This might be the end...

...I haven't posted much lately, evidence of my waning interest in the blog. I have already resigned from blogging for the Poughkeepsie Journal. That leaves this blog.
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The original intent of this blog was to chronicle the build of the electric vehicle; a project, in my mind, worthy and interesting enough to blog about. That got cancelled, or at least put on indefinite hiatus, and I moved onto other, more conventional small projects.
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I now feel that the blog has lost it's way. I don't think it's particularly interesting, or relevant, or worth reading. My continuing unemployment means I don't have the money I would like to spend on car projects. That's a big show-stopper. I am making excellent progress on my impending career change, but that is a long term endeavor.
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The car projects I have on hand now are long term projects as well. I do want to get back to the electric vehicle project. I still think this project would be the most unusual and interesting project to write about. I am still very enthusiastic about every aspect of it. I have imagined, over and over, what it would be like to actually drive; what the sensations would be, how it would look, the bright sun glinting off of the metallic green paint. A big, fat, pimped out, truck sized golf cart, zipping down the road, the only sound you would hear is the noise from the tires. I still think it is the right thing at the right time. But again, to do this project decently, I expect it would take possibly $20,000, and I just don't have that kind of dough to invest. I think it could be big. It could become a business. I think it could be the next Boyd Coddington, Jesse James, or OCC. But I never was a big financial risk-taker. Jump off a bridge, yes, I've done that, and worse. But financial risks, no, I'll keep my little copper pennies* right here, thanks.
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So my point is, speaking of having lost it's way, that I don't know if I'll keep on with the blog. We'll see.
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For what it's worth, I got the shifter done in the '58, and it works great. I also took the '58 out today for it's maiden voyage up the street and back, and, let's just say it needs a bit more work. But it did drive!
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Thanks for your interest. Talk to you soon. Or maybe not.
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*Yes, they are really just copper plated zinc. But how poetic would that sound?

The End?

"This is the end...my only friend, the end..." I'll spare you Jim Morrison's psychedelic rambling, and get to it: The truck is gone. The F100 is gone. Done. Outta here. I decided it did not fit my plans any longer, so I listed it on ebay. A guy came and looked at it and made me an offer I liked, so I pulled it from auction, and sold it.

Here K & k give it a last look, Mickey stands guard. It was easier for me to just load it up on the trailer and bring it to the guy; so much for one last ride.

Here's me and k. She is so cute, she always used to point at the truck and say: "truck-truck", or lately just: "blue". Hope I'm not scarring her for life.

Here is the proud new owner(s). Cliff, on the right, is the guy that came and made the deal. I was happy to get a big envelope of C-A-S-H and an easy transaction from him. He even gave me a free t-shirt from his business: "Electric Snake", a video plumbing diagnosis service. Bonus.

Here's Cliff again, and Jake, his one grandson. Lucky guy, his 10th birthday present is a classic F100. I hope they have many many hours of fun together enjoying the truck. It was a little easier to leave the truck knowing what it's future would be. Really a nice ending to the story.

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If I get back to doing an EV, or shall I say: "when", I plan to do an S-10. I still think the F100-EV was a viable project, and would have been extremely cool. Now I feel that I would be satisfied with a moderately cool S-10 EV.

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I have kind of missed drag racing this year. Probably watching Pinks All Out on the Speed Channel hasn't helped. I was talking about replacing my altered with a simple doorslammer(1) bracket-car(2)with my friend Joe V. Something maximum fun, minimum hassle. Not long after that, we went in on this little beauty:

A 1976 Nova hatchback. Joe V wants the motor and trans, and I bought the rest. Not a particularly cool car, but the price was ridiculously low(3), and the car was in amazingly good shape. I figured I could transplant many of the race parts from my altered into this, and be on the track by next spring. Cheap too. Just what I wanted.

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1. Doorslammer: A drag race car based on a full car, with operating doors. Not a dragster or altered or roadster, where you climb in.

2. Bracket-car: A drag car specifically designed for handicapped amateur drag racing. Not for all-out unlimited classes.

3. Ridiculously low: $300 for the whole car!Here's Joe V pointing out all the good features.
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The Nova is an excellent candidate for the purpose. So I have that to consider. But I have been thinking about how much work goes into these cars, and I have surprised myself about how fickle I have become at the same time. If I'm going to put in this much effort, perhaps I should get something I'm more attached to. How about my favorite car of all time:

A '58 Chevy! I'm looking at this little guy right now. What better way to get over the loss of one old car, than with another old car? You know, it's like crashing a motorcycle off the road into a ditch; you have to get right back on that motorcycle, if only to get medical attention (and I would know). Someday I will tell you the story of how I got hooked on '58's. This one is a Biscayne, not the top-of-the-line Impala like I favor, but the Impalas have gotten prohibitively expensive. Like 50-grand expensive; 25 for a piece of junk. I'll go for the lower-line Biscayne, Bel Air, or Del Ray instead. I want what I want, but I'm not dropping that kind of dough on any car, Impala or not. I'm hoping I can snag this and get it here before Joe V finds out; he might be a little miffed that I sold the F100 after he helped me with the sweat-fest of a trans-job we did. How that guy still likes me I will never know.

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I still have plenty to do on EV-Steve's S-10. For myself, I'll either build the Nova, or hopefully the '58 Biscayne. I plan to expand my show coverage and car features as well. So there's still plenty to tune in for. I apologize to anyone if you got attached to the F100, and for the demise of the original project. Change will occur whether we are ready or not; hopefully things are still headed in a good direction.