Road Trip - Route 66

[EmTee]

On 9/15/2016 at 6:17 PM, 49_buick_super said:

"I was just accelerating away from a stop sign and about 1/2 way across the intersection..."

 

This is consistent with the engine lifting from its mount under acceleration torque.  Seems unlikely that you would have missed spotting a jay-walking armidillo as you checked the intersection, but those Buick fenders are pretty big...

[JohnD1956]

With nothing more to work off other than this picture:

Even if the engine raised during acceleration, there is nothing for the fan blade to hit except the radiator upper hose outlet, which would have resulted in at least a severed upper hose.  In fact, it looks like a 5 blade fan, and the middle blade on this side looks like it is snapped off at the end.  It may be bent forward though, just like the top blade, and even the bottom blade looks bent forward.  I have seen blades bent like that.  I don't know for certain but that extra twist at the top I though was for helping pull air through a shroud.  Without a shroud, I would question if that extra twist is of any real value.  But in any case, I would not reinstall this fan on this car. It's unlikely to be balanced when /if the extra twists are flattened.

 

x

[smithbrother]

Wishing you well, I'm sure you will find the REASON,  to often folks FIX the result, and don't address the REASON.

 

When you go thru Bloomington, Il on 66 know that I grew up there, and did a ton of top end racing on 66 between Bloomington, and Shirley Il.  That is a long straight stretch of wide open highway.  That was back in the mid 60's.  66 still goes through the city.

 

Enjoy,

 

Dale in Indy

[49_buick_super]

Keeping our fingers crossed for luck.  It appears that we will be back on the road tomorrow morning.  We are hoping all goes well as this has been an unexpected detour from our plans.

 

There is a thread about the restoration of this car at  http://forums.aaca.org/topic/198847-1949-buick-super-4dr-restoration-project/  

 

We also keep photos and details of the trip for family and friends at www.the1949buick.com  (more photos that what I've included here on the Buick forum)

 

Dan

[Pilgrim65]

Good news , been checking to see how your progressing , hope rest of trip goes as planned 

cheers

pilgrim

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Dan, I just read your travel blog. Impressed!  You now know as much, probably more, about the Texas panhandle as the locals. 

 

  I am glad the '49 is to be back on the road today. Has the culprit been determined?

 

  Good luck going forward.

 

  Ben 

[49_buick_super]

Good news from Amarillo, Texas today.  As of 1:30 p.m. CDT we were back on the road and apparently no worse for the one week detour.

 

As for the problem, let me explain what I know from the evidence.  We examined the car for signs that the fan blade had impacted something on the car, anything on the car, and could find no evidence that the fan blade struck something on the car before it curled into the radiator.  By we, I mean yours truly, two shop mechanics here at Vintage, the service manager, Brian, and the owner, Emmett Rice.  We all looked and found nothing.  Everything has been examined from the top and bottom with the car on a lift.  The motor mounts are solid, undamaged and working properly.  The transmission thrust pad/mount is intact, undamaged and working properly.  We even looked at the radiator frame to see if something was causing it to move rearward slightly when the car accelerated.  Nothing - it is rock solid.  I was running a 7-blade fan from a 59 a/c Cadillac on this car.  The blade clearances near the generator pulley were small.  I knew that but it was never a problem before and there were 6,800 miles on this car before we started this trip.  Examination of the fan blades showed that one blade had completely curled and ate the radiator.  The blade adjacent to the curled blade showed signs of a stress line at the location where the other blade had curled.  No other blade - that's 5 other blades - showed any sign of striking anything.

 

There is no conclusive cause to report.  The speculation is that one of my rolling tires popped up a chunk of very hard rubber from a heavy truck tire or farm implement tire and the timing was just right to cause the object to wedge between the one fan blade and the generator pulley, thus curling the blade.  The object must have remained in the conflicting position just long enough to start to affect the second blade but it was already moving away and the second blade only started to be stressed but not enough to curl it.  One blade was enough if you've looked at the picture.

 

So, my radiator has been re-cored (4-core) and I have a new fan.  This one is a 4-blade fan with more pitch than the stock fan but plenty of clearance.  The water pump did not show signs of damage but in an abundance of caution, I had them install my backup water pump and I'm carrying the first one now as the spare.

 

So, we've been in Amarillo for almost exactly one week to the hour.  Trip disasters like this are a bitch but we truly did make lemonade outta them lemons.  Here's a few quick tips.  For any of you living in Texas or passing through Texas - Joe Taco.  You won't be sorry.  Tom Hanks is great in "Sully."  And there is just a bunch of good Route 66 history here in Amarillo to explore.  We even found a car show and voted for a nice guy here with a 76 Skylark and he won an award!  Sent me an nice email telling me about it.

