The NCH Garage

Word on the street is this Friday is the first car show in North St. Paul.  Runs from around 6 to 10.  Park on Main Street.  Walk up and down both sides and drag your jaw on the ground.  Good thing I have a poor excuse for some chin hair to protect my skin... 

Was just checking into that little drag strip Krandall stumbled onto a while back.  Grove Creek Drwagway over by Grove City, MN.  Looks like they're doing one of their "street legal" drag events at night next weekend.  Only $10 to get in, but it is a pretty good haul for most of y'all Northerners.  Also looks like they have a street legal drag at least once every month through September.  Would be pretty cool to see at least once during the summer.

http://www.grovecreek.com/index.htm

Copying this article from a blog I just found.  This story is awesome.  Not awesome because of what happened, but just how it's written and the dude's attitude towards it.  Kinda gives ya chills reading it.  Pictures of "Rusty" to follow...
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What does it take to kill a car?

It's pretty obvious fire is one way. Severe collisions, intense flood damage, and of course, rust... They're all capable of reducing anyone's pride and joy into nothing more than a worthless scrap of steel and alloy. If you ask anyone who has put blood, sweat, tears, and most importantly, heart, into a car, they'll tell you that there's little worse than losing it all. For many of us, cars are an extension of ourselves. I know I'm not alone when I say that my cars mean more to me than some people in my life. Cars are simply what I do.


But none of this applies to Rusty. Rusty isn't an extension of me, because Rusty is his own self. Rusty is more than a car, and if you doubt that for a second, I can say it's only because you've never had the chance to meet him. I'll be honest for a moment. Rusty is probably my best friend. Yeah, that might not be the "coolest" thing in the world to some, but I'll just hope that they simply don't "get it", and that's okay. Rusty and I have been through a lot. Probably more than most friendships could hope for in the good times or handle in the bad. Rusty has become the one thing I've always been able to count on, no matter what.

He's always there.

Rusty and I have been from East coast to West coast, and we've met a lot of people in between. I can say whole-heartedly that this car is 100% responsible for a majority of the friendships I have today. It's responsible for who I am, what I do, and who I want to be. Sure, to you, it may be "just a car", but frankly, it's not.

Watching my oxidized friend burn to the ground was something I never thought I'd actually see. All in all, it seemed like a fitting end, watching it happen. A viking funeral in a sense... It was better than getting wrecked in an accident, or stolen, or impounded, which always seemed likely... I just wasn't ready for it. Standing there helplessly spraying with a garden hose as your garage goes up in flames... It's pretty humbling. I stood there, spraying pointlessly until it was simply too hot to do so. You know those little red household fire extinguishers? They simply don't cut it.

At that point, I knew it was game over. This was Rusty's end. Four years of hard work and more importantly four years of friendship, done in an instant, and there wasn't a thing I could do about it. That sense of defeat Memphis Raines felt when "Eleanor" was crushed really hit home.

I'm left with nowhere to build a car and a wheel collection powdercoated by ash and soot, begging for an acid dip to return them to the shine that their yellowed-aluminum may never have again. Socket sets entombed by their plastic cases melted around them, my toolbox forever enclosed by melted bearings. Hardly anything made it out of the garage alive. Puddles of aluminum are left where oil pans and engine timing covers once sat. An M30 head was melted beyond use. The front of Rusty is warped to the point where you would swear Maaco just finished their top-tier job fixing him up.

But there's something fortunate to come from all of this. I shared this event with my community, my family... and I saw once again what kind of importance Rusty really carried. I saw a lot of people say some foolish things, but I saw so many people express compassion and distress for what happened. I realized that they too lost a friend in this fire. It really went to heart. It was reassuring to know that Rusty wasn't just my friend. Rusty was more than a car to more people than I had ever imagined. People seem to love him, almost as much as I do. The entire community came together and showed me something incredibly important.

It takes fire to kill a car.

But for Rusty, it'll take a bit more... and if you know him like I do, you know he's stubborn. Very stubborn. You know he's got attitude, you know he's got some fight in him. He's one of those guys who can't be told "no."

Nay-sayers, "haters", people who legitimately want to see Rusty come to an end... I've got some bad news. This certainly won't be your winning battle.

He'll be back.... and if you know Rusty like I do, you know there's a lot more than just steel that makes him.

