Unrelated to crossdressing, but this Blog has become a dumping ground for things that sorely need an edit, but that I worked to hard typing to delete.
My 12 year old daughter..who is becoming a bit of a gear head (with a bias towards anything red with a wing on the back) once asked...
How many cars I have had. I came up with I think 23? the truly sad part is that I have a piece or two from quite a few.
In order (I think)
1974 Chevy Light Utility Vehicle. (LUV) for short, Isuzu under the hood, canary yellow. Was supposed to be 'mine' but Dad decided that his partner's kids needed it more, so I lost it to have it replaced with
1977 Datsun F10 hatch. Noteworthy I think as Datsun's first foray into front wheel drive. 1400cc engine 4 speed REALLY quick through the corners playing cat and mouse with my friends.
My first "owned" car should have been a 1948 Chevy Pick-up. Dad vetoed the idea despite my having the $600 saved for the truck in a farmers field.
Instead he bought me for $300 a 1972 VW fastback. "Wendall" I was just glad to have a car to call my own. His $300 investment though meant he could take it back anytime he wanted despite me tearing it down to find the spun bearing, seized piston, broken gears in the automatic transmission, worthless wiring loom. $1500 of my money later I had a $1000 car that lasted a year.
After many threats to take a sledgehammer to my "abortion" of a car as he called it with my hand built whale tail, I paid $50 a month to store it for a year or two and eventually sold it for $8 scrap metal. still have the engine and two rear fenders.
Next car was a 1968 Firebird convertible I bought and kept at the apt complex of they previous owner. 350 4V, 2 speed slushbox. Still fast enough to take the doors off a 1978 Firebird Frmula 400 with 4 beefy guys in it at a light one night. $1000 a year mandatory minimum insurance parked that one, sold it for $800, kept the 1 inch wider Catalina wheels I had hand painted to factory new.
next car (Harvey) was a 1965 (my birth year as a male) white Bug $1000. had a weak 1600 single port that was slowly losing a head stud. $1500 bought me a 1641 with a single Dellorto, Engle 105 cam, factory 'racing' 041 heads, 009 distributer. I had a transaxle custom built with 65 gear ratio for 1-3 and a bus 4th. gave me quick ratios for embarrassing corvettes off the line, then bogged at 50mph, but would do 85-90 on the freeway. Lowered, KYB's, Anti-roll bar. Clutch tube came loose so it got parked in favor of a Bicycle, and then...
MB5 Honda Motorcycle. 50cc 5 speed, modular spoke wheels, disc brake. pretty unique starter bike. fast to a point but 55mph required laying my 105 lb frame on the tank. Winter visitor (old people) pulled out in front of me, I dodged into on coming lane, but a 2nd car pulled out blocking that route and I have a lovely scar from the multiple compound high velocity fracture of the tibia and fibula.
Steel rod, 6 months on crutches and 2 years on a cane, and I was walking well again. I paid to have the bugs clutch fixed and drove Harvey (all three pedals) with one leg, adjusted the idle a little high.
Made the mistake of NOT T-boning the idiot that pulled out in front of me (you see this pattern continued for with me) I tried to make around the back of him into the oncoming lane..missed by 18 inches and took out a $2,550 city light pole. Wasn't cited, but had to buy the pole. Real sentimental about that car, still have the pan, rear clip, roof section, front 'firewall and windshield with doors attached, rear fenders...
bought a 1957 Karman Ghia, "Cora" only 2,000 made more rare than the 57 t-bird of vette. Thought better of dropping the engine in there since the Ghia still had intact 36hp motor.
Bought a 1963 Bug for $400."Wilbur". Sealing wax red original paint (whats left of it). Put my motor and trans in it. de-cromed, lowered it,Frenched 37 ford teardrop upside down in one fender never got around to finishing the other. Drove it for years. Parked it in the backyard for 10 years, tore it down to find rusty cylinders, have the motor mostly re-assembled.
1974 VW Westfallia in pumpkin orange. Lot of fun trips except the last one where we used the starter motor on the last couple of hills into mesquite Nevada, towed it home, "Max" never ran again.
By now I have body working skills so Dad passes down his Mercedes debacle to me.(as a wedding present) He bought a disassembled 1978 450SLC. When the Iranians he bought it from had reassembled it and painted it for him it somehow acquired the parts and serial number of a 1974 German Market 350SLC. No record of this really dark-Grey-market car entering the US. He sued and got reamed by the lawyers on fees worse than the Iranians. a year later the rust started bubbling up. Great driving car, that engines howl was the best Ive ever heard. The German 350 is higher compression and RPMS and HP than the US version 380.
