ROAD TRIP! (Pontiac Flathead Reunion)

[TerryB]

Can you do a picture of you next to the car?  That would tie it all together.  Did your tires hold up well?  I did some long travels by motorcycle in my early days.  Many times the rear tire was almost shot after 5,000 miles.

 

I can’t imagine that that much open land and roads with little or no traffic on them still exist like you traveled.  Again, thanks for the ride along, it was fun!

[wayne sheldon]

Wonderful! I hope to do something like that in the not too distant future. Everyone should do that sort of adventure at least once in their life. And several times would be even better. I haven't yet done a driving trip quite that long, not antique or even modern yet. I think the longest road trip (modern car) for me so far was about thirteen years ago, we went from where we live now up to Eureka Califunny to pick up Linda's parents, and then on up to Mount Rainier. Then return after few days at a lodge up there and driving many miles around the area. My in-laws, two adult sons, my wife and I together for almost a week!

One of the most memorable moments on that trip, was that my eldest son and I headed into town for something one evening just after sunset, and caught the 'Alpen Lights' on your beautiful mountain! I understand that doesn't show up all too often. But it was an incredible sight!

My longest antique automobile driving trip was in my model T speedster along with a few other model Ts drove from the San Francisco Bay Area down to Southern Califunny for a model T club Catalina Island Caper tour, then home again. But that was a very long time ago.

I need to do things like that again!

 

Thank you for taking us along!

Edited September 25, 2021 by wayne sheldon
Additional thought. (see edit history)

[Bloo]

24 minutes ago, TerryB said:

Can you do a picture of you next to the car?  That would tie it all together.  Did your tires hold up well?  I did some long travels by motorcycle in my early days.  Many times the rear tire was almost shot after 5,000 miles.

 

I can’t imagine that that much open land and roads with little or no traffic on them still exist like you traveled.  Again, thanks for the ride along, it was fun!

 

I'll see what I can do. My tires are the only concession to the modern age. They are tubeless radials. Maybe I should take a closer look, but I don't believe they are showing significant wear yet.

 

At some point we really need to have a long detailed thread on this forum about how to find old fashioned low-traffic 2 lane roads, and more importantly how to connect them over long distances. One would think since we are spread out all over the country, and also the world, that some good information could be compiled.

[TerryB]

Ten days and 2500 miles from PA to Nova Scotia on a 1982 Suzuki 750cc.  Bloo’s trip was something I wanted to see in retirement from the seat of a motorcycle.  That can’t happen now but his trip took me there and the roads and places I wanted to see. 

[58L-Y8]

Congratulations!!!  You and your trusty Pontiac made it!!!   Thanks for taking us along, its been a great ride!

You're a prime candidate to do a advertising testimonial which car makers featured to promote the durability and reliability of their new cars.   

As the advertisements note"

"Satisfy Yourself with Something Better...Buy A Pontiac!"

[pkhammer]

Fantastic! I love to read travel threads and your photos and text made this one extra interesting. I'd like to see more travel stories on this forum. Kudos to you for having the fortitude for making this trip in a 85 year old car and taking us along for the trip!

[straight8pontiac]

Congratulations Bloo on a successful round trip journey to your Flathead Reunion. That sure was an adventure given all of the states covered, the weather conditions you experienced, the unfortunate accident that you endured, and the mechanical issues that you had to overcome. You should be commended for your technical ability to diagnose and solve your overheating issue as well as the general maintenance you performed.

 

I applaud your desire to document your travels across a beautiful part of our country that many of us will never be able to see. The subject matter in all of your photographs was superb . You brought everything to life and we became part of an adventure for all of us to enjoy. We all felt as if we were riding along with you. 

 

The travelogue that you presented should inspire more people to enjoy the antique car hobby in a similar way. Our trips would not have to be as long, but the sharing of an adventure is certainly a beautiful part of our hobby.

