Might be a great start to a once in a lifetime road trip!

I have been dreaming about taking a road trip in an old car starting in Chicago and driving to LA on as much of the old route 66 as I could for a long time now. I debated on flying to Chicago and buying a car there and then heading west. I actually looked for awhile at cars in the Chicago area but the prices were way too high for what you could get. I then thought of traveling it in the opposite direction. I could buy a car in California which wouldn't have rust and drive it to Chicago, sell it there and then fly home. I then came up with a super idea. My Dad is from Ishpeming Michigan. That is in the upper peninsula of Michigan. I have heard many stories about Ishpeming but I have never been there. I thought it would be really cool to drive there with my Dad and see his hometown so I can actually see where He grew up and hear about his old stomping grounds. That right there is the ultimate road trip! Why not go a little further and drive it in an old car. If we do that we could drive home along route 66. I mentioned that to my Dad and He loved the idea. He has been scouting out some cars for the trip and today we went and looked at one. It is a 1957 Studebaker and it would be a great car to take the trip in. It is all original and in really great shape for it's age. It has sat for awhile but the owner has started it every year and has put Stabil in the gas to keep it fresh. The brakes need work but it is a really great base for what we want to do with it. I am pretty sure it would make the 4000 mile journey we are planning with a little bit of love and maintenance. It is just as cool in person as it is in these pictures.

 Plenty of trunk space for our luggage and souvenirs. Ha Ha.

 Here is my Dad checking it out. The floorboards are solid and it is pretty much stock and unmolested.

 It is a V8. That might suck a little gas along the way but it should have good power for cruising.

 The interior is in pretty good shape also.

It would take a little bit to get it roadworthy but I think it should drive down the road pretty good. The 4 side windows are cracked but they are all flat glass which would be easy to replace. The wiring is suppose to be all good. It has an automatic trans which concerns us. If it was a manual trans there isn't much that could go wrong but automatics are another thing. I am betting that it would be almost impossible to find parts for it especially on the road. We are planning on documenting the whole trip.  I will use a go pro camera and put it on you tube and this blog. Hopefully it will happen in 2014 but time will tell. Stay tuned and see if we can make it happen. Until then remember my motto: "Life is too short to drive boring cars!"