DZAUTO

Last night I went with my wife to Yukon, OK to pick up something she got for Christmas.
On the way home, we stopped to put gas in the Tahoe. At the pump next to us was a Suburban with a Tennessee tag. So, being friendly, I asked them what part of Tenn they were from. Being from Tenn, I expected them to have a somewhat southern accent. Well, they did have a sourthern accent------------------WAAAAAAAY south-----------Brazil!
They said they were here to drive Rt66! They had just arrived from Texas (I presumed the panhandle) and were on their way to Chicago.
So I suppose Rt66 is internationally famous.

Frankie the Fink

Not surprised.

Wife and I retraced the pioneers trek on the Oregon Trail two years back. Great road trip. Met lots of Europeans and Asians utterly fascinated with American history.

claudeC1'60

Indeed, for us Europeans Route 66 is legendary, and it has not been renamed "Historic" Route 66 for nothing.
Seligman is one of the most famous towns to visits. Been there, liked it sooo much !! Lots of bikers from around the world, vintage souvenir shops, and Angel the Barber, nice guy. This success is quite recent though (10-15 years).

BB767

You have to wonder how much the TV series, "Route 66", in syndication around the world contributed to that. Back in the '80's when I was flying to Asia, Japan especially, talking with passengers they were fascinated with the wide open spaces of the US and told of plans to do a driving vacation here a la "Route 66". That dream lives on it seems.

Thomas

65tripleblack

Tucumcari is also very famous.

Unfortunately, a large percentage of The Mother Road was gone by the time I traveled it again (first time was with my parents, as a young boy in summer 1957 in a 1954 Merc Monterey, with a swamp cooler for the Mojave) in 2009. Much of what's left is unmarked or redesignated. Interstate 40 was built directly on top of the old roadbed in quite a few stretches of road. The saddest thing about it, is that most of the historic places along the route have fallen into disrepair and in a large number of cases not a trace remains.

DZAUTO

Several years ago, an NCRS group was driving through Okla on 66. I joined them in Tulsa, OK and we headed west. The "leader" of the group was going to take the Turner Turnpike (between Tulsa and OKC) and he told the group that there was not much reason to drive the old 66 because there wasn't much to see. DUH!!!!!!!!!!!
I offered to lead those who wanted to drive the old 66. After we got on the other side of OKC, several of those that followed me expressed great appreciation for taking them along the old 66 and after driving on it, they were quite surprised why the leader said there wasn't much to see on 66 between Tulsa and OKC. I even took them "offroad" on some original parts that are not marked.

BB767

A portion of Route 66 and the Route 66 Hall of Fame is only about 60 miles from my home and as such it is frequently in the news around here. Many of its old roadside attractions are now being purchased, restored and brought back to life. Here is but one example:

http://mediarelations.illinoisstate....may1/route.asp

More than 1 million dollars has been spent on that project alone.

http://www.national66.org/

There is now more to see and do on Route 66 than there has been in some time. As public awareness increases you'll see more of this.
For now the future of it looks promising. I am getting a Corvette ready to drive it myself and look for the ghosts of Todd and Buzz.

Thomas

isac

I agree , I met more Scandinavians , South Africans and Aussies than Americans when I rode Rt66....(where the h3ll are you ) but It was a great trip and I had a blast.

TCracingCA

Do your Homework and time the route and plan scenic stops etc.. Too much of that road has changed and some of the things to see aren't necessarily off of the main modern highway!

There was an old book, that I have in my Library with a Red C2 on the cover that breaks down the route mile by mile and what is still there and what isn't. I am also surprised that they turned northeast and not west or southwest. The thing that made the road famous was all of the barren stretches of Desert where nothing existed, and the fact that these road side things and places popped up and dotted the route, to break up the boring trip thru nothing! Heading north, true Oklahoma, Texas Pan Handle and Missouri and not much desert, and so the same did happen going that way-- therefore maybe! I have only done it as far as New Mexico and turned up toward Colorado. I am going to pull that old book out and take a look at those other States.