 

Thank you for taking time to share yourself and your Pontiac with the AACA community. Safe travels everywhere- Dave                               

[Walt G]

Thank you so much for taking the time to record and share your experiences with all of us.  Makes many of us think of wanting to do a long trip/drive or one that we did many years ago. My longest solo trip was in 1974 when I left Sesser, Illinois after I finished working as the assistant Editor of Cars & Parts magazine there. It was just about 1,000 miles drive back east to long island where home was and still is. My transportation was a 1950 Cadillac 60 Special sedan that I bought from a friend in the Franklin Club who lived in St. Louis.

Took two days to make the trip, I stayed overnight in Youngstown, Ohio . Great drive, great car and I used about 1 or perhaps 2 quarts of oil but had the pedal to the metal for a good portion of the trip.

Thanks Bloo for taking us all along - love your car but to see all the period architecture was just an added  really great thrill.

Walt

Edited September 26, 2021 by Walt G (see edit history)

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

16 hours ago, TerryB said:

 

 

I can’t imagine that that much open land and roads with little or no traffic on them still exist like you traveled.  Again, thanks for the ride along, it was fun!

 

 

 You east coast folks need to get out a little.  😁😁

 

  Ben

 

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

15 hours ago, Bloo said:

 

 

 

At some point we really need to have a long detailed thread on this forum about how to find old fashioned low-traffic 2 lane roads, and more importantly how to connect them over long distances. One would think since we are spread out all over the country, and also the world, that some good information could be compiled.

 

 Agree, Sir.   Not too difficult to do if one just uses paper maps instead of GPS.  

 

  Again, great trip. 

 

  Ben

[SC38dls]

Bloo you are an inspiration to all of us. Thank you for such a great travelogue. I’ve been talking about a trip thru New England in the 38 for over a year now. Gracie is all for it! At least she wags her tail when I say “Do you want to go for a long ride?”. My wife, Bobbi on the other hand is not so sure. She said she may fly to different cities on the way and meet me if I make it. Of course I have to finish fixing the front end but that will be soon. While not working on it I can start to plan the roads to take and figure out how to get the better half in the co-pilots seat. 
Thanks again Bloo

dave s 

Edited September 26, 2021 by SC38DLS (see edit history)

[Bloo]

4 hours ago, Ben Bruce aka First Born said:

Not too difficult to do if one just uses paper maps instead of GPS.

 

I was navigating entirely with paper maps, except for a little bit on the laptop while I was in motels. I can't stand the idea of of a synthesized voice squawking all the time while I drive. Yeah, I made a couple of wrong turns but it wasn't really a big deal.

 

Most states have an official paper map that is free. The trouble is most of the places they are available are at state borders along freeways. If I hadn't made a few long jaunts in a "modern" car, I wouldn't have had them. AAA is a possible solution, and they also have good paper maps.

 

Edited September 26, 2021 by Bloo (see edit history)

[Fossil]

20 minutes ago, Bloo said:

Yeah, I made a couple of wrong turns but it wasn't really a big deal.

Even with GPS it happens. Those things aren't 100% by a long ways. 

If a person hasn't got enough time to make a wrong turn you should have stayed home. 

Thanks again for the enjoyable trip. Hopefully you'll get to do it again. Where would you head next time? 

 

 

[Bloo]

I don't know. The Flathead Reunion next year is being planned for Pennsylvania I'm told. I might do it in a modern car using the freeways. Maybe. It is a bit too far for the Pontiac. I'm sure it would make it but it would take way too long. I have some high speed gears for it that would help, but they're not installed yet. I am plotting an engine overhaul now, as the oil consumption is pretty high. It might be all apart this time next year.

[ply33]

44 minutes ago, Bloo said:

. . . I can't stand the idea of of a synthesized voice squawking all the time while I drive. Yeah, I made a couple of wrong turns but it wasn't really a big deal. . .

 

Fortunately, every navigation app I’ve used has controls to turn off the voice. I mostly use them as a moving map to keep track of my position and as a check on my speedometer accuracy.

