C2 - Prep For A Route 66 Journey

[Mike Andresen]

Earlier this month my 18 year old son asked me the question that a dad really longs to hear.... "wouldn't it be fun if you and I drove Route 66 from Chicago to LA in your old Corvette". So for Christmas I presented him with a Rte. 66 book and a series of maps. We will do the drive in early June right after he graduates from high school.

Now the work begins! My 66 roadster is a great driver but sorely in need of some restoration. I don't have time for a complete restoration so I'm going to focus on mechanicals and comfort items. I'd appreciate any recommendations people have on the following:

Seats - I'm going to recover the seats, with new foam. Any suggestions on who has the best? Al Knoch, Mid America, Corvette Central, other????

Radio - One concession to the younger generation, I am thinking of replacing the non-working original radio with a unit from Corvette Central (KHE 300) which has an IPod connection on it. We would also put in the kick panel speakers and a "dual" dash speaker. Has anyone had experience with a similar or same package.... good or bad? I'll keep the original to restore but this should work out well for my son to share his tunes with me while I share mine with him!

Carpet - Who has the best, most original carpet? Also are there any suggestions regarding sound deadening or heat barrier material to put underneath the carpet? Do any of these adversely affect the fit of the carpet?

Mechanically the car runs well. I've got a few things to check out and will probably be back with more questions ahead of departure. Thanks in advance for the help.

[Mike Andresen]

One More Thing - Tires

I am also looking at new tires. The 205/75 R15 seems to be the best size but I'm not impressed with what I find for potential tires.... mostly minivan fare.

Does anyone have suggestions on a good radials at the 205/75 R15 size? Any experience good or bad with 215/70 R15? There seem to be some better options in that size range but I'm worried about clearance.

I appreciate all thoughts and suggestions.

[Roy B.]

Re: C2 - Prep For A Route 66 Journey

Your both will have war stores to tell for many years , take many pic's. I take my grand kids on rides and the first thing they do is turn on the Radio AM sucks! So I added a pioneer and a disk changer in the trunk of my 55 Corvette, best thing I ever did. Go buy a Tom-Tom will make the trip easier and cant get lost . I envy you / good luck.

[Roy B.]

Re: One More Thing - Tires

215 front 225 rear toyo tires drive great and look great no problem

[Mike Andresen]

Re: One More Thing - Tires

Roy - They do look great. Are both of these 70 series?

[Mike Andresen]

Speakers

Roy - You're a great grand dad. The nice thing with an Ipod is you don't need to mount a CD changer. It all fits in the little box. What did you do for speakers?

[Roy B.]

Re: Speakers

Now days they have these little speakers 4inc. They added at each corner under the dash and they blow your ears drums . You cant see the radio unless you look under the dash and it has a remote control .

[Roy B.]

Yes 70R Tires you'll love them *NM*

[Roy B.]

Mike we drag this along too, they love it *NM*

[Mike Andresen]

Re: Yes 70R Tires you'll love them

Roy
Thanks for the encouragement and the suggestions. On the tires, are those the Toyo Spectrums? Also, any problems with rubbing in the front or rear? The 225 size is a real surprise.... a pleasant one at that. It would be nice to have the additional width on the rear.

[Roy B.]

Yes and No problem with rubbing *NM*

[Mike Andresen]

Does the 67 have a matching trailer too?(NM) *NM*

[Roy B.]

Re: Does the 67 trailer NO! *NM*

[Jim T.]

Re: C2 - Prep For A Route 66 Journey

Only seat covers and convertible top I have purchased was from Al Knoch for my 1968 convertible. The leather seat covers and top have held up well and look pretty nice for being installed about 1984. For music another option which does not require any installation is purchasing a Bose Accustic Wave radio. It will sit right behind the seats, this unit can be played using house current or be quickly changed to just plug into the cigar lighter. The Bose Accustic Wave radio sounds pretty good and can play CD's and they now operate with a remote. After the trip is over it can be used in the garage or in the home.

[Gary Schisler]

Re: C2 - Prep For A Route 66 Journey

I bought Al Knoch carpets for my 66 convertible. It had what appeared to be original carpeting in it and the Knoch carpets were perfect. A word to the wise, test fit at least twice and don't cut excess until you are sure and then test fit again. Do a search on carpets on the board and you will find lots of discussion and techniques etc.

A neighbor put the "space age foil" stuff under his carpet in his 73 and it went in well and was not noticable. It was the 1/8" foil insulating pad you find at Home Depot/Lowes. He cut it to fit, glued it in and put the new carpet and pad right over it.

Gary