What I Saw Today

So, I get a phone call from thejeepjunkie:

"Whatcha doing longroof?"

"Just finishing up my supervision of a countertop install. What about you jeepjunkie?"

Working on a 61 Cadillac Fleetwood."

"See you in 15," was this olelongrooffan's reply.

And I did.

A drop dead gorgeous piece of automotive history.
>
Like this one, that grille has more chrome than is on the entire olestationbus!!
>
Sorry to include this shot of this ole dreamboat without her skirt on.
>
The fins are not quite as radical as those on the 59 or the 60, but 8" fins nonetheless.
>
Here thejeepjunkie is pointing out something of relevance to the German owner. Seems he has this $15,000 pillarless hardtop sedan and a 68 Riviera here in the States. Back home he has a 61 Coupe de Ville. Not only that, see that brake drum to the left of thejeepjunkie? It is the same diameter as the wheels on my olestationbus.
>
Out of reverence to the owner, thejeepjunkie never even got behind the wheel.
>
And check out those lower fins!!!
>
Yeah, a beautiful ride, one I would like to have in my livery, but it seems I say that about dang near everything I see! But it is the truth!

And having a brother who hooks me up lets me

Celebrate Life.

Gotta Love FoMoCo

So, last year this olelongrooffan was out at the Turkey Rod Run looking for some chrome hubcaps for my olestationbus and I came across this ole full blown wheel cover that was standard

equipment on a, probably, 50's era Mercury as is evidenced by the imprint of the Greek god, Mercury in the center of this wheel cover.

I thought it was pretty cool and went over to examine it. The owner of the booth told me that I was the first person who had picked it up and looked at it in the numerous shows he had done since he acquired it.

When I inquired about the price of it he asked me if I had an old Merc.

No sir, I was thinking of it as wall art.

He told me it was free to me and to put it in my free Hagerty's tote bag.

Well Counters, you know what I did. Well worth the $10 price of admission.

Thanks again, Sir.

So, today, this olelongrooffan was down at thejeepjunkie's shop to take a look at another cool old car he was having fun with.

While I was there, I saw the now obsolete Mercury Marauder and as slow Mike was examining this Muscle Car, I spotted this

on the center cap of that sweet sedan.

And, Counters, while I am sorry about the clarity my old, cheap Polaroid provides in the above image,

by seeing this and doing the association of those memories, I am still able to

Celebrate Life.

I Got A "B+"

AND PASSED WITH AN ABOVE AVERAGE SCORE. B+

Quiz Created By Auto Insurance.org

Old Is Just Old, Old Is Not Dumb

A strong young man at a construction site was bragging that he could out do anyone in a feat of strength. He made a special case of making fun of one of the older workers. After several minutes, the older worker had enough.

"Why don't you put your money where your mouth is," he said.

"I will bet a week's wages that I can haul something in a wheelbarrow over to that building that you won't be able to wheel back."

"You're on, old man," the braggart replied. "Let's see you do it."

The old man reached out and grabbed the wheelbarrow by the handles.

Then, nodding to the young man, he said,

"All right, Dumb Ass, get in."

Did I Mention Last Weekend

was Biketoberfest down here in the home of the World's Most Famous Beach?

I thought you might enjoy a short video of the hoons on these bikes over on the Mainland at the intersection of US1 and State Road 40. The BP petrol station seen near the end of this video is the same one at which I shot the video for this blog.



But this olelongrooffan has This To Say About That:

Biketoberfest was weekend before last;

that means the Daytona Dream Cruise was this past weekend!!!

Hot da*n. The Harleys are gone and the cool old stuff on four wheels is back in town!!!

So I was over at a friend's home this morning and, after which, I dropped by thejeepjunkie's shop to check in and see what his schedule was.

While I was there, I got to see the "7" and just, in general, shot the bull with thejeepjunkie.

At some point during that visit we talked about hooking up at Bellair Plaza for the dream cruise after he attended the Kid's sister's fast pitch softball games down in Port Orange.

