Very long ride

[Davidd]

I plan to travel on Route 66 ( as much of it still there). I have a 26 coupe in good shape. My question is what spare parts should I bring along?
Going from Oklahoma to Chicago and back home for a rest. Then go from Oklahoma to California and back. Solo.

[DHort]

Spares you say. Not available on the road. OK.

Tire
Timer
Coil
Inner tube
Axle maybe
Key
Spark Plugs
Gas Can
Underwear

That should be enough. The rest you can purchase enroute.

Have a great trip.

[MWalker]

Do you have the "EZ 66 Travel Guide" by McClanahan? I highly recommend that you take that.

[Steve Jelf]

You will get lots of suggestions from others. I always recommend spare gas. Those running board cans have saved me an unplanned long walk more than once.

In a Model T, of course you will stay off the interstates. You can do that on much of old 66. But in a few places the old roadway has been replaced by the interstate. In California there's a stretch of about nine miles west of Needles where I-40 is the only road. If and when I make that trip I plan to call the CHP and have an officer follow me up the hill with his red & blue lights on. That's how I crossed the Mississippi on I-72 at Hannibal. Except for that short stretch you can take the old road just about everywhere, but I hope you have aux brakes for Cajon Pass. In western Arizona most of the old highway is still available, but in the eastern half of the state it will take a long detour to avoid the interstate. I haven't researched New Mexico thoroughly, but I believe you may encounter the same problem there. Ditto Texas. In Kansas and western Missouri you can follow the old road or close to it all the way to Lebanon. I haven't been any farther east than that on the old highway, so I can't testify about the rest of it to Chicago.

You didn't mention when you intend to make the trip west, but in July and August expect real heat in the Mojave. In Baker there's a cafe with a big thermometer on the roof. I once stopped there on an August evening and at 8:00PM it was 113º F.

[2nighthawks]

Just to add a bit to the good advice Steve provided concerning spare gasoline and specifically, about running board gas cans, if you might decide to purchase a set of the 3-can running board set offered by the major Model T parts suppliers, unless things have changed recently, if those "re-pop" cans are going to be actually used to carry any liquids, they are not soldered by the manufacturer and they will probably leak. I guess the manufacturers thought was that many Model T owners purchase that running board set of three cans merely for "decorative" purposes only. FWIW,.....harold

[TRDxB2]

Here are references for U.S. Route 66 (I selected Illinois but other states available) After looking at Illinois I would say that your adventure to travel U.S. Route 66 in Illinois would be somewhat pointless. Most of what it was is now overlay-ed with Interstate roadway from East St. Louis to Springfield. It does look like it can be traveled from Springfield to Chicago. But where would you & your T stay safe in Chicago?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_66_in_Illinois
State maps
https://www.theroute-66.com/maps.html#states scroll down

[John Codman]

I did 66 from Pasadena Ca to just over the Missouri border in 1968. It was one o the great drives of my life. I wish you a great ride.

[Steve Jelf]

But where would you & your T stay safe in Chicago?

I went through town on Harlem Avenue (IL-43), and I sure didn't have to worry about anybody speeding. It was mile after mile of stop and crawl. If I go through Chicago again I'll try to find a street where the traffic can keep up with a Model T.

I was born and raised in southern California, so traffic doesn't scare me. But stop and crawl gets pretty tedious.

[varmint]

In 2018 my wife and I took a little trip from New Orleans and up the mighty Mississippi.
We drove our 1950 Ford F1 pickup on I-55 to Springfield, IL and then started on Route 66 to Chicago.
All of Illinois can be covered off the Interstate. In a week we made it to Tulsa, OK.
In 2019 we back tracked to Joplin, MO and covered some skipped gems and made it to L.A. in two weeks.
That time includes travel from/to New Orleans.

I echo the "EZ 66 Travel Guide" by McClanahan.
We used some old old paper maps from eBay...
some silly YouTube videos by Justin Scared...
USGS topographical maps...
satellite photos of the actual old road.

Most of the trip we stayed off the Interstate, even if it was the service road which in many cases was the original US 66.
1/4 of the FUN was the road, 1/4 was the side road attraction, 1/4 was the people we met...
and 80% of the fun was driving in an old truck that tourists thought was part of some local attraction.

[nicklm]

I envy you for your planned trip. I took a Model A across US from Vermont to CA in 1960. This was a 2 car trip, my 1931 Roadster and 1929 Touring. It was about one month trip. Every stop was a car show along 66 before interstates were available. Lately I discovered that if you get the right person (older) at AAA, they can plan a route that may give as much 66 as possible and stay off interstates. A skilled representative here in FL gave me a small trip here and said she could go further. So it MAY BE possible but may take some time to locate the right person. I hope to take a cross country trip as you describe but from FL in our T.
On my A trip, in New Jersey I broke an axel that a stranger helped me change in his front yard after a junkyard trip then continued on. Later the fan broke and took out the back row of cores of the radiator. Stop leak and a lot of steam still completed the trip. Unfortunately cracked the block from overheating, I think, going up grand canyon. Still made it to CA. Returning home after college. Good luck and be ready for challenges. If you post progress on the form you may get a lot of help along the way.
Nick

[Steve Jelf]

I echo the "EZ 66 Travel Guide" by McClanahan.
We used some old old paper maps from eBay...
some silly YouTube videos by Justin Scared...
USGS topographical maps...
satellite photos of the actual old road.

I've used Google satellite where my first choice wasn't available. That first choice is county road maps. They're downloadable as PDF's from many states' DOT websites. The best are from Kansas and Wisconsin. For old 66 they're also available from Illinois, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Unfortunately the concept has not reached Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

Some folks like Delorme atlases, but unfortunately those maps leave many minor roads unidentified.

If you use Google maps be sure you check the satellite view to confirm that the map conforms with reality. In one memorable Nebraska adventure the road shown on the Google map didn't exist, and the roads that really did exist weren't shown. Another problem with Google is their habit of labeling roads with something other than the local name. If the map shows only a number and all the local signs say only River Road, you've got a problem.

Old 66 portion of Cherokee County. The former highway is K-66, RS-2135, and US 69.

In many places there are helpful signs identifying the old highway.