 

So, moving forward, here's a picture of the car at Vintage Autohaus, just before we left today.

 

 

Route 66 is really great here in Texas.  We drove for miles on the old original road and never touched Interstate 40.  This kind of road trip is just what these old Buicks are good at and fun to drive.  As a matter of fact, the old road Route 66 runs from Texas into Oklahoma on some great old road with medians.

 

We stopped briefly in Shamrock at the Route 66 icon, U Drop Inn.  This old gas station/diner was built in the 30's and was the creative inspiration for the tire shop in the Disney movie, "Cars."  This is just the neatest place.  (We visited here earlier this week in the rental car but I wanted Buick pictures to post)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bugs are atrocious and the gal has a face full of them but we have a good cleaning kit along and we put her to bed tonight looking sharp.  I spent a lot of time under the hood after we stopped today, cleaning and cleaning some more.  The coolant sprayed everywhere and I was just sick to see the mess.  But its all good now as I've given the engine compartment the start of a good cleaning.

 

Dan

[49_buick_super]

Fortune continues to smile upon us as we traveled from Sayre, OK to Tulsa, OK today and not one problem with the Buick.   (yay!)

 

Before we left Sayre we went to the downtown area and photographed the Beckham County Courthouse.  This building is well known to Route 66 "roadies" in that it appears in the movie, "Grapes of Wrath."  It is seen as the Joad family is leaving their farm in Oklahoma and getting on Route 66 headed west to California.  I would have taken a better shot of it from the middle of the street, like it is seen in the movie but the sun was in real conflict with the angle of the shot and this was the best I could do at the time we were there.

 

 

Oklahoma provided us with some of the worst and best condition Route 66 road surfaces we've yet seen.  For the first 45 or 50 miles of the trip today, the road beat the pee eye double s out of the Buick.  Dang.  But the good road surfaces were great in most other places.  We traversed Oklahoma City on 66 and that was not as bad as I had anticipated.  But the Tulsa traverse was something else.  Tulsa needs to take better care of their heritage road surfaces, especially downtown.  I was surprised to see how bad the road surface was on 66 in the downtown area.

 

Digressing a bit, with passed through Clinton, Oklahoma today and stopped at the Route 66 museum.  There is another excellent museum in Elk City and we will see that one on the return trip west.  Here's a few photos.

 

 

 

Tomorrow, we will travel through three states - Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri.  There are only 11 miles of Route 66 in Kansas at the southeast corner of the state.

 

 

And thank goodness these signs came down!!  (The good ol' Womens Christian Temperance Union)  

 

 

Here's a picture of the Buick at the Route 66 Museum in Clinton.  That's some guy from Oklahoma telling my wife a fish story.  (At least I hope it was a fish story!) 

 

 

Having a great time out here.  Wish a bunch of ya were along with yer Buicks for a caravan across the country on Route 66!

 

Dan

Edited September 22, 2016 by 49_buick_super (see edit history)

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

I am certainly pleased every thing is going well. Keep on being safe.

 

  Ben

[Fr. Buick]

Aint Shamrock a nice little town?  Glad to hear your are all fixed up and having fun!

[49_buick_super]

Another great day on the Mother Road.

 

We spent last night in Tulsa at a classic Route 66 motel - the Desert Hills.  Love the neon.  It's part of the fabric and magic of the Route 66 experience.

 

 

Lots of good road in Oklahoma today and we had the opportunity to stop by this historical marker that memorializes a small, narrow stretch of old Route 66 from the 20's that has been allowed to survive at this location.  The actual roadway is between the arching curb and the marker.  Here we met two German men who had rented Harley's and were headed to Santa Monica from Chicago.

 

 

 

And, of course, a Buick picture with the present day road in the background.

 

 

Kansas is home to 11 miles of Route 66 that clips the southeast corner of the state.  One of the interesting sites in Kansas is this bridge.  It is the last surviving Marsh-designed bridge on Route 66.

 

 

 

Kansas is also home to a business named "Cars on the Route".  There's a lot of history behind this place as it relates to the Disney movie, "Cars".  It was previously known as "Four Women on the Route" and the creative inspiration for the Tow Mater character was supposed to have been taken from an International boom truck on the property that they called, "Tow Tater".  In any respect, the business changed hands and is now "Cars on the Route" and the present owner has done a credible job in recreating the Tow Mater and Fire Truck characters.  

 

 

 

 

But the real highlight of the day was the late Gary Turner's Gay Parita Sinclair station on Route 66 just west of Halltown, MO.  This place is pure gold.  You can read about Gary if you Google "Gary Turner Gay Parita" and I won't go into much detail here.  Suffice it to say Gary was a very interesting man who spent his retired years recreating this old Sinclair station for the enjoyment of Route 66 travelers.  Two of Gary's favorite phrases were, "Friends for life" and "Dream of my life" referring to people he met at the station that stopped to visit and the his work in creating this magic place.  Gary was known for his friendly conversation.  It was said by one author that visitors to his station that only intended to stay for 15 minutes were happy and reluctant to leave after 3 hours.  He would invite visitors to sit and offer them free cold drinks while they were with him.

