Car travel in the "olden days"

[ecotourist]

Some time during the mid 1950s the father of one of my friends was getting their car ready for a big trip to visit family. Their old car was a Kaiser and my friend's father spent several days under the hood getting the car ready for the trip. My friend was very excited because they didn't go on trips very often.

What I didn't realize was how far they were going. The planned trip was from Invermay, Saskatchewan to Nut Mountain, Saskatchewan which is 28.4 miles (if you go by the shortest route through Lintlaw Saskatchewan).

What constitutes a big trip is a matter of perspective.

 

[Chris142]

In 1970 my dad drove us from Texas to California only stopping for gas 100+ mph in a 68 valiant with the super 225 slant 6. Those ignition points were really moving lol

 

[SC Maintenance]

My dad - now in his latter 80's - used to haul pulpwood in a single axle ford truck with a flathead V8 with his best friend. They would do so in the winter when the gravel roads would freeze and be strong enough to support the weight. As they tell the story, they had a few loads to haul prior to spring melt and they blew a cylinder on the old flathead - so they pulled the piston and rod out, and drove a big piece of ash wood into the cylinder and buttoned it back up to make the last few trips. As they tell the story it was a little underpowered, and the rest of the engine was also shot so they were burning enough oil that they couldn't idle long or be engulfed in smog - but apparently it held together long enough.

 

[Wrenchturner44]

Yes, perceptions sure have changed. When I first started working on cars, it was common to see a small block chevy get a valve job at 80k. VWs may get totally rebuilt at 55k, and if a car had over a 100k on it, it was probably resting in the junkyard. Points, and plugs were maybe good for 10k, bias ply tires were maybe in service for 20k.

I know lots of us here on BITOG talk about the good old days when we could actually work on cars. "When we could" in reality means "When we had to" which was often.

 

[LouC]

For us a big trip was driving from suburban Westchester county to Brooklyn NY where my Dads family lived (we left when things started getting bad there). It wasn’t that far but there were certain neighborhoods you had to pass thru (South Bronx, East New York Brooklyn) in which you DID NOT want to get stuck! So yes I want over the family car before each holiday trip (1972 Chevrolet Impala). Never broke down or even had a flat!

 

[ZZman]

Our big trip as kids was usually from Michigan to Tennessee to see my mom's side of the family.

 

[2005jettatdi]

In August 1960 we drove from Seattle to Cape Canaveral. The trip took 16 days and included Death Valley, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Meteor Crater, White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns, the Alamo, New Orleans, etc. When we arrived at Cocoa Beach my father wrote a four page letter back home detailing the trip. I was 7 then and the letter makes pretty interesting reading. I remember all the stops I listed above, plus more, like buying gas at the Shell station in Goldfield, NV. Pulling a 15' trailer put a lot of strain on that Dodge wagon, especially pulling out of Death Valley at well over 100 degrees and an undersized radiator with the heat on full blast.

 

[Bud]

Back in the 50's Dad took us from Eastern Shore of Maryland where we lived to Florida every year on his vacation. That was a long trip for us kids.

 

[PimTac]

In August 1960 we drove from Seattle to Cape Canaveral. The trip took 16 days and included Death Valley, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Meteor Crater, White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns, the Alamo, New Orleans, etc. When we arrived at Cocoa Beach my father wrote a four page letter back home detailing the trip. I was 7 then and the letter makes pretty interesting reading. I remember all the stops I listed above, plus more, like buying gas at the Shell station in Goldfield, NV. Pulling a 15' trailer put a lot of strain on that Dodge wagon, especially pulling out of Death Valley at well over 100 degrees and an undersized radiator with the heat on full blast.

Did you get travel stickers from those destinations that got stuck on the trailer? That was a big thing back then.

 

[Cujet]

I think it was simply a matter of personal perspective. Clearly during WW-II, we moved soldiers all over the globe, and workers all over the country. To many, including my paternal grandfather, a Major in the Army, regular cross country travel was just part of the job and was generally done by train or C47 (DC-3) aircraft.

After the war, people did travel quite a bit, hence all the "mo-tels" and 1000 mile trips were not unusual. Although they took some time to accomplish.

 

[PimTac]

Out west many of the Interstate freeways didn’t exist until around 1970. A lot of trips had to be done on US or state highways. Those went through towns so it was slow going compared to today. A trip from Seattle to Portland on the old US highway 99 took most of a day. Now you can drive down to Portland, shop and eat and be back for supper. ( if there is no traffic )

After the war, people did travel quite a bit, hence all the "mo-tels" and 1000 mile trips were not unusual. Although they took some time to accomplish.

I still remember the motor courts as they used to be called.

 

[Chris142]

Yes, perceptions sure have changed. When I first started working on cars, it was common to see a small block chevy get a valve job at 80k. VWs may get totally rebuilt at 55k, and if a car had over a 100k on it, it was probably resting in the junkyard. Points, and plugs were maybe good for 10k, bias ply tires were maybe in service for 20k.

I know lots of us here on BITOG talk about the good old days when we could actually work on cars. "When we could" in reality means "When we had to" which was often.

