charlie8575

Mysterious car stalling continues. The sad thing was I was on my way to pick up the part when it quit completely. I ended up having to leave the car and walk home (about 1-1/4 miles) and waited for Dad to get home. By that point, the supsected electronics would've cooled enough that I could re-start the car; as it happened, I was going to need a jump-start anyway, as the repeated efforts to re-start the car (and the couple of times I actually managed to get it running) drained out the battery. So I walk back home, wait for Dad to get back. The police call. This was a little before 9:00 last night. Approximate sequence of events: "What're you doing?" "Waiting for my father to get home, which should be shortly, and we're going to go back and attempt to jump the car." Wait for dispatch to talk to lieutennant. "The lieutennant doesn't want to wait." "Okay, I'll call Land's (local tow service), and have them come and get it." "They're our default shop, we can call them." "Why, so they can charge me extra?" (my emphasis) "No sir, it's the same price" (first time I EVER heard of a police and self-placed tow call being the same price). "Oh, okay, go ahead and call them. The car is locked and I have the key with me. See if they can stop by the house so I can go over and unlock the car and it can be moved safely. You can tow it back here, I have a pretty good idea of what we think broke, and I was actually on my way to get the part when it quit." "Okay, I'll let them know." Five minutes later, tow truck shows up, I'm on the way over. I talk about my suspected issue (thanks to Dave Isle (MNwildpunk) here for putting me wise to it), with the driver and the two suspected parts. He agrees with Dave's assessment. We load the car. The patrolman on scene was a nice guy- very personable. Car loaded. Home again, home again jiggity-jig... Upon arrival, I said to the driver "now the dispatcher from the police tells me this is the same amount of money regardless of whether they or I called." "Nope. You call us, in-town service is $75, doesn't matter if it's move the car next door or to the other side of town. They call, it's $90." (Again, emphasis mine). And the Marlborough Police wonders why it doesn't have my vote of confidence- or the vote of confidence of a lot of people? A letter of complaint will be sent to the chief. Charlie Larkin

Definitely moving in the right direction, Mike. I like the story evolution, too. Charlie Larkin

And deserved every bit of it! Congratulations! Charlie Larkin

Mark, the body-color wheels were actually very rare. I can only remember seeing one or two cars with them- the rest were natural-finish aluminum. From my recollections of these when new and from the pictures I've seen, the SEs had scripts that were approximately body color. The red cars used plain old red, and Humbrol or Tamiya red would be just fine on a red/metallic red car. The LE and standard-trim car used bright-finish scripts. They also did some minor trim shuffling in 1990-91, and I believe went to the bright script then, but from what I remember seeing in catalogs and on the roads, the SEs all had painted scripts. Black had black, red had red, white had white, and silver or grey might have been plated to save one step and a few cents per unit. I do remember the SE had a limited number of colors, too. I don't believe you could order blue, and I think gold was available on the lower-level trims, but not the SE. Put it this way- I don't ever remember seeing an early SE in gold. I remember when these cars first came out- HUGE departure from the G-body. They took a while to catch on, but those that drove them, especially the mid-year 1989 and up with the bigger engine, liked them. When I was in college, I almost bought a 1990 Buick Regal with the 3800 in it, and it was a very nice car. I kind of wish I had bought it. For a then nine-year-old car, it was in nice condition and drove well. The 3800 is still one of the best engines GM ever made and would move that slightly-heavy front-driver very authoritatively, unlike the little 60-degree Chevy V6 that's in the GP kit, which would move the car, but nowhere near as well, and with their propensity for burning out lower ends, for nowhere near as long a time miles-wise. Charlie Larkin

Wow. Very, very nicely done. Charlie Larkin

The only real mistake I see is the chromed scripts. The SE models were monochromatic (or very close), and the scripts were about body-color. That metallic red is a pretty close match for the old standby GM code 72 red that was used for years and years in one form or another. Wheels I'm not too sure about. I always liked Pontiac's factory offering of the tri-spoke rims. Overall, though, very nicely done. Charlie Larkin

Thought for driveline..... Grab a '41 Plymouth flathead six and rig up a supercharger similar to the Graham Cavalier. Make this extra special different! http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/new/171110/1937%20Graham/1937%20Graham%20Brochure-03.html http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/new/171110/1937%20Graham/1937%20Graham%20Brochure-08.html Charlie Larkin

