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I moved from the UK to SoCal in the summer of 1981. My best friend then (and now) Dan, his mom had a powder blue Country Squire. It eventually got donated to a local technical high school and she got a new Caddy FWD something or another. I’m sure you know this better than me, but the options and ordering choices on US vehicles were dizzying then, especially when you factor in vehicles which got configured for and sold to fleets, be they commercial buyers, daily rental companies, local government or whatever. Some real odd ducks produced which don’t fit what we learned growing up, so to speak. And re the DMV, I had a ‘67 TR4A titled and registered as a ‘68.
Thanks for your excellent thread, John
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misteralz
Posted a lot
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star.png)
I may drive a Volkswagen, but I'm scene tax exempt!
Posts: 2,409
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1970s non-American V8? Looking forward to the W119 pics.
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Jun 10, 2023 21:05:11 GMT
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I moved from the UK to SoCal in the summer of 1981. My best friend then (and now) Dan, his mom had a powder blue Country Squire. It eventually got donated to a local technical high school and she got a new Caddy FWD something or another. I’m sure you know this better than me, but the options and ordering choices on US vehicles were dizzying then, especially when you factor in vehicles which got configured for and sold to fleets, be they commercial buyers, daily rental companies, local government or whatever. Some real odd ducks produced which don’t fit what we learned growing up, so to speak. And re the DMV, I had a ‘67 TR4A titled and registered as a ‘68. Thanks for your excellent thread, John I came to SoCal in 1992, I don't know that I moved here so much as just never left... You are right, the option lists meant that there were endless variations of the same car. There are so many videos out there that talk about "rare" cars because they were one of only 237 cars in navy blue with a four speed transmission AND the AM/FM package - that sort of minutia is a little lost on me. Glad you are enjoying my infrequent musings. 1970s non-American V8? Looking forward to the W119 pics. Well, it is European... Someone is a clever boy!
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Last Edit: Jun 13, 2024 5:35:09 GMT by wildrover
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Jun 10, 2023 22:08:37 GMT
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The story of this purchase begins with what I didn't buy.
Buoyed by not being murdered in my sleep the tacit approval of the purchase of the 2nd station wagon, fueled by copious amounts of Jameson, high on 80s music and distant memories of my youth, and left unsupervised at my computer I found myself looking for more cars that I don't need, have no space for and can't really afford - as you do.
I became fixated on the Merkur XR4ti... I mean, it's really just a Sierra... /justification alert/ and, my first real car - that wasn't held together with chicken wire and bondo - was a Sierra. I wanted, no, I needed a Sierra - life would be empty and meaningless without one... ah, whiskey and nostalgia, what a seductively dangerous cocktail you are.
I found this
It was a bit of a dog and needed a $hit ton of work some minor fettling, but... it was listed for two grand, it was a rust free California car and it was less than 20 miles away - plus it was the non sunroof car, which I prefer. Plans were made, messages were sent and I arranged to go and see the car - I was going to lowball the seller but would have gone to full price if needed. The morning of the meet up the seller ghosted me - nothing but radio silence - barsteward!
The ad remained active for a few weeks but at no point would the seller respond to me. I formulated a new strategy - I had my nemesis good friend, Sal, reach out - he could do the whole Spanish Homie thing whereas I was an obvious güero, and based on the guy's name and neighborhood I figured Sal would have an advantage. Initially Sal had a good response, but then the same thing happened with the seller ghosting him.
Of course, the new problem was that Sal was now aware of my weakness penchant for the XR4ti and he began bombarding me with ones he found for sale. Finally he sent me one that was located in the Phoenix area of Arizona - it wasn't properly listed so it didn't show up on most searches. The asking price was $500 and there were only a few pictures and none of the interior. I have lived here long enough to know what to expect from a desert car - no rust, but a sun baked, dry brittle interior, dry seals, and sun bleached paint. Nonetheless, I called and spoke to a lovely fella by the name of Pete.
I had a great chat with Pete, but as I suspected, the interior was ruined and the engine seized - I wished him well, but I declined. Phew, I dodged that bullet... or did I?
Two weeks later Pete called - did I want the car, for free? Curses. Based on my earlier reasoning I said thanks, but no thanks... is how a sensible person would have handled the situation - not for the first time I proved I am not a sensible person, and of course I said yes without thinking things through. I told Pete I couldn't collect for about 5 or 6 weeks and he said fine. Now I just needed to find somewhere to park the thing when it got home and to figure out a way of breaking the wonderful news to my missus.