Dad, (always the Indian giver) decided that my little sister's new husband who was in Yale Medical School at the time and did amazing things with rusty Land Rovers would be a better steward for the project so he took it back and wrote me a check for $1000. (which in no way came close to the money I had taking it to 3 different mechanics trying to get it to pass emissions until finally one custom built a non-electronic points type mechanical advance distributor. The new brother in law came out to AZ and looked at it and said, er, no thanks. I still miss "Wilhelm" a little.
About this time Dee's Dodge Omni died and we bought her a 1990 VW Passat wagon. Great car...HORRIBLE dealer network, ridiculous prices for parts ($110 for a 6" dealer only no work around possible radiator hose.) eventually gave this away.
I next had a hand-me-down was Dad's old midnight blue non-turbo 300D.(we called it "Adolf" for obvious reasons) it had 275k miles on it I nursed it to 320K and got long looks for being the driver when it died.
Somewhere in here we acquired a discarded company 1984 Mercedes wagon..Gunther was a great car, I put amazing loads in and on him without complaint, it was kind of a work truck and family hauler.
Next 'company' car was a 1985 300d turbo. "Rommel" was about to throw a rod, so his engine was rebuilt by a very good shop. Rommel ended up being my severance package and I was sad to sell him for 1/3 of the cost of the $10K rebuild. would have sold the POS VW Passat at that time, but the Mercedes was in better shape to sell and arguably worth more despite being 5 years older and 250K on the chassis.
1985 Suburban "Canyonero". Still to this day has never had a valid license plate, cost me a lot in fines court costs, jail..
1990 Plymouth Voyager "Hermione" served its purpose well, was ugly, later when we were doing better, I got it running again and gave it to a family that needed a car.
Somewhere in here I bought a 1965 Mercury Colony Park wagon "Big Buford" 300-310 hp factory FE 390 4V. 90,00 original miles because of a broken push rod. I figured this out after owning it 2 years and finally getting ready to pull the head on that side. 65 cents later and 2 hours of contortions I had the old broken one out. pulls strong. Love that car.
1984 Civic 1500S 154K miles. "Elvis"..$1200.GREAT CAR for a year or two..lost a timing belt bent a valve at 197K, replaced the head got another $10K, blew a head gasket (didn't know you don't re-use the head bolts??) redid the head, distributor problem, finally replaced the distributor, more problems, parked it.
1985 Civic 1300 cc $400 "Priscilla" Had an unfixable overheating problem, I replaced everything the previous owner did, finally found that they (and I following their example had rotated the thermostat 180 degrees) ran great from then on. only had 3 of 4 gears though. Emissions wouldn't test it with three gears. I swapped in a 1500S trans and got incredible mileage with that combo. Gave it to a brother-in-law with a long commute.
After years of family cars, slow cars, cars with no AC, we come to what Dee refers to as the MID LIFE CRISIS (no not the CD one, before that) 1992 Honda DX Hatch. Full GSR Swap. B18C1 8,200 rpm . Tuned to maybe 190+ hp Vs factory 172 on a 2,000 lb car. I had a LSD installed when I had the trans rebuilt. Lowered, Tein adjustables on all 4 corners, 4 wheel disk brakes, LS meshies painted black for stealth. No radio. Oh and we call it Honda Le (think Speedy Gonzales, I took a bus to EL Paso to pick it up from the young guy who built it and drove it from Houston. It captures the flavor of that night in the streets walking form the El Paso Bus Station. Andale' Andale' viva,viva. said just right sounds like HONDA lay)
IN order to get that I had to give a little, Dee drives a 1999 Honda Odyssey "Gladys". I didn't expect to hate it, but I am surprised how fun that is to drive.3.5 liter Vtec, same motor (J35?) as the Acura TLbut tuned to 235 instead of 295 hp. She wont let me touch it or I'd swap in a TL lower 3 inches, front SI lip, ditch the seats, twin turbo.....
The teenager got a 1965 bug when I was feeling nostalgic. He couldn't handle 40 year old parts failing, I took it back, but got him a 1990 CRX. lowered on Eibach springs, sweet 1998 HF wheels...he goes and CURBS the wheels, before I could steal them from him for the 1989 HF I was planning on auto crossing.
I probably left out a few. And yes I know, too long a post to even skim.
