Carmine
Old Man with a Hat
I thought I'd share some pictures of my recent trip to Phoenix. I'll probably just refer my relatives over to this link because I don't use the Facebook machine, so pardon the oversharing and bare with me for the car stuff...
Frankly I had no idea that I'd be out in Phoenix the week before the Chrysler Power West show in California until I texted my AZ friend Mark, who immediately told me "Cool, you can go to Spring Fling." Fortunately for me, my wife hates cold weather as much as I do and treats plane reservations like logic puzzle-books. That translates to a $35 flight to Denver, one hour layover, $35 flight to Phoenix. Or you could say both of us (+ our 5 month old daughter) carried away from rainy-gloom and into the bosom of del Sol for $140.
We didn't book a return flight... I was hustlin' hard trying buy a (replacement) Mexican Ramcharger. Going as far as a 3-way call to Mexico with a Spanish-speaking friend. Of course I had several backup plans if I couldn't do the MexiRC:
Yes I would have bought this, but I'm not crazy... of course I would have ditched the redonkulous wheels. Otherwise, what could go wrong with a cross-country trip in an untested, 30-40 y/o car? No rust in AZ! But the revelation that I would be there the same weekend as Spring Fling had meyelling into the next room asking my travel agent how cheap she could get us home from California. Turns out $135, direct, as long as you don't mind arriving at 4:30 on Sunday morning. 
Then of course the rental Hyundee. $12 a day if I returned it where I picked it up in Phoenix. $7 a day if I dumped it at LAX. Honey, book the flight!
Arrived at work on Monday, April 18 @ 5 AM. Drove home, put on a suit andendured enjoyed a 4 hour city council meeting. Came home, removed shirt/tie. Install Hawaiian shirt. Put luggage, child, dog, wife, myself in the LHS and headed for Toledo around midnight. 4 hours later, in-laws take us to back to Michigan and drop us at the airport. Baby and I pass out on plane, sleep until the Central Time Zone.
We arrived in Phoenix and picked up some Sponch and Diapers...
Saw this in the parking lot:
...and then remembered why I drive Mopars. Once we had settled into our AirBnB-rented house, we went out and performed our first errand for a friend of mine, a buddy who retired from Chrysler/Viper at least 5 years ago. He's crazy about two-door wagons, the more oddball, the better. He had run across this 1960 Canadian Meteor and asked if I'd look at it for him.
It did appear pretty solid, but hadn't moved in years. Of course as much as I like to look at oldjunk cars, I'm not super fond of crawling around to disturb scorpions and recluse spiders. The random assortment of metal in the back was "supposedly" all the removed trim. Except for the pieces that weren't there. By the way, it probably looks like I'm in a junkyard, right? Actually I'm in the backyard of a house that just sold for $400k. If this house sold for that much I'm sure the house next door was worth $650k, because the inside looked about as nice as the backyard. Here's a surprise, the guy was at war with the HOA. Before anybody gets mad that I posted a satellite shot, he and the cars are gone now.
He absolutely refused to budge from $8k. For a car that did not move, had some rust, non-original drivetrain, and was missing a "few" parts... But after all, they built 55 of them 55-years ago, so I'm sure parts are as close as your local Meteor dealer. Let's just say the owner was as interesting as some of his other cars... He also freely admitted "I don't know anything about cars, I just now how to write checks..."
Say what you will about how well this conversion "works", but the workmanship was 1st class. Then it was off to lunch with Flamingos at Dillon's KC BBQ in Litchfield Park.
We saw OJ on the way back to the house.
The next day began with a trip to the Zoo for wife & baby.
...and Ecology Auto Parts for me. This was the only Mopar of any interest in the yard. However, I did manage to score a pair of Tempo seats for another friend's Tempo GLS restoration project. (That was not a typo.) And then forgot my $50 Home Depot toolbox. The next day, my wife innocently suggested I ask the yard workers if they found any toolboxes. I told her my odds would be better if I went to prison and asked if anyone saw the pack of smokes I left in the exercise yard.
Later that night we went to dinner with Mark and his wife at Westgate, which has a Wednesday night cruise. I am sure the powers-to-be at "FCA" do not realize what a good thing they have in the LX/LY/LC cars. If they did, they wouldn't let them get old and throw money and customer goodwill into the trash by wasting time/$$ on these stupid Alpo-Retardo platform cars which will likely be as successful as the other Fiat-influenced cars. But I digress. Just look at the nice pictures...
