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Sept 15, 2022 20:03:46 GMT
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Sept 15, 2022 19:56:20 GMT
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We stopped in at the Kennedy Space Centre one day before the Artemis Rocket was due to take off. There was much excitement surrounding this as it was the first unmanned trip to the moon in a VERY long time. Unfortunately, the rocket was somewhat recalcitrant and had launchpad issues with a fuel leak. Postponing the launch saved NASA Billions most likely, but it was still disappointing to be so close to it with nothing happening. Said rocket, on the launchpad 3 miles away. We were NOT allowed any closer! There was something a bit new but very cool in the car park - sorry - parking lot. We reckoned it probably belonged to one of the Astronauts - a Ferrari Portofino. Not Retro, but pretty nice all the same! We of course had a good look around the various exhibitions - and the Saturn V itself was simply epic. The size of the thing is incomprehensible until you actually see it. This thing is massive. I wonder if you strapped just one of the engines to a vehicle, how fast would it go? (until you lost control and perished in a huge ball of flame, obviously!)
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Sept 15, 2022 19:45:06 GMT
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In the Everglades, we stopped off at Coopertown - it isn't really a town at all - just a few buildings where there is an Airboat Tours business. When we returned from our Airboat ride (thankfully avoiding falling in and being consumed by the numerous wild gators down there), I spotted a Jeep Panel Delivery in a fetching shade of purple. What was not so fetching was the rampant corrosion and obvious lack of use over the past few years. Plus those very 90s wheels told me it could have been in Street Machine in about 1993. The airboat has a 454 cu in Big Block Chevy V8. They recommend earplugs as it's not very quiet. However, drifting around the Everglades with one of these a few feet from your head is an epic experience. Gators were about...
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Sept 15, 2022 19:32:12 GMT
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My initial plan was to do a big thread about the trip itself, but as my friend Shaun and I were mainly having a mates' holiday after a rubbish couple of years, most of it wouldn't necessarily be relevant to everyone here. It wasn't like a grizz trip where he's hanging out with people heavily into cars - this was a trip to somewhere nice where we spotted a few interesting bits of kit. Instead what I will do is post a few pictures up of some of the more interesting (sometimes Retro!) cars/trucks/other stuff we saw during our 11 nights of fun. The pictures may not necessarily be in order, but who cares? It's all nice stuff! I will do this in several posts. Our hire car - 350BHP of Chevy LS-powered leviathan. A Suburban Premier 4WD. It was a beast of a thing and had every option you could think of - including air-conditioned seats - useful in the near 100 degree heat. And I am only bending slightly in this picture. I'm 5ft 8. We overtook a Range Rover on the freeway - it was tiny by comparison. Plus it had Quad pipes What we saw a lot of in Florida - the delightful left-hand turn stop signal. We always just missed them, and then sat there for ages waiting for them to change. We went to see our friends Ed and Jenny who were in our Classic Mini club in the 90s. They moved out there in 2005 on a 3 year contract initially and they're still there. They are now fully fledged US citizens. Jenny has a sweet little roadster - a Saturn Sky in bright yellow. The dealer was having trouble shifting it as it was a Manual. When Jenny told him she could "drive stick" they were able to make a decent deal. Once she'd replaced the rear tyres it was a lovely thing to drive.
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Last Edit: Sept 16, 2022 19:20:44 GMT by mrbounce
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Aug 30, 2022 13:58:40 GMT
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So sorry to hear about your Dad and you and yours getting covid. May everyone recover well.
That engineering is drool-worthy. I would love to be able to do something close to that. Not nearly enough talent though!
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Aug 27, 2022 16:08:43 GMT
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I remember putting my Mini up for sale about 20 years ago, put it in a National Magazine, then started to get calls every day from what was supposedly a broker stating they had "buyers lined up" for my car. For a small fee of course... I called bull poop but the calls kept coming.
Eventually, on the third day I fired an air horn down the phone at them and although we didn't see the cat for 6 hours, it did the trick and they got the message.
Scam calls are the lowest of the low.
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Last Edit: Aug 27, 2022 16:13:01 GMT by mrbounce
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Aug 26, 2022 13:24:43 GMT
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This proves to Mrs Bounce that I do not have a License Plate problem Looking forward to my trip in a week's time
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Aug 25, 2022 15:43:45 GMT
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Having followed your thread for a while, I would be inclined to let the Capri go, certainly for a couple of reasons: 1) you seem to be more attached to the Escort anyway, plus as you say, it *can* take most of your equipment. 2) There are likely to be more takers for the Capri. It may be a bit more scruffy than the Escort but it's like a blank canvas for the Ford afficionado whether they want to modify or not. Far more people are likely to want a Capri than a standard 1.1 Mk3 'scort.
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Aug 23, 2022 14:51:04 GMT
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Yeah - those coolant hoses might catch on something...
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Aug 17, 2022 14:13:05 GMT
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Absolutely brilliant. Now, go and enjoy the USA!
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Aug 15, 2022 21:19:15 GMT
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I rather like that - it is in surprisingly good nick considering how long it had been left to fester. A rotten R170 SLK would be cheap and could provide a worthy 2.3 Supercharged engine to swap in - I don't know the ins and outs, but I am sure the block is basically the same so it should fit... and it'd be an instant 190BHP. Thought I would just seed that idea in your mind...
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Aug 15, 2022 21:07:07 GMT
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I had a '69 Dodge 440 Six-Pack model similar to the one in the picture (shamelessly stolen from ebay) when I was about 15. I put Cragar 5-spoke wheels on it (nicked from another model), sprayed a really interesting metallic purple/maroon colour paint job on it and did away with the graphics. I wish I still had a picture of it as the colour was quite something. I love the look of this body shape Dodge a bit more than that of the Charger from the same era. I would love one as much now as I did then, but they're silly money and it's probably bigger than my entire Close, let alone just my driveway... Money no object though, I would have to have one.
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Aug 15, 2022 20:00:56 GMT
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Last Edit: Aug 15, 2022 20:26:02 GMT by mrbounce
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Aug 15, 2022 19:54:18 GMT
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I'm with AllClear (0800 848 8613, although I did mine online). I have Type 1 diabetes, take statins and have Asthma and fairly high blood pressure. All well-controlled but you get the picture.
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Aug 15, 2022 19:49:48 GMT
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2 more plates (and 2 replacements as well) hit the doormat with a resounding thud this morning: We have Massachusetts (from way back in 1975) ...and a scruffy-looking 80s Idaho plate which of course mentions their Famous Potatoes You may have read that I prefer the pressed plates to the printed ones - aside from my Disabled Veteran plate from Montana (which is going nowhere), I had only 2 other ones - Oklahoma and Tennessee. So I have replaced those with pressed ones: A bicentennial Tennessee plate from 1996 and a 1967 Tractor plate from Oklahoma. Which of course means that these 2 have now been claimed by thomfr
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Last Edit: Aug 15, 2022 20:27:07 GMT by mrbounce
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Aug 15, 2022 19:29:35 GMT
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Blimey - mine's £270-odd for a year with a whole host of health issues declared!
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I just think that whatever fun and games you get up to, it will be a blast. Looking forward to it all!
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Aug 10, 2022 20:26:17 GMT
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I'm in as well, no surprise there. Will probably have to do some catching up later as I am also off to the USA 😁
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