ROAD TRIP!....or how to get a 57 in a Blinding snow Storm

[Jeff Norwell]

......So I had to get the second part of my 57 adventure underway.... the gentleman I bought the first 57 from needed to get the parts car out of his back yard pronto because the city he lives in was giving him grief.
Time is the most precious commodity for me...so I needed to plan quick and fast.
Of course.... Mother Nature was not going to make this easy.
So after my exportation paperwork was ready last week.. we headed out(That is another story....)
Left thru Port Huron(Upper Michigan) and sailed thru pretty easy.... big dark clouds ahed and by mid Michigan..... Old man Winter began to unleash its Fury.
Roads began to get very icy and snow covered..... this never let up ... right to Cedar Rapids.... a normal drive was 9 hours.... this took us 16 hours.
Our speed was down to 40-45 mph. and it got dark at 4pm.
Somewhere in Illinois on I-80 near the Iowa state line.. big accident...5-6 big rigs got all tangled.. we were stopped for 2.5 hours and it was snowing heavily.... 5-6 EMS vehicles passed on the side...we spoke with a trucker who gave us the skinny..... As we started to move... we were on fumes... needed fuel.... the wrecks were pretty bad....all rigs were a big mess and utterly destroyed.... not sure how bad folks got hurt... but it was messy.Along the whole trip going. we counted another 11 wipe outs and 3 roll overs.
We made it to Cedar Rapids at 9:30 pm and got out hotel..... very tired.
During the day I was in communication with Gary(Gasman) as I had some bumperettes for him.....The plan was to meet Gary on the way back or hit a post office to mail with in the States.


Next day was calm but Snowy... Another Storm was moving in by launch so we had to move fast..........

[Jeff Norwell]

So we get to the mans house and survey the scene.... the car was deep in his Back yard.... and sunk up to the axels in frozen earth.... we bring my 4x4 in his back yard and start digging.... There was not a lot of accumulation ..which was good..and the light snow acted a a nice slippery base....
After digging for 30 minutes we hooked up the cables,chains and old tow straps and gave a few tugs.. the 57 broke free!...
The challenge was to get a run at it and haul it up a 6 foot hill and through the driveway....between the house and garage...... after several try.. we got the 57 onto the driveway.
Front left wheel was seized(of course!) but the snow base served us well...... the 57 slid like a toboggan ....
Got is dragged onto the street and lined it up to the trailer.Hooked my 4x4 onto the trailer and got it lined up....Thank god i had a winch or we would have NEVER got the 57 into the trailer.
I brought skates and we did not need them.... and we then winched into the trailer and secured her down.

[Jeff Norwell]

I am the idiot in the Orange jacket... by buddies helped greatly.. could have NEVER done this with out them.

[Jeff Norwell]

PART 2----Going home.

So to get these 2 great guys to make the trip..I had to promise them I would take them to a few friends shops i knew of and they had a real Keen interest to go to American Pickers and see the store.
NOTE----American pickers is a tourist trap with NOTHING to see but $16000.00 items and T-shirts.....nice.. but not my thing......

The storm started again at noon and unleashed its fury for us driving fools.
I called a friend in Streator Illinois and he told us to drop by.... we should be there by 5 pm..
Everything is based on timing because I had to be at US Customs before 4 pm(next day) to have this hulk ready for export......
The snow was blinding...driving was horrible..... not a lot on the ground... just made the roads (again) super treacherous.

We made it to my pals shop at 6 and was greeted with the warmest hospitality and kindness.
Randy Schmitt has a MASSIVE collection of Gas n Oil stuff.... and all kinds off Speed Equipment .... My partners in crime were satisfied and very happy.

[Jeff Norwell]

More pics.....

[Jeff Norwell]

More pics.....

[Jeff Norwell]

We then toured Randys son's shop which was equally impressive and his son Ryan had just arrived with a 30 A roadster in tow... he just picked up in the St.Louis area that day in the same blinding snow storm(Glad there are other crazy car people too!)

We then needed to haul up to Joilet to get a hotel room..... Snow was still crazy and we got settled at 10 that evening.
We really enjoyed the time with Randy and his friends.

We woke up.. snow had ended and roads were clear...... we needed to get to the border by 4.00 pm  so wee headed out at 7.00 am the next day......

More on the Border experience next/........

[Jeff Norwell]

Meeting Randy's son that night....

[djfordmanjack]

W H A T ? ? ?   

looking forward to more of your adventures and it seems you made it home safely in one piece...

your friend's place makes me freak out. You will have to explain everything in detail later. in about a decades time....wow !
love the blue A rdstr body on the shelf. and everything else....

[lalessi1]

Awesome CRAZY story, better pictures. Guenter's comment is priceless. The whole tale is outside my "wheel house"... We are still running the AC!

[Jeff Norwell]

It was fun Lynn,Guenther,.. and for the most part. up in these parts.. finding a 57 Parts car is a hard hard time.. Mother Nature has taken them back.
So... for me.. the long drive was worth all on this car.I am pretty sure folks in dryer climates.... would never do this.
But this car has all the parts I need to finish both my cars....it will be slow. but i will get it done.

Thanks guys!

[lowrider]

Reading about the snow and cold reminds me why I moved from Mi. to Az. Were I live now if it snows and you sleep too late you'll miss it.

[Ecode70D]

I'm happy to see that you made it there, picked up the car and made it home safely.  I really do not like driving in the snow these days.  The problem is that now I have lost track of how many 57's you have.  Where are you going to keep this one? My best wishes.Jay

[wildhog]

Jeff you should have called me, the 16 inch rims were sitting in Cedar Rapids waiting for you .along with Jays 14 inch.

[59meteor]

The cool thing about such a trip, is the memories, long after the difficulty is forgotten. I had a similar experiance trip in 1992. 2 buddies and myself drove down from Vancouver BC Canada, to watch the Winternational drag race in Pomona California. While there, I stopped at Ford Power Parts, and found a 69 Fairlane Cobra fastback for sale. Made a deal with the seller, and 2 weeks later, Friday after work, I took a 1 way flight from Vancouver to Los Angeles, handled the paperwork, and jumped in the Cobra, and headed North. (I needed to be back at work Monday morning). about 12 hours later, I was near Mount Shasta CA, in a blinding snow storm, going thru the mountains in white out conditions. Had I mentioned that the seller had bypassed the leaking heater core, so NO HEAT! Spent about 3 hours glued to the tail lights of a slow moving semi, freezing my butt off, afraid to breath (no heat= no defroster). By the time I got into Northern Oregon, I figured I would be near Seattle WA by about 10.00 am, so naturally, I had to stop at Seattle International Raceway, and make a few passes down the 1/4 mile, then headed home. It was quite a grind, driving a new to me 25 year old muscle car, 1200 miles ,by myself, thru a blizzard , with no heat, the rear main seal started gushing oil 1/2 way thru California, and the power steering died, the wipers would not turn off, but 24 years later, I still remember that trip, and smile. I`m sure you will too.