Customs Route 66, my family, and a 63 wagon

Awesome family trip! Thanks for taking the time to share it with us!

 

I’ll keep it short since it’s probably not HAMB friendly... I’ve had this place for 13 years now. I’m a contractor so I was able to do all the work by myself with the help of my wife of course. I restored the house and barn in the last ten years... still have a bunch of out buildings to do, but I’m almost there. That would be a whole Nother thread to give you all the details what I did. It was a lot of work... but don’t have the money to pay people, so I try not to add up my time. Haha
I only have a couple pics on my phone from winter... or if I was taking a pic of my cars. I’ll post them real quick...

 

Wow....what a neat piece of property. Bet it has some interesting history. How many acres?

BTW....congratulations on the great trip you had with your family. Thanks for taking the HAMB along.

Lynn

 

Since you are keeping the car around, natural question is what is in store for next year's trip?

As I probably said before, do it while they are young. We got about six or so family trips done before our kids had too much other stuff going on.

 

Wow, If I had a spread like that I don't think I'd ever go on vacation! It at least looks like you have someplace to keep the Rambler.

 

My first car was a Rambler, which I still have! 66 American. I knew you'd make it!
It was a fantastic trip, like others said it's like I was along for the ride. Great to be home also!
What a great story for AMO also.

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Is that a Farmall cub poking out of the barn?

 

If I remember right I think he said he was getting about 16 MPG because he was running about 60-65 and running A/C.

 

I worked with a fella who grew up in Arizona, but was born in New York. He and his older brother had taken the family car, a 60's Fairlane with a standard transmission, three on the tree, out to explore the desert. Older brother got bit by a rattle snake, and he expected little brother to drive them back; he'd never been behind the wheel of a car, let alone a stick shift car. Cell phones had't even been invented yet. Older brother is telling him what to do, and off they go back into town (Phoenix?). He can barely see over the dash/steering wheel, and an Arizona DPS Trooper goes by the opposite direction, and quickly turns around with full lights and siren, and pulls them over. He say he knew "something" was up and was't really too certain what with a kid behind the wheel. Trooper takes them both to the hospital, and calls to have their car towed to their home. Older brother turns out fine with treatment, and the younger guy NEVER owns a car with an automatic transmission, always a manual shift. The first car I ever drove was actually my Father 63 Chevrolet truck, with a three on the tree. Drove go carts, and that was it, and one day he tells me to pull the truck up the driveway; I'm about 12 or so. Our driveway was about a 35 to 40 degree incline (never understood why my parents bought "that" house, since it was the only one on the cul-de-sac without a flat driveway?????). I sorta knew the gearshift pattern; I'd played around without it running. I'm in first, and I'm slipping the clutch something awful; clutch is smoking, and I can smell the acrid fumes, but he kept motioning me to keep coming, and then when to STOP! I was scared S-less, and trembling like nobodies business, and immediately ran into the house. He never told me to do that again, and I kinda think that was what he was after, so I would't ever mess with his truck for any reason. I've had cars/trucks with three on the tree, 4-speeds on the floor, auto's on the column and on the floor, but if it's a hot rod/muscle-street car, it's gotta be a 4-speed, just like the Sedan Delivery has, but most of my D.D.'s have been what I call, transamatic automissions (that's an original "term" I coined from my high school days). Hot rods have 3 pedals though!!! I do understand about trying to teach someone how to drive a stick, especially one on the column; my wife won't even remotely, even if my life, or hers, or our daughters, depended on it, but, to even just try and learn, it will never happen. Our daughter on the other hand, that's all she ever wanted, although her latest car is an automatic. I'm sure your kids will at least want to try. Not so sure about your wife; them gals just don't like those things for some reason. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

I'm wore out just catching up on reading this thread.

Epic trip! Thank you for sharing the adventure.

 

Good to see you used traditional rope to tie down your luggage. None of those new fangled straps! Lol

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It’s all in the details!

 

Speaking of luggage was anything wet inside those after driving through the rain?

 

Yes!!! Haha every time. I was under the impression that those old style suitcases were made to get wet since everyone used to strap them on the roof. I was wrong… But thank god my wife is much smarter than me, and put all our clothes in sealed space bags. We would just dump the water out of the cases and leave them open over night to dry. The space bags never failed us and our stuff was always dry.

 

One of my favorite stops.... took a pic of the car and made us “car of the day” on their Facebook page. I kinda feel like it should have at least been car of the week though??? At that point we did drive over 5000 miles for their pulled pork sandwich. Lol

 

Aha! The wife is smarter than the average bear...

Been there, but not after driving to California and back.

 

What a great trip, thanks for sharing. I've had lots of adventures on that road since the early 50s. Heading out on another a week from Tuesday. Lots of roadside repairs along the way. Is there a thread here about that? My dad would be proud of the way you handled it. In those days even new cars had difficulties. You have the "True Spirit of 66". Did you get the feeling in Cars Land that you were reviewing your trip? Thanks again.

