When you think of Iowa, you think of corn. If you pay attention while filling up, you realize that corn is also in our gas. While modern cars are designed to use gas with some ethanol in it, older cars aren't. In the Cougar, I run ethanol-free gas.
Besides running ethanol-free gas, I don't drive the Cougar in the rain or when it gets too hot. The Cougar doesn't have air conditioning. These cars are also notorious for running hot when idling.
I had to wait out the heat and an actual tornado that hit about a mile and a half from my house.
A little bit after that, the weather finally cooperated. I wanted to take a longer trip to burn off the old gas from it sitting all winter. It would also allow me to burn off any carbon as well as make sure the internals were properly lubricated.
I first pulled the Focus out and put it on the road so I could get the Cougar out of the garage.
I made sure to check the tire pressure before hitting the road.
Before you know it, I was cruising down Highway 69.
I wanted to go to Dubuque. I took the scenic route down Highway 11.
I stopped at a wayside that had clearly seen better days. The outhouse was closed.
There was a manual water pump with no handle, and it didn't work. There was also a rusted-out grill near a weathered picnic table.
At least the views were scenic!
It's kind of sad to see these waysides in disrepair. In my opinion, state highways give you the biggest bang for your buck when traveling. Unlike interstates or US highways, they typically route through small towns. They're scenic enough, but not desolate like secondary highways.
These waysides were once a staple of travel. It seems most people take the interstate or use more robust US highways, so these aren't used as much anymore. I still think they're valuable and hope they stick around.
After a brief stop, I was back on the road. Dubuque was getting close.
Soon enough, I was in Iowa!
When it comes to county courthouses, Dubuque County is one of my favorites. I got a nice picture of two things that stood the test of time.
I was hungry, so I wanted to find a place to eat. The temps were in the high 70's, but the Cougar started running a bit hot in slow traffic.
It really takes that fast-moving highway air to cool it properly. It's clearly a design flaw of cars like that. Crazily, I replaced the radiator two years ago, so it has an up-to-spec cooling system. Once I hit highway speeds, the temp came back down.
I drove through town and stopped at Taco John's. I always loved going to Taco John's when I lived in Marshfield. Sadly, the nearest Taco John's is in Monona. This is a decent drive, so I don't go there as often.
It's also kind of cool that Taco John's was established the same year as my Cougar.
I watched the traffic as I waited for my food. It seems like US-151 is choked off entering or leaving Dubuque.
My food finally came. I got a taco salad.
I thought I would be smart and cut through Illinois to avoid traffic going back to Wisconsin.
I ended up not being so smart trying to get on the US-20 bridge. I thought I knew the way, but ended up in some random neighborhoods.
I accepted defeat and got into the US-151 stop-and-go traffic.
As I crept slowly, I watched the temperature gauge go up.
The traffic started moving again. It was mainly construction that snarled it up.
I wanted to make better time, so I continued taking US-151 back. I love the rock formations you see along the way!
One quirk I need to work out is my fuel gauge. I think the Cougar has a 20-gallon tank. It will say I'm getting close to empty around 10 gallons. I normally didn't take it for longer trips, so I just filled up every 130-150 miles or so.
For a longer trip, I didn't want to tempt fate, so I stopped at a Kwik Trip and filled up.
I know Kwik Trip has ethanol-free gas. Sadly, you can only get it in premium. In many ways, it feels like a scam since my car can run regular 87 gas. I just can't have the ethanol. It seems every gas station in Wisconsin that carries ethanol-free gas only sells it in premium. You ultimately pay a large premium.
I put 10 gallons of gas in. With the 135 miles I drove, that's about 13.5 mpg.
As you can see, over $5 a gallon at 13.5 mpg, it adds up fast. This is why I prefer my 40 mpg Focus for longer road trips. As I hit the road, I saw the opposite of a gas guzzler.
To be honest, I think these things are ugly. I'm not opposed to electric cars and hope to own one someday. It's just that the current lineup is a bunch of overpriced monstrosities. They also have the same "fueling" issues I have in the Cougar. You need to find the right places to charge them just like finding gas stations with ethanol-free gas.
For now, I'll pass until there is an electric economy car like the Focus that comes out. It needs better range, and I need to be able to charge it in more places. In the meantime, I'm happy with what gasoline gets me.
I pulled into the Belleville Kwik Trip and fueled up again.
This time I did about 75 miles with 4.4 gallons.
The pure highway driving gave me close to 17 mpg! Still bad compared to my Focus, but better than the last fill-up. I then made it home right as it was clouding up again. I timed the weather perfectly for this drive!
A few days later, I did some maintenance on the Cougar. I first changed oil and lubed the suspension.
I can tell you it was a pain to get to the grease fittings in the shock tower. That's another one of their designs that could be better. Another issue I had to tackle was a burnt-out, dim lightbulb.
Removing the bezel wasn't too hard, and it was easy to put another sealed light in there.
The first challenge was breaking off the ground terminal. The wiring didn't have one. Leaving it on made it hard to fit it back into the housing.
Once the grounding issue was solved, I hit my next snag. Getting the bezel to align with the spring was difficult. It took a lot of patience, but I finally got it!
I will say, there's a certain satisfaction in working on your car yourself. Also, being able to take a classic car down two-lane state highways is a fun experience. While I won't be county collecting in my Cougar, I'm sure I will take more trips like this.
Down the road, I may need to look into some of the quirks of the car. Fixing the gas gauge will make me feel more comfortable about the car's range. I'll probably find a bunch of other things to fix. It'll definitely be an adventure!