 

True to the spirit of Gary Turner, we were met on the property by Gary's son-in-law, George, who greeted us warmly and engaged us in some great conversation about the history of the Gay Parita station and his late father-in-law.  He admired our car and said it would be an honor if we would drive it on the property and photograph it at the pumps.  You can't imagine the thrill for me when he asked me to do this.  And just like his father-in-law, he invited us up on the porch to sit a spell and talk.  He gave us cold sodas (for free) and also gave me four post cards with pictures of the station.  George is very proud that he is able to source all the production for the station's tee shirts locally.  We bought two and will wear them proudly.

 

If you ever get out on Route 66, make sure the Gay Parita Sinclair station is at or near the top of your list of things to see.

 

 

Here's a picture of Gary Turner now in the station's office area...

 

 

 

The Buick is still running fine and we're still out here gettin' our kicks on Route 66.

 

Dan

[39BuickEight]

It was amazing to me the number of Europeans on Harleys.  They really do help keep a lot of the nostalgic stuff going.  When we stopped at Delgadillo's Snow Cap in Seligman, AZ, there were at least 30 people from Denmark and The Netherlands in line ahead of us.  As a soccer fan, I had some good conversation with them.  These folks weren't on bikes, but I certainly saw many that were.

[Malo48]

Hey, when you get to Chicago and if you have some time before turning around to head back, there's an old Buick dealership, part of our old Motor Row, at 1454 S. Michigan, just a mile south of the 66 terminus.  
Might be a cool photo op!

[49_buick_super]

12 hours ago, 39BuickEight said:

It was amazing to me the number of Europeans on Harleys.  They really do help keep a lot of the nostalgic stuff going.  When we stopped at Delgadillo's Snow Cap in Seligman, AZ, there were at least 30 people from Denmark and The Netherlands in line ahead of us.  As a soccer fan, I had some good conversation with them.  These folks weren't on bikes, but I certainly saw many that were.

 

When you talk to all the business owners here on Route 66 they all have the same report about customers.  The majority of people who are out here on Route 66 are from foreign countries.  Since we've been on the road we've talked to Route 66 travelers from Scotland, England, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Russia, and France.  We stayed at a motel last night where the patio was filled with 16 German men and women traveling Route 66 who consumed at least 48 bottles of beer and six pizzas!  (Yeah!!)  And they all love us and are just fascinated with Route 66.  I know there are lots of us out here but the business people say the majority of Route 66 travelers are foreign.

[49_buick_super]

Today was an interesting day.  We left Lebanon, MO at about 10:00 a.m. and about one hour into driving the actual Route 66 roadway, we decided to stay on I-44 and then skirt St Louis on I-270.  We wanted to end the day early to get some chores done.  This was a good thing and a bit unnerving.  Things went smoothly until we got more into the heat of the day and then as we approached St Louis and the I-270 bypass, I started having a bit of bogging from vapor lock in these Missouri hills.  Dang. The car is running fine but the I-44 approach to St Louis and the I-270 bypass NOT the place to have your Buick crap out.  Most of the time there just isn't anyway to get to the right shoulder (if there is one) because the right two lanes are being used as exit-only lanes.  A vapor lock would mean trying to drift right across two lanes and land somewhere that you wouldn't conflict with the thunderous stampede of traffic that exists here on a Friday afternoon.  I'm just now getting my knuckles back to flexing again and I pulled my pants back out before we went to the restaurant, so all is well that ends well but the return trip across St Louis will be the classic Route 66 that avoids for the most part any travel on Interstates.

 

We crossed the Mississippi River on the I-270 bridge just upstream of the old Chain of Rocks bridge which was the Route 66 crossing of the river until sometime in the 60's.  It's closed now and is used as only by bicycles and pedestrians.  That's the old bridge in the picture.

 

 

Dan

[C Carl]

Wow ! , Dan , I am sure I speak for every one of us in saying this is a superb travelogue ! I always quickly turn to your adventure , and am richly rewarded. As you may remember , I am a bit of a lone wolf old car cruiser , too. If only I had the organization skills and talent to have produced a work like this. You and Andy , (1913 36 model 17 in the UK under Chalmers) , put us right there riding shotgun with you ! Safe and sound travels , thank you very much for sharing , you two !  - Carl

[49_buick_super]

8 hours ago, C Carl said:

Wow ! , Dan , I am sure I speak for every one of us in saying this is a superb travelogue ! I always quickly turn to your adventure , and am richly rewarded. As you may remember , I am a bit of a lone wolf old car cruiser , too. If only I had the organization skills and talent to have produced a work like this. You and Andy , (1913 36 model 17 in the UK under Chalmers) , put us right there riding shotgun with you ! Safe and sound travels , thank you very much for sharing , you two !  - Carl

 

Thank you, very much.  We restored this car to drive and make this trip.  We've been planning it since 2003 and we're finally livin' the dream.  I'm also hoping to inspire some of the members of the Phoenix chapter club and maybe others to get out on the road and enjoy their Buicks.  Cheers and warmest regards to you all.