It'll take more than Satan's hand to end his days.

So it's time to dust off the ashes and start cutting, we've got some work to do.

Now to win the lottery...

Never thought I'd see the day where they put two of my favorite things together, resulting in by far my ultimate dream machine.  I realize most of you guys aren't into the whole "bought, not built" thing, but you gotta admit this thing is frickin' sweet.  Well, you don't have to, but you really should...







Cadillac has officially cranked its CTS Sport Wagon to 11, and it'll be on-hand at the upcoming New York International Auto Show.

Powered by the CTS-V's 556-horsepower 6.2 liter LSA and billed as a pre-production show car (kind of like Buick's Regal GS), the CTS-V Sport Wagon will be previewing what Cadillac expects to have in dealerships before the end of the year.

Painted in Midnight Silver paint cribbed from the Sixteen concept, the show car's interior will leather/Alcantara-trimmed seats, a leather-trimmed upper dashboard, and Sapele wood trim (from the Sapele tree, which is indigenous to tropical Africa).

Everything else from the CTS-V sedan carries over into the wagon body, which can haul 1,644 liters / 58 cubic feet with the seats down (720 liters / 25.4 cu ft with the seats up).

That includes the two transmission options (6-speed stick/automatic), optional Recaros, Magnetic Ride Control, Brembo brakes, and those stylin' Holden rims.

Cadillac is quick to point out that what consumers see trim-wise is simply to gauge reaction, meaning if you like the paint and baubles, let 'em know. I can tell the General right now: More power than Lexus's LFA with room for kids and the dog? I'm sold.

Production of the Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon is set to start late 2010 at GM's Lansing, Michigan plant, with initial sales in North America, followed by export markets including Europe and the Middle East.

Is the "time" on the forum wrong for anybody else?  Meaning, my computer clock is 9:17 and my posting times are showing up as 8:17.  I went into my profile options and whatnot to change my time offset, but it doesn't change the time no matter what I type in.   

Just saw this car show on TV tonight.  I must say, I literally laughed out loud on several occasions.  I can't imagine how sweet it'd be to attend this one in person, but it's in California so I doubt it'll happen anytime soon.  Anywho, it's basically a show that focuses on showing off the nastiest cars ever made, and having a ton of fun doing it.

http://www.concoursdlemons.com/index.html

At most Monterey venues, 20 dollars won't buy you the clap. At Concours d'LeMons, it gets you the weird, the fuggly, the cool, and the (probably deservedly) forgotten. Regrettably, this leaves no space for over-restored trailer queens, Hitler's 473rd Mercedes staff car, or row after row of red 308s. Sorry.

What else makes the CdL different? While you stroll Toro Park's tree-shaded lawn, logo-clad dorks will be plotzing from heat stroke at other shows. As you smugly tool down the backroads to get here, Lotuses will go supercritical waiting in line for Laguna. And as you sample the type of snacks favored by folks who think Gremlins are tasteful, you'll remember that shrimp platters and August are not a good mix.

Judges/Judging
Guaranteed to be unprofessional, inattentive, capricious, and subject to bribery. (Liquor and food seem to be favorites.) Satisfactory bribes will earn the "Ribbon of Dishonor," to be placed on the car's windshield. Don't like their decisions? Check your ticket--you're at the wrong car show.

This year the Concours d'LeMons has suckered several automotive world luminaries into being Guest Judges. They risk their reputation, you get to hob knob with big wigs, everyone has a good time. Guest Judges have included Peter Brock, Bill Warner (Amelia Island Concours founder), and Classic Motorsport publisher Tim Suddard. They all have accepted bribes in exchange for chinchy trohpies. More big names to come as soon as we can con them into it.



