914Driver

I wish I could help, but there's this 3,291 miles of travel time.... Make it easier for the guy helping you: 1.) Pour a pint. 2.) Crank the stereo up. 3.) Carefully cut cardboard or thin sheets of hard plastic into the shape that you need. Tape the pieces together, and remove the unit from the car. 4.) Pour another pint. 5.) Put it back in the car carefully to see that this is what you really want. 6.) Bring it to Mick the Cabby's house with lunch and a few pints. See how easy that was? Seriously, you will find someone to make the part much easier if you do all the leg work first. Dan

If the folks that sold you the rubbers insist they are correct, show them what happened. Some compensation or at least guidance is in order. Dan

I work with a guy that is profoundly deaf, he drives. What I don't understand is why he has a "handicapped" decal. I would think a handicapped decal which allows you priority parking is due to a mobility issue, not hearing. But hey, look at all the money you save on stereo! Dan

Blouford, in your picture is the grey color satin or is that the camera angle? There's sort of color in a change of texture. Imagine a shiney black car with satin black stripes, or a glossy grey car with flat grey, exact same color, around the bottom of the car. Just have to add a flattening agent. Two benefits: You only have to buy one type of paint, not two colors that you'll have a lot of left over. Overspray black onto white and it's tougher to clean off than satin grey (or whatever color) mistakenly sprayed on a gloss of the same color. It isn't as noticable when you mess it up. Dan

http://www.thespotlowrider.com/product/ ... biles.html http://www.diamondracingwheels.com/wheeldiagrams.html

Pace yourself, look around, don't rush to the surprise ending. http://www.flickr.com/photos/24796741%4 ... 346008881/

I like the wagon. I'm trying for almost the same thing on mine, but the roof and pillars will be the same colour as the bottom, only the hood and trunk will be dark. Dan

Look at cars that are already two tone, most of them the difference in paint is subtle. Same color but a hint darker or lighter, your tones are at each end of the spectrum. My two cents..... Dan

My neighbor has one he rescued, he's a Vet. That dog is never so happy as when he's wrenching his neck 180 degrees back and forth on somehting, ANYTHING! I don't trust him but that's just me. This animal ate both seats out of Mom's Suburu wagon. Do you have a TV show called the Dog Whisperer? This guy gets all Zen like with the dog and retrains his mind. I've seen him walk into a pack of critters that I wouldn't even with a gun. I learned a lot by watching. Dan

Written by a friend of mine, he swears it's true. It all started simply enough - "$5.37" That's what the kid behind the counter at Taco Bell said to me. Sound innocuous doesn't it? I dug into my pocket and pulled out some lint and two dimes and something that used to be a Jolly Rancher. Having already handed the kid a five-spot, I started to head back out to the truck to grab some change when the kid with the Emo hairdo said the harshest thing anyone has ever said to me. He said, "It's OK. I'll just give you the senior citizen discount." I turned to see who he was talking to and then heard the sound of change hitting the counter in front of me. "Only $4.68" he said cheerfully. I stood there stupefied. I am 66, not even 67 yet! A mere child! Senior citizen? I took my burrito and walked out to the truck wondering what was wrong with Emo. Was he blind? As I sat in the truck, my blood began to boil. Old? Me? I'll show him, I thought. I opened the door and headed back inside. I strode to the counter, and there he was waiting with a smile. Before I could say a word, he held up something and jingled it in front of me, like I could be that easily distracted! What am I now? A toddler? "Dude! Can't get too far without your car keys, eh?" I stared with utter disdain at the keys. I began to rationalize in my mind. "Leaving keys behind hardly makes a man elderly! It could happen to anyone!" I turned and headed back to the truck. I slipped the key into the ignition, but it wouldn't turn. What now? I checked my keys and tried another. Still nothing.. That's when I noticed the purple beads hanging from my rearview mirror. I have no purple beads hanging from my rearview mirror. Then, a few other objects came into focus. The car seat in the back seat. Happy Meal toys spread all over the floorboard. A partially eaten doughnut on the dashboard. Faster than you can say ginkgo biloba, I flew out of the alien vehicle. Moments later I was speeding out of the parking lot, relieved to finally be leaving this nightmarish stop in my life. That is when I felt it, deep in the bowels of my stomach: HUNGER! My stomach growled and churned, and I reached to grab my burrito, only it was nowhere to be found. I swung the truck around, gathered my courage, and strode back into the restaurant one final time. There Emo stood, draped in youth and black nail polish. All I could think was, "What is the world coming to?" All I could say was, "Did I leave my food and drink in here?" At this point I was ready to ask a Boy Scout to help me back to my vehicle, and then go straight home and apply for Social Security benefits. Emo had no clue. I walked back out to the truck, and suddenly a young lad came up and tugged on my jeans to get my attention. He was holding up a drink and a bag. His mother explained, "I think you left this in my truck by mistake." I took the food and drink from the little boy and sheepishly apologized. She offered these kind words: "It's OK. My grandfather does stuff like this all the time." All of this is to explain how I got a ticket doing 85 in a 40. Yes, I was racing some punk kid in a Toyota Prius... And no, I told the officer, I'm not too old to be driving this fast. As I walked in the front door, my wife met me halfway down the hall. I handed her a bag of cold food and a $300 speeding ticket. I promptly sat in my rocking chair and covered up my legs with a blanky. The good news was I had successfully found my way home.

