Category: history

Posted on

Family Reunion Road Trip (Post #540) 6/17/2015

The Courtright Family Reunion was this past weekend. I am a Courtright on my biological mother’s maternal side. Mrs. Okierover normally attends this yearly event with me. This year a church carnival demanded her time. So traveling solo gave me an opportunity to drive the Big White Bus to Stillwater, Oklahoma and as you can imagine, I took the “back roads”.

I’ve had recent trouble with the Range Rover’s normally trouble-free 4.2 motor. She doesn’t want to idle correctly. That normally means the air idler valve is dirty. Saturday afternoon I went about cleaning it. It was indeed filthy. I was kinda happy about that. If this maintenance fixed my problem I’d be even happier because it meant I diagnosed and repaired the problem.

While I was at it, I cleaned out my flame trap. Apparently you can Australian Land Rover Forum Post. “Templ4r” has Land Rover UK Forum of what this emissions item does for you on Land Rover UK Forums. I started with running some parts cleaner/diesel through her. This was not dislodging the crap as I hoped it would. I did not have a can of brake cleaner but my neighbor Nick had a can of carburetor cleaner. I used the entire can to clean it out. Chunks of nastiness came out. I reassembled it and hoped for the best.

She seemed to idle well in the driveway. Good enough for me/close enough for government work/redneck repair complete.

Sunday morning I took off. My plan was to drive I-35 to the “Mother Road”, Interstate 66 to interstate 177 to Oklahoma highway 51. This route has some fun names of roads and creeks you will pass along the way.

You will pass Triple X road, sometimes Triple XXX road. You will pass Wild Horse Creek. This is one of the three Wild Horse creeks in Oklahoma I am aware of. You will also cross over Bell Cow Creek. Yes, Bell Cow, not Cow Bell.  Continue reading “Family Reunion Road Trip (Post #540) 6/17/2015”

Posted on

Gearing Up for SCARR, Part One (Post #459) 3/10/2014

I’ve been getting my kit together for S.C.A.R.R. the past few weeks. I am going to be putting up a few posts about new, new-old, and old kit for the trip.

Coleman Cooking Stove

colemanstoveI’ve been reading posts from Land Cruising Adventure. Karin-Marijke, Coen, and their Toyota Land Cruiser BJ45 have been overlanding since 2003. An amazing fete’ if you ask me. So amazing, Expedition Portal named them Overlander’s of the Year for 2013. I subscribe to Overland Journal and love to read and see the adventures. Their reviews of gear each issue and in their yearly Gear Issue are most of the reason I am a subscriber.

They have a great site and I highly encourage you to go over and visit. In a recent post they were featured in Overland Journal’s gear issue. Overland Journal asked Overlander’s what was their  “Most Valued” gear. Karin and Coen picked their Coleman Camp Stove.

After reading their post about their Coleman stove I had to go find the one my dad left to me. It had been in the attic of the Newcastle house since we moved back home from Guam in 1971. I think my dad used it once on a hunting trip with my Uncle Ben in the early 1970s, but I need to confirm that. I have my dad’s Coleman Lantern too. I know we used it a few times in the early 1970s when our power got knocked out from some blizzards and a thunderstorm or two. It’s safe to say it hasn’t been lit since 1975. Continue reading “Gearing Up for SCARR, Part One (Post #459) 3/10/2014”

Posted on

Living History Season is Upon Us (Post #457) 2/27/2014

Living History — noun

any of various activities involving the re-enactment of historical events or the recreation of living conditions of the past

Some people think living history is just a bunch crazy people dressing up in old-timey clothes and hanging out at historical sites. You’ve seen the popular media make fun of living historians. Conan O’brien did a segment on it. (I laughed.)

There are some seriously dedicated people who IMMERSE themselves in their hobby. I’ve met some of them and even I think some of them over do it a bit. Whether it’s trains, model air planes, doll collecting, knitting, Land Rovers, or whatever. Some people really dive into their hobby. Whether its the trekkie learning the Klingon language, or Lord of the Rings fans learning to speak Elvish, or the train enthusiast that photographs all the locomotive engines in North America, it’s no different with living history buffs. Continue reading “Living History Season is Upon Us (Post #457) 2/27/2014”

Posted on

1969 Cord (Post #445) 2/7/2014

cord

I was eating at VZD’s on an unusually pretty day back in January when I spied what appeared to be a Cord pull up in front. The owner came in and I asked him if that was indeed a Cord. He said it was a 1969. Four hundred were made.

He told me about them being made in Oklahoma. I found this snippet along with a Youtube video.

These cars were made on an assembly line in Tulsa and later Mannford, Oklahoma for three years. It is a production of the original Cord inspired design but gone is the Lycoming V8 and front wheel drive..instead there is a 5.0 liter Ford power plant. A Chrysler 440 engine was also offered. The body is made of a fiberglass like material, apparently scaled down from the original dimensions of Cord. An earlier version by another company had a Corvair power plant and front wheel drive…it did not last in the marketplace…it was replaced by these Lear models.

I found a history of the Cord company and its principals on this site.

http://www.stutzbearcat.com/cordhistory.htm

According to Hagerty’s has an average value of 21,000$(US). The owner said it was a toy of his and he had only owned it six months.

I wanted to share this little piece of automotive history, history of Oklahoma, and a rare car with you. It’s an eclectic bunch that eats at VZDs in Oklahoma City and their cars reflect that.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

Posted on

Honey Springs 150th Anniversary, Going Home – Part 4 (Post #413) 11/14/2013

After I finished checking out the 1960’s Series 88 inch, I got the Range Rover back on the road and sorted out my route home.

I wanted to head for Dripping Springs State Park. It is a heavily wooded park with a small but idyllic lake. I knew the trees had recently begun the change and thought I could get a couple of nice pictures. I started out of Rentiesville and headed north on a two lane blacktop N1040 aka North Broadway street. I took it up to what is called County Line Road  aka E1010 road. This road is the border between McIntosh (Wikipedia:History) and Muskogee (Wikipedia:History) counties.

It was a rutted dirt road and I thought it perfect for a “shakedown” of the Range Rover. This is a representative picture of what I drove for a dozen miles or so. Continue reading “Honey Springs 150th Anniversary, Going Home – Part 4 (Post #413) 11/14/2013”

Posted on

Honey Springs 150th Anniversary, Going Home – Part 3 (Post #412) 11/13/2013

Having thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and after bidding adieu to my friends it was time to turn the Range Rover west out of Rentiesville (Wikipedia) and get home to my 21st century life. It was the day of the 238th Marine Corps’ Birthday and Mrs. Okierover told me she had baked me a cake. What an awesome wife.

I told her I was going to take the long way home. I new the leaves were turning and I wanted to see Dripping Springs State Park with the leaves changing. But before I could get out of the Honey Springs National Battlefield site a quite unexpected surprise made me stop. Continue reading “Honey Springs 150th Anniversary, Going Home – Part 3 (Post #412) 11/13/2013”

Proudly powered by WordPress