Feeling that I wasn't living close enough to the edge I kept looking for other cars that fit my teenage wish list. That's when I found the Reno car - it too was badly listed which meant the ad was getting little or no traffic - at least not from anyone who might have been interested in buying it. I called the seller - a drawn out process that involved voicemail and lots of texting - and I made him a stupid low ball offer, which he accepted... what is wrong with people? Realizing just how much jeopardy I had now placed myself in I told Mike it would be about 5 or 6 weeks before I could collect. Surely I could find a way to pull this off if I had enough time? ![???](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/huh.png)
Then, as if things weren't bad enough - the first guy messaged me to say the car was still for sale if I was interested. Fortunately for me he employed a sales strategy that I have never seen before... after weeks of running the ad and the car not selling, after ghosting me and Sal he said it was mine if only I would pay him a grand over his original asking price ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) Easy choice, I ghosted him!
Time passed and a sort of plan emerged so I started calling people to arrange collection dates - Pete, with the free car had given up waiting for me and had given it to someone else - I completely understood, we had a good chat again and he said he would let me know if he came across another. One less thing to worry about, I s'pose.
I then reached out to Mike in Reno - nothing. I tried several times with no response - well that just made me want the car even more. The ad was still active and still incorrectly listed; I gave it one more try and sent a text - three days later he responded and we were back on. I gave him an estimate of pick up in three weeks and offered to send him a small good faith deposit - ha agreed to hold on and said no worries on the deposit.
Now, all that was left was how to break my good news to Lesley.
In the end, it was surprisingly easy... we went out for dinner and after the beer course, during the margarita course, but before the tequila course I casually mentioned that I was going on a road trip the following week to pick up another car... there was a brief moment where it seemed like the whole restaurant had gone silent, even the clocks stopped ticking, She stared at me, so I smiled and in my best and most convincing innocent voice said "what?" and just like that it was done and everything returned to normal-ish. I surreptitiously checked myself for knife or bullet wounds, told her the car would not be coming back to the house and all was right with the world.
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Last Edit: Jun 10, 2023 22:10:30 GMT by wildrover
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Jun 10, 2023 23:06:01 GMT
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The day before the road trip dawned and I started to get stuff organized as it was going to be an early start the next day. The main task today was to collect the trailer from Sal, who graciously allowed me to use it even though I broke a tail light within the first 15 feet last time he lent it to me. Here is the set up, tools all loaded and ready for an early morning start. ![](https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/wildrovr/e8ce88242362.jpg)
Thursday began at "you can't be serious" o'clock, I was on the freeway by 5:20 a.m. Although traffic was light by LA standards the roads were by no means empty. The first milestones were to get past LAX, followed by the junction with the 10 and finally past the 101 - I managed all of these in decent time, during rush hour it might take over an hour to get to LAX and another hour to get up and over the Sepulveda pass and the 101, I was clear of all of these obstacles in about an hour. Once beyond the 101 I was going the opposite direction to rush hour so there was less traffic induced stress. The road surface was another issue all together - at one point I was sure that I had two flat tires on the trailer as it was kicking and bucking so badly - nope, just awful road surfaces.
I joined the 5 freeway well north of Los Angeles my first real decision was fast approaching as I had not yet settled on a route to Reno. I could stay on the 5 all the way to Sacramento and then take the 80 east to Reno, arriving through Truckee and Lake Tahoe. Alternatively, I could take the 14 to the 395 and drive up the Owens Valley, along the eastern side of the Sierras. The 5 may seem like the obvious choice as it is a major artery and is well traveled whereas the 14 and 395 are not serviced as well. Because the 5 is a major truck route and because the road surface reflects this, I opted for what was the potentially slower route - the 395 is only a two lane highway in some stretches.
As I joined the 14 the sun was well on its way up, the road surface was smooth as silk and I almost forgot I was towing.
I was soon the other side of Lancaster and headed out into the desert - I cannot remember the last time I drove this route, but it was quite some time ago. Just about to enter Mojave.
One of the downsides of this route is that it goes through the towns along the way, speed is reduced and traffic lights are involved - no matter. I don't know how clear this next picture is, but the other side of the town of Mojave is the famous aircraft boneyard/storage facility.
![](https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/wildrovr/40eb7e9cf2e5.jpg)
Approaching Red Rock Canyon.
