The one girl I thought might add to the beauty of a once owned car, well, as Jimmy Buffet said; "cost me much more than a ring." ... View more

As Relton suggests, this facility will still be standing for years to come. I was involved in demolition orders for dozens of buildings in a neighboring state and know first hand that unless the local government has both the money and the fortitude the demolition will not happen. As this is essentially the legal taking of property through an administrative order, all means of appeal are available to the owner. This alone could take years if the owners are so inclined or have deep enough pockets to pay the lawyers. More likely, an out-of-state or in this case an out-of-country owner will simply laugh at the order. Unfortunately, the City of Detroit cannot absorb the costs involved in demolishing a building like this one. To abate the asbestos, heavy metals and PCB's alone would take a year and cost millions, hell the preliminary studies would take six months and cost half a million. The only hope for the city to demolish the building would be to find a bucket full of money, do the demolition, file a lien on the property and pray for a buyer at a price that exceeds the lien. While I am not familiar with Michigan law, I do know that in other states, the liability monkey can easily climb on the cities back if they are not careful with how they proceed if the owner fails to comply with the demolition order. ... View more

Since you started the off topic reference I must ask whether you saw these bureaucratic missteps at the state/local level during the adoption process or with the model codes developed by ICBO, BOCA, SBI, ICC, or NFPA. If in the model codes, could you please cite an example? ... View more

Thank you Sam. The "wait" will come for all of us and when it does we will find that our thoughts turn to events from our past. That old Dodge with the hammer / dolly body and rattle can finish we raced against the big dogs now shines like a showroom trailer queen. The beer is colder and the girls are always prettier. The hundred or more cross country road trips were more adventuresome and that summer in Mexico - well that's a story unto itself. I spent many hours sitting on that porch in a rocker with peeling paint with a friend to whom the "wait" had come. I had done the same as a child of 9 with my Great-Grandfather. Both told me of their life stories, lives well lived. Both had a special gleam in their eye when talking, their words surrounded me and made me feel that I was a part of their adventures and their failings. I cherish those moments and hope that somehow I made the "wait" a bit more bearable for them. I know the wait is stalking me, I can feel it lurking around the corner. I drive pick-ups and large SUV's because I cannot navigate my way into a sedan. Folding my frame into my wife's TR6 is a dream of the past. Simple tasks like painting a wall or changing the oil have become hours long projects. Heaven forbid I should be faced with a blown head gasket! Soon, for me, and eventually for you the "wait" will come. Hopefully it will treat us with grace and dignity. ... View more

Years ago in the Sovereign State of Alaska it was legal to drive with an open container. When those darned goody-two-shoe types tried to curb this 'god-given right' a TV commercial popped up - a guy who was obviously impaired looked straight at the camera and made the statement; "I drive around drunk and am against changing the law." It was supposed to be sarcasm but quickly became a running joke. Oh, the law was changed. ... View more

Studs work only on ice - they do nothing to help on snow or slush and can make things 'exciting' (read that as worse) on dry pavement. They are also hard on the roads - states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota have banned them, and others restricted use periods.   Further, your 'quiet' studs equals minimal to no studs, if you are driving them on dry pavement, they will wear out rapidly. Check to make sure they are still viable before you rely on something that may not be there . . . ... View more

We lived in Alaska for many years and never used "snow/winter" tires. During our years up north, the majority of the roads were just plowed (a good snow packed road can rival some asphalt), in some small towns they sanded the intersections (made for better stopping) and in Anchorage they used that God-awful salt/sand combination which not only created the 'slush' condition, spinning tires would kick up small rocks in the sand leading to broken windshields. Never once did we, or any of our friends, have any issues getting around. Granted my wife always had one of those late 70's/80's Subaru's that would go anywhere and I had several 4wd pickups which as the author points out do nothing to help you stop faster on ice/snow. The trick was to think about what you were doing, pay attention to the conditions and traffic and leave some extra space. Skills many people today have either forgotten, never learned or simply ignore. ... View more

Not to mention Airbus in Alabama and Boeing's move to South Carolina several years ago. Red states with "right-to-work laws and zero rights for workers. South Carolina was the largest manufacturer of autos in the US followed by Alabama (4), Georgia (5), Kentucky (8), Missouri (9), Tennessee (10). ... View more

Sorry but I must disagree. Having made several long distance trips (4,000 miles plus) with a '77 CJ5, a '58 MGA, a '75 TR 6 and a '60 AH 3000 I found the Jeep to be quite tame. The trips were almost identical; Chicago to Montreal to Seattle and back. The exception was the Jeep which took a right in North Dakota and ended in Homer, AK. I sold the Jeep there in 1983 and last saw it in Homer in 2014, still running strong despite having changed hands 5 or 6 times. Only mechanical issue with the Jeep was when it blew a heater hose on the Seward Highway near the Hope Cutoff, stranding my wife for about 12 hours. She was 'rescued' by an old gold miner but that is a story for another time. ... View more

