Car stuff

I received a very surprising call yesterday.
It was from North Westie. They do the work on my 1984 Westfalia  when I choose not to do it myself. I brought it in because the pan was leaking. They had replaced the pan back in October because I put a rock through the old one. The car was also pulling to the right a little bit. I figured it was because I had kinda hit the ditch a little at the same time I put the rock through the pan.
North Westie had replaced the suspension on that same corner of the car last spring. The old suspension was bad, resulting in the right front wheel wobbling.
The bottom line was that there would be no charge, as they considered it warranty work. Gotta love a business that puts their money where their mouth is.
So since there was no charge, I decided to do a couple of things I was delaying to do myself. The headlights in the Westie are pretty sad affairs when it comes to producing illumination. I am replacing the standard setup with halogen H4 lights. And as long as they are at it, One of the driving lights is out so I am haveing them fix it, too.
I have also gotten in the new bumper and rear swing-away carrier for the rear, but that is a job I want to do myself. Since I won't get the Westie back until Monday, that leaves this weekend to throw the interior back in the 280Z. I have finished putting in the new carpet, and am starting to reassemble the heater stuff so that I can reinstall the dash. I don't have to work OT this weekend so I would like to get most of it done before I have to go back to work on Tuesday.
I also ordered new seat covers for the Z and for the HHR, but they won't be in for a couple of weeks.

Westie

Project #3 is our 1984 Westfalia.
It has had a heart transplant, using a 2004 Subaru 2.5 liter fuel injected engine with 175 ponies. I have added a Propex heater, a new refrigerator/freezer. Added a special 110 volt air conditioner that runs off of 110 for when we have shore power. It has sure come in handy a couple of times.
I have a Hondaa super silent 2000 to provide power when we are out in the woods.
new top new windshield new brake system, new wheels and tires.
It is in the shop right now.
Last fall I put a rock through the pan, and replaced the cast aluminum pan with a steel pan with a skid plate welded on the bottom.
It has been leaking a little oil, so I sent it back. It has also been pulling to the right. I suspect that when I put the hole in the pan, I also bent a tie rod.
I just ordered a custom rear bumper with a built in hitch from Rocky Mountain Westie. That and a fold out bumper mounted tray that I want to use to house the generator. When we are out and about with the dogs in the car, it would be nice to be able to run the generator to run the air conditioning while we went to dinner.
The bumper and swing away tray should be in tomorrow. The Westie isn't due out of the shop until next Monday, and I want to put it on myself.
Meanwhile I am halfway through putting the carpets back in the Z.
Did I mention I have to work overtime on Saturday?

Scam

SCAM.SCAM,SCAM,SCAM
SCAM,SCAM,SCAM,SCAM
SCAMITY SCAM!
Apologies to Monty Python (The SPAM Song)

Anything that seems to good to be true, almost always is.
The 1953 Cantwell Puma second chance notification was a phony. I was suspicious from the onset, but approached it from a "What the heck can I loose" attitude. As long as no money changed hands or any commitment was made, why not check it out?
When it got to the point that I wanted to set up a date to personally inspect the vehicle, it became impossible
for me to actually see it. I went into my e-bay account and there is a way you can find out if the second chance offer is legitimate.
According to e-bay, there was no offer.
whotthehell, whotthehell (the song of Mahitabell)

1953 Puma

I am currently negotiating the purchase of a one-off custom sports car/race car. The picture is attached.
It was on e-bay. I bid on it but was way outbid. The deal was closed at $20,200.00.
A week later I got an e-mail saying I was being offered the car for $10,000.00, which was my original bid.
I am e-mailing back and forth with the owner.
If this deal is legitimate, I think I can make a quite a bit of money by flipping this car.
Lots of questions. Why is it being offered for such a low price? I figure it is worth around what the original bid was.
I am excited as can be, but cautious.
Is the car licensable and streetable? It was built as a race car, As you can see it has no bumpers.
It supposedly can be started and driven.
It is located in Lolo Montana, about eight hours from here.
I have requested access to personally inspect it, and maybe take it for a test drive.
I have the money available.
I am trying very hard to be rational, so I can think straight and not get sucked in by the WOW! factor.
But damn it's pretty!

280Z

The carpets are out and I'm getting ready to clean up the floors and install the new carpets.

The Missing Grandkids

Mt son was in a bad marriage some 20 years ago, which ended in divorce. That is never a good situation. There were four kids involved. I don;t want to go into all of that here, but I adopted one, one went into foster care and the two littlest ones were adopted. It was a closed adoption, so no contact was allowed with their biological family, except a minimum amount of contact with their brother, when they requested it. Since I was his adoptive parent, I got to go along and see them, but only me and my wife.
After a while contact stopped, some eight or nine years ago. I missed them, but was in no position to push.
Saturday, V. texted me saying that someone he thought was maybe his brother had friend requested him on Facebook. He wanted to know what the last name was of the adoptive parents was, so I told him, and indeed it was his brother.
Once the two of them had connected, I friended both  of them.
Good Lord, how they have changed. They are grown, or close to.
But that's not what I wanted to write about.
I wanted to write about a particular moment of time, about fifteen years ago.
I was an early winter morning, and I was up early, alone. Joshua and Jayce were spending the weekend. They were pretty much inseparable when they were small.
I was sitting in the big chair out in the music room, reading the Sunday newspaper, when they sleepily dragged their little selves out and climbed into the chair with me, one snuggled on either side of me.
The early morning winter sun slanted in the window and warmed us.
It was a moment of such complete contentment, that I took a moment to set it in my mind. With all the uncertainty in the world I knew it was extremely unlikely that the moment and the feeling would last or likely ever return.
I have kept that memory stored away and cherished ever since.
Hold on to those precious moments and never, never take them for granted.