 

Wrong turns can be worse on freeways than on the older two lanes. On the two lanes you can generally find a safe place to turn around in a relatively short distance. I had one time in my modern car on a freeway where from the time I figured out I made a bad decision it was 10 miles to the next exit so that was 20 miles for the turn around. Maybe that is not a problem on the more populated east coast but in the rural west exits can be a long distance apart.

[john hess]

hi bloo. john from PA.. do your overhaul.... ship the car east... I'll  pick you up in Harrisburg. one way trip driving home... I'm  thinking the same for a trip to Arizona for us next year. John and Melissa. 

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

16 hours ago, Bloo said:

I don't know. The Flathead Reunion next year is being planned for Pennsylvania I'm told. I might do it in a modern car using the freeways. Maybe. It is a bit too far for the Pontiac. I'm sure it would make it but it would take way too long. I have some high speed gears for it that would help, but they're not installed yet. I am plotting an engine overhaul now, as the oil consumption is pretty high. It might be all apart this time next year.

 

  DO IT!   My '50 Buick, modern by your Pontiac standard, has faster gears.  And just this year I pulled the engine down due to an over heat incident that was all my fault. All back together and good to go. 

 

  If we were closer I would enjoy jumping in and helping.

 

  Ben

[Fossil]

I'd take June Bug on longer drives but 40 to 45 is where she is comfortable. Higher gears would make 1st too high for some situations. Her engine could use some attention but we'll see what happens this winter.

I guess if I were in your position a summer drive down the coast highway from Seattle to the Calamityfornia border would be of interest. I've always enjoyed the old coast Highway. The Food is to die for also. 

Looking forward to your next adventure. 

[EmTee]

Thanks for the ride - it was inspiring!  I hope to make a similar trip in the future in my recently acquired '38 Century.  My goal for that car is to get it as sorted as your Pontiac and tour with it.  I'll start small, but would like to drive portions of the Lincoln highway and RT 66.  A 2-lane highway jaunt from NY to FL and back is another trip I'd like to make.

Edited September 28, 2021 by EmTee (see edit history)

[Bloo]

3 hours ago, EmTee said:

Thanks for the ride - it was inspiring!  I hope to make a similar trip in the future in my recently acquired '38 Century.  My goal for that car is to get it as sorted as your Pontiac and tour with it.  I'll start small, but would like to drive portions of the Lincoln highway and RT 66.  A 2-lane highway jaunt from NY to FL and back is another trip I'd like to make.

 

The best way to do it is to take longer and longer longer trips and just keep fixing things as they crop up, rather than jumping from occasional 150+150 mile jaunts on holidays to 4500+ miles like I did. I had been daily driving it in town for years though, and It has been reliable for about 2 or 3 years. I was planning on doing a lot of testing of various things on the trip. That all went out the window after I left the road in Montana. From that point on I was not thinking about any scientific analysis of the car. I was just looking for hidden damage. The problem with the brake cylinder and the problem with the generator were definitely things I did not expect, and they were both things that the last guy had done at a shop if I remember correctly. 90+ percent of the things I have had to fix to make this car reliable have been due to old shoddy workmanship rather than age or wear.

 

Unfortunately the highways immediately surrounding the town I live in are not really appropriate for slow cars, and the Pontiac has optional 4.89:1 gears. That is not conducive to frequent road tripping, at least not on 2 lane roads with a bunch of trucks going as fast as the law will allow. You would have no such limitation in a Buick Century. Go for it!

 

[Grimy]

Bravo!!  I hadn't seen any of your travelogue until tonight as I've been on the road for 15 days doing 3 tours and 2 shows, all back to back. 900 touring miles on the 1918 Pierce, and 1500 miles towing it from one end of CA to the other.

 

Consider checking or changing the temperature compensator in your generator.  On my 3-brush generators, it reduces output by 7-10 amps after 20 minutes of driving--by design, so you don't cook your battery after the starting drain has been replaced.  Don't really have any detailed knowledge of how it works.

