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33 out to Boulia 1 Attachment(s)
Well I’m finally off out to Boulia,I think about 2100klm each way.
Left home this morning,nearly left my wallet at home, My 33 seems quite harsh when pulling when cold. After my first fuel stop ,it seems to come good,but after thinking as I burned along, at my first smoko stop I took about 2 deg timing out, so will see in the morning how it goes but it felt better. I have a really nice Australian made temp gauge fitted this trip I have a sender on each cylinder head and another in the oil gallery to measure the oil temp, this started at 17C when leaving home but slowly got up to 45C at the fuel stop.then slowly got to around 75-80 on the flat,but gets up to over 90 on a long hill. I stopped at a small country town and there was an open garage with a 55 ford on the hoist, had a nice chat with the owner. Not that many is today (436),but I stopped and for smoko and lunch along the way, and that attracts people who are always asking questions about the 33. I am stopped for the night on a back country road,opposite a farm gate,from which came two little 4 wheeled quad things , driven by a young couple with their two young kids on board, I talked to them until,nearly dark,they were workers from the farm,and were replacing the oiled timber fence posts that had been there since 1905.they were replacing them with steel ones ,but were quite sure these wouldn’t last half as long as the timber ones. I will head off in the morning stopping at Roma for some supplies I forgot to pack ( cheese for my crackers,and some grapes for afters. |
Re: 33 out to Boulia |
Re: 33 out to Boulia I have a couple more pics from today,but as I am out in the sticks with minimal service will post them tomorrow
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Re: 33 out to Boulia I'm looking forward to the report and pictures of your latest run west in the 33. Thank you for sharing your drives with us.
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Re: 33 out to Boulia Nice dual reading gauge. Reminds me of the combo temp/oil pressure gauges fitted to the MGTD and Austin Healey I used to own. Safe journeys for the rest of your trip.
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Re: 33 out to Boulia Lawrie how did you get the redarc gauge to work on 6v?
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Re: 33 out to Boulia 1 Attachment(s)
Danny, I bough a 6-12 converter from jaycar,about the size of a matchbox.
Hid it up under the dash,also gave me a USB port Cold morning this morning between Wandoan and Jackson, right in the heart of the gas wells |
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Re: 33 out to Boulia Can’t wait to see more pictures of your adventure.
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Re: 33 out to Boulia 1 Attachment(s)
Had a nice days drive yesterday,engine seems a lot nicer when cold after the timing adjustment ,gave myself some worry, nearly ran out of fuel,I thought there would be some at Jackson, but not even a servo, only gas well heads,I thought I may have enough to get to Roma,but it would have been really close, luckily the next small town called Yuleba had one so no drama. Here while filling up a driver of a Volvo came and talked,he asked me what sort of car it was,I told him a ford as I didn’t think anyone else made cars,he was surprised it still had the flathead in, he told me I was sitting on 95 kph,
Stopped and got some groceries at Roma Fuel usage was up a bit as had a head wind, maybe the 95 had something to do with it. Pic is my abode last night,a gravel stock pile. This morning I will stop at Morven and make a coffee and have a look around As I only have very limited service out this way I can only post one pic at a time As soon as I get to a better service area I will post some more. The road trains are interesting, most with 3 trailers. Stock transport are also double decked Lawrie |
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Cold night last night, needed the electric blanket on all night.
Engine oil temp was only 7C at startup. I headed off to my smoko stop at Morven,but got sidetracked to look at an old cemetery on the way,I don’t mind looking down dirt tracks,and this one was well worth it, with lovingly restored plarks ( yes I know, I only went to high school to eat my lunch). Some quite sad. Also a pic of a common style of road train. One of the questions I often get asked is how the 33 goes on unleaded fuel,most don’t realise that leaded fuel only came out after the war,and I let them know how good ford engines are with the hardened seats and stuff. I made a blue and stopped to make coffee with the door open,and got mobbed,so a 15 min stop turned into an hour Never mind. I will work out some fuel use figures later, but after yesterday’s bit of concern now have one of the Jerry cans filled. |
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Re: 33 out to Boulia Like your adventures and photos of the bush Lawrie. Safe journey to you and that fabulous 1933 Ford V8. Regards, Kevin.
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Thanks Kevin, I sure will.