 

Dan

[MrEarl]

What Carl said! You're within a frogs hair of inspiring me to pull Buttercup out of the barn, put her back together and hitting the Buick Highway. Our dream has always been to take the Alaska Highway to Alaska (duhh where else) but your journey may influence a change in direction. Keep the great posts coming. 

[NTX5467]

Although US-66 is the iconic highway of song and lore, a "southern route west" is The Bankhead Highway, which was the first hard-surface transcontinental highway in the USA.  And . . . it's now 100 years old.  There is a lot of information on it, including maps, plus other main highways in TX, on the Texas Historical Commission website.  In Texas, it's route has changed from when it was young, now replaced by many other highway numbers now.  In general, US-80 and I-20 (I-10 in far west TX and westward) replaced it, 

 

In Weatherford today, this is a celebration weekend for the 100th Birthday of the Bankhead Highway.  Car show, driving tours, and a "Speakeasy Crawl" last night (Friday).  The new Vintage Grill and Car Museum/Event Center is a focal point of activity.

 

There are LOTS of memories for us on those highways!  Seeing them in a vintage car is a great way to do it! 

 

Thanks!

 

NTX5467

[ply33]

46 minutes ago, NTX5467 said:

Although US-66 is the iconic highway of song and lore, a "southern route west" is The Bankhead Highway, which was the first hard-surface transcontinental highway in the USA.  And . . . it's now 100 years old.  There is a lot of information on it, including maps, plus other main highways in TX, on the Texas Historical Commission website.  In Texas, it's route has changed from when it was young, now replaced by many other highway numbers now.  In general, US-80 and I-20 (I-10 in far west TX and westward) replaced it, 

 

In Weatherford today, this is a celebration weekend for the 100th Birthday of the Bankhead Highway.  Car show, driving tours, and a "Speakeasy Crawl" last night (Friday).  The new Vintage Grill and Car Museum/Event Center is a focal point of activity.

 

There are LOTS of memories for us on those highways!  Seeing them in a vintage car is a great way to do it! 

 

Thanks!

 

NTX5467

 

Born and raised in Southern Arizona, but I'd never heard of the Bankhead Highway even though it apparently went straight through there. Old Spanish Trail would be a much more common name for the route listed in Wikipedia for the Bankhead Highway but parts might also have been called the Butterfield Stage Route.

 

My vague recollection from reading some 1930s Arizona highway construction/status reports way back when was that it was not possible to get across southern Arizona without having some unpaved sections until the late 1930s. Seems like the US66 (as it was by the late 1930s) or Lincoln Highway further north might have been hard surfaced earlier.

 

FWIW, before a renumbering, US66 through Arizona was actually US60 (US60 later moved south to cross the Colorado at Blythe and to go through Phoenix). And before it was US60 (or US66) it was the National Old Trails Road.

[MrEarl]

 

Looks like a Dynaflow left its mark.

Dan, this is the first chance I have had to view your journey on a computer screen. So much better on the big screen. Hope you don't mind, I posted a link to your travels up in the AACA General forum, you will likely be getting even more sightseers.

 

[49_buick_super]

45 minutes ago, MrEarl said:

 

Looks like a Dynaflow left its mark.

Dan, this is the first chance I have had to view your journey on a computer screen. So much better on the big screen. Hope you don't mind, I posted a link to your travels up in the AACA General forum, you will likely be getting even more sightseers.

 

 

Thank you kindly for sharing this with others.  We were passing through a small construction zone in a rural community today and a guy in a yellow vest and hard hat literally ran up to us, yelling, "Hey! Hey! Hey!"  I though I'd done something wrong and was preparing to be chewed out.  He got to the car and said, "Take me with you!  I'll ride in the back seat.  Let me take these boots off before I get in!"  We both broke out in laughter and all these construction workers stopped for a minute to admire the car and gave us best wishes for a good trip.  The American road in a classic car is a very friendly place. 

 

AND, that's not my Dynaflow that made that spot.  I wondered if someone would see that and comment.  Someone else's car leaked in there.  Mine is new enough from the rebuild that it only "sweats" a little tranny fluid.  