[Bloo]

That sounds like a good idea, but I don't think I have that feature. I will look when I have the generator apart. Mine has a fixed position third brush, and a vibrating voltage regulator. One end of the field is connected to the third brush, and the other end to the voltage regulator. Grounding the voltage regulator end made no difference. When it's bad, it still charges a tiny bit. Sometimes it even catches up if you drive long enough with no lights. I was discussing this with @37_Roadmaster_C the day after I got back and he suggested it is just running on residual magnetism. I think that's right as I can easily believe the field could fail open. Having the field fail intermittently to high resistance, while not impossible, is a lot harder to believe and I can't imagine how an armature defect could be the cause. I have not had time to dig in yet.

 

It works normally for the first 40 miles or so. It has probably been broken for years and nobody noticed.

 

Edited September 28, 2021 by Bloo (see edit history)

[Walt G]

9 hours ago, Bloo said:

 

 . You would have no such limitation in a Buick Century. Go for it!

 

The 320 cu in Buick engine has power to spare , and the Buicks of the immediate pre WWII era especially are just grand on the roadways. I love my 1940 Roadmaster. But if yo have a tight solid car they are quiet and you need to keep an eye on the speedometer or you will find your self traveling along well above the legal speed limit - had experience in that and was warned twice by men in uniform with radar guns who recorded what I had been 'drifting along" at. 🤐

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

12 hours ago, Bloo said:

 

 

Unfortunately the highways immediately surrounding the town I live in are not really appropriate for slow cars, and the Pontiac has optional 4.89:1 gears. That is not conducive to frequent road tripping, at least not on 2 lane roads with a bunch of trucks going as fast as the law will allow. You would have no such limitation in a Buick Century. Go for it!

 

 

 4.89!!  That is a REAL good reason for a higher speed gear.   I would even consider a 5sp overdrive transmission.  Still a mountain goat in low and a gazelle in 5th.

 

  Ben

[Fossil]

12 hours ago, Bloo said:

and the Pontiac has optional 4.89:1 gears.

That kind of surprises me as I thought by the time your car came along higher speed rear ends were becoming the norm. Mine is geared in that range which was more the norm at that time. At 45mph the tach is showing 2500 rpm and it's sounding kind of busy under the hood. You must be running about the same. 

[Bloo]

On 9/28/2021 at 9:28 AM, Ben Bruce aka First Born said:

 4.89!!  That is a REAL good reason for a higher speed gear.   I would even consider a 5sp overdrive transmission.  Still a mountain goat in low and a gazelle in 5th.

 

I considered all sorts of things. Like a Buick, my car has a torque tube and that makes things more difficult and expensive. I found some NORS 3.82 or so gears, and have just not finished building the new third member yet. It is close, but if I had finished it and installed it I would have not have had time to break it in before the trip. In retrospect, a homebrew Mitchell overdrive conversion looks very tempting. As for 5 speed overdrive transmissions, I love T5s and I have one in my truck, but it is sort of the wrong aesthetic for this car. It's not impossible to get one hooked to a torque tube, but it's not trivial either. A similar situation exists for those early 80s Ford transmissions (cant remember the name or model) that people shove in Model A's. They can look "period" but have a tall transmission tower that sticks up through the floor, and a stock Pontiac transmission has the Buick Special top cover, so there is little or no tower sticking through the floor.

 

The change will be completely invisible with my new third member. Whether it was a good choice or not remains to be seen.

 

On 9/28/2021 at 9:35 AM, Fossil said:

That kind of surprises me as I thought by the time your car came along higher speed rear ends were becoming the norm. Mine is geared in that range which was more the norm at that time. At 45mph the tach is showing 2500 rpm and it's sounding kind of busy under the hood. You must be running about the same. 