![](https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/wildrovr/3fec23472aaa.jpg)
It's the first day of June, I am driving through the Mojave desert, and yes, that is snow you can see on the mountains.
I took this shot a little too soon, it's the sign post for Death Valley.
It's now just after 9 a.m., I am approaching the town of Lone Pine and I see cowboys doing cowboy stuff.
![](https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/wildrovr/320fb1849c7c.jpg)
Time for the first pit stop - wee, breakfast burger and coffee - this is the view.
I am still amazed that this late in the year the mountains still have this much snow - I think by now I am out of the desert and into the chaparral
I mentioned earlier that I am driving through the Owens Valley - there is some interesting history here - the main issue is the water rights - long story short, the City of Los Angeles has the rights to the water from the Owens Lake watershed - the Los Angeles aqueduct begins up here and has fed the city of LA for over a century. In turn it has depleted the available water in this region - a long and controversial history - engineered by a certain Mr. William Mulholland. Here's the Wikipedia article for anyone that's interested en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Aqueduct. The film Chinatown is based on these "water wars."
As a result of this controversial set up it is not unusual to see City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power vehicles way up here - this is one such vehicle in Bishop, some 260 miles from its home base.
I had kind of forgotten that I would be climbing to reach Reno - this was about 1,000 feet below the highest point on the journey.
A blurry picture of the Nevada state line.
About 20 miles from the seller's home I give him a call to say I am close...
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Last Edit: Jun 10, 2023 23:12:27 GMT by wildrover
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Jun 12, 2023 15:29:00 GMT
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Uh Oh... a cliff hanger...
When does the next episode get released?! haha
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Jun 12, 2023 21:59:27 GMT
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Uh Oh... a cliff hanger... When does the next episode get released?! haha Yes, yes! That's it, I am not easily distracted or slack about updating, it's a "cliffhanger"
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Jun 12, 2023 23:47:47 GMT
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Tonight, on the season finale of Impulse Purchase/Driving to Reno...
I navigated to Mike's place - a gated community of mobile homes on the north side of Reno. I had already done a Google street view survey of the place, but what I didn't realize was that the car was on Mike's drive, which sloped uphill and that Mike's street was a fairly steep down hill. The car had one wheel that he told me would not hold air, it was also a non runner - with the big trailer and tight street there was no way to maneuver on to his drive. After my 500 + mile drive I was a bit on the tired side, so this didn't seem like it was going to be fun... at all.
Mike seemed like a nice enough fella, but I am not sure that the elevator went all the way to the top floor. His friend who had agreed to help hadn't showed up, so Mike decided to use his Ford Expedition and the shortest, thinnest tie down strap and a tire to construct a Heath Robinson tow rig of his own. I was prepared to let him give it a shot as no money had exchanged hands at this point and I was a little too tired to take over... plus he wasn't listening anyway. Fortunately for everyone Mike's friend showed up and he brought extra help with him. The friend was more that competent I gladly let him take charge - after a little more bodgery than I would have liked the new purchase was properly loaded and secured on the trailer.
At this point Mike told me he was going to give me $500 off the sale price, I happily accepted... unfortunately, Mike had forgotten just how much (little) I had agreed to pay. He then walked back his reduction - ordinarily I'd leave it be, but I suggested he throw me a bone for my diesel costs and he eventually agreed to give me $300 off the price. I feel too guilty to say what I paid, but obviously not guilty enough that I didn't do the deal. Money, exchanged, documents provided, tie downs checked - it still wasn't even 4:00 p.m. and the road awaited.
I didn't take any pictures at Mike's place - his house, privacy, etc. Once outside the gates and to do one more check on the tie downs I took the first pictures. kevins was correct!
It's a 1971 Mk1 Stag with hard and soft top, it is not an overdrive or A/C car, which is a shame, but, for what I paid for it I really can't grumble.
The original owner purchased the car new from Mark Howard Pontiac in Uniontown, Pennsylvania on May 21, 1971; he paid the princely sum of $5,599.44 at a time when you could buy a house for about $25,000. I have just done a Google search on the first owner's name and it seems that he was quite the accomplished chap - he and I share something in common: we were both born in London and emigrated to the States in our 20s. He passed away while on his boat in 1995, so the trail goes cold as far as the first owner. It seems that the car resided in West Virginia before making its way to California sometime around 1975 or so.