Classes


By Region of Origin
Rust Belt American Junk, pre '64

Rust Belt American Junk, '64-current

Unmitigated Gaul, pre-'70 For: Citroen Ami, Renault Caravelle, etc.
Award: The French Legion of Horror

Unmitigated Gaul, 1970-current For: LeCar, Citroen SM, Peugeot 604, etc.
Award: The French Legion of Horror

Rueful Britannia, pre '66
Award: The Royal Order of MOT Failure

Rueful Britannia, 1966-current
Award: The Royal Order of MOT Failure

Needlessly Complex Italian, pre '74
Award: Conoscete un Buon Meccanico? Plaque

Needlessly Complex Italian, 1974-current
Award: Conoscete un Buon Meccanico? Plaque

Der Self-SatisfiedKrauttenWagen, pre '70

Der Self-SatisfiedKrauttenWagen, 1970-current

Soul-Sucking Japanese Appliance, pre '70

Soul-Sucking Japanese Appliance, 1970-current

Swedish Meatballs, pre '74

Swedish Meatballs, 1974-current

Warsaw Pact, 1945-1990 For: Trabant, Wartburg, ZIL, Lada, etc.
Award: Vladimir Ilyich Lenin Medal for Most Glorious Achievement in Transportative Advancement for Use Upon Billiard-Smooth Highways as Are Uniformly to Be Found Inside Workers' Paradise







Special Collections
Volkswagen Bug Special Coachwork For: Beetles with Rolls treatment, 40 Ford treatment, Manx Buggies

Shag Van For: Carpeted, airbrushed makeout/molester vehicles

Wretched Rejects For: Any vehicle that has been refused admittance by a major concours (rejection letter must be displayed on the vehicle during the show)

Most Effluent For: All vehicles, show the judges your smog test results. The car with the highest emissions wins!

Terrible Twos For: Mustang II, Chevy II, Fury II

Battle of the Network Cars For: Knockoffs of KITT, Starsky's Torino, Miami Vice, A-Team, etc.

Carrozzeria Iacocca For: K-Cars and their zillion derivatives

Ill-Advised Kit Cars For: Laser 917, MiGi TF, Manta Mirage, etc
Award: Steaming Pile of Kit Trophy

Malcom's McLarens For: Bertone X1/9, Subaru 360, Yugo, Bricklin SV

Chronic Dick-Teague Syndrome For: AMC, 1964-1983

Most Eleganté For: Vintage neoclassics, Shaft-worthy pimpmobiles, Excaliburs, Zimmers

Bad(ge) Engineering For: Mercury Bobcats, Maserati TC's, El Dorado/Cutlass/Regals

Oil Burners For: 2-strokes and Diesels
Award: The Exxon Valdez Memorial Oil Slick

Awful Editions For: Levi's Gremlins, Shelby Omnis, Cosworth Vegas, Boss Pinto, etc.s

Art Cars


Sickest Sickle For: Oddball motorcycles, Norton Rotaries, CBXs, Ariel Square Fours, Zuki RE5s, monkey bikes, mini bikes, etc.



Triumphs of Engineering
OPEC I, 1970-77 For: Pinto, Pacer, Gremlin, Vega, etc.

OPEC II, 1978-88 For: Citation, Fairmont, Cadillac V8-6-4, etc.

Vacuum-Carb Era, 1973-1983 For: Cordoba, Mirada, Monza, etc.

Ass-Engine Sled, Hessian For: Beetle, Karmann-Ghia, VW Bus, Squareback, etc.

Ass-Engine Sled, Non-Hessian For: Fiat 600, Hillman Imp, Corvair, Dauphine, etc.


 

Special Awards
Worst in Show

Biggest Loser For: Car with largest percentage of value drop (MB S600, etc.)

Most Dangerous

WTF??? Award

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/tfr/2066034693.html   

Currently on the prowl for a few 302 things to help out the winter project.  I'm sure this list will increase as I get more into it, but this is at least a starting point.  I guess.    Will update it accordingly in the future.

What I need:
-water pump
-possibly alternator
-157 tooth, 28 oz flywheel (if we can't locate one in P-chop's private collection )

What I want (eventually):
-4bbl intake & carb, probably 500-ish cfm
-shorty headers
-too much to list...  (or afford) 

Attention all cool car havers.  I was cruising for jobs on Craigslist today and came across one that was quite a bit cooler than the rest.  Here are the details:
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50's-80's Cars Needed for Feature Film

Independent feature film is looking for cars from 1950's, 60's, 70's, or early 80's! Part of the film is set in the 70's and we are in search of cars for a parking lot scene. If you are interested please contact us ASAP! We start shooting Tuesday the 9th but there are multiple days after that in which we will need cars.

Location: Minneapolis
Compensation: Credit

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/tfr/2039655143.html
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How awesome would it be to get some of the Hillbilly vehicles in a movie?  Looks like there's no pay compensation but it'd be cool just for braggin' rights sake.  I'm assuming you just copy and paste the email addy from the top of the ad if you're interested.

