Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
The Birthplace Of Speed Celebration At The Beach
So, after a series of eventful days filled with chasing cars parts, a fantastic shrimp dinner, a day with a good friend and another day in which this olelongrooffan was able to assist thejeepjunkie in a recovery effort, this olelongrooffan spent Monday, March 15, 2010, negotiating a truce between blogspot and Sprint over my ability to post images to By The Numbers.
Plus spent a few hours surfing these tubes to try and find gainful employment.
However, while out and about on the tubes this olelongrooffan did find something fun to do on Tuesday.
I am sure you Counters out there are wondering how you can have fun on a Tuesday.
In the words of The Great One, "Well I did."
Now Counters, this olelongrooffan has often referred to the fact that I reside in the Birthplace Of Speed and love it.
While out there in the world of these tubes that I seem to live in these days, this olelongroofan became aware of this event that to happen on Tuesday, March 16, 2010.
So, of course you know I had to scamper on down to the closest beach access to my beach from the Taj Mahal, yeah, Cardinal Street, and check out all the cool stuff to be seen that day.
Now, there were quite a few folks down there on that mid 60's temperature, wind blowing out of the north kind of day so some of the images have a bunch of people around the cars so, when this olelongrooffan walked by I just grabbed a shot of some of the car, only to come back later and find it available for a full on shot.
The lead car in that southward facing bunch was a 1906 Fiat. I listened as the Ormond Beach city employee was describing the car. It was a trophy winner at the Amelia Island Concours d' Elegance earlier this month.
It was chain driven and a real
nice work of Art in Automotive History.
I seem to remember it won a major Grand Prix race back in its day but it escapes the mind of this olelongrooffan at this moment and no amount of googling is able to locate that fact.
But for an Amelia Island award winning Owner to bring his priceless classic to my beach, this olelongrooffan can only offer a heart felt "Thank You, I Appreciate It."
And just walking northward along the beach
I encountered a bunch of nameless old open fender cars to share with you Counters.
This olelongrooffan did try to get all artsy fartsy so you Counters out there can see
some of the unique parts of these classic beauties.
Not one, not two, but three spares! Ahhh, I bet it was a challenge driving back in those days.
There was a unique variation of vehicles on the beach that windy day.
And the dude in the image below, I can, unequivocally, state the shirtless, flip-flop wearing dude checking out that Model A is not from around these parts, at least not on a permanent basis. Now, I know you Counters out there are wondering how this olelongrooffan can make such a pompous
comment? Well look at everyone else in that image. Yeah, sweat shirts, jackets and jeans were the norm. We know when it is cold in these here parts.
But I have this to say about that, cold or not, it was nice that day on the Beach.
And, again, with the influence of that artsy fartsy friend of mine, this olelongrooffan got this image of the old style engine crank
and this one of the brass headlight on that crank bearing automobile.
That trusty ole Polaroid ain't so bad. Thanks again Bus.
And then I spotted this cool ole themed Buick.
It was in original condition and had an excellent patina.
And the top was held together, NASCAR style. Yeah, black duct tape.
It is a veteran of at least one Birthplace of Speed Celebration.
It sported real wood wheels.
This is a pristine full restored Model T.
And a newer roadster.
This brilliant yellow and glossy black rumble seat equipped roadster was especially nice.
DOOOH!
The racecar sported a bright purple paint job.
I thought this shorty roadster was quite unique.
This is the boattail of the purple roadster shown a couple of images previously.
Another Model A rumble seat equipped roadster. This one is beige and brown.
The interior was pristine.
And, once again, going all artsy fartsy, this olelongrooffan got a shot of the step on the rear fender to use to get into the rumble seat.
And again, following with the mirror theme.
All in all, a great turnout on a windy, chilly day. That tower to the right is the Beach Patrol's lifeguard tower at Cardinal Street and the Beach.
The dude partially shown to the right is a photographer for the Daytona Beach News Journal. His version of this image showed up in Wednesday's edition.
This Ormond Beach employed dude is hold a dash plaque from the first Birthplace of Speed Celebration in 1959.
As this olelongrooffan noticed, as I was walking back to my olestationbus, while I was on that beach in jeans and a sweatshirt, it is still Spring Break and suntans to many others.
Or maybe a pick up game of football.
