The New York Times published a good article today about the hurdles that drivers encountered in during the recently completed microcar cruise on Route 66 from Santa Monica to Chicago.
A few of those vehicles, many of which boasted itty-bitty engines of just 500 cc, encountered problems along the way:
“When we got to Kingman, Ariz., we ended up having to tear a motor down and completely rebuild it,” said Larry Newberry, an enthusiast and parts dealer from Knoxville, Tenn. He organized the rally of eight tiny vintage cars, which included two Goggomobils, three Vespa 400s, two Fiat 500s and a BMW Isetta. It was a motley band of misfits, far from the classic Detroit machines, all tailfins and booming V-8s, that one imagines bounding down the historic highway.
One of the Vespas broke down first. “The gentleman who built that engine put the pistons in backwards and caused a catastrophic failure,” Mr. Newberry said.
Another glitch involved an old Fiat 500, whose transaxle blew up near Joplin, Mo. Fortunately, the owner lived not too far away, in Kansas City, and a family member quickly delivered a replacement. “We did all the repairs at night and drove at day,” Mr. Newberry said. “So there were several nights I didn’t get any sleep.”
The story includes a video from the microcar gathering after the Route 66 cruise, in the Chicago suburb of Crystal Lake.