In the meantime, the Kid calls thejeepjunkie and it turns out the Kid is out "looking for pumpkins." I mention that now 17 year old Kid could just go right down the street to that church with the pumpkin patch out front and get just what was needed.

"Yeah, right," was thejeepjunkie's reply.

I have to tell you, sometimes this oleunemployedconstructionworker forgets what it is like to be a 17 year old young man. But know, whenever thejeepjunkie shares with me the exploits of the Kid, it all comes rushing back.

So, this olelongrooffan heads off to the Taj Mahal, beachside here in the Birthplace of Speed and I cruise up A1A sharing my famous roadway with some pretty cool blown muscle cars and, much more to my liking, classic old beauties.

So I get up near the Taj Mahal and the Kid placed a rare call to this olelongrooffan.

Whatca doing, johnjohn?

Just cruising up A1A. What about you?

Heading over to Bellair Plaza.

I'll be there in ten.

See ya there johnjohn

So the Kid and I hooked up at Bellair Plaza and got a look see at what had shown up at the 2nd annual Daytona Dream Cruise, Afternoon Edition.

the Kid and I both liked this pair of BMW 2002's.

The black one below was ultra nice with lots of factory instrumentation and cool late model wheels.

This ole Packard was a part of the Power Tour 2009. While the patina on the exterior was a faded look, the undercarriage and interior were in excellent condition and it was equipped with some pretty meaty shoes. Enlarge this image and check out that hood ornament and the license plate in the center of that chrome front bumper.

This is a BMW art car knockoff based on a sweet ole 850, no, not this ole 850truckster wannabe. Interestingly enough, the owners had removed the front bucket seat of their 850. I don't know why they had done that but I know why this olelongrooffan did. And BMW even commissioned a M1 art car, of the same body style as the one in the music video I posted awhile back.

And we spotted a sweet early 60's Imperial. Thanks Mr. Drysdale for letting me enjoy this car, at least via the boob tubes, in my youth.

And, yes, that is the Kid's rusting away CJ5 and this olelongrooffan's olestationbus in the background of the above image.

And check out the paint on this cool ole Pontiac Coupe. Although when I posted this similar era Chevrolet, I was informed it is not a coupe but a two door sedan. Well, coupe or sedan,

either way, it was a beautiful piece of automotive history!

As the Kid and I walked by this sweet ole Firebird, I mentioned that thejeepjunkie's Godparents had a similar era Camaro back in the day.

Yeah, back then, I thought Uncle Joe and Aunt Sue had the coolest stuff compared to us. Now, I realize it was because they had three kids and he was a MD, while TheGentleman Farmer and Mom had ten kids on a journalist's salary. But I can tell you this, I wouldn't trade the experience of a day on Haven Lee Farm, either Halltown Edition, or thehorsefarmer's edition, for anything.

Just down the row, the Kid and I spotted what I think is a 41 Chevy Panel Delivery...

And that cool black 2002 0ut on A1A

I must confess, I missed the make on this one but it was pretty sharp with black wire wheels, big shoes, and it was turned out in an excellent stance.

A couple of Buick Grand Nationals, a similar era Regal and a 66 GTO post which all headed out together while the Kid and I watched their exit.

We then saw this beautiful bone stock 59 Mercury

just after seeing this mildly rodded 59 El Camino, similar to the 59 post seen in the above image.

Finally, we spotted this cool Snap On Tools peddling Studebaker 1 ton which is locally based and, while I have seen it many times, this is the first time I have found it stationary to get an image of it for all you Counters out there.

Well, as the Kid had to get on home to get thesungoddess's lawn mowed before she got home from the Kid's sister's softball games, we called it an afternoon.

We did, however, hook up back at Bellair Plaza that Saturday evening with thejeepjunkie's CJ2A, the Kid's CJ5 and this olelongrooffan's olestationbus and we experienced memories we will savor for a long time.

However, the trusty ole Polaroid just ain't that good after dark and since the Kid decided to go surfing with his i-phone in his pocket, his flash doesn't work anymore, no photographic evidence is available of that fun evening.

But know, that evening, we did

Celebrate Life.

