.
I thought I'd give another little update.
After returning home from my spring trip, I drove the car very little.
Local short trips.
624.6 mi 10.26 gal (US)
60.88 mpg (US)
Then I let it sit for a couple of months...
I want to show that it's not all roses with this car.
When I first taped this car, I used 3M tape. However, it degraded in the sun quickly, leaving strings and a chalky substance that used to be glue. Plus, it didn't stick well in cold temps.
So last fall I re-taped the car with Gorilla tape. Almost $10 bucks a roll...
And I used several rolls...
Man, it's sticky. I thought this is the stuff... So I used it, with great results over the winter.
When I updated the car this spring, I decided to use the Gorilla tape again since it worked so good.
Drove the car on the spring trip and everything was fine. All the new pieces stayed right where they were supposed to be.
Well... Maybe Gorilla tape wasn't the best stuff to use after all...
The car sat with the drivers side facing the sun. The tape melted in the heat, let loose, and the drivers side sagged to the ground.
In other places the tape shrunk and curled up causing distortion and sagging to other body panels and above the rear glass.
Redneck materials + Redneck techniques = Redneck results... 
I re-taped what had to be done and left the rest before taking my fall trip.
SC to Pittsburgh PA
692.3 mi 8.74 gal (US) l
79.21 mpg (US)
Pittsburgh to Niagara Falls NY
223.6 mi 2.8 gal (US)
79.86 mpg (US)
Local short trips in NY
199.95 mi 3.36 gal (US)
59.51 mpg (US)
NY to SC
875 mi 11.15 gal (US)
78.48 mpg (US)
79 MPG average up and back not including local driving, taking the same route.
A few mpg less than last spring. Not bad...
I still haven't "addressed" (insert "lazy") the check engine light or the front wheel bearing that sounds like a WW2 bomber when going straight, a whole squadron of bombers when turning left and then like a submarine when turning right.
I'm sure those things are having some negative effects.
Hopefully after the 1st of the year, I'll have time to do some more upgrades.
Redneck
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