We recently posted on our Blog that Gary Magwood had been touring the US for a month in his Traction Avant 11BL without a hiccup. We hope we didn’t jinx him becuase just a few days after we ran the story, as Gary was driving back to Canada, things didn’t go so well.
First we’ll share one of his better days. Gary writes; “… and he came in the form of a lone highway worker in the mountains of northern North Carolina. I was totally lost in a web of lovely, scenic, very twisty state highways with ear-popping elevation changes. How high were they, you ask. Well, after grinding to the top of another particularly steep hill in second gear, I looked over the crest to see a “ski hill” quality downhill run. I slipped Rosie into neutral and by the time we reached the bottom, she was doing just over 120K! Oh yeah, so Santa slowly and deliberately described how to find my way back to the main highway I had originally intended to follow. I even made a couple of notes while he talked. 45 minutes later, viola, there was #221 heading north. My resolve to stay off interstates had now wilted. It wasn’t long before I spotted the ramp to I77 that connected to I81. As much as it goes against my desire to stay on only red and blue highways, discretion kicked in and I’ll faithfully follow the long blue Interstate ribbon all the way to the border.
Morning of April 5… Snow?! Below freezing temperatures in Virginia? Yup. Add a steady 20-30K northerly and I’ll be having to tack up I81 to maintain even a steady 80K. The forecast looks even more grim further north. Good thing I packed winter gear… going to need it this morning… depressing!”
And then this; “All’s well that… sometimes doesn’t even end well. After over 5+K trouble free driving, the transmission locked itself into 3rd gear in Scranton, PA, right in the middle of another interstate traffic jamb. Kinda figured that was it, but just made driving a bit of a challenge. As long as I was on I81, no problem. Came time to gas up and pee and it all ended on the exit ramp #45 in Watertown when the light turned red at the top of the ramp…” That’s when Gary called the tow truck. Two actually… one from US side to get him to Canadian border and a second one to get him from the Canadian border to home.
Loading in Watertown.
Arriving back in Belleville around 2am.
Gary reports his local garage has already dis-assembled the transmission and it will need a few parts. Looks like the topped up hypoid oil leaked out during the return trip. He checked under the car every time he parked and there didn’t appear to be any sign of a problem. Before ordering bearings and other bits, he thought he would see if anyone has a used unit for sale. Anybody?
Find the original Blog post at: https://citroenvie.com/usa-tour-traction-style/