I like the way the shapes flow togethr. Perhaps it might be wise to do some kind of custom truck- for the "lobster tail", perhaps design some kind of camper-type rig? Then paint it red-orange for the full effect. Charlie Larkin

Glad to be of help, Kerry. I wasn't aware the Shriners (another group affiliated with the Masons, by the way), are doing dental surgery as well. Whatever the source of help, I'm glad your little one is getting it. I also think it's fantastic that you and your family are doing something to promote awareness of this illness- I remember you mentioning it in another post sometime back, and when I saw this, it jogged my memory. Nice to see your church helping out, too- very few of the churches in this area would actually dare do such a thing. Charlie Larkin

This is the club near Columbus, correct? Cars of '43 will be an interesting trick, unless you plan on seeing a bunch of Olive Drab Ford staff cars. Hmmm..... Charlie Larkin

Probably one of the better-built Generals I've seen. A real clinker of a kit, and you still made it come out decently, Chris. That reflects well on you. Charlie Larkin

Very nice indeed. Charlie Larkin

Keep the fight in you, that's the best way to survive this, or any other challenge. She certainly looks like a happy kid, and two good parents in a stable house make a whole universe of difference. Do the best you can- it's all anyone asks of you, and all you should ever ask of yourself. If she still needs some attention for her cleft pallette, or any other pediatric dental issues, M.V.O.P.E.R., known commonly as "Grotto," a Masonic-affiliated body, offers assistance for families with children who have dental and oral deformities. I know they'll be happy to help you if you need it. http://www.hfgrotto.org/ I'm not in Grotto- I belong only to a Craft Lodge, OES and Royal Arch, as well as the Tall Cedars (which helps sponsor MDA), but I know this is a great program that might be of help for you. I didn't wear anything green Wednesday- didn't see this until now, but I'll try to make up for it this weekend. Charlie Larkin

I like the nose. Not sure about the taillights. I would've gone with different rims, too. Either snowflakes or the really nice GTA rims from 1989-90-ish. Really makes me miss Pontiac a little more. Charlie Larkin

Nice build, Al, and I like the color choice on it. Charlie Larkin

Very nicely done. Charlie Larkin

I agree with every word you said. A friend's brother worked for one of the major chains for oh....maybe 1-1/2 or 2 years. It amazed me. The mechanics weren't just getting flat hourly pay (and pretty low pay), but they were getting commissions on their repair bills?! The amount of duplicity I had heard coming out of what was being done to customers and employee alike was horrifying. Enough so that I won't patronize this chain any longer. In addition, he was being cut out of the big jobs because he was being honest with the customers. I guess that's a no-no, too? About a year ago, after being canned for actually doing his job right, he ended up at a big regional tire/light repair shop's garage near were he lives. Totally different culture. He's paid pretty well- perhaps a little less than an independent shop, but he's still making good money, gets good benefits, a ham at Christmas, bonuses, and all sorts of stuff. Best job he's ever had. It's not just how you run your business- it's how you treat your customers, and that will be reflected in how you treat your employees. Charlie Larkin

Having taught, Riley, I know what the youngest generation is learning on all fronts- math, language, social studies, science, and practical arts-type classes like shop and home ec. Wanna know something? What they are learning terrifies me, and it should terrify everyone else, too. Charlie Larkin

What Jon said. Their lacquer is very, very mild, and I've never heard of it causing problems on the common plastics we see, except occasionally with the super-soft Revell garbage. Charlie Larkin

Nice build- looks good as an early '60s rod. I like the back-drop. Did you actually paint that up yourself? If so, that's fantastic work! Charlie Larkin

Congratulations on your win. It does look good, I must agree. Charlie Larkin

I suppose with re-issues and such, it's possible, but it could become a VERY long-term investment with a hope of at best, breaking even, given that kind of pricing. Charlie Larkin

So far, so good. That MCW body looks pretty nice; I can see that on my shelf with a six and dog-dishes in some anonymous color. Charlie Larkin

Nice job on that Coke machine. This is coming out very well. Charlie Larkin

Very nice. 1/32 lends itself well to dios- big enough to be seen, small enough to be store-able. Charlie Larkin