 

Beep Beep as I pushed it into Overdrive. Working on my wagon so I can do this trip. I have a rust free '62 Black Rambler wagon. I bought it with a locked up motor. Building this '61 Plymouth wagon that has a locked up motor so I can do this trip. Thanks for your story.

 

Thank you, and yes... Cars land was the best! We went there at night when all the neon lights were on. So cool! My wife and kids loved it. We also rewatched the movie when we got home. It was really neat seeing all the details. Highly suggest cars land if you’re a fan.

 

How long did you spend planning this trip?
I can't imagine a much better itinerary than yours for a 14 - 16 day trip with kids.

 

Whata ride!! Followed along the whole route.
We did a little of the route 66 a few years back and it was cool Yours was GREAT!!
6sally6

 

You posted a pic of the restored Connoco gas station in Shamrock,Tx. That gas station I heard was also used in the Cars movie.
After my car being out of commission for 4 months getting a replacement engine, I went on a road trip for 2 days....a 730 mile trial run.
When I passed the Cadillac Ranch heading out of town on Sunday, there must have been 40 cars and 80-100 people there. Glad you didn't miss that Iconic American roadside landmark..."as boring as it is". I also stopped at Russell's truck stop, and went by Bozo's.

 

On most of our trips to California, at least one a year. my dad would drive straight through with a couple of sleep breaks when Mom drove. We went through a lot of towns at nigh and Dad would wake my brother and me up to see the neon. There were Indians on running horses shooting arrows at running buffalo, cowboys roping cattle, planes with turning props, turning windmills, lightning bolts and all sorts of other stuff. It was far more exciting than the day time. The neon at Cars Land brought tears to my eyes the first time we saw it. With the demise of Frontier Land Cars is the best.

On one trip our '41 Dodge developed a bad rod knock. On the roadside near Peach Springs Dad dropped the pan and pulled that rod down far enough to remove the wrist pin. He shoved the piston back up and pulled that spark plug. We drove on to Hackberry. There was a gas station/garage on the top of the hill about 1/2 mile before the place that is still there. My dad paid the guy to use his lube pit. It was a dugout cut into the bank and was part of the shop. All those places had parts. Dad being a journeyman machinist and a great mechanic dressed the crank the best he could turning the engine with the starter hooked to the battery charger and fitted a bearing off the shelf. We drove on to Pittsburg California where Dad spent most of his vacation pulling the crank and turning it at a friends shop and doing rings and bearings before our trop home. That was the most serious repair I remember but there were lots of others. My son and I continued the tradition with several trips in his '54 Stude wagon wheel he went to TT in Lubbock. Break down included. Love a road trip.

 

Hello,
My mom and dad had several material style old suitcases from their travels throughout their early lives. When my brother and i came along, those vacation road trips increased as my dad wanted to show us the road and destinations. We secretly knew he wanted to go trout fishing in every lake/stream or pond he could find. We went along for those long extended road trips because it was fun. The material suitcases were our first ones.

They got beat to death going in and out of the Buick Sedan trunks on the many trips all over the West coast. Ours were getting too small and my dad did not like it that the two times we had to tie the suitcases on top of the 4 door Buick Sedans. We got caught in a driving rainstorm, once inland and once along the coastline. Of course, those material covered suitcases leaked and got totally soaked.
My mom was not a happy camper...

Jnaki
My dad's solution was to get a couple of Haliburton Aluminum cased suitcases for my mom and he was proud of his choices. They were virtually indestructible and waterproof. My brother and I still had to use the material covered smaller suitcases. So, ours stayed in the trunk and sometimes, when the trunk was overloaded, the Haliburton Aluminum suitcases went on top of the big, Buick Sedans.

They fought off the elements quite well and were almost bulletproof.

Many years later, instead of those classy material 50s suitcases, my wife and I took the smaller Haliburton cases with us on a 40 day European road trip. Those luggage handlers did not care about dinging any suitcases, but the aluminum ones came out unscathed. We still have them resting nicely in the attic, today. The smallest one took over the camera suitcase duties as we no longer used them for travel. A little cut out foam inserts, inside, made the cameras, lenses and other equipment secure and safe.

 

Feels like I read this episode in John Steinbeck's book, " The Grapes of Wrath".

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That was us! Dad road a freight train to Sacramento during the depression. He picked fruit and worked in a ccc camp in the Feather River country. The difference with us is that we just kept doing it.

 

It was awesome following along with you guys on your epic journey. It's been a treat. Congrats on making some killer memories .

 

You ever get to Little Rock/North Little Rock stop by the Old Mill where they filmed the opening scene to Gone With the Wind. Or the Round Top gas station where they filmed part of The Last Ride

 

I totally dig that wagon! Very cool

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