An Australian travelling the USA in a 1976 Buick Electra Limited 2-door Hardtop

Yes, and it is comfortable!

 

X2 on the wheels...

Either way,, that's a pretty cool cruiser.



https://www.google.com/search?hl=en...-and-be-merry-for-tomorrow-we-diet%2F;800;457

 

It would help if we knew of your planned start and finish point. Rob, aka 75 Riv has done a few of these sojourns over the years. I have been a professional truck driver for about 20 years, and have been to many off the main road spots.

Can you provide us an outline of where you plan to go? Hint, my favorite place is the US southwest.

Edit as I overlooked your first post. ou: ou:

If you're heading west from Florida I cannot help much until you get closer to New Mexico and Arizona. If you're into old wild west stuff, perhaps a trip to Tombstone, AZ might work. Might be overly commercialized by now, but there's plenty of old US history around there. Not sure of your timeline, but northern Arizona has lots of gorgeous scenery especially the Grand Canyon. It might get snowy during winter, but it's definitely worth the trip. US 89 north from Flagstaff is a nice drive, but it's over 7,000 feet, so expect snow.

Roswell, NM might interest you, since it's home to the (in)famous Roswell Incident of 1947 where a UFO supposedly crash landed.

 

Sorry we missed you. We blew thru on the 1st. About 18 hrs drive time. If you get to the West Palm beach ping me and maybe we can meet.
Fred

 

You picked a great time fuel price wise...I'd recommend the Mecum auction coming up in Florida if you get a chance. Good day mate. Safe travels!

 

Yes, fuel is VERY good - $2.15 in Cleveland and I believe even cheaper the further south I go. Even Washington DC isn't expensive at $2.50 a gallon. (I running it on 89 and seems to be fine on it). My mileage is quite good - I seem to be getting around 14 mpg mixed (1/3 city / 2/3 highway).

Thanks for the heads up re Mecum - I'll need to leave the US by 29th Jan at the latest for a visa turn around and Florida is a good place to leave from to get to Central / South America - so the Kissimmee auction of the 16th to 25th in Florida works well. Have you been to one - do you have to book to get in or only register as a buyer(I ask because I expect every man and his dog will be going)? Stephen

 

I looked into going to a local Mecum auction once. You register as a buyer but the cost is $100. Pricy to me but I guess it does make some sense. I suppose they want serious bidders only and not a bunch of tire kickers.

 

Welcome to the USA. I hope you have a safe and enjoyable journey. Please do keep us posted as you travel. As you have noticed, the folks on here are scattered about the country (and the globe). No matter where you are, you will be somewhat near a site member so if you need help or want to meet up, it would be fairly easy. I'm sure that, when you are ready, you can even get help selling your Buick.

 

Thanks Tom, at this time I don't know my my itinerary. Like Oz, the US is a very big country and my travels at this time of year will be tempered somewhat by the weather. It was a general 'favourite trips' question - I file them for future reference. Stephen

 

Will do - I suspect I'll fly out of Florida for my Visa turn around.

 

Hi Smokey15 - thanks for the welcome and advise. It's appreciated. Ps: Serious number of cars you have there - interestingly diverse too!

 

Stephen, its well worth thinking about. I have no problems with my LHD Skylark here in Queensland. You just have to be cautious when overtaking or turning right at intersections.

As for your road trip, if you're into aircraft, and get to Arizona, Davis Monthan AFB is worth a look, ditto for the Pima Air & Space Museum too.
If wildlife & natural history are interests, the Arizona- Sonora Desert is well worth it too.


I did a solo road trip from LA to Buffulo & return back in 2012. Your adventures have given me itchy feet!

 

Stephen,

Yes, indeed I have. It's a "kid in the candy store" type experience for sure. You'll smile until you hurt.

https://www.mecum.com/auction-detail.cfm?auctionID=FL0115

 

This Post is to all of you who have shown an interest in my trip (and anyone in the club for that matter) - I would happily update my trip here (and appreciate your interest), but parallel to that, it takes about 2-4 hours each night to update my travel BLOG which makes then adding the same, or similar, here very time difficult. I am happy to add anyone's email address to my Blog who wants to follow my trip. If, though, this is in some way contrary to 'Forum' protocol then I'll do my best to add here too. Unfortunately, I don't think I can link the Blog to the Forum. It is the first time I have ever used a Blog, and same for a Forum, so I have no experience to draw on - if anyone has any ideas to bring the two together, so I only have to do the updates once I'd appreciate hearing them. Thanks, Stephen

 

I do not think it would be an issue to post a link to your blog here on this thread...

Have fun!

 

Aww bummer I wish I would have seen this thread earlier. We could have cruised a bit in tandem in the DC area. I have a 76 as well.

Nice car!

 

Yes, that would have been good - is yours a 2 door or 4 door? Stephen

 

Thanks for those suggestions and all are of interest - they have gone into my little black travel book for future reference. The jury is still out on the LHD car in a RHD country thing though, but I take your points (and cautions). Will think on that a bit more. Stephen

 

Thanks for the suggestion - I've moved it up to the top of the list. It looks to be a $100 odd entry fee well spent. I like the 'kid-in-the-candy-store' experience of life!

 

I had a look at the link - I like the spoke rims very much (they would look great on my 2-door) but they become an absolute pain in the neck after the third week of cleaning them. Don't mind the other rims either.