Sometime in or around 1980 the Stag was purchased by Mike's brother - it can't have been on the road for long as the last tag on the car is 1982. According to Mike, it was in a barn for 30 plus years, when they lost the barn the car sat outside for a few years and when Mike's brother died a couple of years ago it was moved to the car port I collected it from.
I headed for the highway and set my sights on Southern California. Once again I opted for the 395 as it was smooth and relatively free of traffic on the northern leg of the journey, and the later it got the less I would have to worry about traffic. The plan was to get as far south as possible and to seek shelter at the first sign of tiredness.
Here is a photo of Mono Lake as seen looking south - the lake is not a patch on what it used to be
A little further south is the town of Lee Vining - the eastern entrance to Yosemite is just south of town, the Tioga pass crests out at 9,945 ft and, as of June 1, was still not open due to snow and rock falls. With Yosemite getting about 240% of its usual snow pack this last winter the road is still closed as of June 12, and there is no opening date predicted.
It wouldn't be California without this
And that was the last picture of the trip. I stopped to wee, and get dinner of tacos and coffee at around 8:00 p.m. in Bishop, with a pit stop in Lone Pine after. One more stop to clean the inordinate amount of bugs of the windshield somewhere in the Mojave. I made it home by about 12:20 and was more than happy to hit the hay.
The next day I took the Stag to its new quarters - my friend John runs a mechanics shop not too far from me.
![](https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/wildrovr/bf3258020c7b.jpg)
Can you guess what cars he enjoys working on?
That's all for now - thanks for reading along.
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The American West … nothing like it.
Great post. Nice find.
John
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The American West … nothing like it. Great post. Nice find. John Thanks John. It had been such a long time since I had driven this route that I had forgotten just how many contrasting landscapes there are in California - made all the more wonderful due to the enormous rainfall we had this winter.
I dropped the Stag with John on Friday, I now had the option of returning the trailer to Sal, or keeping hold of it and helping out a mate of mine and returning it on Monday. I checked with Mike (different chap from the seller of the Stag) and he needed help, so a plan was formulated.
Rewinding slightly... California experienced huge rain fall this last winter - lots of you may be familiar with the 1972 Albert Hammond hit "It never rains in Southern California..."
But what most forget is that the next line is "... it pours man it pours" and this last winter we had lots and lots and lots of rain. One rainy Saturday Mike was coming home from taking his daughter shoe shopping - it was raining heavily and as he was driving on the 605 freeway he heard on the radio of delays ahead, seeing stopped traffic ahead he decided on a last minute freeway exit. Regrettably the rain, the freeway exit layout, and no doubt his speed resulted in his Landcruiser rear stepping out... the back wheels hit the kerb, resulting in a short, but no doubt unpleasant ride on the roof and side. Fortunately the only damage was to the car, and presumably Mike's pride.
Fast forward a few weeks and Mike has a lead on a Landcruiser body shell for $500 - he has a trailer, but it's not in great shape, and without the Landcruiser he no longer has a tow vehicle - enter me and Sal's trailer. Having got Sal's permission me and Mike arranged a time to meet and go get his new to him Landcrusier body shell - fortunately it was only about 30 miles away.
I was somewhat underwhelmed by my first sight of our target...
However, with judicious application of that well know phrase "safety third" we got everything loaded... I say "we" but I did as little as humanly possible, opting instead to let Mike do all the hard work ... well, it is his car
Loaded
We arrived safely at Mike's workshop in Huntington Beach and began the tricky process of unloading
![](https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/wildrovr/8fc517e8a66c.jpg)
The yard of Mike's shop is a small and tricky space to reverse a trailer in to - I managed it on the first try with no problems. This may sound somewhat of a prideful statement, but worry not, pride goeth before a fall. Try as I might I could not drive out forwards ![:o](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/shocked.png) . The maneuvering required to get the shell off the trailer coupled with the loss of space now occupied by the shell meant I had no way to get an easy exit. Much cursing and jacking up of the trailer later and we were finally free.
On Monday, I returned the trailer to Sal at his work. Some thoughtful soul had made sure I had to thread the needle in reverse to get the trailer to its resting place. The first time I borrowed the rig from Sal I broke a tail light within the first 15 feet of hooking up... not so this time! Over a thousand miles of damage free motoring... well up until the last 15 feet that is... This time I broke the other tail light
Additionally, at some point during winching operations either with the Stag or the Landcruiser body the winch cable had suffered from two nasty kinks - I bought Sal a pair of LED tail lights and a synthetic winch cable even though he insisted I didn't need to - now that's a true mate... putting aside the psychological warfare he unleashes on me with the barrages of emails about cars I should buy (knowing what a weak willed man I am), even when I damage his brand new trailer he just shrugs it off.
