Getting Our Kicks on Route 66 in a 1969 FJ40 (2 Viewers)

[120mm]

After posting last night, took the dogs for a walk and discovered the Texas State PITA, the sand burr. Both dogs made it about 50 feet into a sand burr patch until they realized walking = pain. Getting two 50 pound dogs out of a sand burr patch is a task id much rather not repeat. If you know, you know.

This morning we woke up in a sandstorm with 40+ knot crosswinds and occasional mud showers. Made it to Amarillo before just giving up.

But not before we had a reunion of sorts. My lovely bride toured with the music group Up With People for a year in 1987, and we met up with her friend who had married a Texas rancher in Shamrock Texas.

Then it was on to McClean, where we found a section of "mud" 66, which while established in 1926, was never paved.

We actually got off route for a bit, and found some serious moon dust, and actually lost grip once or twice, especially around curves.

After that section, the wind kicked up even more, and visibility and controllability became an issue. I was holding my steering wheel about 45 degrees left to maintain forward travel and had to keep it below 45 to drive comfortably.

Since there is not much for dog friendly hotels west of Amarillo and we wanted to hang out at Cadillac ranch, we parked it on the west edge of town.

Despite the timing cover leak, the rig is running like a champ.

 

[thabruiser]

Loving the trip as you tell it. Thanks for sharing!!

 

[120mm]

Big day today. Woke up to a snowstorm in Amarillo. 30 minutes in the wipers took a catastrophic dump, blowing the fuse. The rest of the day was mountain driving on a combo of interstate, 2 lane and dirt. In wet clinging sleet snow mix without wipers.

My grandpa used to glory in telling me how wipers were considered an accessory in his day. I can attest to the fact that you can drive in sh*tty weather without them.

Started by knocking some of the dust off the interior.

Stopped at the 2nd Amendment Cowboy first.

Cool monument to our Right to Keep and Beat Arms, plus three Cadillacs driven by John Wayne, Willy Nelson and Elvis.

Cadillac ranch is less fun in a snowstorm than you'd think.

 

[120mm]

Just west of Amarillo, ran into a 'Mudder. Josh, whatever your handle is, please post here. Your rig is really cool.

Next up was the midpoint monument and cafe. Cafe was closed, but I'd bought a fried pie at the stop where I met Josh and friend and ate it in the parking lot so I could say I'd eaten a pie at the midpoint cafe.

Went dirt 66 from there until some pantywaist had blocked a condemned bridge with no legal way around it. Backtracked to the post 1952 Route 66.

 

[120mm]

Even in a snowstorm with non functional wipers, Route 66 is cool. I'm going to go over the wipers to see if there is something I can fix, but otherwise we are driving on without them.

 

[thabruiser]

I was just going to ask, before you mentioned the wiper failure, if taking the FJ40 was as fun as it looked. You had mentioned travel or road stress earlier in your posts, and was curious if the 40 had anything (or everything) to do with that. I plan taking an old yota down Route 66 this July , but with me and my son (11) doing it. It is a toss up between something old and cool, or newer and quieter. Thanks for sharing!

 

[desmocruiser]

Very cool!

Safe travels, I stopped at a few in New Mexico/ Texas etc., one year headed back to TN from Moab. I found an app to help me navigate some of the broken sections!

 

[clrussell]

Very cool!

Safe travels, I stopped at a few in New Mexico/ Texas etc., one year headed back to TN from Moab. I found an app to help me navigate some of the broken sections! View attachment 3591250View attachment 3591251View attachment 3591252View attachment 3591253View attachment 3591254View attachment 3591255View attachment 3591256View attachment 3591257View attachment 3591258

Who would have thought it.. an app for Route 66.. handy

 

[120mm]

I was just going to ask, before you mentioned the wiper failure, if taking the FJ40 was as fun as it looked. You had mentioned travel or road stress earlier in your posts, and was curious if the 40 had anything (or everything) to do with that. I plan taking an old yota down Route 66 this July , but with me and my son (11) doing it. It is a toss up between something old and cool, or newer and quieter. Thanks for sharing!

It depends. I have a pretty high tolerance for discomfort, and I think the ride and additional effort it takes to keep the vehicle going down the road is very rewarding.

The main stressor for me is making sure my lovely bride is having a good time. She is also resilient, but I love her and want her to be happy.

I also stress about machines in general. This rig was built with "good enough" in mind, and the imperfections bug me intellectually enough to make me second guess my decisions.

This trip also is allowing me to consider where to go next with this build.

But more later....

 

[desmocruiser]

It depends. I have a pretty high tolerance for discomfort, and I think the ride and additional effort it takes to keep the vehicle going down the road is very rewarding.

The main stressor for me is making sure my lovely bride is having a good time. She is also resilient, but I love her and want her to be happy.

I also stress about machines in general. This rig was built with "good enough" in mind, and the imperfections bug me intellectually enough to make me second guess my decisions.

This trip also is allowing me to consider where to go next with this build.

But more later....

Awesome trip, enjoy! There are likely lots of Cruiser Folks along the way I bet are willing to help out if needed!

 

[Green Bean]

Just got caught up on this amazing journey with your wife and two dogs in your 40 series. I envy and admire your adventuresome spirit. Have fun!

