I have been a car enthusiast since I was able to drive. My husband Ian is a mechanic, so I spent a lot of my free time playing with cars I'm a bit of a rev head. We love old classic cars and adventurous road trips through the USA. We're always on the look out for something nice to add to our collection. Or help someone else to find their American Dream car or pickup on our travels through the USA.
I've never met a car I didn't like, but my personal favorites are old VW bugs and old pickup trucks. I love it when I get to drive one of my pickup trucks down the old Route 66 on a sunny day. It makes me very happy!
We don't do all this work finding these old beauties just to let them stay in the garage! We drive our cars all over the USA country side taking in all the sites off the beaten track. If you're interested in seeing some of my cars in person, keep an eye out and say G'day. Or contact me if your after your American dream car or pickup.
Well it's been a while since our last trip to the USA. All she needed was a new battery and she fired straight up. We do put fuel saver in the petrol tank. This trip was going to big a big trip from Palmdale CA to Pekin Indiana and back. Going to have five weeks over there so going to make the best of it going to car shows, checking out new places that we hadn't been to before. And also catch up with our lovely friends that are like family now that wehaven't seen for a long time. It was great to get out on the road again in the old classic Chevy and put a smile on a lot of people's faces while driving her.
We travelled a bit of the old Route 66 across and some side roads in the country. As we're not fans of just travelling on the main HWY'S
plus we get to see a lot more and get to meet a lot more people that aren’t just tourist by doing this. And it’s a lot more fun than jjust sitting on a boring HWY.
Check out this great video
Check out this great video
We've been searching for a Chevy Panel truck for a while and we finally found one on Craigslist in Sherman Oaks, California (CA). A good mate of ours in the US checked it out and bought it for us in May 2017.
It was sitting under a carport in a gravel yard and all dusty. The previous owner didn't have any time to drive it so they were selling it after he had done improvements for holidaying in it, as we say in Australia.
Once we washed and waxed the Chevy, it was a totally different truck! What a find and we were over the moon to have such a lovely truck that drives and runs just like a new one. It's a beautifully restored truck and drives just like a modern car. In Aug 2017 with our Aussie mate Ron, my husband Ian and myself travelled to the US to try to find him a Corvette whilst travelling the iconic Route 66 to the Route 66 Festival in Springfield Missouri (MO).
Starting from our mates place Chris, Dusty & Piper in Palmdale, CA we had just 4 days to get there for the festival in Springfield, MO. We headed off on Monday morning and had only just got 50miles out of Palmdale when the alternator died, so we limped back to our mate’s workshop “The Shop” in Quarts Hill, CA to organize a replacement alternator from Napa. As Ian's a mechanic, he borrowed a few tools and we were on our way again within four hours.
Our first stop was Barstow after the Bottle Ranch on Route 66. Had a nice run through the windy roads out to the old gold mining town of Oatman, Arizona (AZ) then off to Hackberry, Radiator Springs, Winslow AZ, Wigwam motel Holbrook AZ, through Tucumcari to see the Blue Swallow motel.
It looked like we were heading into a bad storm so we brought umbrellas and headed off to Amarillo Texas to stay the night and see out the storm. That evening we went to the Texas steak ranch for dinner and everything is bigger in Texas!
In the morning as we headed off to Springfield, MO we encountered flash flooding warnings. This was due to a huge thunderstorm ahead but luckily it had cleared by the time we got to Shamrock Texas. Whilst in Shamrock, we visited the Do Drop Inn for a coffee and with such friendly staff, it’s just beautiful.
We headed off again, with fine weather ahead and viewed a lot of rusty relics on the way. Next stop was the big MacDonald's Restaurant built in 1957 on a huge bridge that spans the entire highway at Vinita, Oklahoma.
On Thursday we reached Springfield, MO and stayed at our friend’s Bed and Breakfast on Route 66. The next day we were ready to head to the Birthplace of Route 66 Festival in Springfield MO for the street cruise in the Chevy. We had a ball and everyone was so friendly.
The Chevy was entered into the show on the Sunday. They had over 700 cars and hundreds of motor cycles. As we had driven over 1700 miles getting to the event, we received an award for the furthest distance travelled. I had to get onto the stage to accept the award, deliver an impromptu speech and meet the Mayor, Chief of Police and the event organizers in the process!
We hope to go back again in 2018 and finish the rest of route 66 to Chicago and then return to the West Coast before we ship the Chevy home to Australia.
As the car scene is so huge in the USA, it’s the best place to travel in your old car and we've made lots of new friends along the way. So, if you see us on the road, stop and say G'day!
Interested in the Springfield, MO Route 66 Festival? More details can be found at the following link:
http://www.ozarksontwowheels.com/event/birthplace-of-route-66-festival/
And if you need somewhere to stay in Springfield, MO feel free to contact Mary & Robert Carsten on Ph 417 773 238 to stay at their Bed and Breakfast.
Sept 2018 we will be off on another road trip in the panel before we bring it home.
Check out this great video
Check out this great video
Check out this great video
Check out this great video
Wallsend, New South Wales, Australia
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