Many of you who complain that these garages are not practical as they allow no work to be accomplished on the vehicles simply do not get it. These garages are to showcase the car - display it like fine art. If the car needs servicing or repair work, it is simply moved to the owner's repair building just down the lane. You know, the one in front of the servants quarters . . . ... View more

Went through an almost identical situation in another mid-western state. One of my staff had taken ill and would not be returning to service. His state vehicle was parked on his property with dozens of black walnut trees. I dropped someone off to ferry the car back to the state motor pool some 175 miles away. When he started the car it made some of the most God-awful noises including what sounded like small arms fire. Shut off the engine and popped the hood only to find hundreds if not thousands of black walnut pods. Never realized how many nooks and hidey-holes there were under the hood of a Crown Vic. We cleared out what we could and headed down the road; every once in a while a walnut would fall out and bounce down the highway. Needless to say the motor pool guys were not real happy but they did a pretty good job cleaning things up. The car sat for another month or so before getting a new operator - his first complaint was the terrible smell from the heater/AC unit. Yep, rotted black walnut pods. and yes they did stink. They never did get the smell out. Car was sent to the boneyard for parts - too bad as it only had 30K on the clock and it was all highway miles. State government at its most efficient. I had pretty much forgotten about this until I saw the lead-in picture with the walnuts in the buckets in the email . . . ... View more

Wow! Half a mile from the pad? How did you get that close? Did the overpressure make your ears bleed? The Launch Control Center, the VAB and the old Saturn V bleachers are about three miles from the pad and it was plenty loud there. ... View more

The car in question was/is a Chrysler Imperial Parade Phaeton. Three of thee beauties were built in 1952. They were brought back to Chrysler in 1955 to be updated and a facelift to resemble the '56 Imperial. Two of the cars were given to the cities of New York and Los Angeles, the third was to have been a gift to the White House but was rejected because of the gift laws back then. Chrysler then staged the car in Detroit for use around the country. Last I knew the New York and LA cars were still owned by the respective cities - the Detroit car went to a private collector and is now at the Peterson Museum in Los Angeles. I am sure there is a lot more information on these cars 'out there' on the web. ... View more

Now wasn't a "Dagwood" a mountainous sandwich named for its creator, Mr Bumstead? ... View more

Good thought but the real Step 1 is to identify the problem. As Rob states, some (myself included) would view it as a space problem; others might call it a car problem. ... View more

I bought my '58 in 1971 from some guy in Barrington, Illinois with more money than car smarts - it was in boxes as he was in the midst of a several year "restoration". I was 21 and had spent several years of my misguided youth as a gopher and wrench twister for a buddies dad who campaigned a Healey 3000 around the Chicago area road courses. We made short order of rebuilding the drive train and getting the car back on the road. That car saw me through the rest of college in Upstate New York, served as a daily driver for a few years in Northern Illinois and was then relegated to weekend cruiser. A move to Alaska forced its sale in '78. One of the few cars I actually sold for more than I paid. As for the car itself; the heater was so good, I often took the side-curtains out during the winter and never had any electrical issues. My only gripe was that those wire wheels bent too easily especially when they contacted a curb whilst sliding sideways. Those narrow bias tires never did provide a lot of grip. At least I had a few spare wheels and access to the wheel jig the guys used for the old Healey. Many good memories of this car, one of the few I wish I had kept. ... View more

Or he could have called me and gotten one for cheap. Don't ask how I ended up with three after rebuilding the wife's TR6. Something about inventory control during the rebuild. Lists? I don't need no stinking list. ... View more

Balancing the load properly cannot be over stressed. A buddies truck had problems and he asked me to pick up his latest prize which was about a 1000 miles away. Needing to get away for a while I agreed. Heck, all the hard work was done, the car was loaded and tied down, all I had to do was hook up and drive home. I knew the trailer well as I had owned it for years, it was an enclosed 22 foot trailer with two 3500 pound axles. Tires tread was good but they were pushing the age limit. I arrived, got hooked up, checked the lights and brakes and we took off - yeah, should have checked the loading. About a hundred miles down the road I made a lane change a bit quicker than normal and I thought the world was going to end. The trailer started swaying so violently that I swear I saw the trailer next to my drivers window. It was a three lane interstate and I needed all three to get it under control. Thank goodness the traffic was light and I didn't kill someone. Knowing that only one thing would have caused that violent action we opened the trailer side door - everything looked normal, the Fairlane was sitting there just like it should have been. we opened the back ramp and found the problem; three Ford 351's behind the car. After loading the car my buddy got a deal on the engines so they just slid them in an lashed them down. No one thought about the extra weight added to the back end. After several heated words, and no way to move the engines we rolled the car as far forward as it would go and tiptoed home. Rest of the trip was pretty quiet. Valuable lesson learned - check the balance. . . . . ... View more

