Otis

Thanks, Bob. I love your car. We were parked next to each other, but didn't get a chance to speak -- my fault, since I was too busy pumping Rimspoke and Ken Winters for "how to fix my Isetta" information -- that, and painting cat figures on the art car, and drinking wine, and snapping pictures, and stealing jars of Grey Poupon from the back of the Rolls Royces.

Now, here's a picture worth publishing. Much prettier than my ass.

So, Mr. Postman arrives with my issue of Roundel. Nice issue, two gorgeous rides on the cover (bad to the bone - simply put, those are just great cars), nice article on them on page 34. Flipping throught the pages, hmmm, new M car, another M car, what's this -- oh, another M car -- hey, page 81 -- "Photographs by David Bowen." Who? What the . . . hey, wow, c'est moi! But another surprise to come -- turn the page, to 82 -- and there is not just one butt, but two -- mine, and Otis's. Wow, my first time ever in a magazine, and I'm literally, showing my ass! And, for those of you who have wondered, "what's an Otis?" Well, that's an Otis (it's actually an acronym for "Orange ti's")... Hey, Otis -- nice butt. Wow, a guy tries to stay "under cover" around here, and what happens --he winds up between the covers, "outed" in the club mag. Note the attention to detail -- orange car, orange hat -- go figure. Also, if you saw the Art Car, you know that I painted cats and paw prints all over it. The "brush strokes" being applied in the picture, are in honor of Mr. Boots. Anyway, since the article appears in Roundel, I guess it could have been expected for the text to have a BMC CCA slant. But IMHO, the event is not a car club event (Tar Heels, correct me if I'm wrong there). Indeed, it takes a while, and a multi-paragraph wind-up, before the article finally mentions the person who deserves all the credit, and then some -- the Fearless Leader himself, Scott Sturdy. Scott, hats off to you, for organizing and hosting the best, most-fun event of the year. For anyone who has not made it to V@V, it's more than worth the trip. So, I more-than-highly recommend that you mark it on your calendars for next year, and come on down -- www.vintageatthevineyards.zoomshare.com. As for my career as a photographer, all I did was snap about 150 pictures on my el-cheapo digital, and give the disk to Scott. It's nice that somebody at Roundel found good use for the pictures -- but for those who were there, I think I took a picture of just about everyone's car (my favorite being the pictures I snapped of the M1; my second favorite, the kids playing with the slot car track). So, if you want a picture of your car at the Vintage, or of you accepting one of the awards, let me know -- I probably have it on disk (I even took pictures of all the Rolls Royces). And as for Otis, well, next year, he promises a matching trailer (that's the E-30's trailer to which he's hooked up). It's in the works, and it will have a few "over the top" accessories. In short, see you next year at the vintage -- and if I can speak collectively here, thanks again, Scott - we all appreciate what you have done to put together this world-class event (and no, I'm not exaggerating there).

I think it's worth the drive to Pleasanton, CA, just to go to the other way-cool vintage car dealer, Specialty Sales. www.specialtysales.com. I drool uncontrollably every time I go there. I've never been to the place that was selling the 19k 02 (Classic Cars Ltd.), but in general, it must be nice living in or around Pleasanton -- lots and lots of great car stuff going on, all the time, it seems.

I don't think there are any external markings by which you can quickly ID a Stage 1 from Korman. f it were me, and I had some question about whether Korman's had rebuilt or worked on a particularl engine in a particular car, I'd call Korman's directly, and ask to speak to Allen Patterson -- give him the specifics, and he can look it up for you in their records. Does that help?

When they tore down the house down the street (to create another McMansion), we asked the construction crew to save the oven. They did -- a nice Jenn Air double-oven built in. We welded up a cage from some spare steel stock, put it on some small wheels that we had laying around, and attached an electrical box. Voila, free powder-coating oven. It works fine for the small stuff. But, it would be better to have a walk-in (like the size of a small one-person sauna). That way, you could construct a cage on wheels, powder everything up, and just wheel it into the oven. Much easier than trying to manipulate hangers and racks. I'll post a picture in the next couple of days of the frame that we did for a C-30 Chevy pickup, frame-off restoration. The frame, we did in POR15; everything that fit in the oven, we powder coated, and everything in between, we outsourced to the pros.

Uncle Rick and I -- in establishing our Backyard Restoration operation, saw the prices from those places and fell out of our rocking chairs. So, we simply invested in the Harbor Freight el-cheapo gun, and it does fine on the small stuff. I suppose under some theory, the pricier guns are justified, but thus far, I don't see it -- not for the small stuff, at least. Just the opinion of a couple of cheapskates, however. We're also going to construct a bigger oven. I can't see paying a couple of grand for a walk-in.

Sorry to see that. If you were here in Maryland, Uncle Rick and I, and (if I may speak for them) all the usual suspects in the MD/DC/VA area, would dive in and have your car back on the road before the weekend is out. Indeed, if it's just sheet metal and trim, no frame work, it looks like a faifly straightforward fix (we'll hope).

Do it, James. If you don't have any room in your garage, I'll be glad to keep it for you. I'll even be so kind as to start it up every once in a while, maybe even take it for a short spin around the block, just to keep the tires round. Heck, the storage would be free, and it's only a short transatlantic flight -- you can visit your turbo any time you'd like.

