My garage full of gleaming, good ol' American steel!
And here . . . my own little Olds . . . with the Stang looming ominously in the background like a great black angry and jealous shark . . .
The two beautiful sisters arrived this morning; surviving quite nicely the 310 miles across the desert.
Now the fight begins with the bureaucracy.
Already had my first unpleasantness when the Auto club told me this morning that they could not do the paperwork on the Olds because the previous owner was an out-of-state car dealership; they could do the papers on the Cadillac because although I bought it at the same place as the Olds, the Caddy was listed as the personal property of the dealer. Who comes up with this stuff?!? What devious mind makes these convoluted rules? When did Rufus T. Firefly take over our lives?
Now I have to go stand in line for hours at the DMV with all the illegal aliens freely getting their drivers' licenses, California ids, and voter registration.
It is easier to kill an unborn child in California than to register a classic car . . .
Congratulations! They look beautiful! Makes me wistful for my old '64 Impala.
ReplyDeleteI'm sitting here watching American Pickers and thought I would check the blogs. Nice cars! Right at home in your drive way.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you can find an eight track of Ronald Reagan speeches to listen to as you drive around.
ReplyDeleteEven with the fond memories I have of California going back to the late 70s/early 80s when I traveled there as a kid....there's no way I could ever live there, not now.
ReplyDeleteWill your doggies be allowed to place their wee paws in these beauties!??
ReplyDeleteStrict Sharia law will be implemented in my garage. No infidel may touch these beauties!
Deletecongratulations on your detroit iron! i miss my first car, a 66 mustang, now ex tai-tai couldnt drive it so out it went for a chevette. maybe you should declare your olds to be a dreamer, it will probably get legal papers and even an ebt card for gas really fast.
ReplyDeleteNiiice. How do you like the new Mustang? I have a 2008 convertible and am thinking about getting a new one.
ReplyDeleteGreat car. Best I've driven.
DeleteBest of luck, Dip, on the restoration of those fine cars. I spent the last four years restoring a 1963 Austin Healey 3000 that I purchased from a widow in Georgia. Her husband was a collector and the Austin was the only non-American car he owned, so she was letting it go for a song. It has given me so much pleasure and a sense of accomplishment and I'm sure your experience will be as rewarding. I look forward to your progress pics.
ReplyDeleteAt least they are old enough to avoid having to be smog tested.
ReplyDeleteThe Caddy being a 1976 has to be smog tested. It passed!
DeleteI'm not a fan of that mid-70's Caddy style -- to me it's all steel and no style -- but I'd sure like to have the '62 Caddy Fleetwood that my wife's father had when we met!
ReplyDeleteAll good bits of Americana. Well done!
Graham
I asked a friend for advice on car buying recently. "Get an old Bentley" he said.
ReplyDeleteI wonder.
Are you rich enough to afford an old luxury car? Do you have a spare car for when you really need to get somewhere? Do you have the time and $ to acquire a part necessary to keep the old dear on the road?
ReplyDeletereplying to my own meant-to-be reply. This was a response to dearieme. For a more complete rundown on the expense of a cheap car I think this guy nails it "http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2015/02/no-fixed-abode-gotta-rich-cheap-car/"
Deleteps- just sold a 175k mile 99 Audi so I do have some personal experience....
pps - and drove to work today in a 158k mile A4
Having these old or exotic cars has nothing to do with transportation. You still need a vehicle for that. These satisfy other urges!
ReplyDeleteGraham
When I was going to move to Tucson, I was going to get an old MG TD. About 1953 would be about right.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/mg/td/1765665.html
Oh well, still in California.
Congratulations. I got a chuckle out of the Mustang parked on the street while the new babies are in the driveway.
ReplyDelete-Joe the Cop (Reader #004)
Yes, the Stang was feeling displaced so I have moved her to another garage where she can chat with my wife's Camaro.
Delete'nuff said...
ReplyDeletePARIS — A gunman opened fire on a high-speed train from Amsterdam to Paris on Friday, wounding at least three people before two American passengers subdued him, French officials said.
- reader #1482
Beautiful car, Mr. Amselem. I envy you (God forgive me).
ReplyDeleteRe your last line--
Bernie Sanders is all for choice in the life of a child, but against it when it comes to personal hygiene products.
Bitchin' wheels.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations. It sounds like your wife likes the Caddy just fine totally stock. I had a '76 Interational Scout. Which was cool, don't get me wrong, but the California Air Resources Board jumped my s*** every I tried to modify it it. I'm not talking about doing anything to the engine that would make it so powerful it would be a threat to national security. I just wanted fuel injection.
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to remake the case for fuel injection over carburetion. Sure carbureation is fine for wide open throttle like in drag racing. But in most cases fuel injection has several advantages and one is that it burns cleaner.
You might think that no manufacturer has built a car with a carb since the 1980s precisely because they had to meet emissions regs might have influenced the C.A.R.B.'s decision to allow me to put fuel injection on my Scout.
But, no. Despite the fact that fuel injection has not only improved power and emissions compliance on every d$mded thing it's been tried on nobody certified it on a Scout. And nobody ever will, because there's no money in it.
Electronic ignition, headers, and fuel injection.
ReplyDeleteThat's all I wanted. It was technically feasible.
Electronic ignition and headers happened. It was the fuel injection that proved a bridge too far.
No, really, I would have topped out at maybe 220 ponies. But if I was off roading Ida had those ponies no matter which way the machine was leaning.
But no. Somehow My 220 horsepower threatened the majesty of the state.
Wow! Carburetors...I miss that sound.
ReplyDelete"It is easier to kill an unborn child in California than to register a classic car"
ReplyDeleteThat's because both children and classic cars have carbon footprints. By preemptively eliminating the child, Californians can reduce their state's collective carbon footprint.
Similarly, by preemptively preventing the registration of a classic car, Californians can also prevent an increase in their state's collective carbon footprint.
Waiting for the pics of the Big Dogs in the back seat, top down, noses in the wind...!
ReplyDelete