Peter Woodman is about to fulfil a 30-year dream of driving the length of America's Route 66.

And to make it even more memorable he plans to complete the journey in his wife's Fiat Panda on his 66th birthday.

Mr Woodman has splashed out £671 to have the 1993 limited edition Fiat Panda Parade shipped out to New York by July.

He will fly out to pick it up in the big apple and then travel across the country before embarking on his dream.

The Route 66 idea started in the Sixties when he became a fan of the popular American television show Route 66, which originally aired on the US station CBS from 1960 to 1964.

The series featured two fictional characters who drove back and forth across the States along Route 66 in a Chevrolet Corvette in search of action, adventure and girls.

It became so popular many Hollywood stars, including Rod Steiger, Martin Sheen and Robert Redford, battled to appear in the show.

Father-of-three Mr Woodman, of Saltdean, soon became interested in the history of the road, which is known in the States as the Mother Road or The Main Street of America.

It crosses eight states and passes through three time zones. Its cult status has been recognised in both written and musical works by the likes of Nat King Cole and the Rolling Stones.

Both covered the 1946 hit Route 66, which was written by Bobby Troup and featured the famous line, "I get my kicks on Route 66".

Many fans of the road, who come from around the world, choose to make the epic journey on a Harley Davidson or in a Corvette.

But Mr Woodman is happy to make the journey behind the wheel of the 999cc Fiat, which his wife Sheila bought for £4,700. She has always been a Fiat fan and has owned several during her 30 years of motoring.

Mr Woodman, who will be making the journey with his lifelong friend Ron Miles, 65, from London, said: "It's a good little car and it hasn't even done 20,000 miles yet.

"My wife loves it. It may get a little hot though when we drive through the Californian desert. Most people over there have air-conditioned cars - we'll just open the sunroof."

Mr Woodman has had the car fitted with new tyres, had the brakes checked and is armed with a spare fan belt for the journey that will take about three weeks.

He said: "I don't know if they have Fiats out there. I've never seen any and I don't know if there will be spares available. We're not racing because we are also going to visit the Grand Canyon and the meteor crater."

He decided to take his wife's car on the journey because she was told last May she could no longer drive owing to problems with her eyesight caused by the diabetes she was diagnosed with in 1966.

Mr Woodman said: "It was only about a month ago I decided to take her car. I was lying in bed thinking about it and thought I could raise money for the charity Diabetes UK while doing the trip."

He is now trying to get sponsorship, hoping to raise 66p per mile for the length of Route 66.

Sheila, his wife for almost 42 years, was devastated when she was told she could no longer drive.

The former Royal Sussex County Hospital nurse said: "I'm very sad because I love my car and I miss driving it."

To offer Mr Woodman sponsorship, telephone him on 01273 306281 or email him at petshel@highflight.co.uk