So, the wife and I, along with our homie P-Chop, took a cruise up northeast this morning on a quest for some car parts and had a pretty swell time doing so.  Didn't come away with anything today but I'll at least be going back to get a tranny and some seats for the BMW.  

We got there right around 10 am and it seemed pretty quiet for a Monday morning.  Unbeknownst to us at the time, today was the first Monday that they changed their hours.  Apparently they're no longer open on Mondays during the winter time to save a little on payroll and whatnot.  However, the owner, Tim Baxter, who is a pretty damn nice guy we discovered, said we had about an hour to go romp around before he had to head to the cities to deliver a car.  What we encountered on our visit was nothing short of magical.  Let's just say it was a good thing Mike and I weren't wearing sweatpants...  

We started out just looking at your typical junkyard beaters that were right inside the fence.  A couple minutes went by and we were kinda thinkin' we might not be at the right place.  Then there were a couple three 'Stang rear ends poking above the side of a little berm.  Climbed up the berm and it was glorious: Mustangs as far as you could see.  Plus, tons of good old classics mixed in.  Took us about 40 minutes to make a quick pass through the place before we were ready to leave empty handed.  As we were heading to the car, Tim made a comment about how we must not've found anything.  He then proceeded to show us the "good crap" and took us into his shop.  Red Shelby Cobra, red GT500, orange GT500, white GT500, black/gold GT500-H.  It was sick!  Then we went to his house garage.  Had a GT500 California Special convertible on one side, then the altered wheelbase Mercury Comet in another side.  Then across the road to two enclosed car trailers, one with a 1 of 194 all original GT350 convertible with 38,000 original miles, the other had another red Shelby.  Then back to the shop showroom area, complete with diecast Mustangs greater than you could count, and then complete engines of all sorts: 302 Boss, 428 SCJ, 427's, 351's.  And a few Hemi's.  It was so ridiculous.  Dude gave us 2 hours of his time after he already said he needed to get going.  It was an awesome time, well worth the drive.  Definitely will be going up there again to do business, and most likely do a little more drooling and tent pitching.  

Anywho, here are some pics from our "brief" visit.  (My apologies for how "big" the files are. They'll probably take a while to load for some of you guys.  It's the only way I could really do it.)

I told Les about this and he seemed pretty interested.  Asked me to send him the details in a private message, but I can't tell if the thing even sent or not. Doesn't show anything in my outbox, not sure if it works or not.  Anywho, gonna post it here to make sure it's out there, and if anybody else is interested, we'll see ya there.

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http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ank/atq/2016619314.html
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Antique and Vintage consignment
AUCTION
Saturday October 23, 2010
Sale starts at 10:00am Inspection 8:00am - 10:00am

AUCTIONEER'S NOTE: We are proud to bring to auction a wide assortment of Antique, Vintage, Mid-Century and Unusual items from numerous consigners.
DIRECTIONS: Auction is being held in the Historic Old Theater at 330 Summit Ave. in Center City, MN
(1 block north of hwy.
From Forest Lake, MN take exit #132 off interstate 35 and go east on hwy. 8 approx. 12 miles to
Center City, then 1 block north on Summit Ave.
From Taylors Falls, MN / St Croix Falls, WI go west on hwy. 8 , 9 miles to Center City, then 1 block north.
(watch for auction arrow signs at Center City and hwy.