A 450 'Zuki I put together for scooting around town: Cafe bikes; my understanding is from the 60's. They'd race from cafe to cafe, big cultural differances between Rockers & Mods. Sound familiar at all? Dan

Nah, I've got enough issues.

http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/574178338rkaygM

I have 13 such photos; i.e. the major cause of traffic accidents. Dan

Fred?

Is that the color of Viagra?

I painted a car with very thinned paint and a foam foller. 10/10 finish! 10 feet or 10mph it was perfect. It's also cheaper than rattle cans. Dan

I narrowed the bumpers on a 1979 Chevy Malibu by cutting 2" out of the center. This brought the outer tips closer to the body, but at the same time I removed all that safety nonsense behind the chrome that makes it so heavy. Once cut in half it was a managable length, so I stuck it in a sand blaster. I couldn't remove the chrome, but I did pecker it up a bit to give it some tooth for paint to stick to. After it was welded back together and on the car I painted it with House of Kolor's "Adhereto". This makes anything stick to anything. The bumpers were painted the same color as the body, no problems with flaking, peeling or anything. Dan http://www.houseofkolor.com/products/specialty.jsp

20 degrees F, three inches of snow on the ground more promised. Cold, cold cold in the garage. Yesterday I took over my wife's warm spot in the cellar, woodstove right where she does stained glass. I lapped valves and installed new valve seals. Thanks honey! Jesse James says the last 10% of any project takes 90% of the time. Don't let your bonnet become a workbench. Happy New Year, chin up! Dan

Cold? What cold? http://good-times.webshots.com/video/30 ... 4736jtBbTm

Is that your Prefect in your signature? My first car at 16 was one on those (unusual here). White, red interior, $70 and girls thought it was "cute". Win Win, eh? Dan

Nice bike, did you have to pay extra to get it colour coordinated with your car? Dan

Sorry, not a Ford; but in the December issue of GrassrootsMotorsports there's an article about a Morris Minor Travelall. I couldn't find an electronic link, but if you see the magazine it's worth a few minutes standing at the news stand. At 16 this guy owned three Morris' and two motorcycles. In a college wood working class he made a nice wooden dash for a Morris and hunted for 21 years to find the proper car to put it in. He found a Travelall (woody). He and his wife joined the Power Tour, a tour of Lead Sleds and big dollar big blocks that criss crosses America, it's promoted by a car magazine. The Morris Minor was adopted as the Mascot, it covered 2500 miles at 70 - 75mph in air conditioned comfort; oh, did I mention it is powered by a DOHC Toyota engine and has 4 wheel disc brakes. It would be too tempting to hot rod this, but the outside is amazingly stock. There's a four page article on the car with excellent photos, very inspirational if you're running out of gas on your project. Wish I could find it electronically, you would appreciate it. Dan

Thanks Vista, nice stuff. The light green wagon is almost what I'm planning. Because I'm putting a Supercharged 3.8 V6 in a Mk II Tina, I want the outside to be a sleeper. Looks like Mom & Pop fetching groceries ...... until the light changes. Dan

Some cars (American) used to come with imitation wood on the side, it broke up the billboard appearance of all that sheet metal. Depending on the color of the car, I'm thinking about a discreet amount of wood to change things a bit, try something different. Does anyone know how this is done? Until the early 1950s it was real wood and a true craftsman that could replace it. It fell out of style but returned in the 70s in the form of stick on decals (big ones!) and plastic trim painted like the light color wood trim. Any experience out there? Do you clear coat over the decals? http://www.cars-on-line.com/36045.html Dan