Take a trip down Route 66

2 February, 2017

 

The road is something we take for granted in day-to-day life, but for those of us who use them for more than just the daily grind — as a conduit for automotive passion — there can only be one that matters. 

It’s not the oldest road in the world, and it certainly isn’t the busiest, but Route 66 can’t be defined by numbers. It is the mother road, at the heart of America, and its immense historical legacy remains. Winding its way through immense cities, desolate plains, beautiful scenery, ghost towns, neon-lit diners, historic American motels, and the stuff woven tight into the fabric of America, Route 66 is a journey like no other.

If you haven’t, at some point in your life, dreamed of driving Route 66, you may be on the wrong website. But for those who are willing to entertain the idea of the automotive dream, Southern Classics has just what you want — the chance to cruise Route 66 in a late-model Ford Mustang, crossing through eight states spanning 2500 miles, taking in the best the road has to offer. Live it up in Las Vegas, marvel at the Grand Canyon, venture onto the Skywalk, and experience a slice of America that modern life can’t extinguish. 

Tours depart in June 2017, and include airfares, Mustang rental, all accommodation, and breakfast most days. If this all sounds like a bit of you, more information can be found on southernclassics.co.nz, or by emailing [email protected].

A second dose of Dash

When the car arrived in Wellington in December 2018 it was duly taken along for entry certification. Vehicle Inspection NZ (VINZ) found some wrongly wired lamps and switches — not too bad — but, much more significantly, some poor welding repairs. As the structural problems were probed more thoroughly, we realized the previous owner’s restoration would not do and we needed an upgrade. Dash had made it into the country but it would take some time and money before he would be free to explore any of New Zealand’s scenic highways.
We took the car to our new home in Johnsonville in the northern suburbs of Wellington and I pored over the car in detail to figure out what was next. There were lots of new parts on the car and a very perky reconditioned drivetrain but the chassis needed serious work.

Lunch with… Jim Palmer

In the 1960s, Hamilton’s Jim Palmer won the prestigious ‘Gold Star’ four times and was the first resident New Zealander home in the New Zealand Grand Prix on five consecutive occasions. He shared the podium with Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Bruce McLaren, Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Denny Hulme, Jackie Stewart, and Chris Amon. The extent of his domination of the open-wheeler scene in New Zealand will probably never be matched or exceeded. Yet he’s always been modest about his achievements.