[49_buick_super]

We stayed overnight in Carlinville, IL at a nice motel that's as classic as the car - the Carlin Villa Motel.

 

The day has been clear for the most part with a few high clouds that break the sun a bit but the humidity here is way more than anything desert rats like us are used to. Even so, with the windows down and the vent windows wide open, catching the breeze and circulating it in the passenger compartment, we feel comfortable.  Only when stopped with no air circulation do we notice the humidity.  

 

Everybody out here is very friendly.  That's real.  No Photoshop.

 

 

Here's a few pictures of the Route 66 roadway in Illinois above Carlinville.  This is wide open, flat agricultural land that runs for miles and miles of corn fields that are growing the corn that is making the ethanol that is added to the gas that is making my Buick vapor lock.  

 

 

Atlanta, IL boasts one of the old roadside giants.  This one hold a hot dog.  They used to be prevalent advertisers for muffler shops.  

 

 

More views of the Route 66 roadway.  I'm trying to entice you guys to get out here!

 

 

Notice along the right side of the roadway they have created a bicycle lane.  Miles and miles of these in Illinois.  Sometimes the real old roadway along side is used for bicycle paths.  This is a good idea to keep this road open and popular.  That is Interstate 55 off to the left.  Notice how Route 66 is separate and apart from the Interstate.  

 

 

In Odell, they have beautifully restored this old Standard Oil station.

 

 

 

Look at the contents of the garage area!

 

 

 

 

 

Also in Odell, a few blocks down the street, is another station.  This one is Mobil and it has not been restored but what a gem.  It makes my Buick look like it's in a time warp.

 

 

 

 

 

We are preparing for the "run to Chicago" tomorrow.  The plan is to get up early, sneak into town while everyone is still in bed on Sunday morning and get some pictures when traffic should be at a minimum.  Hope it works.

 

The Buick is still running great.  My best MPG is so far is 12.7 but we have luggage and spare parts that are adding weight.

 

Add New Zealand to the list of countries represented on Route 66 right now.  Met a nice couple from Auckland last night.  They are enjoying driving on the wrong side of the road.  

 

 

 

 

 

[NTX5467]

8 hours ago, ply33 said:

 

Born and raised in Southern Arizona, but I'd never heard of the Bankhead Highway even though it apparently went straight through there. Old Spanish Trail would be a much more common name for the route listed in Wikipedia for the Bankhead Highway but parts might also have been called the Butterfield Stage Route.

 

My vague recollection from reading some 1930s Arizona highway construction/status reports way back when was that it was not possible to get across southern Arizona without having some unpaved sections until the late 1930s. Seems like the US66 (as it was by the late 1930s) or Lincoln Highway further north might have been hard surfaced earlier.

 

FWIW, before a renumbering, US66 through Arizona was actually US60 (US60 later moved south to cross the Colorado at Blythe and to go through Phoenix). And before it was US60 (or US66) it was the National Old Trails Road.

 

There was also "The Corduroy Road", so named as it was like driving across wide wale corduroy fabric..Wooden timbers were roped together to form a roadway wide enough for ONE vehicle.  There were "sidings" every do often as if you met another vehicle, one had to "reverse" to the closest "siding" so the other vehicle might pass.  From the picture I found in the 1960s, the base "ground" was "sand dunes" (which wouldn't take to paving materials, at that time).

 

NTX5467

[ply33]

53 minutes ago, NTX5467 said:

 

There was also "The Corduroy Road", so named as it was like driving across wide wale corduroy fabric..Wooden timbers were roped together to form a roadway wide enough for ONE vehicle.  There were "sidings" every do often as if you met another vehicle, one had to "reverse" to the closest "siding" so the other vehicle might pass.  From the picture I found in the 1960s, the base "ground" was "sand dunes" (which wouldn't take to paving materials, at that time).

 

NTX5467

 

I recall seeing remnants of the old wood road in the dunes between Yuma, Arizona and the El Centro area of California as late as the 1970s along US80 (and I-8 that replaced US80 in the 1960s) . They created a off highway recreational area later and the remaining wood sections disappeared. My guess was they were used either as firewood or to help get ATVs and 4x4 vehicles unstuck.

 

My grandfather spoke of driving on it way back when. He mentioned the reason they built it that way was so they could lift the sections to clear them of sand after windstorms but later figured out if they built a road elevated a little bit the wind would not deposit sand on it. Knowing that, they could build a regular asphalt or concrete paved road through the dunes.

 

For old road junkies, the west bound lanes of I-8 through that area are basically on top of old US80. There is a rest area between the east and west bound lanes which pre-freeway was simply on the side of US80. When I was a child we often stopped there for lunch. My siblings and I would try to run up to the top of the dunes just to the south of the rest area but never made it very far as the heat from the sand, even through shoes, was too much.