Nice article by Mike Self, too. Mike, how come you get all the fun?

Nah, Angelyne's not like that . . . really. She adores the attention.

Mama mia -- at'sa some spicey meat-ah ball-ah -- abondanza (sp)!

Thanks for the invite. Does this mean that the next great FAQ controversy is -- East NC BBQ, or West NC BBQ? I realize I have just started WWIII -- sorry )

and also, Greasoff, www.kleentec.com/Kleer-flo/cleaningsol/greasoff2.htm

Bravo. There's absolutely no substitute for fine craftsmanship. Outstanding.

"Squarie with the Euro!" -- Beautiful car.

Many thanks; armed with that knowledge, I drop by the local Home Depot on the way home and . . . out of stock. (Plenty of Hilti stuff, however -- cool tools with new theft-proof devices.) Anyway, do you folks think it's worth putting a cordless driver/wrench/whatever in the tool bin? I've been debating this forever. I already have a full compliment of air tools, including two "big mutha" IR impact wrenches. I know, there are times when you just don't feel like hooking up the compressor, etc. etc., etc. -- and then, there are those "rare" times on the road when our reliable cars somehow, mysteriously break down (does that ever happen?). So a cordless is useful, understood. But is the convenience of a cordless, really worth the price tag? Advice/opinions appreciated. BTW, the more I collect hand held power tools, the more I find myself migrating to Hilti. IMHO, they're the Snap On of hand helds (no disrespect to Bosch). But, as the old saying goes, nothing beats a corded tool. I feel the same way, in general, about air tools -- so, is the cordless impact really worth it?

Now that I see your specific carb, I'm not sure if Holley (or Edelbrock) makes a suitable replacement. But, you never know. I highly recommend emailing the tech lines of both companies, as I said in the other thread. They are very helpful. Good luck!

Could someone educate me, also? I've searched, and have read all the product literature, and have even asked some professional carpenters -- one guy said, "well, the driver drives shank nails, but I've never tried the wrench -- and my driver works as a wrench." I've even asked the DeWalt guys themselves, at the Baltimore Woodworker's Show last January -- and the guy said, and I quote: "I dunno." The folks at Home Depot are no help -- all of whom seem to be a bit "English challenged" these days (minimum wage sales clerks, rather than the trade people they used to employ). Indeed, no one seems to come up with a clear answer: What is the difference (if any) between DeWalt's impact driver(s) and their impact wrench(es) (they have several models)?

absolutely the best made, easiest ever to adjust and work on and unfortunately i've not been clever enough to figure out how to adapt one to my o2 or would have done so years ago I've only had my Edelbrock on Hector the Monster Truck for about 2 weeks, but I don't think I'll ever buy anything else. Easy to adjust, intuitive, good customer support -- hey, it even looks pretty. For the V-8 motorheads here, the new 'brock sits on top of a 351M -- which I'm replacing next year with a 400M --- www.enginefactory.com. In fairness, however, I found both the Holley and the Edelbrock tech support lines to be tremendously helpful. Contacting someone there might not be a bad idea; they might have some ideas, suggestions, etc. As for Holley, however, I would want to be certain that if the carb is old, a kit is available to rebuild it. That, after all, is what started my adventures with Big Hector's engine.

Slightly OT (although related by brand) -- I just took the 2bbl Holley off my Ford F-350, replacing it with an Edelbrock 4bbl. The 2bbl is free to a good home. The reason I took it off, however, is that Holley doesn't make a rebuild kit for that particular model, and I didn't have the time to machine/adapt other parts and kits. If you have the time, howvever, the carb is yours for the taking.

Thanks, Esty. This is exactly the stuff I was looking for, for my trailer project for Otis. Saved me a lot of time looking and searching -- Much, much appreciated )

("loveable rustbunny") -- I'm not sure, perhaps that would be one and the same -- Otis has been tooling around the 'hood for quite some time now, and it's hard to miss that license plate (by which most know him). Otis is the car that was parked at Lothar's place for a long time, as the display car for East Coast Auto Sound. Still, Otis has undergone a substantial transformation recently -- roadworthy now, and he's even been spruced up with some new Panasports and T-Proxies! I'm really happy with the look -- lower, more aggressive stance. Patti calls the Panasports, "Otis' dress shoes." Anyway, NIH is right down the street from me -- walking distance, in fact. We'll have to get together and mash motors -- or eat a good seafood dinner -- Otis likes to park in downtown Bethesda on restaurant row, and we get a nickel for every time someone asks, "Hey, is that a 2002?" As for parts, I am knocking heavily on wood right now that I don't need anything - crossing my fingers as I type. But I was hoping for some side markers, if you have any laying around. And, I do have some rust issues on the undercarriage. I'm dreading what I'll find, but he goes up on the lift in a few days - I'll report back. Thanks so much for the offer. We're looking forward to meeting you in person. Regards/David and Patti

"so if you're around MD give me a holler" Marty '73 02 '03 MCS Greetings, Marty -- "Otis" and I are in Kensington, down the road a bit from you. Might need a few parts here and there -- drop me a line at davidbowen5828 at comcast dot net.