PS my Brother a few years ago moved back to California from PA and was towing his Vasek Polak 1967 Porsche 911S and had Foreigners and locals and other tourist taking photo ops with his car on the trailer at a number of stops! His car was getting so much attention, that he wasn't able to walk away from it anywhere, which messed up his plan to enjoy the route, because he started thinking that he wouldn't find it parked where he left it, if he ventured too far from it. One! he should have put a Car Cover on it and number #2, he was driving something with UHaul on the side so everyone knew his lifes possessions were inside! Therefore I would worry a little bit about doing it in a Collector car, any thoughts on that or was he just paranoid and now is making me paranoid?

Old Blazer

I belong to the Missouri Rt. 66 Assoc. Every other year there is a couple from Austraila that make the road trip with us among other destinations. The only catch is they always rent Mustangs for their trip!

Qblue92

Im doing it in Spring of '16. Got 3.08s installed already.

nassau66427

I drove Rt 66 in '67 from Chicago to Santa Monica in a '63 VW convertible.

At the time, it was the easiest way to get to the home of places I'd only ever heard of - Doheny, Laguna, Malibu, Huntington, Redondo, etc. - from NJ without getting lost.

63redvette

Great minds take the back roads like yourself, the mundane crowd can always be found on the interstates

6T5RUSH

Route 66 is VERY much alive. My wife and I drove from just south of Chicago to the end of Route 66, Palisades Park, Santa Monica, California in May of 2013. Great test of the newly installed close ratio 5 speed. Yes, we did it in our '65. Covered 5,800 miles in 21 days. Took us 14 days to get out there 'cause we were stopping at all the historic sites along the way.

I posted this topic in Off-Topic that year. We had a BLAST! We motel'd it each night, began looking for lodging after 4 p.m., staying at the Hampton Inns most of time. We DID stay at the WigWam Motel. What an adventurous trip!

You guys can read about all about that trip across the country here:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...e-66-trip.html

For those of you who think it might be a good idea to do this in your classic ride...my advice is DO IT!.

We covered her each night, disconnecting the battery. The motel management was very cooperative at times, allowing us to park real close to the entrance. We also asked them to keep an eye on it or were given assurances that the local police regularly patrolled the lot during the night.

We had NO issues on the trip. Oh, did burn 1 quart of oil. Whoopee!

Jim
In God We Trust!

GEM '62

We drove 66 this summer, in the 62, and met many people from all over Europe, Australia, Japan and a few from China. When ever we stopped we had cameras clicking. We met a lot of people, thanks to the old car.
On one occasion we were passed by a couple in an SUV going like He!!, about 2 miles up the road they were stopped and the woman was kneeling down snapping pictures as we passed. We met them later, they were from Australia.
We also met three different groups, from Europe, traveling 66 on Harleys.
In talking to owners of gift shops and attractions, we were told that there were as many Foreigners as Americans driving 66.

stratplus

I am shocked about people from other countries want to visit Route 66. I just thought that was a U.S. thing. That's great.

wonderful

One day I will do the Mother Road. My favorite rendition of the Route 66 song is by Nat King Cole.

alexandervdr

Rout66 is the reason why I am working like crazy restoring my C2 64 body off. The plan is to ship it (her? him?) to the US (I am from Belgium), and drive around for 2 months with my wife. Hopefully as soon as 2 years from now. Yes, although the US has it's share of critics in Europe, I am a big fan

Y0GI

Anyone remember the TV show from late '50s or early '60s called "Route 66"? It was about 2 drifters in a Vette that cruised from town to town, taking odd jobs and solving crimes. I think that was where I fell in love with the Corvette.

Yogi

SI67

I barely remembered the show from when I was a kid, but many years later saw a lot of it on Nickelodeon. By then I had already bought mine!

I think most C1/C2 enthusiasts are familiar with the show, one way or another. I understand that there is reboot of the series in the works, though we don't know what kind of ride the lads will have. I have just learned that there was a low-rateed remake back in 1993 which only managed four episodes.