 

Pontiacs like mine came standard with 4.44 in sixes and 4.55 in eights. They offered 4.11 "Plains" gears and 4.89 "Mountain" gears as options. Tires are 600-16. My radials are 195/80R16 and the O.D. is the same as 600-16. I have heard that Pontiac may have just chosen the gears based on where the car was to be delivered, but I don't quite believe it. I suspect someone paid extra for this back in 1936. It is really busy at 53 mph.

 

Edited November 26, 2022 by Bloo (see edit history)

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

An overdrive is the most versatile, probably.   The gears you are installing will drop the high gear RPM  around 500-600.   I went from 4.1 to 3.36.. Dropped about 650 or so.

 

  Old engines do sound busy compared to today.

 

  Ben

[Bloo]

An overdrive would definitely be more versatile. In particular I am a huge fan of the later Borg Warner type with the electric controls. It isn't period though, and I am doubtful it would fit due to frame interference. Maybe. I know some people put them in the middle of the torque tube. I'm skeptical because you lose the reverse lockout, and a few other small issues. We have several members here who own those and rave about how great they are, so I am probably getting wound up over nothing. There is always gear vendors. They are 12 volt units but I'm told they will work on 6. They are really expensive, but to be fair, so is everything else when you get down to actually doing it. Changing ring and pinion in the axle on these particular cars to a more useful ratio is not cheap or easy. A Mitchell overdrive could just be left in high on a car geared this low and you wouldn't even need a linkage. On the other hand, a chrome BW overdrive cable under the dash (to shift the Mitchell) wouldn't look out of place at all, and would be fine as long as you weren't trying to split gears.

 

The peak horsepower of the engine is rated at MPH rather than RPM, but I believe it to be about 3200 RPM, so it should be able to do a little less than that indefinitely. Common wisdom among the Pontiac folks is "keep it below 3000 and everything will be fine". Some of them will tell you the advice is just for eights though. The Pontiac Six (after 1934) and Eight are of the same family more or less. The six has theoretically perfect balance, a shorter crank, and a relatively short stroke, so the piston speeds shouldn't get insane. It also has insert bearings and full pressure oiling. The only fly in the ointment is the the cast iron pistons, which are likely to be heavy. I think on a fresh rebuild, balanced, with aluminum pistons and modern pin retainers you could probably spin one as fast as you want, but that idea needs more investigation. My guess is it couldn't breathe well enough to hurt itself.

 

My engine is old and a little tired though, I baby it.

 

Edited September 28, 2021 by Bloo (see edit history)

[Fossil]

7 hours ago, Bloo said:

My engine is old and a little tired though, I baby it.

Mine too and I feed it baby formula as well. I have another engine but it needs to be torn down and examined before trying to run it. The odd thing about mine (a little scary) is the more I run it the better it sounds and the less oil it uses. I still wouldn't be comfortable taking on a trip like yours. Have to say I admire your faith in your car. There's a lot of nothing in some of the places you traveled and getting through those areas in a new car feels good. 

[Bloo]

They get better when you drive them!

[Rivguy]

Amen to that! Thanks for taking the time and effort to chronicle your trip. 

[Bloo]

Last run of 2021....

 

It has been a while since I posted anything in this thread. My plan was to fix the generator when I got home, and then take it on an extended drive, about 80 miles or better, to prove that it was fixed.

 

The plan was to jump from Highway 28 up to Highway 2 and come across the Waterville Plateau and visit some of the little towns up there. I would have done exactly that on the return trip if I had not run out of daylight.

 

I did tear the generator down and inspected the field coil closely. It looked good. I put it in the oven at about 170 degrees for a couple hours, shook it, banged on it, moved wires around, and it was solid as a rock. My theory now is that coolant was getting on the generator belt. I could see how it was probably happening. The overflow tube ended right by the generator pulley because it was missing it's extension hose. It probably took about 20-40 miles for the coolant to expand enough to reach the overflow and dribble a few drops on the belt. It wasn't dripping enough to show spilled coolant.

