Merry Christmas...

Accidental pretty shot of the tree. Happy Holidays to all, be happy and well.

The Engine Is Back From The Spa!

And it looks LOVELY!

A very pretty shiny piston!

The crank waits, still enrobed in cosmoline, for installation...

Because nothing is ever simple, other things besides the engine rebuild had to be done.
The work under the dash is proceeding, the wiring is nearly all done, the new ignition and locks are in, 2 of the 4 speakers are in, the turn indicator cam is installed. 

And I have to say, visiting your car mid-engine-rebuild and seeing it SO apart is a little like watching a family member have major surgery--disconcerting and disturbing, but you know it has to be done and ya just gotta trust.

Think this speaker is Blaukaput? :D

The engine compartment sports a fresh coat of black paint to protect it until waaaay down the road when the bodywork/paint stage is reached.

The Black Hole Of Calcutta!

The water pump, however...

...is officially toast. J. installed this thing about a year and a half ago. The engine was going through water like a mad thing, so we ended up topping off the radiator with plain water more often than we should have.

Use coolant, every time, kids!. The car is rounding the turn and coming into the home stretch...which is good, because I miss my car.

Grit Your Teeth, Here Goes

It has begun.  The engine rebuild.

From this:
*And please note tolerant but bemused husband giving me the fish eye over worrying and hyperventilating about my car going in for major surgery...

To this:

The Grand Canyon:

But wait--why stop THERE?! What about inside the car as well?

The dash looks too intact, let's FIX THAT!

AAGGGHHHH!!!

Well...that doesn't look so ba--


Oh.

I guess a burned wire on the clock would tend to interfere with it keeping time.

More Kidisms...

My daughter brought home a little rubber bat toy from school today, a gift from her teacher. We had stopped at Target to do some shopping on the way home, and entered the house laden with a gift for one of the two birthday parties she is attending tomorrow and enough Halloween candy to choke a ghost (see what I did there?).

We offload the trick-or-treat supplies in the kitchen and N. dashes off to the bathroom. After she comes out and is chattering away at her daddy, it's my turn in there. Suddenly I hear a voice outside the door.

Anxiously: "Mom, did I leave my bat in there?"

I look around and don't see it right away. "Uhhhh... let me check." I finally find it, lying flat on the counter, oddly enough it's hidden under one of the hairbrushes. I exit and give it to her. "Why was he under a hairbrush...?

She grabs the bat and runs off to show it to her father. "So he wouldn't peek at me while I went potty!"

Of course. Why didn't I think of that?

Old Iron

Sunday the 14th was the day of the Pomona Antique Auto Swap Meet, held numerous times each year. It is held at the Fairplex in Pomona, right next to the racetrack, and spans something on the order of 13 acres. It includes a vintage car show/sell area on one side, and people selling old car parts swap meet-style on the other. It is MASSIVE, to say the least.

I only scored three things for my '69 Plymouth this time: a set of curb feelers, a set of black armrests (Ruby will have a black interior when she is redone) and a 'Plymouth Fury' keyfob. I shall persevere in the hunt for replacement parts though, and I have if not high hopes, than at least reasonable ones. You see, as true muscle cars such as Road Runners & Barracudas (called A and B body cars) become more and more desirable, they will be subsequently priced right out of range for the average person. Also, as the A and B body cars become more popular, more businesses realize that there is LOTS of money to be had in making restoration parts--weatherstripping, carpet, door handles, etc.

That's were the lowly C bodies come in. People like me are turning to them, because that's what we can afford.

See, right now, many of the true muscle car enthusiasts sneer at C bodies. When you call these businesses to see about parts, you are told coldly, "That's a C body. We don't make parts for THOSE."

They will, as soon as they realize that hey--there's money to be made here!!! I can already see the tide turning, as more and more people are commenting to me (with some surprise in their voice), "You know, those C bodies are pretty nice cars, and they're getting more popular!"

The worm will turn, friends...

Meanwhile, I got many, many pictures of some VERY beautiful cars at the swap meet. Here's my favorite, a lovely blue Nomad:



Isn't it pretty? Beautiful blue, and the chrome shines, as a matter of fact the entire car shines--wait. What's that?


Ah--! I see, the owner has left a security guard!


"You touch my Nomad, I KEEEEELL YOU!!!"

Google Maps Street View, Here I Come!

Yesterday on the way to the dentist, I was bopping along the freeway in the Plymouth with the top down and realized that I was behind one of those TeleAtlas camera cars, the ones that take the constant photos for Google Maps Street View.

I'll have to check Google and see if N. and I made the cut in a few weeks or so.

Of course, I couldn't resist making a huge, sappy-happy :) face for the camera as we passed. Regardless, it gave me a giggle.

More From The OC Fair...

Before I forget, a few more pics from the Orange County Fair, now gone for another year...

This we found just plain amusing, some wag had set up the Gideon Bible folks directly across from a tarot/palm reader:

I felt kind of sorry for the bible people, their booth was empty while the tarot reader was pipin'.

We visited the show chickens the day they were there, and ran across this unlikely duo:

While the Polish rooster on the right is obviously smitten and very much in love, the Antwerpener Bartswerge hen is having none of it, she is all fluffed up and flared out, and by her repeated growls we could tell she would like nothing better than to have a go at this nervy fellow.

I do believe she was guarding the egg she'd laid.  Those Antwerpener bantams DID have damned cute, fluffy faces though, and now I have ANOTHER breed to add to my 'want' list:

She looks like a stuffed toy, I swear.