3/11/14

I spent all day Thursday and Friday modifying a wiring diagram for John's 1200 so I never got a chance to come talk to y'all.  The diagram helped me to just about finish wiring his car Saturday.  We still need to tape up the under-hood harness and hook up the under-dash stuff, but I think his car should be wired this weekend.  We’ll see.  Of course every time I think that, something comes up and slows the process down to a crawl again.  Oh well, what are you going to do?  Also in shop news, I've decided that the Mini is just too… well, it’s like this… that car is worth more as a roller than anything else short of The Seven.  We had a look at the Mini and it does require much more work than I really want to do.  I've asked John to post it up for sale.  I'll be happy to get the $2,500.00 I have in it back.  Also, he says he has a buyer for Fifi if I want to sell it.  I've given that some thought and having it off my insurance would help things quite a bit… not to mention the sale money would put a dent in my debt.  I've asked mom her opinion, since she wants to have a truck in the family, and she is on board with the sale.  I just went in and dropped Lil' Wiggly from the insurance, something I should have done long, long ago, and got a quote for dropping Fifi… yeah, the payments are cut almost in half!  C’mon John, let’s get this truck SOLD!  I'm also in the process of trying to sell the Tavor to an acquaintance to add another $2,500.00 to the kitty.  Yeah, I know I implied that I sold the Tavor at the last gun show… that was to throw the gumment off my trail.  This time I mean it… or do I?  Yes, I do.  Anyhoo, if I can get $2k to $2.5k for each of those items, Fifi, the Mini, and the Tavor, I'll be able to pay off most of the credit cards and be sitting pretty again.  Of course it won't do any good if I still have the cards to use so they will need to be cancelled as well.  We’ll just have to wait and see if I'm smart enough to go through with that part of the plan.  Based on past experience, I'm not so sure.  I'm kinda dumb y’see.  Well, fiscally irresponsible is more accurate.  Ok, I'm dumb because I know how fiscally irresponsible I am and yet I spend the virtual money anyway.  Anyhoo, we’ll see if it can be worked out… again.  Oh, I've been on the text with John and the dude wanting to buy Fifi and it looks like it is going to happen.  I guess I can now put up a Craigslist ad to sell the trailer as well.  I hate to be without a trailer, but with no truck to pull it, it is superfluous.  Perhaps when things settle down financially, I can think about some sort of thing to haul the Chickenhawk and The Seven around… probably not simultaneously though.  Then again… alls I'd need would be 2,600 pound capacity and 23 feet of length.  Sounds like a 24’ box truck to me!  We’ll see.  Well, I've been away for a bit and we have developments.  John sent me the dude’s number so I've been in contact.  We have a tentative plan in effect involving mom and me caravanning to Granbury, where the dude lives, to finish the deal.  When I posed the possibility of meeting up with my sister afterwards, she started asking questions about the truck.  Yeah, turns out she and Lester, my brother-in-law, need to replace their Expecursiolorer with something more fuel efficient and reliable.  Or Lester’s son needs it to replace… being on foot.  I hadn’t even considered them as possible buyers because, to be honest, I hadn’t really thought about selling it until John said he had a buyer.  So a moral conundrum has been posed: should I be a “Stand Up Guy” and go through with a deal struck over the phone with a stranger, or renege on “Blood is thicker than water” grounds?  Fortunately I mentioned the rear main seal beginning to weep, and the fact that it will need to be replaced in the not too distant future, to my sister and she backed down.  Whew!  So I'm going through with the sale to John's dude.  Now, with Fifi “sold,” I won't need a trailer any more.  Oh, I mentioned that already.  Well, I went to Craigslist to check prices of trailers and it appears car-haulers are more valuable than I thought.  I might be able to get a grand for mine… I probably won't, but I might.  There was a dude looking to buy a 16’ to 18’ so I sent him a text.  My 12 footer is too small for his needs though.  Oh well, it was worth a try.  I'll impose upon John to post a picture or three on C’list and we’ll try to shift the thing.  I think I'll ask $1,000.00 but be willing to take $700.00 for it.  It has served me well over the last fifteen years so I think I've gotten my money’s worth out of it.  I do hate to see it go though… oh well, gotta move on, superfluous and all.  As for other albatræ around my neck… what?  Yes, I know the plural of “albatross” is “albatrosses,” I think “albatræ” is funnier.  Where was I?  Right, as for other albatræ around my neck, Lil' Wiggly and the Spit are going to be considered “John Flips.”  A “John Flip” is a car bought, fixed-up some, driven for a while, and then sold on.  It is not a true “Flip” in that the main goal is not to get it going and sell immediately.  Nor is it a “Wheeler Dealer Flip” in that… oh, I guess that is the same thing.  So yeah, it isn’t one of those.  We’ll hoon them for a while once running to enjoy the fruits of our labor then try to sell them… sort of thing.  I think, once I have just the Chickenhawk and The Seven as my toys, with no other cars on the back burner, we could look into buying “Flippers” as justification for the shop.  Of course that is a ways down the road so plans will no doubt change a dozen times before it happens.  And on that note, I think I'll call it a rant.  Have a day.