I will have updates on the Wagons, the Rover and the Stag soon*
*soon is a fluid term and may have different meanings in your jurisdiction
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Last Edit: Jun 25, 2023 7:40:05 GMT by wildrover
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Somehow I had missed the road trip so I just got it all in one hit.
Thanks as always for sharing more than just fetching a car.
Good find on the Triumph too, and of course the Landcruiser is just what we do…. 😉
Looking forward to the rest of the Triumph story unfolding.
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Let's face it... I suck at updating my thread ![:(](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/sad.png) I really take my hat off to those of you that do such great work of pushing forward with your projects and keeping us all entertained at the same time - thank you, and apologies for not being on that list. Some stuff has sort of happened, not much, but, softly, softly catchee monkey and all that. My original Country Squire is languishing at my mate's yard and although there are vague plans to rehouse it at some unknown point in the future, I am still afraid of the accompanying death as my missus still doesn't know it exists - today was our 25th anniversary, I view it as 9,125 days that she hasn't yet acted on her murderous impulses... The second wagon I bought is too much of a project for me given the other cars in waiting. There was a plan to move it on to a nice chap in England, I have been storing it at my mate's yard for the best part of a year trying to make this work, but so far hope is fading - not sure what will happen to it if this doesn't work out. The Rover and the Stag have been homed at my friend's workshop - not the same place as the wagons - I have encountered problems with a neighbor that meant I couldn't even store them on my drive. I had one friend that had space "coming soon" in his shared workspace, but month after month rolled by with no progress - eventually, John who operates a small mechanic's shop for British cars offered me a space in his shop - it was less space inside, but John drinks tea and speaks the kind of English I understand, so I said yes. That's when Mike, who doesn't drink tea and speaks the local dialect, told me space was available... doh. It's like waiting for a 221 on a cold dark rainy winter night - you wait ages and then two come along together. ![](https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/wildrovr/fd118257c026.jpg)
John, is a lovely fella, but... he marches to the beat of his own drum, and so I have both cars parked outside his workshop but space inside has yet to be cleared. I have access to go and work on either the Stag or the Rover for a few hours on a Saturday outside - eventually, I will get indoor space and a key, I am just not sure when "eventually" will be.
On the plus side, John has been working on British cars for almost half a century now and he's almost as excited as me about the Stag, and he's good company.
Some work has been done on the Stag. Both door handles were broken - the black plastic "push plate" was in pieces on both sides. Rimmer carries them, as they do so many other parts for the Stag. The locks and handles were removed, lubed and new parts installed - unfortunately, I am also bad at taking photos, plus most of the action takes place inside the door so tough to photo. Here it is installed.
As I have never owned or ever even been in a Stag I don't have a bench mark for these door handles - it seems that nothing happens until you are right at the top of the push plate's travel and even then it feels like you have to put an awful lot of pressure on them to open the door. Everything else is lubricated and operating as intended - or so it seems. Anyhow, for now I am able to lock the doors.
I removed the terrible 70s/80s shag carpet and the lurid 70s carpet tile "sound insulation" - no pictures as I feared it may violate some rule about atrocities or some such... take it from me, it wasn't good.
Note the period Motolita wheel - the original is in the boot.
With the carpet out the full extent of the rampaging tin worm is evident...
Actually, there may be more but I am hoping not.
The seats have a lot of accumulated grime and the foams have seen better days, but overall the interior isn't too bad.
The rest of the floor seems pretty sound. Time will tell.
I know that Stags are famous for weeping petrol tanks, so out this one came, and there was evidence of minor leakage. We have yet to check it as I only pulled it out this weekend. There was only a minor dribble of petrol on the boot floor and the tank had about 6 gallons of 1982's finest fuel.
There is a tear in the boot floor, but it looks like something punctured it from below rather than rotting out. No photo at this time.
The radiator has been removed and we are moving towards taking the engine out - it is currently seized, but I am wishfully thinking that judicious application of marvel mystery oil, diesel, trans fluid, etc. will help free it up so that at least it turns.
![](https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/wildrovr/2763307bbcae.jpg) ![](https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/wildrovr/d788f6c5da89.jpg) The goal is to keep stripping it down and when interior space opens up in the shop it will be put on John's rotisserie for easier working conditions.
