Bullet nose do you know something about the builder of this merc?? Maybe a professional builder?? lost39
Ive been on it at 2 different times of my life. 1st time was when i was a youngster with my mom and dad and 3 sisters and a 200 pound St. Bernard, all packed to the hilt in a Dodge Sportsman Extended Van. traveling for summer vacation. and 2nd time when I was in my early 20's on my Harley. alot of good times and great memories..those pictures posted brought back alot for me to remember. im sure things have changed since the early 70's and late 80's but its still got to be cool.
I'm sorry this thread has gone OT but here is some more info I have about the chopped Merc convertible ..... Here is a photo that was published in a Rod & Custom issue several years ago. It was in an article about Larry Watson and the photo was actually reversed in the magazine so it looked like Watson's Chevy was a right hand drive. I turned it around. Besides some other famous customs, there is also a 57 Ford in the photo and the Merc (with spotlights) is in the upper right hand corner. Not sure if this could be a clue about who built the car but there was another Merc convertible that Barris supposedly built that looked close to it (without the flames) and it too had 49 Buick taillights mounted the same way. When I saw that car in Paso Robles in 93 or 94, I thought for sure it was my friends car. That one did have the Barris crests, which I guess could have been added to it.
I live about a mile and a half from the mother road and cross it everyday going to and from work. I have driven most of it across Missouri. There are some neat old bridges and other historic sites close to here. Sure good for clearing your head in a roadster. Sam
i 've driven route 66 since the sixties when most of it was still intact.i drove cross country in a truck up until the last part of interstate 40 was finished in texas,new mexico,arizona,and california.it was 2 lane hell at times but we managed to get through it all.the best part was going through the desert towns and seeing the old cars and salvage yards.
Just a bit through Illinois after the Pileup the last two years. In one day we ate at Lou Mitchell's, The Launching Pad, and Dixie Trucker's Home. Unfortunately both times was in a late model. However that's going to change after the show this year
yeah, but only the Missouri part in 2000. Would like to do all or as much as possible one of these days, probably after retiring when I have plenty of time.
I believe the car you saw in Paso belongs to Bill Worden from WA, and is an authentic restoration of an original Barris car (I'm forgetting the name of the original owner, which is normally associated with the car). I guess it could have been flamed sometime in between.
I'm Canadian and while down in Az in Feb, we drove on parts of it....Williams, Holbrook......some parts in Ok and northern Texas........You get a special feeling when on that road and you see those signs.
Been on 66 many times through the yrs. Went Trucking for awhile in the 70's. Funny, in 56 or 57 I had a friend in Artesia (Dairy Valley) that had a Carson topped Merc (Red). His Grandpa paid 800.00 at a car lot on Long Beach Blvd. We drove it to Artesia High the first yr (57) it was open. Those days are sadly gone. Too Bad Ron
When I started trucking in 1972 Route 66 was still alive and well in Ill, MO, AZ, NM and parts of TX. Ran it a lot. My bride and I did a route 66 vacation a few years ago... found my '56 F100 in OK while on my way home.
drove it from chicago to L.A. for the roadster show in `05. we stayed at this wigwam motor court. it is still operated by the original family in Holbrook, AZ. was the highpoint of the trip ( no, that's not my `57 ford)
i live in pasadena ca and i didnt realize it till after about a year but the main drag, colorado blvd, is actually part of route 66. its pretty cool to think about while im out crusin friday night. it runs right through old town and everything
I love the Southwest and Route 66 (what's left of it) is a great trip. On the old abandoned section that goes from Mohave Valley to Oatman and then to Kingman. The Hackberry General Store. Neat place called Cool Springs thats on the old abandoned section between Oatman and Kingman.
You guy's pics and stories are awesome and Im not worthy, I have been on parts of Rt.66 in MO. and IL but no cool stories or pics. Thanks for sharing...
the 9 foot wide section, in eastern oklahoma. finding this is one of the best kept secrets on the old route 66. we stopped at johns modern cabins, just west of Rolla, MO. but they were closed.
the " blue whale" amusment park in Oklahoma, also closed, but we got in for the photo. the cast concrete bridge at Two Guns, AZ. also hard to find, since it's not on the road maps anymore.
So you mean parts of it are fenced off on private land or something? What do you mean abandoned? So you can't drive it end to end without getting forced to detour?
Seems Sir Paul McCartney has heard the call as well,,,,,,,,,,From the OKC Paper McCartney is driving across the country on Route 66, doing it up right behind the wheel of a "classic” 1989 Ford Bronco with his girlfriend, Nancy Shevell, 47, at his side. On Tuesday the couple made Oklahoma City one of several stops on their "Mother Road” adventure, reportedly staying overnight at the Skirvin Hilton hotel and dining at Nonna's.
