Saturday, April 14, 2007

ROUTE 66 IN THE SPRING


Route 66 has at least 5 seasons, the normal four seasons and then the Memory Season and I always have trouble deciding which season that I am remembering because they intermingle with reality.

Spring
on Route 66 is a beautiful time with all of the spring trimmings, flowers, dandelion parachutes floating in the air, farm dogs chasing our car, birds building nests and farmers planting new crops along side the road. Farmer’s waving friendly waves from tractors out in the fields. Spotted cattle and horses in fields by the highway. The occasional grasshopper flying in the window or taking a ride on the hood. Moving wetly towards summer.

Summer on Route 66 with bugs on the windshield, the hot sun high in the sky, windows wide open and hot, did mention hot before? Water bag hanging on the front grille tantalizing young imaginations, paper pasted in the windows to block out the sun, sweat soaked hankies hanging out the window to dry. Complaints from the back seat about, “How much longer?” or The plaintive cry of a child needing to go to the bathroom. Burma Shave signs partially hidden but weeds and grass. Moving hotly towards fall. Windmills moving in cadence with the wind like palm trees.

Fall with a touch of frost, leaves blowing off of the trees and across the roadway. Farmers harvesting their crops and school buses and equipment-laden tractors slowing down traffic. Burma Shave Signs easier to see as the grass recedes.Signs of farms settling in for winter, filling up the silos and baling the hay, corn stacked in shocks in the fields. Moving swiftly towards winter.

Winter with snow along the road, kids playing in snow banks, snowmen standing silent vigil, a tribute to youthful activity. Soft snow falling and slowing down travel. The anticipation of seeing grandparents and opening gifts, turkey and dressing, Renewing friendships with all of the farm animals, chasing the chickens around And running from the geese and turkeys. Sad goodbyes and horrible thoughts of returning to school after the holiday vacation.

Is that four, five or a hundred seasons? I can’t tell where memory ends and reality begins. All that I know is that whatever memories I have, Route 66 runs like a river though them, timelessly and endlessly!

Time to get out the Route 66 Cruiser and plan your next trip down the Mother Road!!

Friday, April 13, 2007

1955 Mercury Montclair Custom



1955 MERCURY MONTCLAIR Two-Door Hardtop

The Montclair was the top of the line in '55. The Montclair had a lower roof line than any of the other models. Although just over 71,000 were manufactured, they seem to be rare today. I attend a lot of car events and hardly ever see another one.
This Merc is customized and has many, many modifications. Up front, the hood is nosed and louvered. The grille and bumper are custom. The headlights are frenched. The doors and the trunk lid have been shaved. The taillights have been tunneled. A power antenna is frenched into the rear fender. The Merc has dummy spotlights, lake pipes and fender skirts. Outback is a Continental Enterprises continental kit. These are quality kits, and are the best available!

The interior is upholstered in gray cloth and has a gray vinyl headliner, and deep pile gray carpet. The front seat is showing some wear. The dash is nice and has Autometer gauges. The steering wheel is Blue Metalflake. The car has Vintage Air, power steering, cruise control and many custom teardrops dash knobs.

The trunk is upholstered in gray carpet material including the spare tire cover.

Under the hood is a detailed 351 Cleveland engine that was totally rebuilt about six years ago. The auto trans was rebuilt at the same time. The car has air horns under the hood. It has dual exhaust with Smithy Mufflers. The front end has been rebuilt. The car has been driven about 23,000 miles since everything was rebuilt.

Car magazines say that stance is everything. This car sits right! The front end has a lowering block kit and the rear has lowering blocks and Posie's springs.
This Merc looks good, sits right and goes down the road. I drove this car to California and back with no problems.

This car has been driven and does have some imperfections. The right taillight has cracked where it is tunneled and frenched. There is a small bubble on the lower right rear quarter. Some of the stainless trim has some blemishes. Overall, the sheet metal is very straight. The car is not wavy.

Call for More Details and price 417-682-3685 or email me
Fly in and drive home, this is a great car!

1st Annual
“Get Your Kicks on Route 66 Hearse, Hot Rod and Classic Car Cruise”


The Lonestar Hearse Association, Texoma Hearse and Hot Rod Society and the Kansas Hearse Association proudly presents its first cruise being held September 20th through 23rd, 2007.

We are going to be kicking off this cruise in Southwest Missouri on Thursday September 20, 2007 with a “Meet and Greet”, registration and BBQ. Location TBA

The cruise will start out Friday, September 21st in Southwest Missouri and travel through Kansas and into Oklahoma where events will be planned at various Points of Interest. We will be making our final stop for the day in Oklahoma City.

Saturday, September 22nd, 2007, Cruisers will be starting out in Oklahoma City around 7:00Am to make the trip to Elk City, Oklahoma where we will have a car show across the street from the National Route 66 Museum and Complex. The City of Elk City is graciously hosting our car show and The Route 66 Museum will be offering discounted tickets for the Museum Complex.

On Sunday morning, September 23rd, 2007, the cruisers will meet for breakfast and discuss where they’d like to cruise in the Spring 2008. We will also hold a trivia game of things that happened along the way.
http://route66hearsecruise.bravehost.com/index.html

For More Information, please contact
Frank Redmond at f_redmond@sbcglobal.net or 940-872-2212,
Travis Coleman at kshearsedriver@yahoo.com or
Amber Hallacy at amber_fae@yahoo.com
Yahoo Group Website for updates, pre-registration and events planned:
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/route66hearsecruise
http://www.myspace.com/route66hearsecruise