I remember seeing something on TV about this as a kid. Pretty interesting !! No bathroom breaks needed for this inventor’s cross-country road trip. Anyone who has driven with children along the highways fears hearing the most gut-wrenching plea that could ever come from the back seat — “I have to go potty.” In my experience, this always comes about 10 miles past the last rest stop or gas station and with 60 or so miles of bathroom-less wilderness still ahead. No NASCAR driver ever endures such a tense experience behind the wheel. For that reason, my personal hero was Elias (Louie) Mattar, who in the 1950s showed he could drive across the country in less than a week without a potty stop or even pulling over to fill the gas tank. Fortunately, he brought two friends, and no children, along. Mattar is a little-remembered automotive legend who fixed up a 1947 Cadillac and remarkably drove from coast to coast and back again without stopping. And to show it wasn’t a complete fluke, he duplicated the feat two years later, this time traveling from Alaska to Mexico City. Louie Mattar’s in the special 1947 Cadillac he drove for thousands of miles. (Photo courtesy the San Diego Automotive Museum) Mattar’s travels twice crossed the Inland Empire — he used Route 66 to finish his San Diego-to-New York-to-Los Angeles trip in 1952 and drove from Alaska through San Bernardino on U.S. 395 — today’s 215 Freeway — on his way to San Diego and then to Mexico in 1954. This was made possible because Mattar and two companions had everything they would need — including a portable toilet, oven, refrigerator, radio telephone, sleeping arrangements and a special rig that enabled them to change a tire without having to stop. In a trailer was a 230-gallon gas tank, which was refilled a couple of times while on the move using a special maneuver with a helicopter. In most towns, arrangements were made so police would escort the car around stop signs and traffic signals. Mattar was adamant that his wheels never stopped turning for traffic, weather or even a snack. Mattar, who was born in Lebanon, even had a Turkish water pipe attached to the dashboard. It enabled him to “puff away on the hookah as he drove his chariot through the countryside,” noted the Los Angeles Times, Sept. 28, 1952. It only took seven days for the three men to cover 6,000 miles to New York City and back to the West Coast. On Sept. 27, they arrived in Los Angeles greeted by a crowd of friends and reporters. The car was later on display at the annual Motorama car show in Los Angeles. Two years later, Mattar decided to try the non-stop Alaska-Mexico trek. After driving (with a few stops) north to Anchorage, the auto began its odyssey from the Alaska city on Aug. 9, 1954. Escorted by Canadian police, the Cadillac was especially challenged by the rough, all-dirt Alcan Highway. “We had three blowouts. The road is like a washboard and the dust is horrible,” he told an El Paso, Texas, newspaper after the end of the journey. “We had to put damp rags to our mouths to keep from choking. A dust protector was the only thing I overlooked in getting this car ready for the trip.” In Calgary, Alberta, a reporter hopped from another car to the running board of the Cadillac, interviewed Mattar, and then hopped back to the second car again, all without stopping. Their 6,391-mile route took them through the Inland Empire to San Diego, east to Tucson and finally south to Mexico City, arriving after nine days on Aug. 18. Mattar shortly thereafter said he thought his vehicle’s non-stop endeavors might be at an end. He hoped it would stay together long enough to reach San Diego again. https://www.dailybulletin.com/2019/12/16/no-bathroom-breaks-needed-for-this-inventors-cross-country-road-trip/#:~:text=Mattar is a little-remembered,and back again without stopping.&text=In most towns, arrangements were,stop signs and traffic signals.
How about copying and posting the actual artical since I am not a log in member it keeps blocking me out from reading it...
Yeah, I have the same problem, can't see it unless I create an account or pay money. I'd love to see a picture!
Especially a REAR tire. Maybe they had split the cabling and rigged individual parking brakes for the two rears.
The Jalopy Journal
