a weak cylinder and seems to be idling like a pig. Keep your fingers crossed for us and stay tuned!

Eric and Mary

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1995 E320 Sportline Wagon "Bernard"
black on black leather

http://i.imgur.com/BdZ7jM3.png

I've run I-40 probibly a hundred times between NC and OK. It's a good trip, drive mostly at night if you can stay awake. You see less scenery that way though. Have a good one..

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One more Radar Lover gone...
1982 VW Caddy diesel 406K 1.9L AAZ
1994 E320 195K

Good luck!

(damn, losing another good one to the West Coast!)

I hope you stay safe and that the whole moving process goes smoothly.

... looking forward to the pics ...

Enjoy your road trip. Watch out for the freaks when you get there.

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72 W114/M130

RedMeat cartoon

Alright, here's the first update. We've traveled about 1,200 miles so far in two days. I'll attach some pictures and comments. So far everything is going well. Our most frequent speed is 80mph and Peyton cruises effortlessly. I really don't notice any symptoms of the weak cylinder as there is still plenty of power. The only time i notice is at idle, the car shakes a bit. Also, it has gotten a little hot when idling but never too much to be concerned about.

This first picture is near Asheville, NC.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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1995 E320 Sportline Wagon "Bernard"
black on black leather

http://i.imgur.com/BdZ7jM3.png

Here we are burning through Tennessee at sunset. This is just outside of Nashville.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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1995 E320 Sportline Wagon "Bernard"
black on black leather

http://i.imgur.com/BdZ7jM3.png

Tennessee again. People were FLYING down I40 well above 80mph and the speed limit is 70mph. Everyone just seemed to be moving very fast. I noticed this pavement is odd. Kind of orange. Never seen that before.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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1995 E320 Sportline Wagon "Bernard"
black on black leather

http://i.imgur.com/BdZ7jM3.png

Finally we arrive in Memphis! This is the main strip of restaurants. We ate at the one on the left corner there - great ribs!

Attached Thumbnails

 

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1995 E320 Sportline Wagon "Bernard"
black on black leather

http://i.imgur.com/BdZ7jM3.png

Here we are riding the trolley around the main St. loop in Memphis.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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1995 E320 Sportline Wagon "Bernard"
black on black leather

http://i.imgur.com/BdZ7jM3.png

This is a big silver pyramid in Memphis. Im not sure what it is still. I thought it may be a train station or something. Anyone know? It's impressive.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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1995 E320 Sportline Wagon "Bernard"
black on black leather

http://i.imgur.com/BdZ7jM3.png

Here we are crossing the Mississippi and entering Arkansas.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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1995 E320 Sportline Wagon "Bernard"
black on black leather

http://i.imgur.com/BdZ7jM3.png

Oklahoma! Tonight we've settled outside of Oklahoma city. It was very windy driving here and the car was getting blown around. I can only imagine how SUVS, trucks, and light cars felt.

My new inflatable lumbar support system is really making a great difference. I don't leave it the same all the time, i periodically make adjustmetns for relief in my back.

We've been renting books on CD at cracker barrel which helps pass the time.

Tomorrow we hope to make it to Santa Fe, NM.

I applied Rain-X and changed the wiper blades in anticipation of some bad weather. The front of the car is COVERED in bugs, so I am going to wash them off this evening.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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1995 E320 Sportline Wagon "Bernard"
black on black leather

http://i.imgur.com/BdZ7jM3.png

Kool. Sounds like the trip is going well. Nice pix too.

I40 is definatelly the worst highway I have ever been on (I95 NY/NJ pretty bad too.) Just watch out for the big rigs and you should be just fine. After all, you are driving one of the finest and safest motorcars on the road.

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72 W114/M130

RedMeat cartoon

Are we there yet?

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72 W114/M130

RedMeat cartoon