Just recently, I changed the original home page of Route 66 Rambler back to its original format. In that form, it is straight, normal HTML code, and runs fast, it’s predictable, etc. But it no longer updates automatically with the other web sites which it has spawned, including this one.

There are various reasons for the change, but the main one is that users and visitors have requested this change in a significant number, ever since the first change was made.

For one thing, I was caught up in an emergency with my poor smashed Gremlin, and trying to replace it.

So updates were slow in coming to that page, and I never did get the layout under control, or find a pleasant theme. So, essentially the home page pretty well sucked mud.

Another reason for the change is that the role of the home page has been as sort of a news and promotional page, and a menu to the contents of the other web sites that make up Route 66 Rambler. It seems to work best when laid out as a combination billboard, traffic signal, and newsletter. So just like always, Route66Rambler.com is where you would go to find out what’s going on around the entire Route 66 Rambler installation. From there you can follow links to reach the other areas of the installation here, including this Report.

This makes it somewhat less interconnected to the other areas of the site than it was, but also easier to understand and to navigate. The remaining components of the site will all continue to be linked to each other, with automatic updates from RSS feeds reporting on each component, so you don’t have to miss Forum messages to go look at articles in the Open Library Project, for example.

On The AMC Heritage Forum, some Members requested that the RustBucket Image Host be disconnected from the main Forum there, for speed and reliability reasons, and after some consideration, that change has been made.

With the DotCom reverting back to HTML, and this severing of the connection between the RustBucket Image Host and The AMC Heritage Forum, the only page still connected directly with the RustBucket Gallery is this page you are reading, Route 66 Rambler Report.

The RustBucket may also be viewed as a stand alone installation, with just the Gallery and its pictures, and nothing in the way, click HERE for RustBucket stand alone version. The RustBucket may also be reached from the margin at left, under “Report66 Pages“, choose RustBucket66.

The stand alone version of the RustBucket also provides an RSS news feed in the lower left margin of this and every page, (except the home page, route66rambler.com), where it says, Recent RustBucket. Choose that header to go to the RustBucket home page, or any RSS-updated entries below it to be taken straight to that particular photo. If you click on the orange square itself, you will be shown the actual contents of the RSS updates in the feed. RSS means Really Simple Syndication, a way of organized free form publishing in a broadcast manner.

On the Rambler TimeLine, I have begun installing the TimeLine into the new blog format over there, but with the accident and other things taking my time, I am only just now molding everything to fit. So there will be some broken links, dead ends, and wild rides with those TimeLine menu choices around the site for another week or two. Also the Rambler Monthly Milestones updates, that have been on the Home page, will now be seen and categorized on the Rambler TimeLine, under the Category “Rambler by the Month“.

Both TimeLine and Open Library Project now have their own galleries to service their needs. Both also contain archive pages and search engines, in blog AND gallery, to aid in navigation and sorting of information. The compilation of Make, Model, Year information on the TimeLine is now a gradual thing, which will happen automatically, as posts there are categorized and published.

The Open Library Project has settled into the blog format well, and is updated regularly.

There will be some dramatic changes soon with the Kenosha West Parts and Ads page. It will likely be converted at least partially to the blog format to make searching easier, and I should be able to begin my own listings of parts and literature in the near future.

The WebCat Project, or Whole AMC Web Catalog, has long been on the back burner. This project has now been given its own sub-domain, with a blog installation being designed for that project right now. It would work like the Library or the Parts page, with categories of web sites available for searching, with RSS updates to the other pages, and the ability to subscribe to the site, and contribute by posting your favorite AMC web sites’ locations.

Once I get the rear axle into my 1981 Eagle Kammback, hopefully in the next couple of days, I will have replaced its entire drivetrain, and I expect to drive the doggone thing.

The Lost Dealership Project of AMC Heritage Forum Member AMX, at The AMC Heritage Forum,

is continuing to gain momentum, with more than one mention on the Hemmings Auto Blogs, other car forums and websites, and a recent increase in the number of web sites that are beginning to carry the 1983 dealer list from Eddie Stakes’ Planet Houston AMX.

Eddie Stakes is a great guy, and has always been nothing but helpful to me any time I have had a question or an AMC need. Visit Planet Houston and broaden your AMC horizons.

Eddie is one of the driving forces behind the idea of remembering the old dealerships in The AMC Heritage, and giving them their just due, recording their memory.

I’m busy right now getting the carburetor back into the Eagle, and the little Kammster has a new radiator due in from Checker at any minute. Gotta go wrench that little go-kart into submission.

-mike

Due to unforeseen circumstances(involving a young lady and an Infinity), Project MollyFloggin’ has been postponed, following satisfactory performance by Molly Blue in the 50 mph head-on collision test.

Molly Blue has been recovered to the Route 66 Rambler base facility for technical evaluation by the Engineering Services Department.

Seatbelt performed above expectations, for 34-year-old units sporting frayed edges. The collapsible steering column functioned as designed.

Pending further testing, the pilot appears to be functional at this time.

The other driver appeared to be OK as well.
mike