[JamesBulldogMiller55Buick]

Maybe a little (4 ounces) of Marvel Mystery oil in each fill up would help the vapor lock. 

When I run ethanol , I add 4 ounces  of Marvel Mystery oil to the tank and don't experience vapor lock. 

Otherwise, I run non ethanol.

I realize   that on a cross country run , non ethanol is not available 

 

Thanks for posting the blog. It is most interesting 

Edited September 25, 2016 by JamesBulldogMiller55Buick (see edit history)

[Pilgrim65]

Dan ,

 pleased car running great again and no further hic ups, interesting about the amount of foreigners making the trip , my mate over here planning on doing for his 60 th on a Harley ,and your making me regret not doing it with Ruby before I shipped her over here !

visiting a friend in Arizona Jan 18 perhaps we'll do a couple of days if possible , he has a camero , for me not quite as good as a classic Buick!

great read thanks 

pilgrim

[HuntzNSam]

Don't miss our buddy in Wilmington, the Gemini Giant.  The restaurant is closed, but he was still out there last we saw.  Sam and Giant:

 

[Booreatta]

On ‎9‎/‎14‎/‎2016 at 11:33 PM, Bill Stoneberg said:

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  If you have a car, head south toward Lubbock and go see Palo Duro Canyon. Its the Grand Canyon of Texas.  Not nearly as large, but very pretty and worth seeing. Minimal charge to get in.  While you are there see Charles Goodnight's heard of buffalo. They are the mother heard, saved from Slaughter during the late 1800's and have been used to populate the Buffalo heards elsewhere.  The finish the day off with a 72 oz steak (free if you can eat it in 1 hour) in Amarillo. 

If I am not mistaken there are a couple of old cars in the bottom of the canyon. Don't know what they are.

[49_buick_super]

 

Chicago day - SUCCESS!!

 

Today we left the motel in Braidwood at 4:30 a.m. with the intention of getting into Chicago on a Sunday before anything was moving.  It was a successful plan.

 

Approaching downtown Chicago on Ogden Avenue (Route 66)

 

 

On Jackson Street, eastbound (Route 66) closing in on the end of the eastbound road.  Notice the traffic?  This is downtown Chicago just after 7:00 a.m. on Sunday.

 

 

 

SUCCESS!!  We have arrived at the official eastbound terminus of Route 66 in downtown Chicago on Jackson Street.

 

 

We took the suggestion of MALO48 and went to 1454 South Michigan Avenue and found the building that was the location of an old Buick dealership.  It was indeed a photo opportunity for us here in Chicago.  Note the emblem on the building at the top of the central column.

 

 

Yeah!!

 

 

The Chicago skyline and vacant streets on Sunday morning.

 

 

And now, to the start of the Route 66 westbound route on Adams Street.

 

 

I am reasonably sure I was OK stopping for the picture.  The Chicago Police didn't seem to mind when they went by.

 

 

The view toward Lakeshore Drive from the westbound start.  This is the Art Institute of Chicago.
 

 

We left downtown Chicago feeling very happy and accomplished having managed to arrive at our first major destination.  From downtown Chicago we headed west on Ogden Avenue (Route 66) and went to Romeoville where we had a nice Sunday chicken dinner at White Fence Farm.  This is another Route 66 icon and as I understand the story, the restaurant has been here since before Route 66 became Route 66 through here.  They've been a fixture of this road for many years. 

 

 

Back on the road, we went to Joliet and spent some time at the Joliet History Museum which also contains their Route 66 center.

 

 

Nice seats inside the Route 66 Center for watching a Route 66 video...

 

 

Leaving Joliet, we went to Wilmington and took our picture with the ever-popular Gemini Giant.  (HuntzNSam, we wouldn't miss it!)

 

 

 

The story of the small cafe where this giant stands in sad.  As I understand it, everyone stops here to take a picture and no one spends any money at the cafe.  I found the store closed and I wasn't able to tell if the closure is permanent or just closed because this was Sunday.  I was prepared to buy cold drinks here to do our part but the doors were locked.

 

The weather here today seemed a bit threatening when we were in Wilmington.  We decided to get off the road early today, get the car covered and rest up while we wait for the front to pass by.

 

So, we are now on our way west and if you would care to continue to ride along some more, we are going to make our way to the Pacific Ocean and hope to be able to photograph the Buick at the western terminus of Route 66 in Santa Monica at the Santa Monica Pier.

 

I hope you guys are having as much fun with your Buicks as we are with ours.

