Falcon Ranchero

It is I believe a 2023/2024 issue so really it shouldn't be that bad

Was able to get the Highway Star out of hiding yesterday (not me driving it of course) as it had been a week in the garage. Got the temporary plates but no safety/mechanical yet, which technically you can only drive it to a place of car service, but we didn't go far. Stopped in at my grandma's to show her and one of my aunts the car. Both impressed. Then went to my Great Uncle's to show him as he came with us when we went to look at the car. Still working on getting his T-bird on the road; needs a couple things. The Highway Star goes into the Mechanic shop tomorrow to get some work done for the safety/mechanical so then we can drive it more often.

Wanted to build one of these for a while, and was finally able to order one for $26. Went together pretty ok, the front end was a bit wonky to fit but it's ok. But the decals. Holy smokes. Lately i've been noticing that AMT's been cheaping out on their decals; every time now it seems when I have an AMT kit with large body decals, and even emblem decals, they are absolute c-r-a-p. The decals you see on the car have ripped in many places, and on one side they're peeling off. Fought me every step of the way; must've been an hour trying to perfect them. It was really bad; I did not enjoy applying these decals. 2 years ago I built a same year Fairlane GT, also AMT, and as I recal the body stripe decals were actually ok. So I don't know what's up with AMT decals nowadays, but it was frustrating. That being said I do like how the car looks; has Duplicolour Maui Blue paint; a GM colour but looks good on this car. Also I robbed the set of hubcaps off my '77 Ford Van since they resemble more of the XL GT rims and actually the sporty full size Canadian 1970 Meteor S-33 (Which is like an XL GT) came factory with those hubcaps. I like them on this car anyway.

This weekend's sightings. Saw that '65 New Yorker again and got video footage of it leaving the parking lot and a mid-80s Lincoln Town car at one of the churches yesterday afternoon while I was there doing some volunteer work in the community gardens out back. Very clean car. In Motion.mp4

the weird guy

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker just hit my grandma's front window of the house. And it is dead now unfortunately. Was about to sit down when I heard knock at the front window. Looked down out the window and there it was, still breathing, but by the time I got out there it had died. Beautiful bird too. A shame, really. Going to bury it somewhere later.

That is way cool

That's right; I read about that concept of the Mustang and it had a Cougar in the center grille instead of a horse; would've been a Ford Cougar otherwise, but Mercury Cougar has a better ring to it.

The Highway Star had a wrong VIN on the registration. A guy is supposed to come later today and read in on the car to confirm it's wrong. Whoever typed the VIN in 6 years ago was one number off. Really that's not something you can screw up, you got to be very sure that the VIN is correct.

Very close to finishing my '69 XL GT

That's actually a smart idea

find that it's

Well for now they're pretty good. It's not like they're very old, I don't think there's any chance of those scratching the windshield. It's not like we're going to drive it in intense rain anyway. But yes down the road some new ones should probably be used.

The Highway Star has settled nicely into it's new home, and so some preliminary projects, such as installing wiper blades. One wiper was missing one, and the other was falling off so my dad was able to cut a piece out of some old blades he had hanging around, and fit them securely into the wiper frames. They're pretty solid.

It has the original rebuilt 350 V8. I think it just has that stripe to make that car look less blue. That blue colour though is the original colour re-painted after the car was painted bright yellow at some point in it's life.

Really like that '66 or '67 Dodge Charger

Very nice '65 Cutlass

As long as we're on the topic of mowers 'n' tractors; I have a riding mower I like, not in any right a classic, but it is a red 2006 Craftsman YS series, that my grandfather bought new from good old Sears. I was first trained on that thing in I think 2017-18 era, and have been mowing the large field and empty lot on my grandparents property since then. Me and the mower are the same age, though the mower does have a bit more wear and tear, having been cutting an insane amount of grass (and other plants; the lawns I cut aren't your everyday looks-like-astro-turf lawns) for 19 years now. Again, not a classic but I do really like the mower. That being said I do have an original page ad for a 1966 Cub Cadet I ripped out of a 1966 national geographic magazine in grade 11 art class, as to save in from being cut up and used in a collage of sorts. Also my grandfather had a 1953 Massey-Harris Ferguson tractor, that I don't believe he had until the 80s. Sold it in 2021 after he passed, but it was a cool tractor. Used to plow the driveway in winter before my time.

Oh yes that is a beautiful car, though one could point out it is heavily bedazzled, featuring not only excessive chrome, but the Limited Riviera (which this appears to be) has 15 individual chrome slashes on each quarter panel 🤣Loads of chrome but I like it.

Yeah, the guy who previously owned this car was going to do a GTO conversion, but changed his mind; thank goodness. I totally like LeMans and even Tempest better than GTO because they’re essentially the same car but you can get GTO essence for cheap if you buy LeMans/Tempest. This particular car also has a front bench seat, and power drum brakes front and rear. Probably going to change to front discs for more safety and easier braking. But unfortunately it will be a while before I can actually drive the car. We’re insured through Hagerty now, but for me I had to be excluded from that insurance until I get a full G licence and a vehicle in my own name. So the plan is to get the license and hopefully buy my dad’s truck so he can get a new one, and so I’ll have a vehicle in my name. 🤦‍♂️ Just the way it is I guess.

Yes that's what we were all thinking too; though I do really like the GTO in that show maybe a little more than our own LeMans

Originally had a radio; right now has a hole in the dash for one, with the wires neatly tucked in there in order to easily just plug one in. So needs both radio/antenna. The car actually isn't 100%, the guy who restored this car and all his others did only the main parts of the resto, but left litte small things out. The car currently still needs: horn, wiper motor, washer apparatus, A/C (yes this car has factory A/C) front side marker lights, and rear trunk emblem. Minor things but needs a horn and wiper motor for mechanical/safety. So it is a bit of a 1:1 project car so I'll probably put any updates on that thread located in the General Automotive section of the forum.

The Highway Star has finally come home!

Saw a Thunderbird, white ‘59.

in a Vandura