Kev,

You are correct, sir! This is in Oklahoma, where, in spite of all the red clay, they used this nice, gray cement.. it's a little hard to see the expansion joints between each square of pavement, so I can understand some difficulty identifying it...

The following post moved from Big Kev's Progect Blog

Re Route 66

Several years ago I was traveling from MN to AZ and stopped at the Route 66 Museum in Clinton OK. I think almost anyone would enjoy that museum. They have much memorabilia, a film with lots of history, collector cars, etc. One of the nicest things they have is outside. It's one of the original cement mixers used on the highway--yes, they towed these things along and mixed the sections of good portland cement as they went. It is a long Rube Goldberg-ish contraption that is quite fascinating. I'm glad they put it out front, because without those machines and the crews that labored to lay down each section by hand, there would be no Route 66.

Also available at the Clinton museum is a little free "newspaper" publication that gives hints on how to find sections of the real "old road."

Some sections of the REAL Old 66 run just north and parallel to the blacktop of the so-called "Old 66". I kept looking to the right in that direction and noticed a flat area where there were several car tracks cutting across a weedy field.

I drove right off the blacktop and across the field about 1/4 mile to a very nice section of Old 66! One reason I think it hits those small towns is because it often runs right alongside of the RR tracks--another hint of how to find it, look for the tracks. The amazing thing is, although there were weeds growing in the expansion joints, the squares of cement pavement were PERFECT. No cracks at all to speak of.

One reason it's so hard to see these sections from the asphalt 66 is there are trees growing on both sides of the old road, draping right across it. I had my Dakota, which has been in the woods a lot, so I was determined to take it right through this canopy and really Drive Route 66 for a few hundred yards. It was an amazing experience, especially when you considered the people of Oklahoma just getting started on their journey in the Depression. I walked in the "ditch" between the road and the tracks and just imagined how many people changed tires, fixed engines, or just had picnic lunches there... it was like you could still feel them.

I have some pics somewhere and if you're interested will share some.

I'm sure the road marked as "Old Route 66" now goes over much of the real old road's pavement, but there are "virgin" slices of Route 66 like the one I found in quite a few places. Even the freeway kind of follows it, sometimes to the north, sometimes to the south--it crosses back and forth under the freeway, and there are exits for 66 marked occasionally that will put you on the "new old 66" but don't be fooled by cheap imitations, find the true Mother Road.

I'd like to do the Lincoln Highway some day too. Also, Highway 61 (revisited) goes through St. Paul near here, and that's another trip... Thunder Bay Ontario to New Orleans.

You know, that makes sense, and is just the kind of thing that you could imagine a designer doing to stay with at least some kind of continuity in a design that really couldn't be incorporated in a "modern" hood ornament. Thanks for the additional info. Nice looking '56, BTW. It doesn't have a Caribbean hood, but it looks like there's a coat-of-arms medallion ornament on it, or are my eyes deceiving me.

Thanks for all the stories and pics!

I'll post this one again for the Western U.S. travelers.

Name That Road Second Time Around

(Hint, it's famous and has been mentioned on this thread.)

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There are two holes there, one small one above the larger one. Also, did these originally go all the way through? What is behind them? Is that the standard backing material?

As I recall, if you looked real close on a factory dash without all the accessories, you could see where the "knockouts" were for additional switches, because that area of the metal screen would be a tad darker than the surrounding metal--indicating a hole through the backing material. There was some kind of fiber board backing behind the metal, wasn't there?

Taking a look at the original parts car as suggested earlier would probably solve the mystery in a minute.

BTW, wasn't this about the most supremely beautiful dash layout of the 50's? Very functional and clean, yet flashy and attractive.

I'm wondering about this:

The shift into direct drive is often felt the same way as a gear change in an automatic. So, maybe they just installed a lockup clutch on the torque converter. I don't know if the cases for Ultramatics had the room to do that conversion, just a thought, which is worth about

OK, name that Road!

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clipper47,

I hope you get a chance to see it. I'd like to see it again.
Great road movie.

An infamous road trip in a nearly new Packard was committed to film a few times over the years. The story of the crime spree of Charles Starkweather and his companion around Nebraska and Wyoming back in '58, part of which was conducted (including the final police chase) in a black '55 Patrician.

The general story was used in at least one movie, "Badlands." which I have not seen but received favorable reviews. I don't think it features a Packard. A made-for-TV movie called "Murder in the Heartland" is supposed to be a more faithful account, and did feature a Packard. It was filmed on location in Lincoln Nebraska. I have looked and looked for it, but never able to find it.

Kev,

How did you so neatly transfer your post from the other thread onto this one? Just copy and paste, or is there a secret method to do it directly?

Clipper47,

Thanks for the update on Highway 61. You probably missed a section in St. Paul, which is a confusing town to drive in, not to mention that the highway probably turned into a "street" somewhere along there.

If you haven't seen the Highway 61 movie, you have GOT to check it out. I hope its in DVD. Here's a link to the trailer on IMDB:

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1705836825/

Enjoy!

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More on this later...

Great stories!

Owen, there is nothing at all wrong with tours that go "right." This may often be the case here, since most of the stories will be about trips in Packards, and testimony to their famed reliability. (Don't leave out the "horror stories," though. They're always good fun.

Ever get done with a trip where you sweated whether the vehicle would break down or not, carrying spare parts and tools, then get home after driving 1000 mi. or so? Owen has related that experience well. I had it myself once, and literally told the car in my driveway: "Why was I so worried about you?" It's a good feeling.

Clipper47, thanks for the tips on getting through Nebraska. I've done the freeway several times and it is a colossal bore! I knew there had to be something better to see in Nebraska. Also, congratulations on navigating 61 from Canada to New Orleans. Did you start at Thunder Bay and go all the way to N.O.? Also interested in that show--50 miles south of Duluth is about 70 miles north of where I live.

Denny, naw, it wasn't sunspots, it was the day the earth stood still.

Kev,

Go ahead and copy your Route 66 posts here from the Project Blogs thread if you like. They really were the inspiration for this thread.