What I did today...or the last three weeks...

copying a tag line from the longrooffan.......

What I did today...or the last three weeks......
by now everyone that follows this page has learned of the exploits of the bondoguy.....Jimmy is a good friend, one that you want around when camping for damn sure....he is one hell of a good painter....and now has been recognized by NASCAR for his exceptional skill at asphalt repair.....hats off to the man in turn two......
a addition and a deletion to the list of vehicles that have been under my domain over the years.....
a little set up here is due.....when the weather went north around here back in early January and the temperature dropped into the mid 30's (an actual HEAT WAVE for some of my brothers and friends) and the kid was driving an open topped, doorless vehicle, my bride explained to me that I would be driving the kid's jeep and he would be driving my new (to me) truck since he picked up his sister every day from school......now being a good Father and a caring friend to those two kids, I had to agree to relinquish my truck for the health of the kids...
of course this came at a very high price.....one week later I contracted a chest cold that is still nagging at me....another by product of driving a topless-doorless vehicle in near freezing temperature is the necessity to stay warm....multiple layers of clothing, a scarf, hat, double socks, and stay all scrunched up to conserve energy....(we called this 'max heat)...was a sneezing spell I went into one Sunday night a couple of fortnights ago that resulted in a serious back injury from which I still haven't recoverd completely.....yea I know, getting old beats the alternative.....but damn this back is a real pain in the back.......
but back to the future......I had aquired through various means the title to a 1979 CJ-5 Jeep with a small lift kit and some serious mud tires.....do not inquire....just let that go.....I had consigned this vehicle after a few modifications (yes there is blogproof of this and it did get it's fifteen minutes of fame) to the longroof to post on craigslist for sale......of course the proceeds were to finance shop supplies and other items more commonly known as 'hurricane supplies'.....when this was turned into a UTV by means of a trade I was back at square one with an image of a very warm looking truck everytime I drove into my driveway.....but alas after the trade was made I was contacted by a guy from the western part of the state about my old "huntin jeep" .....when he asked about the jeep I had for sale, I had to think for a minute before I replied, "Which one?"....seems he was willing to look at a 1967 CJ-5 instead of a 1979....up shot was he and his 'that'll hunt' girl drove over one afternoon to look at the kid's jeep......he was impressed enough to anty up the money it would take to have the bondoguy fix the rust and repaint it Army Green.....of course the longrooffan and even the goodattorney advised me of all the wrong that could be happening for taking the cash up front to have the jeep fixed up before I took payment on the jeep itself.....but I had met the buyer and what I call "looked in his eye".....
the week after the 500 mile race here in Daytona, the jeep was ready and the buyer showed up with a friend and a trailer.....as the buyer and his friend looked for the head, I took a peek at his ride......when he returned and handed me a wad of cash, I didn't even count it.....the handy 8 pack of cold beverages provided by my favorite brewer was all it took to confirm the sale.....
but now what do I do....I'm a two car owner in a three car family.....looks like I am back to craigslist in search of a Toyota 4x4 for the kid...gotta have something that can handle the beach driving during the summer.....in the mean time Jim comes through by surrendering the keys to his 69 Bronco....so here I am, back to driving a specialty vehicle in the middle of the worst cold spell that can be remembered in these parts.....never could figure out how to turn the heater on in that beast....at least it is wind proof....but then a friend calls and tells me of Ford Ranger for sale by the tow company we use at work....a quick phone call to the tow company and happy hour is cut short for me.....a quick trip back over to the mainland and I am looking at my next vehicle....
now the kid was not too happy when I first informed him of his next ride, and my bride was not too happy that I made a commitment without her consent....
an extended conversation with BigJimDunn and she never said another word...
how I like that man....so now the kid is driving his new ride.....of course a couple of modifications were required....and most importantly I am back in my new truck.....
the longrooffan was commissioned to photograph the kid's new ride, however it hasn't been seen in daylight since I brought it home and his digital retainment equiptment is not real good in low light......I just plain forgot to take photos so expect photos by the end of the week........

these, and other reasons too many to list are why we......

CELERBATE LIFE............