"Older"? ? ? I resemble that compliment. My MGA had them on the SU's had them as does my wife's TR6 (on the Zeniths). I believe many of the original screws for the interior trim on many MG's into the 80's used these screws. Use the proper driver and there are no issues. ... View more

Well, the wife's TR6 has eight "Posidriv" screws, four each on the Zenith Stromberg dashpot covers. They were stock from the factory as such. If you have any Zenith carbs, perhaps the screws have been replaced with regular Phillips heads . . . If the proper driver is employed, the heads do not 'disfigure' when removed. I have rebuilt these carbs several times and they still have the original screws. ... View more

I love cars. I grew up twisting wrenches on a D-Production Healey running the midwest SCCA tracks before I could drive and then fell into campaigning a '65 Dodge Coronet on every 1/4 mile track near Chicago. We still have my '64 GTO that I acquired in '69 and my wife's '75 TR6 she bought new. Aside from some paint work, no one has touched these cars besides me. I was such a car-guy, I made Tim the Tool Man look like a babe in arms. Then, my nieces husband bought a Tesla. Of course I scoffed and talked about "real" cars until he tossed me the keys - well, the fob thing. The grin-factor went off the scale. Without a doubt that was the fastest 'out-of-the-box' factory car I had ever driven and the suspension? It handled better with every corner - some kind of adaptive whatever. And the darned thing was comfortable. Now will I dump my GTO for a Tesla, no. But, I will let it enter my shop and and park next to it. Maybe this old goat can learn some new tricks. ... View more

As a lad I got hooked on auto racing through a friend whose father who ran a D Production Austin-Healey 3000 in the Chicago area. Meadowdale, Blackhawk and Elkhart Lake were special places to me. They had me doing all sorts odd jobs around the paddock, but mostly dirty stuff to keep me out of the way. Guys like Tullius, Yenko and Donohue were just average Joe's. By the time I was 'experienced' enough to start twisting wrenches cars like the GT350 were hitting the tracks and a lot of the weekend warriors were dropping out. My interests turned to straight line speed and more displacement. But I remember those early 60's when a "D" Healey could stay on the butt of a B Production Vette through the turns but then left in the dust on the straights. Damn it was fun. ... View more

The tires were by Uniroyal - they still have a line of Tiger Paws! ... View more

To help reduce the confusion over the tigers used by ESSO and Pontiac I offer the following;   Best I can tell is that the ESSO 'Tiger in Your Tank' ad campaign started in 1959 with a cartoon tiger - I cannot find where they ever used a tiger tail as an advertising gimmick. But it would have been a good idea to have a furry tail hanging from the gas filler.   The Pontiac Tiger campaign started in 1964 and continued through 1967 (?).  The following link has photos of a couple of suitably striped Pontiac GTO's with a tiger tail coming out of the trunk,  https://www.pontiacv8.com/blog/2019/9/8/pontiacs-tiger-themed-marketing-campaign-when-did-it-start   Hope this helps - - - ... View more

From Great Lakes Dragaway up in Union Grove, out to Byron Speedway, down to Route 88 in Sterling, back east to Oswego and Route 66, a stop at US 30 in Hobart and a hundred run-what-ya-brung not so legal tracks in between, the summers of the mid/late 60's were spent twisting wrenches and scrounging parts in our trying to run with the big dogs. A handful of cheap trophies and a ton of memories are all that is left of those Chicago area summers. Wouldn't trade them for anything. ... View more

Beg to differ with you on the reliability of the TR6. My wife bought hers new in '75 and shipped to our home in Alaska; it has since followed us to Florida. She has driven the car for these 45 years and only once did it fail her - my fault for not changing a questionable heater hose. My '58 MGA and '60 Healey 3000 followed the same trend. Come to think about it, the only non self-inflicted roadside failure we have experienced was an '87 Subaru that spit out its timing belt - warranty issue.   My thought is that many of the roadside failures are the result of 'over-tinkerng' by owners who really have no business under the hood or other 'wanna be' mechanics. I cannot count the times I was asked to help out a friend with a XXXXXX car (fill in the blank with any model of your choice) only to find out that they had adjusted the XXXXXX (fill in an adjustable part) or failed to reattach a ground wire that morning before the failure.   Properly maintained these cars were as good as any. ... View more

We lived in 'rural' Alaska during the 70's and 80's. Subaru's were everywhere, mostly wagons. My wife was fed up with driving my CJ5 and wanted something 'nicer'? On a trip to Anchorage we stopped at a few car dealers and I swear that bronze-ish colored BRAT (as pictured above) winked at her. That little car went everywhere she wanted to go without objection. I fabricated a trailer hitch for it and could tow two snow machines with ease. Heck that BRAT even pulled my F250 out of a ditch. We kept it for 11 years and it was still running great - although I did replace the CV joint boot covers and front fenders as the rust worm got to them. I think we paid about 5K for it and sold it for 2K, not bad for 11 years. ... View more