ABSOLUTE AUCTION -- NO RESERVE
Antiques/Vintage: 1874 Chisago , Kanabec , Isanti , Pine county map. Early admiral bakelite TV, Rare Singer TV , Peerless globe transistor radio, many other radios , 20s office intercom system, Glassware , Pottery & Stoneware incl. Heisey , crystal , Pyrex , Fireking , McCoy cookie jars , Redwing , Nemadji , restaurant ware etc., womens hats and boxes, 19th century to modern original framed artwork, vintage toys incl. five 1070s 24" tall shogun warriors , lrg. American flyer train cars , metal doll houses & furniture, Military items, bayonets , uniforms , gun rack , etc., Hunting & Fishing items incl. glass minnow trap , tackle & decoys , Tubbs snow shoes and other sets, 40s metal and wooden boats, boat motors etc., bicycles , Railroad items; many marked, tools incl. early logging & blacksmith , beer related items, hide & other scales , 1800s books and 1909 NY tribune book, primitive kitchen items, jewelry , quilts , postcards , maps , magazine & comics, metal signs incl. cigarette , Sweet-orr overalls, Al Capone hideout, old cement birdbath , containers & other garden items, childs sleds & tobaggon , oil lamps , trunks & boxes, tins , old iron items, variety of clocks , old record players and rare 78s, coffin violin case, architectural item; cupola , iron balconies, old marked "attorneys" door, industrial and many items to repurpose, This is just a partial listing! Many great items for this sale have been coming daily!
DOZENS OF GREAT BOX LOTS!!
Furniture: 1920s wood inlay rocker , swedish rocker, beautiful 9 drawer walnut Joerns "artistic furniture", 1930s 3pc bedroom set; very clean, large Mexican dropfront desk , gun cabinet , wood file cabinet, old multidrawer apothecary pc., primitive oak desk , ceder chests , fancy mirrors & lamps , stacking bookcase w/drawer, victorian open book case , Ranch oak bookcase w/ chest of drawers, Moredi Danish modern couch & coffee tbl., square oak tbl., Czech. bistro chairs, and many more nice antique and vintage furniture along with many "in the rough" pieces of furniture. More still coming in for this sale!
UPDATE!! Many more items have been added to this sale, they include: tall headboard victorian full size bed, 40s dinette set w/3 chairs, danish modern full size bed, dresser & highboy , nice old cigarette metal advertising sign and displays, Dads rootbeer metal thermometer and even a phone booth. This is a partial listing as there is far too many items to list. Plan on spending the day as we may have to sell in two rings!

terms/conditions: All items sold as-is, where is. Please inspect before
you bid/buy. We are not responsible for items after bidding, theft or
accidents. Announcements made day of sale take precedence over
printed material. Payment terms: Cash, good check and visa, master,
discover cards. 13% buyers premium, 3% discount for cash or check
payment. Proper ID and bidding card required to buy. MN state 6.875 % sales
tax added to purchase unless required tax exemption info/number is provided.

Auctioneers: Barry Moe MN lic. # 10-70
Derek Shores MN lic. # 10-71 &
Registered WI Auctioneer # 2613-052

Moe Auction Service LLC
324 Summit Ave. P. O. Box 508 Center City, MN 55012
call: 651 257-9119

Auction being held in the historic Center City Theater

So the woman and I are heading to SD this next week, for almost a week, to visit the fam.  We're hoping to bring a car ('79 Buick) out to my brother for his birthday.  We originally planned on driving both cars separately and then coming home in just the wagon.  However, the Buick has been parked for a couple years and we're somewhat hesitant to just fire it up and drive 5 hours.  So, the only other option I see would be to get a truck and trailer/car dolly and drag it out there.  Only downside of that is that we don't own a truck and I don't know anybody with a decent one that would let us a) use it to take a 4-5 hr trip to SD and b) keep it for the 5 days that we'll be there.

So here are my questions.  Is there anybody on here that has one or knows of somebody that has one and would be crazy enough to let us "rent" one for a couple days?  

OR, we've been kicking around the idea of buying a truck for a while for several reasons.  She used to have one, would like another.  We'd like to have something big to haul stuff every now and then and not have to borrow.  And it'd be nice to have a truck for winter and just other misc. truck uses.  Can anybody give us some tips to buying a used one that's not gonna crap out on us right away?

If we're gonna pay cash, our budget is right around $1000.  I found one the other day on my work route that's $1000 or BO. '94 F-150 Ext. Cab w/ 166,000 miles, 1-owner, 302.  A little rusty, like any Ford of its vintage, needs new lockouts for the 4x4, cracked windshield, and probably needs a basic tune-up.  He also made it quite apparent over the phone that he'll only go down to about $900.

Found one last night on Craigslist - 1994 f150 ext cab. has 172,xxx 4x4 works great new tires with american racing rims. 302 engine with auto transmission. just replaced starter,fuel filter, spark plugs. interior is perfect condition. outside has some rust. would make a good hunting truck. price is negotiable (Listed at $1100)  Only downside to this one is it's in WI about 3 hours away.