My 12 year old daughter..who is becoming a bit of a gear head (with a bias towards anything red with a wing on the back) once asked...
How many cars I have had. I came up with I think 23? the truly sad part is that I have a piece or two from quite a few.
In order (I think)
1974 Chevy Light Utility Vehicle. (LUV) for short, Isuzu under the hood, canary yellow. Was supposed to be 'mine' but Dad decided that his partner's kids needed it more, so I lost it to have it replaced with
1977 Datsun F10 hatch. Noteworthy I think as Datsun's first foray into front wheel drive. 1400cc engine 4 speed REALLY quick through the corners playing cat and mouse with my friends.
My first "owned" car should have been a 1948 Chevy Pick-up. Dad vetoed the idea despite my having the $600 saved for the truck in a farmers field.
Instead he bought me for $300 a 1972 VW fastback. "Wendall" I was just glad to have a car to call my own. His $300 investment though meant he could take it back anytime he wanted despite me tearing it down to find the spun bearing, seized piston, broken gears in the automatic transmission, worthless wiring loom. $1500 of my money later I had a $1000 car that lasted a year.
After many threats to take a sledgehammer to my "abortion" of a car as he called it with my hand built whale tail, I paid $50 a month to store it for a year or two and eventually sold it for $8 scrap metal. still have the engine and two rear fenders.
Next car was a 1968 Firebird convertible I bought and kept at the apt complex of they previous owner. 350 4V, 2 speed slushbox. Still fast enough to take the doors off a 1978 Firebird Frmula 400 with 4 beefy guys in it at a light one night. $1000 a year mandatory minimum insurance parked that one, sold it for $800, kept the 1 inch wider Catalina wheels I had hand painted to factory new.
next car (Harvey) was a 1965 (my birth year as a male) white Bug $1000. had a weak 1600 single port that was slowly losing a head stud. $1500 bought me a 1641 with a single Dellorto, Engle 105 cam, factory 'racing' 041 heads, 009 distributer. I had a transaxle custom built with 65 gear ratio for 1-3 and a bus 4th. gave me quick ratios for embarrassing corvettes off the line, then bogged at 50mph, but would do 85-90 on the freeway. Lowered, KYB's, Anti-roll bar. Clutch tube came loose so it got parked in favor of a Bicycle, and then...
MB5 Honda Motorcycle. 50cc 5 speed, modular spoke wheels, disc brake. pretty unique starter bike. fast to a point but 55mph required laying my 105 lb frame on the tank. Winter visitor (old people) pulled out in front of me, I dodged into on coming lane, but a 2nd car pulled out blocking that route and I have a lovely scar from the multiple compound high velocity fracture of the tibia and fibula.
Steel rod, 6 months on crutches and 2 years on a cane, and I was walking well again. I paid to have the bugs clutch fixed and drove Harvey (all three pedals) with one leg, adjusted the idle a little high.
Made the mistake of NOT T-boning the idiot that pulled out in front of me (you see this pattern continued for with me) I tried to make around the back of him into the oncoming lane..missed by 18 inches and took out a $2,550 city light pole. Wasn't cited, but had to buy the pole. Real sentimental about that car, still have the pan, rear clip, roof section, front 'firewall and windshield with doors attached, rear fenders...
bought a 1957 Karman Ghia, "Cora" only 2,000 made more rare than the 57 t-bird of vette. Thought better of dropping the engine in there since the Ghia still had intact 36hp motor.
Bought a 1963 Bug for $400."Wilbur". Sealing wax red original paint (whats left of it). Put my motor and trans in it. de-cromed, lowered it,Frenched 37 ford teardrop upside down in one fender never got around to finishing the other. Drove it for years. Parked it in the backyard for 10 years, tore it down to find rusty cylinders, have the motor mostly re-assembled.
1974 VW Westfallia in pumpkin orange. Lot of fun trips except the last one where we used the starter motor on the last couple of hills into mesquite Nevada, towed it home, "Max" never ran again.
By now I have body working skills so Dad passes down his Mercedes debacle to me.(as a wedding present) He bought a disassembled 1978 450SLC. When the Iranians he bought it from had reassembled it and painted it for him it somehow acquired the parts and serial number of a 1974 German Market 350SLC. No record of this really dark-Grey-market car entering the US. He sued and got reamed by the lawyers on fees worse than the Iranians. a year later the rust started bubbling up. Great driving car, that engines howl was the best Ive ever heard. The German 350 is higher compression and RPMS and HP than the US version 380.
