Tribute to friend + sporty + 2 not-seen cars

[ScarredKnightfan]

*

The owner-proprietor of Afton Station in Oklahoma, a Route 66 personality & friend of mine, died 01/28/2016.  I dedicated Chapter 50 of my Route 66-based story to her:

http://www.oldcarsstronghearts.com/2016/01/31/sunday-story-51/

Chapter 51, which will publicize today (Sunday, 02/07/2016) at 6p US central, talks further about filling shoes of Route 66 icons-ambassadors-roadies who are no longer with us.

 

Which would you rather have: new sporty (Chevrolet Z-71) or old sporty (Ford Mustang)!?

http://www.oldcarsstronghearts.com/2016/01/31/sports-sunday-51/

 

When is the last time you saw a 1987 Cadillac Cimarron?

http://www.oldcarsstronghearts.com/2016/02/02/from-the-heart-226/

 

Or, a 1959 Edsel!

http://www.oldcarsstronghearts.com/2016/02/05/flashback-friday-52/

 

BTW, today (02/07/2016) marks the beginning of Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) Awareness Week:

http://www.oldcarsstronghearts.com/2016/02/07/from-the-heart-231/

Tonight, a post about a CHD-related Super Bowl commercial will publicize ~9p US central.

 

 

Cort www.oldcarsstronghearts.com

pigValve.paceMaker.cowValve | 1979 Caprice Classic (needs new owner)

"An open road and a road that's hidden" __ Steve Wariner __ 'Brand New Life (Who's The Boss?)'

[keiser31]

Sorry to hear about your friend's passing.

[padgett]

Cimarrons with the 2.8 were OK but the Iron Duke was a slug (think miniature '75 Seville).

On my bucket list is to travel Rt 66 with my camper and no schedule. Maybe this year.

[John_S_in_Penna]

There's no shortage of 1959 Edsels in our AACA region.

One man has 2 of them;  and another specializes in Mercuries and Edsels!

There may be some more lurking in garages, as well.

 

As for Cimmarons, they are a bit interesting to me

because I never see any.  Evidently they aren't

considered very collectible yet.  Maybe some day they will

be curiosities--ill conceived small cars that didn't

find much of a market--like the Hudson Jet of the early 1950's.

[Beltfed]

ScarredKnightfan, My group of car guys have 'benched raced' the idea of taking an extended trip on Route 66. We are mostly retired and 'well heeled' enough to do it. Our understanding is 66 is very chopped up by I-40 and just pieces of it exist here and there. The suggestion to do the 'Lincoln Highway' instead has also come up as it is mostly complete. Can you suggest a website where we can get an idea of what it will take to drive 60+ year old cars on 66 and how much of it we can really see? Thanks

[39BuickEight]

There is a lot of Route 66 available for travel.  I used this book in 2014:

 

Route 66: EZ66 GUIDE For Travelers

 

There is much more than pieces left.  In fact, most is left.  You can drive almost completely across most of the states on Route 66 if you wish.  That's what we did.  A little dirt here and there out west, and some rougher than ideal pavement, but still very driveable.

 

I hate to hear of anyone passing that worked to keep the road alive.  On my trip I met several folks running their gas stations/gift shops/etc that were older and I wondered what would happen after they pass.  Some areas are quite vibrant still (especially in AZ), but some are empty buildings.  It's a trip I would do every year if I could.  The farther west you get the more there still is other than just the road itself.

 

I did pass right by Afton Station, but it was too late to enter, and I only had 8 days to get from San Bernardino to St. Louis.

Edited February 8, 2016 by 39BuickEight (see edit history)

[ScarredKnightfan]

Sorry to hear about your friend's passing.

 

 

Thank you.  Cliche, perhaps, but the world got a bit darker with her death.  Route 66 surely will never be the same.

 

 

On my bucket list is to travel Rt 66 with my camper and no schedule. Maybe this year.

 

 

If you can do it now, DO IT.  Don't wait.  I'm so glad I traveled it in 2009 when I did.  Many of the people I met are now no longer with us.

 

 

There's no shortage of 1959 Edsels in our AACA region.

One man has 2 of them;  and another specializes in Mercuries and Edsels!

There may be some more lurking in garages, as well.

 

As for Cimmarons, they are a bit interesting to me

because I never see any.  Evidently they aren't

considered very collectible yet.  Maybe some day they will

be curiosities--ill conceived small cars that didn't

find much of a market--like the Hudson Jet of the early 1950's.

 

 

Glad y'all have a lot of 1959 Edsels!!!  As for the Cimarrons, I saw ONE in the last 10 years, a couple years ago ... thought it was a Cavalier before I got up to it ... LOL.

 

 

ScarredKnightfan, My group of car guys have 'benched raced' the idea of taking an extended trip on Route 66. We are mostly retired and 'well heeled' enough to do it. Our understanding is 66 is very chopped up by I-40 and just pieces of it exist here and there. The suggestion to do the 'Lincoln Highway' instead has also come up as it is mostly complete. Can you suggest a website where we can get an idea of what it will take to drive 60+ year old cars on 66 and how much of it we can really see? Thanks

 

 

As 39BuickEight noted, check out the EZ Guide for Route 66 Travelers.  I bought a copy for my 2009 trip ... & it was a LIFESAVER!  Also as 39BE stated, MUCH of Route 66 is available for travel, if you take the time to seek it out & ENJOY the ride ... & aren't too worried about timeframes.

 

Personally, I'd do Route 66 1st.  It's shorter & it will give you a better feel for what all to look for on the Lincoln Highway, if that makes sense.  A friend did the LH 1st & then 66 ... & wished he'd done it in reverse order because the information about Route 66 is so much more vast than the LH ... he would've been able to use some of that information to really hunt out more LH places.  (Sorry, it sounds better in my head than it does on the typed page ... LOL!)

 

That noted, with Route 66 starting in IL, you can do what I did & visit parts of the Lincoln Highway before you embark on Route 66.  Here is Day 1 of my pics:

https://picasaweb.google.com/knightfan26917/RT66TRIPDAY1

If you're inclined, you can go to the main directory & see the rest of the days of my 2009 Route 66 trip!

 

Hope that is helpful to ya!

 

 

I hate to hear of anyone passing that worked to keep the road alive.  On my trip I met several folks running their gas stations/gift shops/etc that were older and I wondered what would happen after they pass.  Some areas are quite vibrant still (especially in AZ), but some are empty buildings.  It's a trip I would do every year if I could.  The farther west you get the more there still is other than just the road itself.

 

I did pass right by Afton Station, but it was too late to enter, and I only had 8 days to get from San Bernardino to St. Louis.

 

 

If I could do the trip every year, I would as well.  It's FASCINATING & so fun to talk to people who live the Route every day.  I sure wish I could buy a business along the route to greet visitors.

 

As I mentioned, several of the people I met in 2009 are now no longer with us ... Bob Waldmire, Becky at Becky's Barn (IL), Gary in Paris Springs MO, & now Laurel, just to name a few.  I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to see Afton Station.  Word is that they are going to try to keep it open.....

 

 

Cort > www.oldcarsstronghearts.com

pigValve.paceMaker.cowValve | 1979 Caprice Classic (needs new owner)

"Never compromise what's right" __ Aaron Tippin __ 'You've Got To Stand For Something (Or You'll Fall For Anything)'