Route 66 has its origins in the nations old wagon trails and included the Pontiac Trail in Illinios,The Ozark Trail in Missouri,Beales Wagon Road and the old Santa Fe Trail. It was officially designated as Highway 66 in November 1926 and followed a diagonal path across Illinios,Missouri,Kansas(later eliminated for a more direct route)Oklahoma,Texas,New Mexico,Arizona and California.It was made up of existing roads that zigzagged across different counties and states.The States were responsible for the repairs and upgrades up to 1933. In 1929 Highway 66 was fully paved in Illinios and Kansas,66% paved in Missouri and 25% in Oklahoma.Of the 1200 miles west of Oklahoma only 64 miles were paved.After the federal government became involved in 1933 the highway was improved and by late 1937 the entire length was paved. (This information taken from Route 66 Lost & Found by Russell Olsen) There are some great books on Route 66.Michael Wallis wrote Route 66 The Mother Road,and there are other books with lots of photos of early 66.Another is Route 66 Lost & Found by Russell Olsen(mentioned above) There are also books with travel instructions and advice on finding the old sections of the road.These have odometer settings and distances to ensure you don't miss turnoffs etc. Just go to Amazon.com and type in Route 66 for a selection of reading material. Another road that is rich in history(and I intend to do it maybe on our next trip to USA) is the Lincoln Highway.This highway predates Route 66 and goes from New York through to San Francisco and was established in 1913. Plenty of books and reference material on that road also with great pictures of the early days of travel. Hudson 48
The first time I was on 66 (1951), the Oklahoma Turnpike had just opened from the Missouri border to Oklahoma City, so we missed that segment of the 2-lane part. I didn't know it even existed until you posted this picture.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=167995&highlight=the+swedes+do+route+66 Check out our Route 66 trip from 2007! lots of pics and storys!
There's a similar narrow width section headed North on I-40 a few miles past the Colorado River crossing. On the east side of the freeway and parallel. Looks to be in good shape and also looks like several places you can get off I-40 and onto Old 66. 66 runs right next to the I-40 freeway for quite a ways. Looks to be in good shape, but about the time you get to rockin' along you'd probably drop into one of the deep dips and find big potholes and small boulders at the bottom. A few miles - seven miles I think - south of the off-ramp into the older part of Kingman is Shinarump Rd. Turn off there, keep going north and you'll see some interesting stuff. A mile or so north from Shinarump Rd. is a junkyard. Stop at the first one, the 2nd one is closed. There's a third one out of sight over the tracks. When you go into the first junkyard and if you're interested in some 40 parts and quite a few 50's parts they'll drive you up the back road to the closed 50's era junkyard. Keep heading north and Old 66 will dump you out on Andy Devine Blvd/Route 66 with the museum to your left, locomotive park - complete with Northern class steam loco - and the power generation station which is also a museum. Across from the museum is Mr. D's, a 50's era diner with good food. Head North and stop in at Pic A Part junkyard on the right (east) a couple of miles past the last stoplight leaving town to the north. They have a very few 50's cars at the north end that you can see from the highway. In that general area is a large 'car lot' on the west side that sells a lot of 50's - 60's era cars. Kind of a hot rodders hebbin out here. Stuff you find is in fairly good shape and there's quite a hot rod presence in town along with some SoCal guys who were very involved in drag racing. Saturday morning donuts can be very interesting at times....
The old Chevrolet Dealer used to have a '53 Corvette that they only drove in parades, Andy Divine Days being one of them.... They used to keep it in the showroom, I would always stare at it as I went by.
A bit more on our trip in 1995.Amarillo was the starting point and we were heading east.Eventual destination was Knoxville for NSRA Nats. After a night at the Golden Light Cafe we returned for breakfast at around 10am.Two of the regulars were already at the bar having beers and it wasn't their first of the day. Moved on and visited Taod Hall and the Caillac Ranch(actually headed west to do this and then back).Also went out to Palo Duro Canyon which is like a mini Grand Canyon.Moved onto Shamrock where we stayed that night and then breakfast at the U Drop Inn. Next stops were Texola(like a ghost town) and then Erick(another sad looking place).Travelled onto Clinton and had lunch at Pop Hicks Cafe. This was an icon of Route 66.We met the owners.It was destroyed by fire a few years later.(See picture) We stopped in Hydro at Lucilles Garage & Store and met Lucille.She was a lovely lady and got out all her scrapbooks and photos and told us many stories of "old 66".I believe she died a few years ago. We headed off and passed through El Reno.They had just captured one of the Oklahoma bombers and he was held in El Reno prison.There is a sign on the highway that says "beware of hitchikers,they may be escaping inmates". Stopped in Yukon for the night.Yukon is the hometown of Garth Brooks and they had just renamed Main St to Garth Brooks Boulevarde.Went to the Horseshoe Bar and got drunk with some locals including one guy who had just been working in Western Australia. Will post some more of this trip later and find a few more photos
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