Dad, (always the Indian giver) decided that my little sister's new husband who was in Yale Medical School at the time and did amazing things with rusty Land Rovers would be a better steward for the project so he took it back and wrote me a check for $1000. (which in no way came close to the money I had taking it to 3 different mechanics trying to get it to pass emissions until finally one custom built a non-electronic points type mechanical advance distributor. The new brother in law came out to AZ and looked at it and said, er, no thanks. I still miss "Wilhelm" a little.
About this time Dee's Dodge Omni died and we bought her a 1990 VW Passat wagon. Great car...HORRIBLE dealer network, ridiculous prices for parts ($110 for a 6" dealer only no work around possible radiator hose.) eventually gave this away.
I next had a hand-me-down was Dad's old midnight blue non-turbo 300D.(we called it "Adolf" for obvious reasons) it had 275k miles on it I nursed it to 320K and got long looks for being the driver when it died.
Somewhere in here we acquired a discarded company 1984 Mercedes wagon..Gunther was a great car, I put amazing loads in and on him without complaint, it was kind of a work truck and family hauler.
Next 'company' car was a 1985 300d turbo. "Rommel" was about to throw a rod, so his engine was rebuilt by a very good shop. Rommel ended up being my severance package and I was sad to sell him for 1/3 of the cost of the $10K rebuild. would have sold the POS VW Passat at that time, but the Mercedes was in better shape to sell and arguably worth more despite being 5 years older and 250K on the chassis.
1985 Suburban "Canyonero". Still to this day has never had a valid license plate, cost me a lot in fines court costs, jail..
1990 Plymouth Voyager "Hermione" served its purpose well, was ugly, later when we were doing better, I got it running again and gave it to a family that needed a car.
Somewhere in here I bought a 1965 Mercury Colony Park wagon "Big Buford" 300-310 hp factory FE 390 4V. 90,00 original miles because of a broken push rod. I figured this out after owning it 2 years and finally getting ready to pull the head on that side. 65 cents later and 2 hours of contortions I had the old broken one out. pulls strong. Love that car.
1984 Civic 1500S 154K miles. "Elvis"..$1200.GREAT CAR for a year or two..lost a timing belt bent a valve at 197K, replaced the head got another $10K, blew a head gasket (didn't know you don't re-use the head bolts??) redid the head, distributor problem, finally replaced the distributor, more problems, parked it.
1985 Civic 1300 cc $400 "Priscilla" Had an unfixable overheating problem, I replaced everything the previous owner did, finally found that they (and I following their example had rotated the thermostat 180 degrees) ran great from then on. only had 3 of 4 gears though. Emissions wouldn't test it with three gears. I swapped in a 1500S trans and got incredible mileage with that combo. Gave it to a brother-in-law with a long commute.
After years of family cars, slow cars, cars with no AC, we come to what Dee refers to as the MID LIFE CRISIS (no not the CD one, before that) 1992 Honda DX Hatch. Full GSR Swap. B18C1 8,200 rpm . Tuned to maybe 190+ hp Vs factory 172 on a 2,000 lb car. I had a LSD installed when I had the trans rebuilt. Lowered, Tein adjustables on all 4 corners, 4 wheel disk brakes, LS meshies painted black for stealth. No radio. Oh and we call it Honda Le (think Speedy Gonzales, I took a bus to EL Paso to pick it up from the young guy who built it and drove it from Houston. It captures the flavor of that night in the streets walking form the El Paso Bus Station. Andale' Andale' viva,viva. said just right sounds like HONDA lay)
IN order to get that I had to give a little, Dee drives a 1999 Honda Odyssey "Gladys". I didn't expect to hate it, but I am surprised how fun that is to drive.3.5 liter Vtec, same motor (J35?) as the Acura TLbut tuned to 235 instead of 295 hp. She wont let me touch it or I'd swap in a TL lower 3 inches, front SI lip, ditch the seats, twin turbo.....
The teenager got a 1965 bug when I was feeling nostalgic. He couldn't handle 40 year old parts failing, I took it back, but got him a 1990 CRX. lowered on Eibach springs, sweet 1998 HF wheels...he goes and CURBS the wheels, before I could steal them from him for the 1989 HF I was planning on auto crossing.
I probably left out a few. And yes I know, too long a post to even skim.
1 comment:
There was the Baja that never ran which you acquired from work. We had that little truck of my Dad's parked in the garage for awhile. Also never ran. I can't think of any others off the top of my head, but I am sure there were a few more.
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