Jet Ski Nationals on the beach this weekend

paid the longrooffan a visit Saturday after work.....lots of noise coming thru the front door of the Taj Mahal as we sit and enjoy good company....race week is a short distance away and I ignore it as just part of the environment....the Rolex series as been practicing and I hear it from work everyday....so loud engine noises are drowned out in my daily life.....later I came to learn that the Jet Ski Nationals were taking place on our very own beach....after getting home I quickly fired up the old 2A and placed a call back to the longrooffan and inquired as to his availability to join me on a short drive down the beach.....picked him up and off we were.....once again he FAILED in the photo department....guess this will be a Memorex moment as we have it committed to memory.....couple of passes down the beach and a short viewing of the activities of the event and the decison was obvious....there were way too many skiers to concentrate on a conclusive winner......then the ever present Beach Patrol drove by and offered to trade vehicles....his brand new F-150 4x4 for my old trusty Jeep.....maybe last week....the heated seats in the 2A don't work so good....had to decline his offer as the longroooffan was in a hurry to get back to the Taj Mahal.
which leads me to today's adventure.....the kid's sister and I took off for the ocal recreational center to shoot some hoops before the daily football games began....
about an hour and a half into the forced exercise ( I watched as she played in a pickup game ) I was off to enjoy the first of two televised football games......
swung by the longroof's place first for a quick cold pop and walked into what could be called a 'federal disaster zone...seems the longrooffan decided it was time to 'shake things up abit' and clean house.....I am sure there is a blog in this for him and I won't go much further here.....other than to say that there wasn't much room in his place for one person....much less two.......made a quick exit....ok, maybe not so quick, two beers and a smoke....but man that place kept getting smaller and smaller as long as I stayed there.....exited via the 'World's Most Famous Beach' and saw some of the most extreme jet ski operators ever...
and the sungoddess thought I went to extremes......a couple of reverese flips.....several barrel rolls.....more ten to twenty foot launches off breakers.....
and the sounds could be associated more with the circle track 4 miles west than with the more common place watercraft normally navigating the waterways of the greater Halifax Basin....
all and all a great weekend Celebrating Life....

I think it's that guy's fault

there are a couple missing here, but the longroof has photos....besides, I blaming the guy in the middle of the last photo for all of this mess...

5 months, 22 days......

Yep....that's how long it took.....
5 months and 22 days for the kid to get his first ticket while a licensed driver within the state of Florida......and those other lesser states that don't count hanging chads.....
seems that if you back out of a parking spot in a darke parking lot and hit the car parked across the lot from you is considered a driving offense if done on the beach in the state of Florida....
I suspect that he spent too much time in the sun surfing and was just anxious to get home....
of course to Officer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_7C0QGkiVo
this is a violation of state statue , whocaresaslongasbothpartiesareokwithit....
so he writes the kid a ticket for, and I'm not kidding here,....."improper backing".......
now what the heck is 'improper backing'..?????
seems this is what you write a kid a ticket for, when you want the kid to get off, but are required to write the kid a ticket for something......
well tonight the sungoddess was told about the incident.....she, while extremely upset, handled the situation quite to my surprise......
since I am still able to sit here and write should be an indication of how well she responded....
still got my fingers and voluntary use of my mind....
the kid is still breathing on his own, so things look good here......
seems kind of funny, here I sitting thinking that I am the first parent to go though this experience......
then I recall my parents and realize they are extracting their own personal revenge.....
and every parent, or grandparent, since motorized transportation began........
well, it was bound to happen sooner or later...........

CELEBRATE LIFE...........