 

Dan

Edited September 26, 2016 by 49_buick_super
correct date error (see edit history)

[g-g-g0]

Some of the oldest portions of Route 66 (1920's if memory serves me correctly) was actually the present Illinois Route 4. You pick it up at the south end of the Lake Springfield bridge south of Springfield, Ill and it runs down through Chatham, Auburn and Virden and on to Carlinville. I know there is a sign identifying this at the north end of Virden. Back then the highway was brick and remained that way in some sections until it was finally paved in the 50's. How do I know? I grew up in Virden but by then Route 66 had migrated about 7 miles east and was the 4 lane between St.Louis and Chicago. Most of the old 66 is now I 55. 

 

Used to to cut over from Route 4 at the Auburn junction on Route 104 to 66 and up to Sprimgfield many many many times. Sprimgfield was where the girls were?.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Dan, the ONLY way I would be having more fun would be trailing you in my '50.  And we sure do want to keep reading about your trip.

 

  Ben

[Bill Stoneberg]

we used to go to White Fence Farm for Fried Chicken after church on Sundays.  That was more then 50 years ago.. I also played music with a band  and had friends in Wilmington.

This post brings back memories.  Thanks

[JZRIV]

Thanks for the excellent trip diary and photos Dan. Look forward to more. I am sure many who are reading would love to be in you and your wife's shoes....less the bizarre fan/radiator incident of course. It is an inspiration for folks to get their cars out and drive.

[EmTee]

This trip is now on my 'bucket-list'...

[39BuickEight]

Don't miss Henry's Rabbit Ranch on your way back through IL. 

[Mark Shaw]

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this string & the great photos.  I am looking forward to the posts on your westbound trek...

 

Happy trails....

 

 

Edited September 26, 2016 by Mark Shaw (see edit history)

[dmfconsult]

On ‎2016‎-‎09‎-‎24 at 7:30 AM, MrEarl said:

What Carl said! You're within a frogs hair of inspiring me to pull Buttercup out of the barn, put her back together and hitting the Buick Highway. Our dream has always been to take the Alaska Highway to Alaska (duhh where else) but your journey may influence a change in direction. Keep the great posts coming. 

Loving this thread and have added the blog to my "favorites" for future reference as this is on my bucket list too!  For Mr. Earl though, don't give up on that trip on the Alaska Hwy, it goes through some beautiful country!  I've been on sections, but not all the way to Alaska.  If you drive a Buick, it had better be "pre-restoration" and you may want to make sure you have an extra windshield for after the trip!  Sorry for the redirection, now back to Route 66...

 

Edited September 26, 2016 by dmfconsult (see edit history)

[49_buick_super]

Don't stick that elbow...

Out so far...

It just might...

Go Home...

In Another Car...

Burma Shave

 

Another great pleasure of driving Route 66 is to see the reproductions of the old Burma Shave signs.  There are some originals, too, in museums along the road.

 

Today, we left from Braidwood, IL.  This is where we stayed on our approach to Chicago.  A nice, classic, well-cared-for motel that is just a pleasure to stay in when you are doing heritage tourism like we are.  A photo of the Braidwood Motel...

 

 

Thank goodness we haven't seen anything like this along Route 66 but sadly, it was not uncommon in those "good ol' days."  

 

 

In the town of Dwight, IL, we came upon this gem.  A restored Texaco station.  Pristine and perfect in every way.

 

 

 

The real gem of the day was in Pontiac, IL.  (Yeah, I know.  A Buick in Pontiac...)  They have a Route 66 Museum and a Military Museum combined that you could spend days looking at.  Also contained in the Route 66 part of the museum is the VW bus that belonged to Bob Waldmire.  Bob is dead now but in his day, he was a wandering Route 66 artist.  His work included many, many elaborately drawn Route 66 post cards and maps as well as many beautiful murals that adorned Route 66 business from Chicago to Santa Monica.  Bob was the creative inspiration for the Disney "Cars" character, Fillmore.  Pixar originally wanted to name the character "Waldmire" but for reasons known only to Bob, he would not sell them the marketing rights and so the character became Fillmore instead of Waldmire.  Bob's parents owned the Cozy Dog restaurant in Springfield.  Here's Bob's VW bus that he used to run up and down the length of Route 66, doing his thing.

 

 

 

Another interesting exhibit in the museum is a detailed map of Route 66 which the artist traveled Route 66 and obtained postmarks from every post office operating on Route 66.  Now that took some time and dedication.  