My dad had a 70 and 74 beetles. Both went well over 100k with no engine work. He ran pz10w-40... I remember that the 74 was totaled @145k. Was running fine,not using oil etc

 

[ecotourist]

In 1965 I was selected for what was called a Centennial Tour. It was designed to give young people a bit of perspective on Canada. My group traveled from Saskatchewan to New Brunswick, which is well over 4000 Km (2500 miles).

That would have been considered a big trip in those days. They sent us by train, which took 3 days both ways. Fortunately we were in a sleeping car so we had bunk beds, and very good meals. I enjoyed most of that trip, but could have done with less time on the train.

 

[Shel_B]

Some time during the mid 1950s the father of one of my friends was getting their car ready for a big trip to visit family. Their old car was a Kaiser and my friend's father spent several days under the hood getting the car ready for the trip. My friend was very excited because they didn't go on trips very often.

What I didn't realize was how far they were going. The planned trip was from Invermay, Saskatchewan to Nut Mountain, Saskatchewan which is 28.4 miles (if you go by the shortest route through Lintlaw Saskatchewan).

What constitutes a big trip is a matter of perspective.

In 1951-52 we took our 1949 Kaiser from New York City to St. Lois, MO. and back. All-in-all, that was close to 2,500 miles. Quite an adventure in those days, especially since there was no interstate, and travel accommodations were rather sparse compared to contemporary times. That would have been at least a two-oil-change trip, if not three. Gas was around 20-cents a gallon, speeds topped out at around 50mph and most roads were two-lane and rural in nature. This was the age of the Burma-Shave signs ... we loved reading them. Such a bit of Americana.

The Verse by the Side of the Road written by Frank Rowsome, Jr. tells the story of the signs and provides a list of every verse published along Roadside America. Worth a read, or at least a Google search ...

 

[PF52]

...... and my friend's father spent several days under the hood getting the car ready for the trip.

My dad was the same way, until eventually he stopped driving around 2009 or 2010. A trip to O'hare? Better check the tires and put oil in the car. The real message here is that most likely one of those items was low already and he needed to top it up before going.

I remember a family vacation to southwest Michigan, and midway through the week one day Dad suggested we all go shopping or some other touristy thing downtown while he took the car for an oil change. Whatever got into his head why the car suddenly needed an oil change, I'll never know. Maybe there was some lifter tick he noticed? Who knows, maybe he just wanted to get away from us for a couple hours at a nice air-conditioned bar.

 

[hank2]

I went on two cross country trips with my family in the early 1960's. Leaving from PA. First in '62 to the Dakota's and Colorado. Kind of a whirlwind trip over about 15 days. The '56 Plymouth V8, manual 3 speed did well. We made it perhaps 2/3 of the way up the unpaved Pike's Peak before dad turned around. I think the Plymouth wasn't enjoying the altitude and it was a bit hairy. The next trip, in 1964, was a 33 day round a bout romp to Cal. In a 1963.5 Galaxie, first 289. No A/C. Much of it heading west on rt. 66. Interstates were largely nonexistent in the west. Endless Burma shave message signage and Redman or Mail pouch chewing tobacco painted barns. A couple of insanely hot desert crossings with no A/C, especially Death Valley. Anecdotally, it had reached 130 that day, although that was likely exaggerated. Late that evening, in a non-A/C motel room in Bakersfield it was still in the 90's. Everyone but us had canvas water filled bags hanging on their front grill or bumper.

 

[hank2]

In 1951-52 we took our 1949 Kaiser from New York City to St. Lois, MO. and back. All-in-all, that was close to 2,500 miles. Quite an adventure in those days, especially since there was no interstate, and travel accommodations were rather sparse compared to contemporary times. That would have been at least a two-oil-change trip, if not three. Gas was around 20-cents a gallon, speeds topped out at around 50mph and most roads were two-lane and rural in nature. This was the age of the Burma-Shave signs ... we loved reading them. Such a bit of Americana.

The Verse by the Side of the Road written by Frank Rowsome, Jr. tells the story of the signs and provides a list of every verse published along Roadside America. Worth a read, or at least a Google search ...

One of the early members of a hunting camp that my dad and others had built after WII, had a Kaiser. He still drove it to the mid 60's. He and another guy took many hunting and fishing trips back in the day to deep unpaved Canada. He said that he would never attempt those trips in anything but a Kaiser-Frazer. One of the other old timers did it once a 1938 Pontiac straight 8.

 

[joekingcorvette]

I remember one year my mom and dad took us on our yearly fishing trip to Wabigoon Lake, Ontario Canada. We pulled an Alumacraft boat with a 1965 Oldsmobile 98 series or model with a 370 ultra high compression 425 cubic inch engine. We had four flat tires on the way to the lake. Whatever tires my dad had on the car didn't hold up very well. We made it to the little cottage at Cook's resort very late at night since we made the trip in one day. That was a good Oldsmobile other than the tires.

 

[PimTac]

Everyone but us had canvas water filled bags hanging on their front grill or bumper.

Ours had a big cherry on the front.

A couple of insanely hot desert crossings with no A/C, especially Death Valley. Anecdotally, it had reached 130 that day, although that was likely exaggerated.

Dad would open the cowl vent on trips like that. We would have the window wing vents opened and pointed towards us too.

 

[andrew_j]

Our ride from “h*ll” was in 1982 AMC Eagle in mid 80’s with no AC from NH down to outer banks. So hot.

Really cool to drive on beach though in our car.