Zebulon Montgomery Pike Trail to the sources of the Mississippi 1805 — 1806

Day 8: August 18th, 2002 Pittsburgh (Rust Work)

Last year I encountered that one brake drum stayed cooler than the other. I thought that the cooler one is ok and the other has some issues. But David explains that this is not correct and he gives me an introduction on how a brake drum works. He adjusts the brakes and then I can go for a test drive. Everything works great and I have the impression that the braking power is now much better. This is also what I will encounter on the rest of my trail. It seems that I was only braking on the front brakes last year.

Next job are two rust holes which I have seen. David is so nice to also help me out with this issue. We fill the holes above the exhaust with glass fiber mats. The rust holes at the side skirt below the drivers door need some metal sheets to be welded on. Then we prime everything and put on undercoating. This should be ok for what I will drive. I hope there will be not more rust issues in the future.

Back at Helen’s house I test some location for my new car pod. Unfortunately I am not able to put it on my windshield. Therefore I have to put it on my side window. This means that I cannot use the passenger door and window for the whole trail. My old car pod had an advantage there. Let’s see how everything will work out with the new one on my trail. I have the impression that a seal is not working properly. The pump, which should soak the pod to the window, seems sometimes not to be able to pump the air out.

The last step is to find some spots for my recently buyed tools. I also have a torque wrench now for my aluminum rims.