This is my second Road King. I took it on a trip from Wisconsin to Michigan along the northern shore of Lake Superior through Canada. Magnificent!!!
Posted on 09/22/2017 6:40:35 PM PDT by Army Air Corps
Calling all FR motorheads! It is time once again for some car talk. Tonight, I ask the following question: What was/is your favourite vehicle for road trips?
I’d like to buy a Toyota FJ cruiser. They are a poor man’s Land Rover. I think they will hold their value since they don’t make them anymore.
This is my second Road King. I took it on a trip from Wisconsin to Michigan along the northern shore of Lake Superior through Canada. Magnificent!!!
She’s a real Beauty!
And we know that, if we have to explain, they just wouldn’t understand! LOL!
(((Since I am a little lady, I can’t get my legs around an FLH, but a Superglide, Softtail, Dynaglide, or even a FatBoy, I can handle nicely.)))
Had a 1975 Cutlass Supreme Salon w/350 Rocket, Turbomatic 400 Transmission, Carter 4bbl and dual exhaust. Candy Apple Red, white vinyl interior bench seats. Rode like a dream, that 350 had all kinda torque at the low end and actually got decent mileage. Loved that car.
Also had a 1976 Pontiac Grand Prix SJ, 454 4bbl, etc.. and loved driving that one too. Didn't get spit for gas mileage but I didn't care, gas was cheap back then. :-)
Yep. The size streets. ;-)
‘68 Olds Cutlass. Not so much the car but the memories. There were 7 of us crammed into that car while it was towing a crank up trailer from Colorado across the Arizona desert to California. That was before airconditioning.
Great memories!
Another great car is a ‘69 and then a ‘74 Toyota Land Cruiser.
Again, not the car so much as the memories. Not the most comfortable with the fold down bench seats in the back. We (5 of us) “Jeep Trailed” all over Colorado in those cars. And either while towing a crank up trailer or with a tent trailer and supplies on top on a rack. We’d camp along the trail in some very remote but beautiful areas. Very high mountain passes and beautiful valleys.
Some very beautiful and remote country can be seen in Colorado. We saw it, we did it.
My dad brought a 1956 Olds Starfire 98 convertible when I was a teenager in the middle 60’s. I still remember family trips in that cruise mobile up in New England. Also drove it when I got old enough. It was respectfully fast. Especially with the “Super” passing gear in the automatic transmission. Best regards!
It doesn’t matter how you look as long as you FEEL Marvelous!
:-)
(((Keep the Chrome Side up, Bro)))
ENJOY!!!!!!! :-)
Just got back from a road trip in the best car I’ve owned, and my favorite of the cars I’ve owned. 2005 Audi A4 Avant, V6, 6 speed manual, sport suspension, Quattro. A joy on freeways and back roads alike. Just drove from Calgary to Seattle and back, mostly on secondary roads.
Best design feature? The front seat passenger, my wife, can’t see the speedometer readout over about 60 mph!
The IM is probably closer.
It was about 1978 - towards the end of the California Van fad. I found a 1972 Chevy van that I could afford (barely) and put everything I had into the purchase.
It had about 75k miles on the odometer, but they appeared to all be highway miles. Up until then everything I had owned or driven had been $75 beaters so essentially this was my “first car”. The mechanicals were perfect - it ran like a top and, with a 350 4bbl, had plenty of power.
The body was in excellent shape and even though it was a 3/4 ton rig, it didn’t look or drive like one. It still wore the original color - a brilliant shade of blue. It was a cargo van so it came as a bare shell with only a pair of seats up front.
I built an overhead console from scratch and mounted the electronics there - amp and EQ for the stereo, CB radio, radar detector, speakers, alarm system, and a radar jammer (more about that in a bit). I added a bunk, some storage, and a tiny RV frig. I installed paneling that gave the interior the look of a stateroom on a sailboat. I put on simple chrome wheels and Goodrich Radial TA’s and a set of chrome sidepipes. I left the body and paint alone as it was in excellent condition and the only trim I added were newer chrome mirrors and twin CB radio antennas.