Parts seem to be readily available for Stags, thanks to the various Triumph clubs - hopefully most things can be reconditioned, but for those that need replacing there are sources... of course, shipping is always an unwelcome addition to the price, but at least we don't have to pay VAT and, more often than not the customs man doesn't come looking for import duties - by saying that I have no doubt jinxed myself...
I am hoping that there will be updates on both wagons and the Rover in the near(ish) future, but no promises.
Thanks for allowing me to ramble on. TTFN.
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Last Edit: Oct 3, 2023 1:41:06 GMT by wildrover
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Good,too,see an update, regardless.
Some amazing threads on here have died over the years, either through lack of interest and comments from readers, or censorship and management style.
I am glad you,are still here, reporting and keeping us up to date.
Even just a random pic of an American spot from time to time will keep your fans happy.
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Very cool!
Rather amusing to hear that there are cars hidden all over the place haha
I'm almost scared to ask, but which wagon are you thinking on rehoming?
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Very cool! Rather amusing to hear that there are cars hidden all over the place haha I'm almost scared to ask, but which wagon are you thinking on rehoming? I think it is OK for me to mention. Not the green goddess……
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Good,too,see an update, regardless. Some amazing threads on here have died over the years, either through lack of interest and comments from readers, or censorship and management style. I am glad you,are still here, reporting and keeping us up to date. Even just a random pic of an American spot from time to time will keep your fans happy. Thanks Rian - I was thinking of you when I mentioned those that do a great job with their threads - I don't know how you have the energy to keep so many projects going and then to write it all up. There are many others on that list with you but I didn't name them as there are so many.
I am trying to get more organized and to get a schedule together to keep things moving along. Now I just have to keep the updates going as I do find them to be handy to track progress.
Very cool! Rather amusing to hear that there are cars hidden all over the place haha I'm almost scared to ask, but which wagon are you thinking on rehoming? You say amusing, I say terrifying! Trying to keep all my stories straight ![:D](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/grin.png) In all seriousness though, she knows about three of the project cars, plus my 2002 CROWN Vic, my 1994 Jeep and my 1980 Vespa.
The wagon that will be moving along is the 1973 Country Squire. I really hope that it ends up with the chap who is supposed to be taking it as he is the absolutely perfect new owner. If that falls through I will post here and the car will be available on the same terms and at the same price... which is Free. I will even drop it at a local shippers or the port of Los Angeles or Long Beach. There are some considerations, but more on that anon.
Very cool! Rather amusing to hear that there are cars hidden all over the place haha I'm almost scared to ask, but which wagon are you thinking on rehoming? I think it is OK for me to mention. Not the green goddess…… You can of course mention it - although, as they are both green that might be a trifle confusing!
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Good,too,see an update, regardless. Some amazing threads on here have died over the years, either through lack of interest and comments from readers, or censorship and management style. I am glad you,are still here, reporting and keeping us up to date. Even just a random pic of an American spot from time to time will keep your fans happy. As I have drifted more to the British side of my collection recently following are some pictures of a little beauty I came across while on holiday in Sonoma recently.
![](https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/wildrovr/3de671c75717.jpg)
This was in the little town of Monte Rio, on the banks of the Russian River. It's a '26 Cadillac - I knew this because it has a 1926 license plate and a Cadillac badge.
And... I have had to look for a new barber recently as the current fella unfortunately died. While exploring some options I came across this.
![](https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/wildrovr/a7c8d82fc2d0.jpg)
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Very cool! Rather amusing to hear that there are cars hidden all over the place haha I'm almost scared to ask, but which wagon are you thinking on rehoming? You say amusing, I say terrifying! Trying to keep all my stories straight ![:D](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/grin.png) In all seriousness though, she knows about three of the project cars, plus my 2002 CROWN Vic, my 1994 Jeep and my 1980 Vespa.
The wagon that will be moving along is the 1973 Country Squire. I really hope that it ends up with the chap who is supposed to be taking it as he is the absolutely perfect new owner. If that falls through I will post here and the car will be available on the same terms and at the same price... which is Free. I will even drop it at a local shippers or the port of Los Angeles or Long Beach. There are some considerations, but more on that anon.
OK, the fear has set in, I will now be checking this website daily. Very cool wagon.
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Got to ask….
Before winter settles in.
Any progress on your wagon or other toys?
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