Hey Bus

Did you ever know this trick?

Me neither...

Oh to know what we know now....



Thankfully, we still

Celebrate Life.

My New Ride?

So, last weekend, the Bus sent me a cool link, craiglook.com. It lets you look at all of Craigslist for a single item in one step.

I found a couple down in South Florida looking for an olestationbus like mine.

Now, I have had that olestationbus for over a year now and it might just be time to let someone else enjoy it for a while.

But, after seeing the following video, I might just have to get rid of the oleragtop instead.



I love Californey, not a tramp stamp in sight.

And, Counters, that is how you

Celebrate Life.

Just Trying Something New

Found this over at the Jetpack's blog.


And in this way, I can

Celebrate Life.

To The Rescue

So, last night this olelongrooffan feel asleep just after 9 pm and I awoke this chilly Sunday morning around 6:45 am. I got out of that California King and shuffled off to the living room of the Taj Mahal. I cranked up that massive stereo system and logged on to these tubes on the trusty olelaptop.

Around 9:30, I realized I was still a bit sleepy and headed back to the master suite and stretched out to "rest my eyes".

About 11, I get a call from thejeepjunkie wanting to know what I am up to. Not wanting him to think I am a total lazy *ss, I mention I was sitting on the front porch of the Taj Mahal. What are you doing jeepjunkie? Just driving up to your place and I look out one of the many front windows of the my place and I realize I am totally busted.

I head back to the master suite to get some clothes on as the Kid and thejeepjunkie come through the front door.

They were returning from a brief visit to finally finish up yet another Change Order riddled project up north of here.

As we sat around, I asked thejeepjunkie when he would be able to finish up a project for me, from which he was notariously AWOL from yesterday.

What about today?

How about 2? I asked.

Can we do it sooner?

Yeah, drop off the Kid, grab your tools and meet me back here.

And he did.

So we head down A1A to Killer Kay's place, a place where I tore up her kitchen last week, to meet up with Manuel Labor and finish up this olelongrooffan's nonsupervisory portion of that project.

thejeepjunkie performs flawlessly and then heads over to check out his "7". But before he leaves he tells me to pick up another bucket of sheet rock mud the next time I am out at the sponsor of the #48's car.

As that bigbox retailer is on the other side of town, every time this olelongrooffan, thejeepjunkie or TheGoodAttorney head out there, we always call the others to see what is needed.

Well, I needed a tad more baseboard for Killer Kay's kitchen so I headed across town to pick some up and a bucket-o-sheetrock mud for thejeepjunkie.

On my return to the Taj Mahal, I did a drive-by of the Kid's garage to deliver that mud, spent some time chatting up softball with the Kid's sister and the Kid relates that one of the hoons who rescued us last spring had gotten stuck yesterday afternoon and the Kid and thejeepjunkie were heading out in their Willys and Jeep to try and get him out.

As the Kid didn't invite me along, I decided to head out to the Taj Mahal and figure out something to blog about.

As I was leaving the Kid's subdivision, thejeepjunkie pulls up to that 4 way stop at the entrance and waits for me to arrive.

"Hey jeepjunkie"

"Hey longrooffan. Did you hear about the hoon in the silver Cherokee?"

"Yeah, the Kid told me."

"Wanna go with us?"

"Of course."

"Well come on."

And I am sure you Counters out there can figure out what I did.

So, as I didn't want to ride in one of their open air 4by4s, the olestationbus obediently got in line behind those 4by4s on the way To The Rescue of that hoon who rescued us.

We arrived out at the off roading acreage by I-95 and I got an image or two before we headed off into the woods on that elusive search of the stuck hoon.

These are a couple images of the 7th Jeep thejeepjunkie has had in his livery over the past couple years.

Now while he has had them in his livery, only two or three of them have made it to the driveway of the Kid's house.

"7" is housed at the home of the hoon's father and that is where thejeepjunkie got the eroneous information about the hoon still being stuck out in the woods.

It seems that although the hoon was stuck overnite, early this afternoon, a big *ssed truck came by and jerked that mud covered Cherokee out of the swamplands.