 

[120mm]

We ended up staying in Santa Fe today as my lovely bride felt under the weather.

Took the opportunity to fix the cabin heat. I'm running a Champion two row, and like my Champion three row in my 1967 mustang, the engine never really gets up to and stays at operating the temp long enough to keep the heater running well. I made the decision not to reinstall the sheet metal under the radiator and with a header the driver's side tin no longer fits.

Fixed it upper Midwest style with a pizza box blocking off the radiator, which allows the temp to stay high enough to let the heaters keep up.

And the non shocker; Once I got the heater working well, the wipers started working again. I just did an overhaul on the wipers so I imagine I used the wrong lube. Shouldn't be an issue going forward so will address that once I get home.

I also got the dogs caught up on exercise. We walk them 4 to 6 miles a day, so they have been under exercized on this trip. 6 miles on scenic Santa Fe trails is really a treat

 

[1911]

Wednesday, we left Wildwood, and after doing a quick puppy walk and a thorough maintenance check, we headed west along pre 1932 Route 66 to Gray summit. Route 66 shadows I-44 through Missouri so any chance to get out of its shadow is welcome. Nice squirrelly country road.

As an aside, I'm nursing a timing cover leak and discovered today it's not that bad. No way to know until you put some serious miles on it. It looks like crap, but I'm losing a cup or two a day so I'm ok with that.

Our first major stop was Meramac caverns. I again expected a tourist trap and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the tour. View attachment 3588050View attachment 3588051
We next stopped at Bourbon to get a picture of one of their three water towers. Don't ask me why.
View attachment 3588052
Cuba MO is a major stop with lots of murals and important attractions like the Wagon Wheel motel.View attachment 3588053View attachment 3588054

This post brings back the memories; I was born in Phelps County/Rolla.

 

[120mm]

Last night, before going to bed, we decided to drive through Santa Fe to look at the old neon lights; top tip, there just weren't enough functional lights worth braving the sh*tty Santa Fe drivers.

Anyway, after a delicious meal at the Pantry Cafe, the headlights took a dump. The fuse looked good, and troubleshooting it and a physical examination of the wiring brought up nothing. Just to do something, I swapped my horn fuse for headlights, got the headlights back.

Set out for Albuquerque early with lights and a toasty warm cabin. Had to pull the pizza box at 49 degrees in Albuquerque to prevent overheating. BTW, Albuquerque is pretty much a dump.

They have a giant Roadrunner tho...

Went through the pre 1937 route to go through Bosque farms, to visit the home of a close friend that deployed with me to Afghanistan. Cute town. Took the dogs on a walk along the Rio grande.

Heading west, saw some amazing geography.

Stopped at El Cubera, where Hemingway allegedly wrote The Old Man and the Sea.

While Tulsa Oklahoma is the city that so far has embraced it's role as part of a Route 66, Grants New Mexico is a close run second.

We ended our day in Gallup New Mexico, which is also a pretty town, but no pics because I'm tired.

 

[120mm]

Almost forgot the best picture of the day. Mavis and your hero at the Continental divide.

Also, my lovely bride provided a picture of one of the muffler men that line Route 66 in Gallup.

 

[120mm]

Woke up in Gallup to some more maintenance.

Changed my left rear tire as my spare now has the best tread on the rig. And yes, I'm running bias plies.

Added some oil, plugged some crevices that let in wind on my lovely brides side and made some adjustments to the pizza box winterizing kit. Then it was load up the dogs and bride and off we went.

Met some friends along the way.

Share the road applies to livestock here.

In case you were wondering, the painted Desert is phenomenal.

 

[120mm]

Last stop before leaving the painted Desert/petrified forest is this old Packard, abandoned here in the day on old 66.

I'm getting the inkling of a next project here...

Saw some ruins and petroglyphs.

Also a shed load of petrified trees

We took the south gate of the parks to Holbrook, where saw lots of dinosaurs.

For those of you who don't know where and what Jackrabbit is, it's a town/gift shop. The lovely bride rode the jackrabbit and bought a Route 66 themed bag.

The dogs just barked their heads off at the Jackrabbit dogs.

 

[120mm]

Last stop before tucking in for the night, was Winslow Arizona, where we indeed stood on the corner, and wouldn't you know it, there was a girl in a flatbead Ford. Whattya know.

I always knew she was an Angel. Or eagle. Whatevs.

Arrived in Flagstaff just in time for the Iowa State/Illinois game.

 

[Green Bean]

It looks like you guys are having a blast. We are really enjoying following along on your journey. Thanks for sharing.

 

[120mm]

Despite enduring an Iowa State loss to Illinois 72-69, the sun still came up in the East and we set out early this morning. Stopped on the way out of town for breakfast, and while I'm not normally pimping restaurants on this trip, I gotta give props to Our Place on Route 66 in Flagstaff. Great food and the serving size is unbelievable.

Just out of Flagstaff, we caught some dirt/mud again.

We had planned on skipping the Grand Canyon, but once we arrived in Williams, we got a wild hair just because and headed up there. Used my new veteran's pass to get in free, which was amazing. BTW, be advised that on Good Friday, there was literally no legal parking left on the South Rim. We illegally parked and did a quick visit to the South rim. My first time there and it was impressive.

Unfortunately, had to head back to Williams to get back on the road.