Obsolete from here down....
August 07 So, a little bit more is done. After getting home from Asia, I put BD together, as shown on its page here. Since late April, it has been at the stereo shop in Napa, California, getting its GPS/XM/Bluetooth/HD Sound system, and a new console with E/brake to go with all that. It should be home in the middle of August. THEN.....I can take the pictures of it and the other cars in front of the house. .....Maybe......!!
2/14/07 Well, well, well.....! Something is finished. As far as I can go, since I have uploaded all the pictures I have, the story of the rebuilding of Black Diamond, my #2 of 2 SHOs, is complete. I'm in Taiwan, at my in-laws' home, for the Chinese New Year, which is February 18, 2007. Here is where I have hours to spend on the computer, without being disturbed. I'll be home the last week of February, and will be able to take some portraits of the car to put at the end of its story. The rest of the text on this page is woefully out of date, except for the disposition of my previous "fleet" of SHOs, and will be updated when I get back, as well as a new picture or two of the house. There is a new addition to the fleet, which is not a Ford, and not even American (or Japanese). When all the cars are presentable (before Lowrider departs for the museum), I'll take a portrait of all of them in front of the house.
08/03 Welcome to the 2003 model New Model Garage. This preceeding year and a half has been rather packed with events. Houses (total of 5 events) were bought and sold; and cars were bought, sold, wrecked, junked, and fixed (total of 12 events). It's been hectic trying to keep up with everything, since the darn old world keeps spinning around, and not giving me time to collect my thoughts, and make plans. We went Christmas tree light touring two years ago (like we do every year), and the result is what you see above......don't EVER take your spouse Christmas tree touring if she is in any way dissatisfied with where she lives.....!! The house is now actually finished, and we are living in it, but since there are no in-commission SHOs around here right now, I figured I'd rather depict at least one of them, and let the house be displayed while under construction. As soon as one SHO can be driven daily (read that to say that as soon as one can be parked in front of the house and appear respectable), and as soon as the landscape construction and fencing is finished, I'll put a picture of the finished house here. We watched it appear out of the weeds that were here before, and it was definitely a learning and thought provoking experience. If any of you are contemplating a brand new house to be built while you watch, ask me what I've learned about what to do, and especially what NOT to do. (...and be prepared for an encyclopedia length response!!)
There are a LOT less cars around here now...the '89 that was known as Happy 1, the red one with the binding engine, is sold, fixed, and running. It needed nothing more than a new starter....rather than the engine coming apart, the starter did, and was jamming up the ring gear with the disconnected starter drive. An hour on a jack, and a new starter, and it's running just fine. The second '89, the "new guy', has been sold to a friend in Southern California, and is serving just fine as the new family car. It was mechanically complete, except for the cruise, and I was reimbursed for all my expenses in fixing it....that was a very nice experience. The third '89, part of the 'one-time-super-purchase...two for the price of one', went to Frank Costa, back there in New England, and I KNOW it is going to have a good life. I'm looking forward to meeting Frank one of these days at a SHO Convention.
The '90s are faring OK....the Lowrider is sitting in the center stall of the garage above, ready to roll from the center pillar forward. It still is waiting for installation of some rear interior parts, like seats and carpeting, some trunk assembling, and some windows, to say nothing of its stereo system. At least the wiring is now threaded from the front to the rear, and some day soon it should be ready to make its debut, for another year of cruising on the way to 300,000 miles. It has a date with everyone next summer in Vallejo, at the 12th Convention, where it will bask in the sun and maybe make a run or two at Thunderhill. The new black '90, obtained from my friend Anthony Northrup, of BaySHO, is at this instant getting its R-134 conversion, and will be heading for the paintshop when it comes home from Autohaus. There is a BRAND NEW interior waiting for it (thank you, Josh)...the seats and door panels are absolutely flawless, and combined with the paint and other mods I plan for the inside, should be a contender at the carSHO this coming July. It will be painted some sort of dark pearl, with black slicers...I haven't decided on the color yet (but it DEFINITELY will not be stock)...and will be a full plus conversion, including the chrome window trim. The third '90, the other half of the "one-time-super-purchase" and originally planned to share SHO duties with the black car, will be given to my cousin, for whom the "Plus from Hell" was originally destined. It is getting a new clutch and flywheel, along with all the other Josh Teixeira clutch upgrades, and should do just fine with her...it actually works as well as it did when it was new.....amazing. It's not quite as nice inside, upholstery wise, but we can deal with that problem over time.
The first '91, known as Tex 2, is living in Sacramento, doing just fine. It's been repainted, and has a new set of slicers (after I swiped the chrome ones off of it prior to sale). The Plus from Hell, after being beaten to within an inch of its life in my back yard while we were in Madison in July of 2003, has been sold and delivered to Joseph Van Oss. The damage was superficial, as long as one is a car nut, and Joseph definitely qualifies for that title. It should have a long life with him, after he deals with that funny red stuff around the rear window and the taillights. I would very much like to confront the total idiots (with the tools they used) who broke every lock and one rear quarter window on that car trying to get in, without trying the driver's door, which was unlocked. This world can very easily do without their presence. I know who they are, too, but proving it is another matter.
Anyway, after Lowrider retires and heads to the Towe Ford Museum in Sacramento, I am authorized to find another '90 or '91 to finish out my fleet. I want to have one car for the track/street, and one to be a 'Luxo-Barge" or Lexus/BMW/Mercedes wannabe regarding interior appointments. The plan is to design a new wood trimmed center console that blends into the dash, to include GPS/DVD/Tunes, relocated EATC, decent cup holders, and a center mounted emergency brake. All this is just in the planning stages, although I have already been shopping for sub-assemblies for quite a while. I have been shopping for insurance for these cars, too, and there are companies that will insure them as 'occasional drivers' allowing me to use them regularly, but not daily, and cover them for an amount agreed upon, so that a ding in a corner will not total them. I'll share that information when I finally do re-insure them, as I know others out there have the same insurance problem I do.
I've removed links to pages for cars I don't have any more, so there is more room on the site for convention concerns. I hope you all will check them periodically, as now that the house hassle is slowing down, I'll start taking the day trips I've intended to take to get information and pictures of the various convention concerns to entice all of you to come out here next summer.
(Yeah......"Next Summer" was 21, no make that 32 months ago....!! I GOTTA (make that 'WILL') get to this site and UPDATE it!!!)
Obsolete from here up!!
To email me... krazgeo@comcast.net
Lowrider Black Diamond Slorider F-350 Boss 302 The Mustang Era Lowrider's Owie
Tuneup Crank Sprocket Repair Valve Adjustment Rod Bearing Replacement Pictures of BaySHO Cars