Had a good easy drive today, and picked up an extra horse power for the 33,there was a big cattle drive(1600) happening on the road I was on this morning so I stopped and had a chat ,they were doing about 10 or so Kay’s a day but tomorrow they had to do 16 as that’s were the next water was for the cattle. On this road there are a lot of cattle trucks,(3 double decker trailers) , and they caught me up as I was only doing about 90 or so Kay’s, lucky ,I have the UHF radio so can talk to them,it makes it easier for them and me.but there are lots of looong straight=ts and bugger all traffic. I have pulled up early today so I can watch a replay of the footy from Wednesday night, My dinner tonight is eye fillet steak and fresh veggies, |
Re: 33 out to Boulia Thanks for the reports Lawrie. It's great to sit here having my breakfast and catching up with your adventure.
Mart. |
Re: 33 out to Boulia Thanks Mart. I’m currently between Augathella and Blackall, nice grassy spot ,the 33 did well today,a lovely drive
Lawrie |
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Re: 33 out to Boulia Really enjoying your trip!
Glenn |
Re: 33 out to Boulia I too am enjoying your trip pictures, keep um coming! Ha ha
Al Hook |
Re: 33 out to Boulia 6 Attachment(s)
Brrr, a cold morning this morning,frost on the roof of the33. Oil temp at startup 4C
The sunset was really good, and later the moon was as bright as. At sunrise I could hear the wild dogs howling, I would be a bit concerned if I was in a tent. I let the 33 run on the hand throttle as I packed up , oil got up to 20c. So headed off. A few miles down the road I came upon this new foreign pickup that had an altication with on of our national animals.it sure made a mess of the pickup. There was a trail of debri back 50 yrds or so. A good reason not to drive at dusk ,during the night and early morning . I stopped at a rest area to use the toilet,( nice and clean), and the truck driver was also using them,his truck ,road train was impressive,even though empty.these hoot along at 100 kph or so and are very well mannered and no trouble for us in the 33. First fuel stop at Tambo, I was a bit concerned as I could smell the engine fumes in the cab driving along, made not much of a difference with the cowl vent open or shut, So I bought some oil and planned on doing a change along the way somewhere. But the servo owner came out and wanted to see the engine, so on opening the bonnet(hood) and me looking around, checked the oil and dipstic(not me) was only down about 1/16 th from full.done about 750 miles from home and last service. Then I spot the hole where I removed the old cappilery tube for the old temp gauge was not plugged, so the owner burned back inside the servo and bought back a bar of blue tack,after I plugged the hole with it the fumes in the cabin are no more.�� There are sure a lot of caravans around ,but none get the attention my does. I’m currently stopped for the night in Isisford, behind the pub,$25 night, after a shower I will treat myself to a meal at the pub and a beer. As usual today the 33 impressed me , humming along at 50-55 on the back roads with my mind in neutral. The roo hopped across as I was parked at the second in town Lawrie |
Re: 33 out to Boulia Thanks Lawrie. Fascinating.
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Re: 33 out to Boulia https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...p;d=1752302013
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...p;d=1752302013 https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...p;d=1752302013 https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...p;d=1752302013 https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...p;d=1752302013 https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...p;d=1752302013 Always enjoy reading your adventures and photos. It is a real eye opener to our American friends seeing how dry and baron a country Australia is after you venture around a hundred miles in from the coast. |
Re: 33 out to Boulia Me too!
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Re: 33 out to Boulia I too have fun following along on your travels west into the dry interior of Australia. I open Google Maps and follow the route, it makes it a bit of a fun travelog.
I suspect mobile mechanics do a good business replacing tires on the road trains, that is a lot of wheels! |
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Travel safely! |
Re: 33 out to Boulia Great photos Lawrie. I will say, I am most impressed with these "road trains". In my earlier years I drove coast to coast for Carl Subler trucking and had more than one white knuckle experience on slippery roads so I have great respect for these drivers. I would think road service as mentioned in one of the other posts is slim to none in the interior. I remember seeing a photo of a woman driver of one of these trains changing a tire somewhere out in the middle of the outback. She was one tough looking babe and I'm sure she had to be for the job she was doing. I'm sure she could hold her own in a bar fight!