Well, the Kid gets a phone call while we are out in the woods looking around and he informed us in the yellow Willys that the hoons Cherokee is in the driveway of a friends getting his transmission cross member welded back in.

So, of course, we head over there and parked Down On The Street in front of thewelderdude's house.

This would be the Cherokee in question.

And this would be the monster truck that extracted that mud encased Cherokee from that swamp.

So, the Kid and thejeepjunkie, having a free afternoon from TheSunGoddess, are not ready to call it a day.

As we leave those extreme 4by4s, thejeepjunkie and the Kid are having a conversation at the stop sign at the end of the street and thejeepjunkie turns around and says follow us.

And, Counters, you know I did.

We headed down to Flomich Avenue and turned to the west heading toward that Eisenhour Highway System. Just prior to reaching it, this procession of vehicles, whose cumulative ages total 154 years, turn off into the woods.

If you click on this image, you will see this dry roadway heading off into a water covered section.

As thejeepjunkie and I were in the lead in Ole Yeller, we noticed the Kid was no longer following us. thejeepjunkie hits the reverse gear in his 1946 CJ2A and backs down that trail just in time to see the Kid backing up out of that rain covered Jeep trail.

He impishly states that there was a big drop off and I figured I should get out of there.

Wise decision young man.

Then we head out to "cross rut" some previously installed ruts in the middle of this big Mercedes Homes owned field.

We then head off on some unnamed trail behind the Kid.

This is thejeepjunkie and the Kid back at the "cross rut" location.

Of course,

thejeepjunkie had

to try

his hand at it also.

and he was successful


at it.

Then promptly hit a nearby mud puddle.

and enlarge this one to see that sh*teating grin on his face.

Yeah, liquid mud on top of the fender of that ole Willys.

Meanwhile, the Kid has to hit another mud hole.

And I have to say this about that.

It sure was fun to spend just a couple hours with the Kid and thejeepjunkie doing what

to all of us in just another way to

Celebrate Life.

Music Videos

So, two of my brothers, the Bus-Plunge and thejeepjunkie like to post music videos, usually with some reference to their current situations or situations as they remember them in their past.

Well, Counters, I thought I would post a music video of my own for you all to enjoy.


The BMW M1 is true collectable. Only 456 of these hand built coupes were built from 1978-1981. Even though the roof is pretty short on these, one would fit nicely in this olelongrooffan's livery.

And it is dreaming of owning one of these $100,000 sports cars that lets me

Celebrate Life.

Shamelessly Stolen

from Throw The Ball Already. Also seen at Jalopnik.

thehorsefarmer Is Doing Some Horse Trading

My brother, affectionately known as thehorsefarmer is in need of a tow vehicle for his big*assed house trailer he, thebarngoddess and The Little Angel take, along with their stagecoaches and minature horses to horse shows around the Midwest.

thehorsefarmer is willing to trade his two vintage Broncos for a F350 or F450.

Below is a copy of his Craigslist ad.

CASPER (THE WHITE ONE) was my wife's. Comes with 302 V-8 and automatic on the floor with a new shifter. Runs great (although is cold blooded) and drives right out. 4 wheel drive also works great. Has manual lock out hubs. Newer high back cloth bucket seats and correct rear bench newly covered in black vinyl. Also comes with original front bucket seats that have been professionally re-foamed with new black vinyl covers. Has roll bar that is not installed - took out to put in new full length vinyl floor and front cabin insulation. Easy to put back in. Only needs gas gauge hooked up, and speedometer connected. This vehicle is licensed and insured and street legal. If you jump on the brakes real hard, it will pull to the left. Just haven't fixed that yet. Newer steering column with turn signal that works as it should. Has add on heater that works great and is hooked up to defroster (made the defroster vents myself and they work great).


MY LIL MULE (THE TEAL ONE) also comes with 302 V-8 but has a three speed on the floor. Runs great and is my daily driver to work and around the countryside. 4 wheel drive leaves nothing to be desired. Has manual lock out hubs. Newer high back cloth bucket seats and the correct rear seat, presently not in the truck. Has padded roll bar and the original speedometer and gauges that work, along with additional gauges. Has era correct glove box with fuse box inside. Has original heater that works. Picture is with full roof and doors off. However, the roof and doors are back on this truck since the weather turned cold. Top is silver, doors same color as truck.