...but anyway, I enjoyed most of the car show.
The next afternoon baby stuck her feet in a pool for the first time at the apartment complex I lived in 15-years ago, which still hasn't changed the gate code. Here's a dead giveaway to ID northerners on vacation. We jump in your pools 3 months before you'll consider it, and we might eat Thanksgiving dinner there if you'll let us.
Continued...
Frankly I had no idea that I'd be out in Phoenix the week before the Chrysler Power West show in California until I texted my AZ friend Mark, who immediately told me "Cool, you can go to Spring Fling." Fortunately for me, my wife hates cold weather as much as I do and treats plane reservations like logic puzzle-books. That translates to a $35 flight to Denver, one hour layover, $35 flight to Phoenix. Or you could say both of us (+ our 5 month old daughter) carried away from rainy-gloom and into the bosom of del Sol for $140.
We didn't book a return flight... I was hustlin' hard trying buy a (replacement) Mexican Ramcharger. Going as far as a 3-way call to Mexico with a Spanish-speaking friend. Of course I had several backup plans if I couldn't do the MexiRC:
Yes I would have bought this, but I'm not crazy... of course I would have ditched the redonkulous wheels. Otherwise, what could go wrong with a cross-country trip in an untested, 30-40 y/o car? No rust in AZ! But the revelation that I would be there the same weekend as Spring Fling had me
Then of course the rental Hyundee. $12 a day if I returned it where I picked it up in Phoenix. $7 a day if I dumped it at LAX. Honey, book the flight!Arrived at work on Monday, April 18 @ 5 AM. Drove home, put on a suit and
We arrived in Phoenix and picked up some Sponch and Diapers...
Saw this in the parking lot:
...and then remembered why I drive Mopars. Once we had settled into our AirBnB-rented house, we went out and performed our first errand for a friend of mine, a buddy who retired from Chrysler/Viper at least 5 years ago. He's crazy about two-door wagons, the more oddball, the better. He had run across this 1960 Canadian Meteor and asked if I'd look at it for him.
It did appear pretty solid, but hadn't moved in years. Of course as much as I like to look at old
By the way, it probably looks like I'm in a junkyard, right? Actually I'm in the backyard of a house that just sold for $400k. If this house sold for that much I'm sure the house next door was worth $650k, because the inside looked about as nice as the backyard. Here's a surprise, the guy was at war with the HOA. Before anybody gets mad that I posted a satellite shot, he and the cars are gone now.
He absolutely refused to budge from $8k. For a car that did not move, had some rust, non-original drivetrain, and was missing a "few" parts... But after all, they built 55 of them 55-years ago, so I'm sure parts are as close as your local Meteor dealer. Let's just say the owner was as interesting as some of his other cars... He also freely admitted "I don't know anything about cars, I just now how to write checks..."
Say what you will about how well this conversion "works", but the workmanship was 1st class. Then it was off to lunch with Flamingos at Dillon's KC BBQ in Litchfield Park.
We saw OJ on the way back to the house.
The next day began with a trip to the Zoo for wife & baby.
...and Ecology Auto Parts for me. This was the only Mopar of any interest in the yard. However, I did manage to score a pair of Tempo seats for another friend's Tempo GLS restoration project. (That was not a typo.) And then forgot my $50 Home Depot toolbox. The next day, my wife innocently suggested I ask the yard workers if they found any toolboxes. I told her my odds would be better if I went to prison and asked if anyone saw the pack of smokes I left in the exercise yard.
Later that night we went to dinner with Mark and his wife at Westgate, which has a Wednesday night cruise. I am sure the powers-to-be at "FCA" do not realize what a good thing they have in the LX/LY/LC cars. If they did, they wouldn't let them get old and throw money and customer goodwill into the trash by wasting time/$$ on these stupid Alpo-Retardo platform cars which will likely be as successful as the other Fiat-influenced cars. But I digress. Just look at the nice pictures...
...but anyway, I enjoyed most of the car show.
The next afternoon baby stuck her feet in a pool for the first time at the apartment complex I lived in 15-years ago, which still hasn't changed the gate code. Here's a dead giveaway to ID northerners on vacation. We jump in your pools 3 months before you'll consider it, and we might eat Thanksgiving dinner there if you'll let us.
Continued...