 

 

A bit about the military museum.  What a place.  The military section is filled with everything imaginable.  They have collected the actual uniforms from veterans along with service ribbons and medals and on each uniform is pinned the story of the man who wore that uniform.  There are many dozens of uniforms in the museum starting with World War One up to Iraq and Afghanistan.  Some of these exhibits are stunning in story and the items displayed.  Let me describe one.  There is an exhibit containing a Japanese Type 99 light machine gun alone with some assorted personal Japanese artifacts that might be carried by a Japanese soldier in WWII.  The machine gun has suffered a through-and-through bullet strike in its front right tripod leg and some shattering to its carrying handle.  The story that accompanies this display is that this machine gun was operated by a Japanese soldier on Iwo Jima who ambushed a patrol of 10 US Marines.  Seven of the Marines were killed by the gun but the three surviving Marines managed to kill its operator.  The bullet hole in the tripod leg and the shattered carrying handle were damage inflicted first on the machine gun and then the bullets that caused the damage killed the Japanese soldier.  The three surviving Marines disassembled the gun and collected the artifacts from the deceased Japanese soldier and managed to get them back home when they were discharged.  The display comes complete with coarse black "sand" brought home from Iwo Jima's beach by the donating Marine.  There is also a rousing story about how the ATF found out about the fully operating machine gun and how the local sheriff stepped in to keep the gun safe from seizure and finally getting it on display in this museum.  

 

And just one more - the dog tag of a Marine with a bullet hole directly through it and a shattered religious medallion.  The story - the Marine stepped off his Higgins Boat onto the shore at Peleliu only to be raked in both shoulders and through his left forearm by enemy machine gun fire.  Managing to get to shore, on his first attempt to rise up he was shot again with the bullet piercing his dog tag but deflected by the religious medallion beneath it.  Photographs of his hospitalization and recovery accompany the exhibit.

 

This is a military museum unlike any I've ever seen before and if you are a veteran, love a veteran, know a veteran or appreciate the service of veterans, this is a museum that millions of people should see but here it is, hiding in Pontiac Illinois.  Some photos...

 

 

Here's a fascinating and rare piece.  The newspaper publisher on Oahu rushed out to assess the situation as the Japanese were attacking.  He hurried to get his paper out, being the very first to publish the start of WWII.  Notice the headline.  "SIX KNOWN DEAD.  22 INJURED AT EMERGENCY HOSPITAL"  This paper was published before the extent of the carnage was fully known.

 

  

 

Another great exhibit.  All these planes are perfect in every detail and have been carved from mahogany blocks.  And there is a local WWII expert who gives a riveting lecture about why these 25 fighter planes were the cream of the crop in WWII.  They're all here - US, British, German, Russian, Japanese, Italian.

 

 

An interesting display of original newspapers from WWII...

 

 

And finally, look at this fine Route 66 mural on the back side of the museum building with a brick driveway set up to photograph your car with the mural.  A nice Buick in Pontiac.  Love it!

 

 

If you travel Route 66 in Illinois, DO NOT MISS this place!!

 

Moving on toLincoln, IL, you will find  the world's largest covered wagon with Abe Lincoln on the seat reading a law book.  Only on Route 66!

 

 

Moving on to Springfield, we visited Abraham Lincoln's tomb.  This is an impressive and sobering place, not to mention right on Route 66.

 

 

 

And finally, to close the day, we went to the Waldmire family's signature business on Route 66 and had a Cozy Dog and onion rings for dinner.

 

 

The Buick is running very good.  The system that passed by yesterday has brought sunny and much cooler weather.  Looks like we are headed into this good weather for about a week out as we make our way west.  The Buick gets lovingly microfiber toweled every night with Meguiar's Last Touch and then put to bed with her California Car Cover.

 

And I've got one last story to tell you before I sign off.  The evening before we went into Chicago, I checked all the fluids like I usually do each night and the oil was finally down about 1/2 quart, so I got out my funnel and oil and proceeded to add the oil and button everything up.  (By the way, this is the first oil I've added since leaving Phoenix on September 9...)

 

I didn't check the oil last night before I turned in but did this morning at Braidwood.  My gosh, I looked at the engine and the oil filler cap was missing!!!  I just about  #^@*  myself and then looked to see the oil filler cap still sitting on the fender well flat just forward of the front hood hinge where I left it when I added the oil the day before and became so intent on cleaning the oil funnel that I forgot to put the oil filler cap back on the rocker arm cover.  That darn oil filler cap rode there for a 60-mile trip to Chicago AND BACK with bumps and turns and stops and starts.  120 miles!!  I just can't believe it!!  Now I've caught up to my wife who, in Sayre, Oklahoma, took her set of Buick keys and turned them in to the motel key box and then 60 miles later found she was carrying the motel key and not her set of Buick keys!!  Yep - we're stopping back at Sayre on our way west.

 

Those two should keep ya grinnin'.

 

Dan

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 27, 2016 by 49_buick_super (see edit history)

[Centurion]

I have been thoroughly enjoying this account, and have shared the link with some friends, including Gary Klecka, BCA #1955.  Gary has driven his all-original '49 Super coast-to-coast attending Buick National Meets during the last few years, and, last Friday, he e-mailed me this image of his '49 Super at the same restored Texaco station in Dwight, Illinois.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Centurion (see edit history)