Why We Walk with Friends When We Walk

Had another fantastic walk this Saturday.....great time had with a good friend.....pleasant drive through the country side...a slight diversion to reach our destination, but well worth the extra time spent....after finishing a couple of honey-do's this am, I sent a phone call to the ole longrooffan to see if he remembered me telling him to get up early this am to go junkyarding..... seems he remembered and even gave me some grief for not contacting him before my 10:00 am call.....he had been up since 7:00 waiting on me to call.....he finally showed up and we headed west in the old station bus to adventures unknown......let me tell you that there are all kinds of things to be seen when traveling the American highway system at 50 mph.....it is amazing how much better the countryside looks at 50 vs 80 mph....about 40 minutes after leaving we headed north on a side road in search of an old cj I had heard of......."about 4 miles north off 92 sitting in the woods"......turns out to be a 3B that was of no use to me or those I know so we resumed our trip to the auto treasure chest I visited last weekend........couple of stops on the way to secure saw blades for the sawsall and liquid refresments and we arrived 10 minutes later......paid our entry fee....well JD did, I just bumrushed the gate....and we were off....
the first thing I did was look for the yardmonkey that was so helpful last trip, this guy works for a small wage and tips and last weekend he moved two cars with his big frontend loader and carried the old Willys wagon up to his shop and turned on his compressor so I could use his air tools to get the wheels, etc....but this man got a tip today before he did anything....remember to tip the help.....amazing how they respond.....anyway, after tipping this guy he disappeared....just what I was hoping he would do as I was on a mission to scrap a couple of vehicles....didn't want him around to stop me.....so then I beelined it to that old flat fender with the palm tree growing under it.....broke out the sawsall and proceeded to cut the steering wheel right off.....sharp blades and strong batteries are a wonderful thing when you are out in the field....starting looking for other things to cut up.....after securing the steering wheel I look around for the longrooffan.......
can't find him anywhere...where in the hell did he go..??....thought about it for a second and then just looked in the oldoldold car section....sure enough, there I could see his head bobbing around the hood lines of those old Buicks, Fords, Chevrolets, and Oldsmobiles....seems he was busy getting a blog and a couple of new wall arts......so I headed south to cut him off at the pass so to say and along the way I snatched an old Mercedes Benz hub cap......it seemed to fit him...
I met him at the old Willys wagon where he had established his base camp....by looking at his cache he had started collecting items from his list before his trip down memory lane.....as he is working away at his list I ask how I can help and he tells me to grab the speedometer out of the old Willys......I should have known better and told him to get it himself.....but no, I spend a good 20 minutes attempting to remove all the animal nests and small nuts holding the dash in before he looks over my shoulder and says..."dude, all I want is the speedo head, not the whole freakin dash"......at this I just reached up and pulled it right away from the dash......20 minutes, a bloody forearm and all he wanted was the speedo head......three seconds to remove it.....but I then spent the time to reinstall all the nuts I removed.....gotta leave it clean for the next guy.....a coke and a smoke and we were off again.....this time in search of an early 60's era F-1.....walked a good mile around the yard before realizing that it was no longer available....missed an old memory there for sure.....got a new one to replace it......headed back to base and got the spare wheel from the Willys and headed up to the shop... got the counterman's permission to use his machine and removed the old tire from the rim.....found Jon-Jon again and proceeded to check out.....now check out is on the honor system where you tell them what you got and they figure you took about twice as much and so they charge you according to what they figure you stole.....glad I forgot about the speedo head and the dash lights otherwise I would have needed a loan to get away.....stopped on the way back to the house for a Diet Coke and a powerball ticket, so JD, if you win I'm in for half....use Lee logic to understand why......had a wonderful slow relaxing ride home until we hit the shortcut cutoff.....as we passed it by I asked why we didn't take it and the oleragtop answers, "dude, that's the way we came.".....took a deep breath and understood his logic......different conversation material the rest of the way home......got to spend a couple of hours today with a good friend doing something that we enjoy......took another walk through automobile memory lane.... and enjoyed the drive there and back.....thanks longrooffan......

and this is why we......

CELEBRATE LIFE................