Between those two, I'd say for 6k miles more we'd have working 4x4 and a couple new important parts, for almost the same price.  Drive 3 hours to get it, but maybe that's better?  I know at this price we're not gonna find anything super nice, but that's not really what we're looking for either.  Something that's not a complete rust bucket, preferably Ford (just cuz, I guess), in nice enough shape to not look like total crap but that we don't have to care too much about, and something that'll last a couple years I guess.  We're not looking for a daily driver, and if it is going to be, she'll probably drive it all of a mile to work everyday.  If anybody knows of one around you that's for sale and fits our "needs", please let me know.  Would very much appreciate it.

We're going to go test drive the first one sometime this evening, then maybe check out the second one tomorrow if we can.  We're both off work until NEXT Monday so we've got 2-3 days to get it taken care of.  If anybody's got anything and would like to get a hold of me, my number's 320-282-6767.

THANKS MUCH!

Event Date(s): 9/17/2010

Cambridge Customer Appreciation Event will be Friday, Sept. 17 from 5 to 9 p.m. in downtown Cambridge. There will be free food, music, kids events, classic car show, scarecrow contest, prize drawings, farmers' market, fun with bikes and more. For more information, contact Tonya Orbeck at 763-691-6001 or Neil Johnson at 763-689-1025.

http://www.isanti-chisagocountystar.com/detail/62462.html

As much as I'd like to make this one cuz it's so close to "home", I'm not sure if we'll be able to.  No tail lights/blinkers/brake lights would be a little hairy at night, and I'm also gonna try to pull the gas tank this weekend and clean it out before the show in Braham on Saturday afternoon.  I'm sure I'd be able to do it Saturday morning if everything went smoothly, but then there's the Cambridge city-wide garage sale that day.  And you know we can't be missing that!

What to do...

Alright.  Figured it was finally time to buck up and make a thread about this beast.  It's deserving, and due for some discussion.

The rundown:  Truck belongs to my woman's parents.  I was drooling over it the first time I saw it, over 3 years ago.  Long story short they've recently agreed to give Toni and I temp custody of the beast to get him back on the road and get some life pumping through the veins again.  It's a got a 383 out of a derby car.  Hasn't run and has been parked in the same spot for about 5-6 years.  Got it pulled out of the weeds and into a workable area a couple weekends ago and started cleaning it up and tearing into it.  Oil was pretty nasty and the pistons were all stuck.  Ended up taking the fan completely off so we could fit a big ass breaker bar in there and eventually got the crank to turn.  She's not seized, just a little sticky.  The girls (Toni and her mom) worked on cleaning out the inside while the boys (her dad and I) worked on getting the heart pumping again.  Didn't really mess with the possible solenoid issue yet so hopefully we'll make some progress with that soon.  Kinda need that to get it to crank over so let's all hope for the best!  With any luck we'll have it on the road at least once before the snow flies.

Not much else to say right now.  Hoping to get at it a little this weekend.  Gonna try to put a whole day in and see what we can come up with.

Just wanted to start a thread dedicated to just pictures of random cars, trucks, bikes, whatever.  I know we have a video thread, but I'd like to see that stay just videos, and this one be for just pictures.  I frequently come across crazy pictures of weird cars and feel like I have to share them.  Up until now I've usually just thrown them into somebody else's thread after somebody mentioned something that made me think of them, but I'll end the thread jacking and give everybody a place to just let loose and share your finds.

Enough rambling, here's my first:

Lookin' for a little help from, well, anybody that knows this kinda stuff, I guess.  Les or others?  Feel free to chime in.

Found a kick ace wagon for sale on Craig's list. I saw it last year at the Car Craft show and the thing is awesome.  Anywho, the ad reads:

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1973 Ford Galaxie 500 Wagon
I am the second owner

great car need trans. I had it for sale a couple of months ago but the trans needs to be fixed so I dropped the price by $1100.The car drives but the trans makes a horrible noise and shifts poorly
400 ci motor C6 trans
cold AC, new tires and tune up, runs great, trailer towing option with heavy duty reciever hitch and electric brakes- ready to tow 6000 + lbs
Boss 400 striping-body is decent- power rear window works,3 way gate
no third seat

Other than the trans problem its a great car -I don't have the time to fix it. I am the second owner
$1400 or best offer. will consider trades for 92-96 Buick Roadmaster wagon or LT-1 engine...

