turning point on my life happiness graph

[rick]

its either going to go up or down from here , i am not sure which way
i will let you ponder

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... 252wt_1141

[walding]

Mid life crisis comes to mind.......

but heck, thats one cool mobile....

[rick]

i dont think i am selling a car like this to HAVE a mid life crisis
i bought it too long ago to call it a midlife crisis
but if you know anybody right at the start of having their own midlife crisis
hell give em my number !

[Kurt]

I'm too poor to have a mid-life crisis

[waitup]

oh good! I've been looking for something to replace the Volvo!!

[catalyst]

Try an iced Volvo.




Sorry couldn't resist.

[Bent my VU]

ohh that's nice.

Makes me wish I didn't sell my XP.

[rick]

so your graph pointed down when you sold your earlybird ?
thats interesting , i am hoping mine points up

[waitup]

You're building an awesome new studio and there's a BBQ next weekend... the way I see it Rick, it's already on the way up

[waitup]

Not to mention your forum just pulled together 5 grand to help someone out!

[rick]

oh great nick these are the high points but i havent sold the car yet have i ..?
whats that song
"from the top you drop
from the bottom you rise"

[audioio]

Mid life crisis comes to mind.......

I'm new here and most of what I know about Rick is reading his posts and his magazine columns, but I can't see him as the sort of chap to suffer a menoporsche.

[rick]

were i come from a porsche is something you sit on and whittel wood with your christmas pocket knife a kid
before your grandmother shows up and asks you grandfather to sweep the whole porsche down and set up the table for guests

[Chinagraf]

I've seen that car in a pic before somewhere, maybe on here. My best friend's mum when I was a kid had the same model, even same year, but it was white with red interior.
I have a lot of great memories of going to the drive-in in it. His mum was the manager there.
I'm not a car guy, but that is niiiiice lookin.

[tweakeasy]

She's beautiful Rick, your attention to detail and love of old things shines through her! I mourn your potential loss but I'm sure you got a lot of satisfaction out of the process of resto and pleasure from driving her.

I share your love for old gear and cars - my mobile money-pit is a 1962 Mercedes Benz 220SE Fintail Special Export Version (German built). I found her left for dead in a shed and have spent a lot of time (and $) tracking down parts from here to Germany to Argentina and beyond and have mechanically brought her to better than new. Long way to go to get her how I want her but it's no one-night stand.

Along the way I've sometimes thought to myself when shelling out coin "that could have been a mic pre" or "that could have paid for my first pressing" etc but when I look at her big chrome smile and sail down the street in her like the captain of a big, cozy land-yacht surrounded by wood and chrome and see a plasticky new Hyundai (the B^%#$@*^r of automobiles) drive past that will be on the scrap heap within five years, it all makes sense.

I hope you do another resto at some stage - there aren't enough people doing up classics to that superb and tasteful standard.

[norm]

Must be something in the water, I have 3 silver clouds of which I am doing up two with the other as a donor to keep both on the road.

[rick]

oh come on norm we are talking about billy carts with engines and coats of paint and you have three CARS
err should i say carriages no fair

i will be doing another resto of a completly different type of car (twin spinner) and it will be old and heavy for sure
but i wont start until sometime after the studios are finished completely ...so its all good ...i am patient
they will be finished sometime into the future that i cannot see because norm just parked his silver clouds in the way !


oh for the non car guys... silver clouds are rolls royces ... literally !

[Alastair Reynolds]

I got the old car bug years ago, just another way to burn money. It's old, 1928, Heavy,1 1/2 tons, and I still love it after 23 years.
For the car nuts, it's a 1928 Ford A Model "Tudor". 4.9L Windsor, Top loader, Jag MK10 LSD 4 wheel discs, Dropped I beam front end, Independant rear. Body is original Detroit steel. The 40 Litre fuel tank sits above your knees(that's the filler in front of the windscreen and if I put the boot in I can get down to 6 MPG

[Chris H]

My all original HJ Holden Belmont:

070320096037.jpg

100320096092.jpg

[rick]

you see i am feeling better already looks like the graph is pointing up
we can have a thread with a futura , a benz, a model a tudor, three silver clouds and a kingswood
and each guy thinks he has the best car on the the lot !
and we are all happy to leave it that way

i am ringing gearslutz and telling them not to bother anymore
we have the community thing covered

[Alastair Reynolds]

The great thing with an older car is it's actually "greener" than buying a Prius or some other hybrid /eco slot car.
If you take into account the energy and waste in manufacturing a throwaway S#%tbox that lasts 5 years, the environment is better off from a net perspective with classics like the Futura, the Benz, the Belmont and the Silver clouds still on the road. Plus as a bonus you look heaps cooler at the lights than sitting in a "Hot Hatch" rice rocket
and we can all appreciate the other guys car

[rick]

err you forgot to mention the kingswood

[Chris H]

err you forgot to mention the kingswood

.....the pic is of a Belmont not a Kingswood.......bench seats are better at the drive in !

100320096082.jpg

[Alastair Reynolds]

Who's got the Kingswood?, Chris' chariot is the white Belmont. The kingswood had a 202 CI engine, Belmont 173 CI, a radio and front disc brakes standard as well as a fan instead of just a demister. I do miss my old EH though, there's something about a red six with a three on the tree.....

[rick]

you must have some wife chris , that wooden boat and a kingswood ok...ok lets call it a belmont
i wouldnt be allowed to . actually she drew the line at the wooden clunker i wanted before i got my haines signature
i didnt mention the v8 kingswood ute i wanted to get tow it
i could see that conversation on my lifes happyiness chart pointing in a downwards direction

[Chris H]

She's special allright.........then again i'm not too shabby myself Ha Ha
Haines Signature, they're a great boat........you'r doing allright yourself Rick.

My first car was an EH, and i have to admit there is something special about the EH. It got me to La Trobe uni and back but by the end of the year there was not a straight panel left on her.
Tecnically every accident was the other drivers fault so i was able to buy my HD panelvan with the insurance i got from the EH accidents. My driving habits steddied down a bit after that year.

[audioio]

Now I understand the significance of Rick's forum signature!

[rick]

anything too young or too light is just going to get me into more trouble then i need

[Milo]

Add a couple of vintage Alfas to the mix: '83 Alfetta and '71 1750 Bertone coupe. And that's a good point about the older-car-eco angle: my coupe has cost me 20 grand (including purchase price) spread over 20 years, which is almost less than a warranty service charge on a new Beemer. They just keep going - what a great engine - and you only have to worry about esoteric things like Italian electrics and why the passenger side wheels are left-hand thread.

[headman]

Finally, some semblance of dignity....a fellow Alfa owner. I'm on number five now and this one wont rust, not that I bothered either way.

headman