12/3/08

Ok, this may be a knee-jerk reaction but I think I might start thinning my car herd. Over the last year, or perhaps more, my interest in building these wacky projects has waned. Ok, you want the truth? You think you can handle the truth? Here’s the truth: George has totally kicked my ass. I'm just about 99.98% to the point of giving up totally on that project. I suppose if I were to move it back out of the way and “back burner” that one car, I could get back into the hobby. John and I did pick up and engine and transmission we could “slap in” Barbecue Bob pretty quickly, not to mention that was part of the deal for trading Timmy and Johnny twixt the two of us last time. Thing is, I feel guilty when John comes to the shop and works on my shit when his car(s) are sitting there equally abandoned. I really need to assess whether or not I really want a stable of old cars. I was going to say “need” but I have what I need at the house. Ok, I'm a little surplus on full sized vans and short on Lotus Seven clones and trailers “at the house” right now, but still. Honestly, this is what I really ought to do. I ought to clean out the south side of the garage for Shichi, move the trailer to the back patio, sell all the rest of those vehicles and just keep Darth Versa as a daily driver, Shichi as a toy, and Fifi and the trailer for hauling said toy to remote events. Leaving out those three vehicles, four if you count the trailer, let me go through all the other vehicles and see if I can honestly justify keeping them. I'll start with the easy stuff. The 620 truck frame, junkyard 1200, and 200SX are no brainers; they go to the crusher no matter what I decide. Making that happen might be difficult but we’ll see. I have no desire to build a 240Z. Don’t get me wrong, they are way cool, but I just don’t want one. Also, I need to give any monies from that car to mom since it is technically hers. I need to resign myself to the fact that we’re going to lose money on that car and make it go away. Herman’s only saving grace it the fact that he has a title. Since it is so very far gone, that car ought to get crushed, once the title is cannibalized of course. Now we move on to the more difficult cases. I guess I'll start with Barbecue Bob since he’s already been mentioned. I like Barbecue Bob. It is one really badass looking car with the fender flares. It drove well and was a very cool car. With the KA-24 it would be friggin’ awesome, I'm sure. But the in-dash HVAC scares the ever living shit out of me. There, I said it. That is really the main thing about that car that makes me not want it. No, that’s not true either. The thought of ever having to do anything to fix that HVAC scares the ever living shit out of me and makes me consider letting that car go. Besides, of the cars in the fleet, that one up and running would probably fetch the most money. Can I honestly come up with a reason to keep Barbecue Bob? Except for his rarity, coolness, and the fact that I already own him, not really, but thinking about him has sparked my interest again. We’ll conditionally put him in the “ought to sell” column for now. Mr. Wiggly. I love Mr. Wiggly. I really want to come up with a reason to keep Mr. Wiggly. He’s superfluous with Fifi in the stable. He’s hard to drive, but the Panasport wheels and narrower tires should help that dilemma. He’s a gas guzzler, but a properly tuned Weber should fix that. He’s kind of ugly, but… well, short of a thousand dollar paint and body job he’s probably going to stay ugly. I've tried to sell him in the past with no success. I'd hate to send him to the crusher, I'd probably cry, but then again we could fill the thing up with two or three other hulks and possibly make that trip worthwhile. That, my friends, is a last resort option I assure you. No, I do love that van and want to come up with a reason to keep him. Just exactly how sacrilegious would it be to put a Small Block Chevy in a Dodge van? No, no, no, no! I like the Slant Six. We’ll move on now. Of course now we’re into the really tough decisions: Datsun 1200s! Johnny is a dilly of a pickle. Being “last in line” of the DLR 1200 group, I suppose he could be sent packing pretty easily. I'd just need to find a Puerto Rican looking for a future drag race car and ignore the fact that it would receive a Mazda rotary engine. With little emotional attachment and even less “sweat equity” in it, a price of “make me an offer” might be in order. We’ll see. George is just making me sick. I've got so much time and money in that turbo project, not to mention I only paid $5.00 for the car and it was one of the most fun cars I've ever owned, I really hate to give up on it. But on the other hand, I can’t make myself finish it because I've become so disillusioned with it. Perhaps the “back burner it while making Barbecue Bob run again” idea is best. I need to disgust it with John. We’ll see. Which brings us to the thorniest of them all: the Chickenhawk. Am I ever going to do anything with that car? I'd like to think so, but honestly, I just don’t know. Right now I'm thinking we should put the Z-20 back in with the dog-leg five-speed and fuel injection, raise the suspension, and finally have the Faux Rally Car I've always wanted. After typing that last sentence, I walked away from the desk “for a bit.” It is now at least six hours later so my momentum is totally lost. I do remember having the following thought. What I need is a very small shop, probably shard with John and Pat, where we can work on the current projects. No storage of cars, just cars being actively worked on. Then I “need” a few “secure” outdoor parking spots to keep the others. I think I could justify keeping the Chickenhawk, George, Barbecue Bob, Mr. Wiggly, and possibly Johnny and Herman (only because they are Datsun 1200s) if I had such an arrangement. Of course the original three mentioned above could live at the house if the trailer were stored with the others. Ok, so everyone can relax now. I think I have once again talked myself down from the “I gotta sell all this crap” ledge. Ok, back to guns! Pat e-mailed me yesterday asking if I wanted to go shoosting tonight. I said, “Pshyeah! Only always!” I think the plan is for me to pick up John on my way and we’ll meet him at Winchester Gallery. I have all my guns behind the seat of Fifi and am itching to go. In fact, I think I'll call John and check his status then head out. Have a day.