Arrival – Sunday 2nd October
After making the decision to follow my dream of driving a classic American Muscle car across the USA, I had to wait months whilst planning and getting the car sorted. After all the waiting, the day finally arrived! It was very sad leaving work, everyone was so kind and I honestly would miss it, but my dream trip is finally here! We were on the BA 10.35am flight from Heathrow to Newark. The flight was good – managed to squeeze in a couple of movies. About a week before the flight we got sent an offer to upgrade the seat to World Traveller Plus and we decided that it would be nice to start the trip in the right way and it was worth every penny!
Arrived at about 1pm local time and were met by my dad and his friend Ali. 45 minute drive later and we were pulling into the driveway…… and there it was for the first time in the flesh, my stunning 1971 mustang! It was honestly even better than I had imagined. It is not a concourse car but it is fantastically solid with very little rust and only one previous owner before myself.
Obligatory lucky dice were the first thing I added to the car which were a gift from my work colleagues.
It needed a lot of tidying to the wiring and replacement suspension parts (bushes, rear springs etc) and we replaced all the rear drum components and upgraded the front to disk brakes (the car has power steering and power hood but drum brakes… so strange) so that the braking is now excellent. See my previous post for pictures and more on what we did on the car.
Ended the amazing day at a local mexican restaurant where the food was delicious (especially after a day travelling) and lovely atmosphere. The car is everything I had hoped and I absolutely love it.
Day 1 – (Monday 3rd October)
We decided to spend the first day visiting New York for some sightseeing and to get ourselves in the right mindset ready for the trip. We caught the bus from down the end of the road where we were staying in Blauvelt which also gave us a chance to see some of the other areas as we went. It was very easy other than finding where the bus actually stops! We would end up back in New York so we didn’t do too much but we saw Central Park, Trump Tower, rode the NY subway, saw the Statue of Liberty and visited the 9/11 memorial which was very emotional and actually it made me upset to see the people posing for selfies and smiling instead of reflecting on the events that happened that day and after. I had a great time seeing New York and thankfully it wasn’t too touristy apart from Times Square!
DAY 2 – (Tuesday 4th October)
There were still some final touches to be done to the car today so we did that and I got my first drive of the car! It was different to anything I have driven before, although felt most similar to the MGB I owned and drove daily for a while. The gear changes were a little tricky and the handling was a bit here and there but surprisingly easy to drive with no stalls! We followed with a celebratory meal at a local Smokehouse for all the hardwork and help my dad and Ali have put into the car to make it reliable and ready for a roadtrip across the USA. Ready to hit the road tomorrow!!