Both come with black bikini tops. Have lots of extra parts that go with the Broncos (new warn hubs, weather stripping, misc)

PACKAGE VALUE IS $15,000.00

NOW THE OFFER: We need a F350 or F450 to pull our 5th wheel camper.

WHAT WE NEED: 2002 or newer, FORD F350 or F450 long bed pickup truck, crewcab (that seats 6 with 4 full doors), 4 wheel drive, AUTOMATIC Tranny, Diesel with less than 200,000 miles. The seats must be cloth, with the front seats being individual buckets with the center consule that lifts up for a third person to ride in the front. We don't want leather or vinyl seats, nor the captain chairs that only allow 2 front seat riders. Should be in good condition without major flaws.

Must have clear title and NOT BE A SALVAGE TITLE.

Should have towing package (as all F350s do), fifth wheel and gooseneck hitches a bonus.

Dodge and Chevy don't bother replying. We want the Ford.

Salvage title owners need not apply, you'll waste your time and mine.

Scammers, find someone else to harass. Email me with what you have, a picture would also be nice.

Straight trade is best for us.

Want to buy a Bronco outright?

Casper $5,000.

My Lil Mule $10,000.00

END OF AD

If any of you Counters out there are looking for a great Bronco, both of these are fairly well sorted out.

Drop me an email at longrooffan@aol.com and I'll put you in touch.

Thanks and remember to

Celebrate Life.

Yeah, Winter Is On Our Doorstep, Too

Yeah, winter is coming to the Birthplace of Speed, albeit at a leisurely pace. As I am blogging this at 3:34 pm on Wednesday, it is overcast and the temperature of 83 degrees with a wind chill of 92.

Now one of the things I do for my Boca Raton based landlord is keep an eye on my 87 year old neighbor and trim the shrubs around the Taj Mahal. The condo association maintains the lawn but plant maintenance is the responsibility of the owners of the building.

The first time I realized my landlord was responsible was when I returned to the Taj Mahal one day last summer and he was out front trimming the shrubs. He relayed the information about plant maintenance and I told him that it was ridiculous for him to drive nearly 4 hours one way, spend 2 hours trimming the scrubs and then spent 4 hours driving home.

I told him that since he was so considerate toward me and the timeliness of my rent payment that from now on, this olelongrooffan will take care of it.

And I do.

Well, this olelongrooffan has only trimmed those plants once since thejeepjunkie and TheGoodAttorney started coming to Happy Hour at the Taj Mahal on a regular basis.

And Man, did they give me a ration of sh*t about the quality of the trimming this olelongrooffan did to those shrubs.

And, as I said at the time, "It is like a bad haircut, it will always grow back."

Well, as you can see in the below image,

that orange rake is my snow shovel.

Well, yesterday, this olelongrooffan trimmed those bushes and hauled the trimmings to the curb for The Man to come by and pickup today in one of those big green trucks.

Now, at Happy Hour, thejeepjunkie sits in the center chair and looks at this plant every night, b*tching about the shape of it.

I had left TheGoodAttorney's electric hedge trimming device on the front porch as I am definitely not going to trim this bush ever again.

The one seen below is directly in the field of vision or TheGoodAttorney and last week he trimmed it off the sidewalk out front of the Taj Mahal so my 87 year old neighbor

could get his Hot Rod out and about.

I shot a short video of thejeepjunkie in action just as TheGoodAttorney was arriving.

Over the noise of that $5 trimmer, you can hear TheGoodAttorney give the, among us, universal greeting, "Hello The Camp" and as he walks by his comment was "Happy Hour sure is noisy this evening." Gotta love his sense of humor.

And even though this olelongrooffan had to haul those trimmings thejeepjunkie created to the street, it is getting those two guys to help me with yard work that helps me to

Celebrate Life.