I gotta ask Lawrie. Are those mirror brackets on your 33 bolted right though the side of the door? Probably so, and I'm sure you cringed when you drilled the hole but no doubt you need them. Keep those great travelogs coming. Thank you! |
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Lawrie - Thanks for sharing another one of your adventure trips. Your pictures and descriptions bring back many good memories of my month-long trip in Australia in 2016. Road trains were impressive and I even managed to clip a kangaroo at 100 kph on the highway between Perth and Exmouth (at night).
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Re: 33 out to Boulia Me three or 4 or....on enjoying the trip.. Thanks Lawrie !!!
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Well, dinner last night at the pub was great,3 corse meal with lamb shank soup,roast beef and veggies followed by ice cream ans apple crumble,$25.the place was packed.
They tell me the population of town is 96, but a lot of travellers in the bar I stopped out the back of the pub,still need the electric blanket though. TScot,the mirrors are just clipped on, with a couple of small right angle bends at the top that go down between the window glass and the door body,on the bottom a U shape bracket clips under the bottom edge of the door, and they are held tight with the strap via a little wind up thingy. A couple of vehicles in the area behind the pub. The Toyota is the vehicle of choice for workers out here,I don’t know about the old Jeep though. And a pic of my breakfast area in the caravan. Easy day today, a walk around town and may head off around lunch time. Lawrie |
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https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...1&d=1752356903 https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...2&d=1752356903 https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...3&d=1752357223 |
Re: 33 out to Boulia I’m also enjoying your posts….beautiful country there….I like the unique town names…I really like the “road trains”. I drove a trailer truck here in the states for 40 yrs. I would love to get behind the wheel in one of those….just once….but not sure how well I would do shifting left handed!…thanks for posting your trip!……….Mark
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Re: 33 out to Boulia Curious about maximums for "road trains" and found this info.
"Australian road trains, also known as long combination vehicles (LCVs), have specific maximum length and weight regulations depending on the type of road they are traveling on. A proper "Road Train" consists of two or three normal trailers connected by converter dollies, with a total length between 36.5 and 50 metres. With a special permit, an A-B quad can be up to 53.5 metres long, which is the maximum allowable on normal roads. However, on private roads and mining roads in Outback Australia, even longer rigs can be found. In terms of weight, Australian road trains can weigh up to 200 tonnes (197 long tons; 220 short tons). Additionally, Higher Mass Limits (HML) schemes in Australia allow trucks to carry additional weight beyond general mass limits, with some roads permitting up to 136 tonnes (134 long tons; 150 short tons). On private property, such as mines, there may be no restrictions on trailer length, weight, or count." https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...st_config2.png |
Re: 33 out to Boulia Wow had to check google maps first , Boulia is really getting out into the red centre of Aussie.Lawrie as you know from years of experience nz low budget roads are not good for long distance travel . @Lawrie I really enjoy your epic adventure, following keenly. Thanks
keep them coming. Nice talking with you on the phone last week, looking forward to meeting later in the year. |
Re: 33 out to Boulia https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...p;d=1752474887
Map - Gladstone to Boulia, Queensland, Australia |
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Yes will be good
Todays drive fromIsisford to Winton, Had best drive to Illfracome, about 100ks of a really nice one lane road, Lots of interesting sights along the way.road signs and these pesky Roos that gave me a wake up and tested the brakes out,lucky I was only tooling along. The signs are quite good too. I also got a fright going over the wild dog grid thing,it has a motion sensor that turns on a siren that is VERY load,specially so with the window open. Later on the way close to winto there is the remains of a35 or36 ford, I got the front shocks from it in 2002,they are doing good service on the 33. Rest and sight seeing day in Winton tomorrow. Lawrie |
Re: 33 out to Boulia Hi Lawrie, Im following along like all your avid fans around the world.
I have a question. You mentioned that you had to use your electric blanket at night as its cold out there. How are you powering that? I know you have house batteries on your caraven, charged from the van wheels rotating, but the current draw from a blanket would be quite high wouldnt it? Are you using an external generator? Just wondering is all See you soon Dave h |
Re: 33 out to Boulia https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...p;d=1752476014
Remains of a 1935 Ford Sedan spotted by Lawrie. Notice no X in the side of the cowl. |
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