4/10/13

Well, the Oliver tractor grill arrived yesterday.  I probably shouldn’t have even opened the box.  Now I want to build the Rat Rod again.  I guess I could go ahead and circle back as promised yesterday.  Hang on, I've got to go back and see what I had in mind then.  Right, so I'd decided that the Rat Rod could be put on hold for a bit and we’d go looking for a Kei car or exotic or something in a year or so.  My thinking at that time was a (lower case) Mini, another Honda N or Z 600, or some other micro, city-car as a fun little thing to gift myself with.  Then I thought a Lotus Esprit or Europa would be neat.  I don’t imagine a Ferrari could be doable… but Juan never knows.  Yeah, like I want to take on a Ferrari I can afford!  Then I thought, “What have I wanted ever since I was in junior high?”  The answer, of course, is a Mercedes SL… and the older the better so’s that it’ll have a Manuel tranny.  I fingered I was on the right path with my fiftieth birthday car… then the Oliver grill arrived.  Now, I suppose I could go ahead and build Oliver Closehoff for fun in the next few months and still consider the Merc SL as a possibility for fiddy.  Damn, that isn’t a bad idea.  I probably won't be able to pull it off, but I think it might be the new plan.  So John, we’re back in the hunt for a Rat Rod cab/body.  I guess we need to move on that Hardbody as well… y’know, since we have room for it out back of the shop.  So, here’s what I see as the plan, subject to change, which it will, of course.  First we’ll finish Lil' Wiggly.  THAT is non-negotiable.  We MUST finish Lil' Wiggly before moving on… well, with any wrench turning.  We can still go get the frame and a body if we find one.  After Lil' Wiggly is running we’ll get George going.  I'm in a pretty good mood about stuff right now so I'm thinking of George as a possible keeper again.  That means A-series, five-speed, and 4.11 axle.  The big question is, “Do I go A-12 turbo or A-14 naturally aspirated?”  Right now, sitting thirty miles away, I'm thinking turbo.  We’ll see when the time comes.  After George we’ll probably want to drop an engine in the Chickenhawk.  With the Rat Rod back on the plate, that means a KA-24 and finally I'll have doubled the displacement in that car.  John suggested that we could make the resurrection of the Chickenhawk my fiftieth goal.  I suppose if we were to “do it right” and fix the rust, straighten the bodywork, neaten up and really make it a tidy interior and engine installation, then put on a nice paint job, it could work as my fiftieth birthday gift to me.  Ok, I think I'm sold on that idea as it also allows me to continue to back-burner and work slowly on that car.  Yes, I think I might even go so far as to say, “Lettuce do a bare-shell renovation!”  Oh crap, that is a lot of work I've just committed to do.  Well, I say that.  Is it really?  I wonder if we can make a rotisserie out of a pair of engine stands.  Ok, stop right there!  Finish Lil' Wiggly and George… and the Rat Rod, THEN start going crazy with reviving the Chickenhawk… and building a lighter trailer.  Wait, what?  Oh, I forgot to mention I've also given some thought to building a lighter trailer.  See, I recently discovered that a new aluminum trailer weighs almost 2,000 pounds.  I'd been fingering my trailer as about that heavy, but now realize it must be in the 2,500 to 3,000 pound range.  I suppose we could try to add some lightness to it, but starting over from scratch…  I don’t know.  Anyhoo, there’s all of that going on.  I mentioned going to the JNC Car Show in Southlake, right?  Well, here’s that story.  After working on Lil' Wiggly's wiring at the shop, I went home to get ready for the JNC thing.  I went to the website to see if anyone had posted their plans for the night.  No one had.  I said I was going to be at Five Guys Burgers at 1830 h and we could all roll into the garage together.  I shaved and showered then checked to see if anyone had replied to my post.  They had not.  I rolled The Seven out and headed towards Southlake.  I stopped for gas and to get a bottle of Gatorade.  See, I've got the teeniest little girlie bladder so I fingered I'd take a pee-bottle with me.  Turns out I didn’t need it this time but I've got it for the future.  Anyhoo, I looked at my watch as I was pulling onto the freeway and realized I was not going to make 1830 h in Southlake… I had about ten minutes to get thirty five miles.  The Seven is quick, but nowhere near THAT fast!  Hang on, what does that work out to be, speed wise?  Yeah, that’s an average of 210 miles per hour.  So I was going to be late.  I pulled up to Five Guys Burgers and checked my phone for massages.  As I was doing so, a group of Hyundais pulled in and parked across the lot.  I was already out of the car or I might have joined them… then again, I might not have.  Finally I got a text from Jeff saying he was on his way.  I waited a bit and just as I went inside to get a burger, he rolled up.  I went back out and we decided to just go into the garage.  On the top floor I saw Bernie Long, one of the local Lotus Seven folk.  I parked next to him and we chatted for a bit.  We all walked the garage a couple times and around dark thirty headed out.  Jeff and I discussed how we could make moving the JNC thing t this new venue work.  We decided that a banner of some sort otter be bought.  We’d show up at our usual 1830 h and stake a claim to a spot where we could get several cars, set up the banner, and wait for classic Japanese steel to pull in and, hopefully, join us.  So, that’s kind of the plan… sort of thing.  I need to discuss with John about using the JNC logo and stuff on the banner before Jeff goes off halfcocked and gets one.  Pshyeah!  I'm the one who’s going to have to buy this damned thing, I predict.  Oh well.  What are you going to do?