 

With nothing to fix, I put it back together with the intent of taking on an extended drive, but first I drove it to a neighborhood convenience store. It didn't want to shift into second. I didn't grind, It just didn't want to shift. It would with persuasion, but something was obviously wrong.

 

I went back home and checked the transmission oil. A tiny bit low, but not enough to explain poor shifting. I pulled the drain plug and metal came out. At first I thought a ball retainer on a bearing had come apart. It turned out instead to be a synchronizer detent spring. I'll make a thread about it when I get around to uploading pictures. My over-winter storage is several miles away, so I had to fix it. @Kornkurt found the critical parts for me.

 

By the time I was done with that, winter had arrived. 2 days later we had a nice day and I took it on a shakedown cruise. I headed east on Highway 28.

 

Here is Rock Island Dam, the first dam on the Columbia river, circa 1933, looking back toward the west in this view:

 

 

I continued east on 28 to the Palisades Road and turned north. If I had done this while headed back west from Wisconsin as intended, I could have either gone this way or cut north earlier at Soap Lake.

 

Palisades Road:

 

 

Palisades WA. Some of my pictures didn't turn out, so here are some from the Internet of the school and the old store:

 

 

 

I did manage to get pictures of the Grange hall and an old farmhouse:

 

 

 

Headed out of Palisades and on up the coulee toward the plateau:

 

 

A little further up it turns to dirt. I hadn't been up here in years and had forgot that little detail.

 

 

Looking back toward Palisades:

 

 

A little further up:

 

 

Past this, about as far as you can see and to the right, this road does get a bit narrow and twisty, but the pics didn't turn out. Finally on top of the plateau, looking back again toward Palisades:

 

 

And out onto the plateau, eastbound now:

 

 

Then turning north toward Highway 2. This road seems to have 2 names, Sagebrush Flats Road and Coulee Meadows Road. We are in Douglas County, WA, and I suspect this is the Grant County line.

 

 

Northbound toward Highway 2:

 

 

The road tees into Highway 2, and I headed west to the Waterville Plateau. In this confusing picture, The road I was on is in the foreground, the tee is out of frame to the right, and the road in the background is highway 2 heading west between the 2 rocks.

 

 

And out across the Waterville Plateau toward Farmer, WA:

 

 

More to come....

 

Edited November 26, 2022 by Bloo (see edit history)

[EmTee]

Thanks for the update; there's sure some pretty country out there!  BUT -- the $64 question is: "What happened to the duct tape trunk lid closure system?"  Glad to see that you were able to find a pair of replacement hinges.

 

 

I still think that's a pretty little Pontiac! 

 

[37_Roadmaster_C]

Bloo, you are correct about the county line a couple of posts above.

[Bloo]

20 minutes ago, EmTee said:

Thanks for the update; there's sure some pretty country out there!  BUT -- the $64 question is: "What happened to the duct tape trunk lid closure system?"  Glad to see that you were able to find a pair of replacement hinges.

 

I still think that's a pretty little Pontiac! 

 

 

Thank you! The soap opera about the tape and the hinges continues. I was able to buy a used left hinge and a pair of NORS (aftermarket) hinges. Those are the NORS aftermarket ones in the picture. They had pot metal rot and started falling apart immediately, the right one first of course. It had probably already been drilled and bolted in a lame and largely unsuccessful attempt to hold it together by the time these pictures were taken. In retrospect, I would have still bought them. They were better than nothing. Recently, on a tip from @pont35cpe , I was able to buy a right hinge. I've not put it on yet.

 

[Rivguy]

You've got a great attitude, just take it apart and fix it. Then you get back on the road. Thanks for the great pictures.

[Bloo]

Welcome to Farmer, WA. This tiny town has been the butt of a lot of smallest town jokes over the years because it doesn't even have a church or a tavern. It has... a Grange hall, and only a Grange hall.  I see they are calling it the "Farmer Community Hall" now. Nice.