All together It made an understated presentation - very distinctive but not gaudy like so many of the era. After a few years I had some extra cash and added electronic ignition, a cam and an Edelbrock carb, along with Hooker headers. Man, what a cruiser that thing turned into! It wasn’t particularly quick off the line but I saw 120 more than once.
Being young, dumb, and full of mischief, I was a competitive driver. I liked to go fast and I had a rig that would cruise at 80-90mph all day long. Remember that this was still in the heart of the 55pmh national speed limit. So having a radar detector was crucial.
At the time I was working for a wholesale electronics distributor and came across a deal on a highly illegal radar jammer. What this device was was an ultra high frequency signal generator. It transmitted a signal on the same band as the radar guns the cops used. When I would trigger it any radar detector in the area would sound off. The drivers would respond by backing off. But, knowing the signal was false, I could keep my foot in it and let the device clear the road ahead of me.
I remember one road race in particular. A guy in a Porsche was irritated at being behind a van and passed me in a way that endangered us both - and pissed me off. So when the opportunity came I passed him at somewhere around 100mph. He couldn’t believe something as big as mine could go that fast! We went for mile after mile, passing each other. There was no way I could keep up with a sports car in a true race so I would employ the jammer. As he was getting ready to pass me I would trigger the jammer and he would back off. I pulled this off nearly a dozen times before he realized what I was doing and passed me for good.
Of course the other thing was that, when triggered, the device would also affect any cop running radar. A cop running radar would receive the false signal on their guns making the appearance of a malfunctioning gun.
It was great fun to play with and something that I used judiciously because I didn’t want to get caught with it! I mounted it into the overhead console next to my detector and once, when pulled over, was even examined by the state patrol who thought it was just another detector.
Good times from long ago.
Amen.
Not afraid to explore and with a rig that was pretty well self-contained, we got a chance to get off the main trails and see how beautiful our country is. And we did so when a person still could without 13 pages of forms, ridiculous fees, and queues for the bathroom.
Wow. Sounds awful. America used to be free in both definitions of the word. Now there are fees and restrictions. Bummer.
Sad. Because fewer people will be able to enjoy and appreciate it’s beauty.
It’s actually not so bad - I’m just spoiled ;’}
My parents were dirt-poor but they were great adventurers. They both grew up in the wilds of Montana where hunting and hiking and camping were second nature.
I’ve seen pictures of my folks camping out of the back of an ancient stationwagon with us kids when I was too small to understand my surroundings. I do remember many camping trips with very limited accommodations - and of course it was all a huge adventure so we didn’t care. I recall visiting national parks and ocean beaches where we were the only ones for miles.
They were memorable times and I am so thankful that my parents gave us the opportunity to see and do so much. I wish people still had that opportunity.
Like your family, we didn't have a lot of money yet we had a great time and gained an appreciation for the wilds of Colorado. No trips to Europe nor cruises. Nothing beats waking up in the morning to a breakfast of eggs, bacon, and coffee or hot chocolate over a campfire or stove after a night of sleeping in the wild.
A couple of years ago, we decided to return to the Grand Canyon. We had visited in 2004 and it was a very fun experience (and of course, back in the ‘70s in the ‘68 Olds). By 2011 the park was completely overrun with thousands of people and it was impossible to enjoy. It rained that day and everyone crammed against buildings and under trees; thousands of people! Hotels now line the cliff edge near Bright Angle Trail. Wonder if the rest of the park is that way.
Anyway, when I travel somewhere to see the scenery, I don't want to see thousands of human faces staring back at me. We won't be returning.
I recently came across and bought a 1988 Rolls Royce Silver Spirit with only 16k miles on it. Comfortable as old shoes, quiet as the grave. Stately and a great highway car. Little tough on gas but a wonderful car.
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