Why we love Saturay afternoon walks...

spent this past saturday afternoon on a very pleasant walk....as reported by the oleragtop....this afternoon walk was very pleasing in so much as I took a walk thru a salvage yard located about 20 miles west of here....saw a lot of cool stuff...stuff that made me think about what and where these old cars had been......what adventures had the 48 buick been on when it was new.....the mid-sixties oldsmobiles that were lined up side by side in a photo finish....where had the miles taken these bastions of American Automotive might.....the old pickups, Ford by manufacture from the 50's and 60's.....what loads had these carried.....how many times were these beds left unmade......the late 50's T-Bird ragtop...how many kisses had been stolen in it's rotted interior....the old flat fender that drew me on this afternoon walk....the trails that GPW Ford had covered...wonderment at why someone would weld flairs onto the windshield frame...was this to help keep cold air out..????...it's in a Florida salvage yard... why the top..???...what could be done to improve the original design....the cool old boat that was so out of place that a detour to view it's remains were necessary... the 50's Willys Wagon seen on the walk out....wait...a 50 Willy's wagon...???... unmolested till my visit....why do we always look in the trunk..??..what are we looking for...why are these automotive grave yards so appealling...??...are we looking for something from our past..???...a prelude to our future perhaps....why did I look in every open truck I passed...this one keeps coming back to me....did I expect to see something that was missed during it's reception....well, I attacked that Willys like a kid attacks an ice cream cone on a mid-summer's day...
.....came home from that walk with more that I went for and less than I wanted....
but that's how most afternoon walks end.....

CELEBRATE LIFE......

it's the only one we get....

Redneck games

well if you are a visiter of bythenumbers then you know how the kid and I spent New Year's Day......called Jon-Jon and woke him up...told him to meet us at Scott's house as we had planned a day spent jeeping with a couple of other 4-wheelers.....as seen on the bythenumbers blog, a great time was had by all participants....even the longrooffan got into the trail riding, or making in his case, spirit.......even got him into Scouting around for a longroof trade.....not so much in my opinion.....spent about three hours driving down trails and thru a couple of mud holes....even climbed a creek side in a the 2A and had a blast......the little girl out performed the big dog high stepping 4x4s of the boys......impressed them all without a doubt....the creek climb would have impressed the bus as he could have followed along......the beauty of the old jeep is that totally stock she lead the way for the boys with the 44 lockers and flex suspensions......you know those vehicles that the axles flex 44 inches up and down.....the old 2A solid as a rock just took a tire off the ground and used the other wheels for traction......sure was fun and future plans are in place for other dates with the boys fourwheeling......the kid was impressive as he didn't get stuck once....now granted he refrained from entering some of the really bad spots....but he drove right through the deepest holes following the trail.....check the photo of the passenger side mud line on his cj.....the one off side to all the fun we had is the maintanence that now has to be done.....pull apart and repack the wheel bearings is of the highest priority......looks like my Sunday is booked.
Saturday the longrooffan and the kid are heading out to the racetrack to take in the Rolex practice session.....guess it is that time of year again.....I got word of an old jeep sitting in a field out west of town about 20 miles or so, so hopefully I will get a chance to check it out.......let you know later......

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL

CELEBRATE LIFE...........

not sure what the title to this entry into my life's reflection should be, so it is blank for now...... sometimes we have entries like this.....just not sure what to call them......spent a long holiday weekend/week hanging out with the kid and uncle Jon-Jon.....saw some really nice restored automobiles and one really sweet 46 CJ2A that will never see a dirt road, or a sandy beach...... seemed like a waste of time , energy, and money on the jeep...the cars are all the same..... I call them Vanna Whites.....man they look great from 60 feet away....but when you get up close you realize they are really not worth the money it takes to keep them looking as they do..... somewhere, somebody, is tired of their crap and that is why they are for sale to the highest bidder....but then I enoyed the time spent with my son and his uncle Jon......didn't get to spend any time working on the new-old jeep.....instead spent that energy getting the Christmas lights up and finishing the honey-do list that had materialized......got those knocked out and found a lot of free time to just sit and relax in my garage....enjoyed watching the kid and the kid's sister playing with the neighborhood kids.....the kid got his driver's license on Monday and like all of us, found every excuse in the world to go someplace.....?what, you wanted three items from the store?.....I must have forgot one of them....gotta go back....same thing we all did.....and every new driver since then.....tonite he had b-ball practice.....he came home from school on the bus and then drove to practice himself....drove himself home too....no problems despite his Mother's worries.....the most excelerating -frightening time of my life......all for knot it appears....