 

 

Once upon a time, there was a store on the other side of Highway 2. In the early 70s the ruins still stood, set back from the road in a low spot, surrounded by trees. No trace now.

 

 

I took a little detour here and headed north on Highway 172. Next stop Withrow WA. That's it in the distance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I continued north on 172. A few more miles up the road the highway takes a hard right turn and heads east.

 

 

Next stop, Mansfield, WA:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got some gas at a bulk plant just outside of town, and then turned around and backtracked to Farmer, turned right at Highway 2 and headed west a few miles.

 

 

Next stop Douglas, WA.

 

 

 

 

The old store:

 

 

And some other stuff. I think this used to be a motel.

 

 

 

Old St. Paul's Lutheran Church:

 

 

 

The old Hotel:

 

 

 

 

Old Douglas School:

 

 

I then got back on Highway 2 and continued west a few more miles. next stop, Waterville, WA. Stay tuned, more to come...

 

Edited February 14, 2022 by Bloo (see edit history)

[EmTee]

Great pictures!  I really like the 'silver streak' shots out the windshield. 

[Bloo]

Welcome to Waterville, WA. This is the oldest town in my area. It probably doesn't seem that old to those of you that live further east, but when it began Washington was still part of the Oregon Territory and this was the wild west. The next town of any note in those days was Ellensburg to the south, and it is on the other side of some very inhospitable mountains. To this day there is no highway running directly south. There is an old wagon trail called Colockum Pass that is passable in a four wheel drive in summer, but it would be much quicker to drive around the mountains.

 

The buildings you see downtown today are mostly from about 1890-1910, This is also the third townsite, at least. They ran out of water, and moved more than once. It might have been called Jumpers Flats or Okanogan (no relation to the Okanogan, WA of today). The current site was chosen because wells were successfully dug here, and that is why it is called Waterville.

 

 

 

 

The former Marshall Wells Hardware:

 

 

 

Douglas County Courthouse:

 

 

Old Railroad Depot:

 

 

 

The old Midway Motors, a Buick-Dodge dealership long ago. It was still a GM dealership as recently as the 70s called Big Bend Motors.

 

 

@37_Roadmaster_C told me his 37 Buick Phaeton came to his family from someone in Mansfield WA, and I think that was in the late 40s. I have to wonder if it was originally sold here. Waterville is only about 30 miles from Mansfield.

 

Here is the Waterville Auto Court, a 1920s style motel that I think was last open in the 70s. It looked to be under renovation and I have heard it is being converted to apartments.

 

 

It's bigger than it looks in these pictures, extending out of view up behind that house it is attached to.

 

 

Waterville Hotel:

 

 

This is the Nifty Theatre, built 1918.

 

 

Technically it is the new Nifty Theatre. It replaced an earlier one in the left half of one of the brick buildings in the center of downtown that still stands. It is one of the two in the center in this picture:

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is an interesting building. Kind of odd looking. With not many windows, way up high, and really thick brick walls. Long ago it was a Grange hall from what I remember.

 

 

I have seen another building that looked about like this one in an eastern Oregon wild west town, with thick walls and windows in ridiculous locations, almost a fort. It was the first store in that area predating the town.

 

I have heard recently that the Blue Rooster is located on Waterville's original main street, no longer commercial and one block from the current main street. I can't help but wonder if this is really the oldest remaining building in town. It is a bakery and art gallery now. It was closed when I was there, but the owner came out to take a picture of the Pontiac. He also does some computer work. I wish I had more time to ask him about the building's history, but the days were really short at the time. With miles still to go I thought I might run out of daylight. I wanted to visit one more town.

 

More to come....

 

Edited February 17, 2022 by Bloo (see edit history)

[John348]

Bloo,

Your photos are amazing! To me it is like something from the Twilight Zone, most of the photos have no people, or any other vehicles.  There are not many places left like this on the east coast. I love it.

Thank-you so much for sharing your adventure with us on this thread.

This has to be in my top 10 if not my top 5 threads on the site