Jeff Deringer
7/5/2017 12:45 PM
We live in Camas, Washington which is located across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon in SW Washington. We planned on attending the 4th of July tour in Walla Walla, Washington, about 250 miles to the east. I decided to drive my beloved 29 Lincoln Squad Car/Fire Truck. It runs so great, and is a lot of fun to drive. Our trip started out in the rain (Ugh!), but it quickly turned sunny, then sunny and hot. Things were going great, cruising along Hwy 14 just North of the Columbia River with very little traffic Saturday, and we motored along comfortably between 55 and 60 mph. Like I said, the Lincoln runs great. What I failed to recognize was how thirsty it is at those speeds! We came to a sign after passing a gas station about 10 miles back saying "No Gas For 83 Miles". I stabbed the tank with my trusty wooden dowel, and determined that we could make it instead of back tracking, or going a different route. Not even close. We ran out of gas 28 miles west of the gas station in Patterson, Wa. Our spot was very close to the middle of nowhere. Apparently cruising at that speed while fun, is not economical, and we averaged around 7 mpg. Fortunately, the good people of the volunteer fire dept and cafe in Patterson each loaned us a can and soon we were back to the Lincoln to fill up and proceed east! It ran great the rest of the way and for the two days of touring. I love that car, and while it's not much to look at, it gathers a crowd everywhere we go, and goes like a bat out of hell!
Linus Tremaine
10/10/2017 2:15 PM
Jeff,
I am not sure that I have your fire truck in the registry. Whats the serial number of that thing and do you know what it was originally?
L