--------------------------------------------------------------

Anybody know what I'd have to put into it $$$-wise to get a new tranny?  And on these old cars is it as "easy" as taking the tranny right out the bottom by itself?  Yes, this is my first rodeo and am just looking for some help/advice.  This would be an awesome addition to the family if it was a reasonably manageable project.  Thanks for any input.

The word "miraculous" scarcely describes the survival of a Santa Maria, California police officer who wrapped his Ford Police Interceptor around a tree Sunday morning. It's what the local Police Chief calls the "worst accident he's seen in 35 years."

Sunday was a busy day for the members of the Santa Maria Police Department, starting with a police chase that resulted in a stolen car crashing into a first grade classroom of a local school. But that's not where this amazing crash happened.

Hours later, Officer Damon Badnell was responding to an officer involved in a foot pursuit of a burglary suspect when he lost control of his vehicle on a slippery road. The momentum wrapped the vehicle around the tree, nearly bisecting the Ford Crown Victoria.

Officer Badnell, who recently was awarded for stopping the most drunk drivers, has a few broken bones but doctors are hopeful about his recovery.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38245277/ns/business-autos/?gt1=43001

Alrighty, folks. I'm sittin' here doing a whole lot of nothing and figured I'd try to do something "productive" and get the word out for our latest new thing.  This summer/fall will be our first attempt at holding some valve cover drag races.  They will held at the 5th Annual Hillbilly Carshow in Braham.  To those of you that have no idea what I'm talking about, it's just like the pine wood derby the boy scouts do, only your block of wood is now a valve cover (see sample pics below).

The track will be built by Team Chauncey Racing, a division of The NCH.  Meaning, myself and Krandall.  We haven't come up with a "concrete" idea for the track, but I think it'll be something like this: a plywood ramp with sides and a divider.  The track will have two lanes, like a standard drag strip.  There will be some sort of starting mechanism that will allow both racers to be released at the same time.  It'll most likely be something sticking up from the bottom of the track that will flip forward and out of the way.  Therefore, we probably can't have anything mounted on the "front" of the racers (see rules below).  As far as size goes, originally we were thinking 4' wide plywood, making each lane 2' wide.  However, after checking out several things online, I'm thinking we'll probably make it narrower (gotta confer with the brother on this one).  One, for cost of materials. Two, for weight of materials.  We'll see what happens.

Lastly, this was Les' idea a couple years ago and if I remember right, his only two rules at the time were 1) It has to be an American-made valve cover and 2) There will be a weight limit of 10 lbs. (for racing).  Wheels can be made of pretty much anything you can think of, I guess.  Skateboard wheels, toy truck wheels, RC car wheels.  Who knows.  

Speaking of which, I'm thinking we'll have two awards.  One for fastest racer, determined by the drag racing, and one for Best of Show.  Maybe the best of show won't have a weight limit?  We'll see.  Again, this is just me talking right now and I'll have to run this all by the other Chaunce to make final decisions.

Anywho, sample pics:

I think most of us know about this one after getting flyers/word of mouth from that dude at the Pine town show, but just wanted to make a thread to see who all is attending.  I don't have a flyer myself, and don't really know too many details, but I do know that it's this upcoming saturday, July 10th.  I found one little excerpt from a Hinkcley website including this little note:

"During the carnival on July 10th, there will be a Car & Truck Show at West Side Park from 1pm - 5pm brought to you by the East Central Cruisers."

I'm guessing that would be the show in reference.  If so, that'd probably give us plenty of time to hang out and talk crap to each other like everybody likes to do.  Who doesn't?  

Anywho, anybody got anything else to add?  

Alright folks.  I'm starting a new thread to contain pics of wagons only.  I'm obsessed and feel like sharing.  Anything is welcome, as long as it's a wagon.  I've found some sweet ones lately and just have to have somebody else witness them.

My total dream car (1 of them at least   )  The 96-99 Taurus SHO Wagon.  Never existed, at least from the factory, but I would very much love to have one.



1992 Taurus SHO Wagon.  Actually just found this on eBay tonight, literally 10 minutes ago, and it caused me to finally make this thread.  I'm not a huge fan of this "vintage" of Taurus wagons and/or SHO's, but this thing is frickin' rad.  And it's in Minneapolis!  Woo!