7/27/12

Before I start, let me say that the following wacky scheme will probably never actually come to pass!  So, I get a text from John this morning asking if it is bad that he wants to go back to Bumfuk-Nowhere West Texas to buy that Fiat 500 we saw when rescuing his 210.  I replied something to the effect of, “Dang youse!  I'd just about forgotten that car.”  I then went on to ask how we’d go about getting it.  I also asked what he thought about putting my Honda 1.5 liter and transaxle in it.  While waiting for his replies, I started thinking about something which crossed my mind just the other day.  I wondered how much a Smart Car with a blown motor would cost.  I really like the Smart but don’t want the flippy-paddle semi-automatic gearbox… or the one liter three cylinder engine for that matter.  So, to make a short story long, I'm on the lookout for a dead Smart Car I can pick up cheap to use as a recipient for my 1.5 liter Honda engine.  Will it be as fast as a Hyabusa powered Smart?  No.  Will it be faster than a regular Smart?  I should think so.  Would it be fast enough?  Probably… and if not, there’s always the option of adding a hair-dryer to it.  “So why not add the snail to the Smart engine?” I heard someone say.  Well, because I don’t want to spend the money for a running Smart.  I want one in the less than $1,000.00 range, not the $5,000.00 and up neighborhood.  Anyhoo, that’s the wacky idea which will occupy my mind for the rest of the day but probably won't gain any traction after that.  Well, unless John actually DOES get a Cinquecento.  Then I'll be on the hunt for a dead Smart “fo shizzle!”  Of course what I otter concentrate on is finishing up the projects on hand.  A Datsun 1200 isn’t all that much bigger than either one of those others, regardless of my warped brain considering it a “normal sized car.”  I have Datsun 1200s.  Then there’s the Spitfire, another car of Lilliputian proportions, which I own.  Of course The Seven ain’t Brobdingnagian by any stretch of the imagination either.  I really should forget getting into another micro car world… but a Smart, Cinquecento, N-600, or “lower case” Mini would be so cool.  Yes, I know I considered and even made an offer on an “upper case” MINI last month, but I'd rather have the “lower case” Mini.  If you don’t know what I mean by “upper case” MINI and “lower case” Mini… well, I'm not sure you otter be reading my blog.  Look it up.  And yes, I realize I traded an N-600 for a 210 I'm never going to touch.  Shut up, it’s my shop and my blog.  Ok, I just remembered something else I saw and want really bad.  Last night, while watching “The Invaders… In Color… a Quinn Martin Production” on DVD, the aliens kidnapped a dude and threw him in the back of an old, new at the time of course, Ford E-100 cab over van.  I really want a cab over van.  Wait, that doesn’t express it nearly well enough.  I REALLY want a cab over van.  I mean super seriously really, REALLY want a cab over van.  So much so that I really regret not buying Heeter’s van when he had it up for sale.  Yes, it was a Chevy, and I do hate Chevys… but it was a cab over van!  Yeah, you’re probably right.  I probably WOULD have regretted that decision in the long run.  Ok, so I guess we’re back to looking for a Ford or Dodge cab over van for me.  I would be willing to “trade in” Fifi for a CO van.  I miss Mr. Wiggly.  No, he wasn’t a cab over, but he was pretty dang cool… to me at least.  Oh well, what are you going to do?  I'm going to call it a week, that’s what I'm going to do.