Or just fishing in the surf.
But know this Counters, everyone on that beach that day, including this olelongrooffan, was able to
Celebrate Life.
Plus spent a few hours surfing these tubes to try and find gainful employment.
However, while out and about on the tubes this olelongrooffan did find something fun to do on Tuesday.
I am sure you Counters out there are wondering how you can have fun on a Tuesday.
In the words of The Great One, "Well I did."
Now Counters, this olelongrooffan has often referred to the fact that I reside in the Birthplace Of Speed and love it.
While out there in the world of these tubes that I seem to live in these days, this olelongroofan became aware of this event that to happen on Tuesday, March 16, 2010.
So, of course you know I had to scamper on down to the closest beach access to my beach from the Taj Mahal, yeah, Cardinal Street, and check out all the cool stuff to be seen that day.
Now, there were quite a few folks down there on that mid 60's temperature, wind blowing out of the north kind of day so some of the images have a bunch of people around the cars so, when this olelongrooffan walked by I just grabbed a shot of some of the car, only to come back later and find it available for a full on shot.
The lead car in that southward facing bunch was a 1906 Fiat. I listened as the Ormond Beach city employee was describing the car. It was a trophy winner at the Amelia Island Concours d' Elegance earlier this month.
It was chain driven and a real
nice work of Art in Automotive History.
I seem to remember it won a major Grand Prix race back in its day but it escapes the mind of this olelongrooffan at this moment and no amount of googling is able to locate that fact.
But for an Amelia Island award winning Owner to bring his priceless classic to my beach, this olelongrooffan can only offer a heart felt "Thank You, I Appreciate It."
And just walking northward along the beach
I encountered a bunch of nameless old open fender cars to share with you Counters.
This olelongrooffan did try to get all artsy fartsy so you Counters out there can see
some of the unique parts of these classic beauties.
Not one, not two, but three spares! Ahhh, I bet it was a challenge driving back in those days.
There was a unique variation of vehicles on the beach that windy day.
And the dude in the image below, I can, unequivocally, state the shirtless, flip-flop wearing dude checking out that Model A is not from around these parts, at least not on a permanent basis. Now, I know you Counters out there are wondering how this olelongrooffan can make such a pompous
comment? Well look at everyone else in that image. Yeah, sweat shirts, jackets and jeans were the norm. We know when it is cold in these here parts.
But I have this to say about that, cold or not, it was nice that day on the Beach.
And, again, with the influence of that artsy fartsy friend of mine, this olelongrooffan got this image of the old style engine crank
and this one of the brass headlight on that crank bearing automobile.
That trusty ole Polaroid ain't so bad. Thanks again Bus.
And then I spotted this cool ole themed Buick.
It was in original condition and had an excellent patina.
And the top was held together, NASCAR style. Yeah, black duct tape.
It is a veteran of at least one Birthplace of Speed Celebration.
It sported real wood wheels.
This is a pristine full restored Model T.
And a newer roadster.
This brilliant yellow and glossy black rumble seat equipped roadster was especially nice.
DOOOH!
The racecar sported a bright purple paint job.
I thought this shorty roadster was quite unique.
This is the boattail of the purple roadster shown a couple of images previously.
Another Model A rumble seat equipped roadster. This one is beige and brown.
The interior was pristine.
And, once again, going all artsy fartsy, this olelongrooffan got a shot of the step on the rear fender to use to get into the rumble seat.
And again, following with the mirror theme.
All in all, a great turnout on a windy, chilly day. That tower to the right is the Beach Patrol's lifeguard tower at Cardinal Street and the Beach.
The dude partially shown to the right is a photographer for the Daytona Beach News Journal. His version of this image showed up in Wednesday's edition.
This Ormond Beach employed dude is hold a dash plaque from the first Birthplace of Speed Celebration in 1959.
As this olelongrooffan noticed, as I was walking back to my olestationbus, while I was on that beach in jeans and a sweatshirt, it is still Spring Break and suntans to many others.
Or maybe a pick up game of football.
Or just fishing in the surf.
But know this Counters, everyone on that beach that day, including this olelongrooffan, was able to
Celebrate Life.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Bloated
So you Counters out there remember my oleragtops.
Actually, this olelongrooffan has had a total of four BMW E30's in the last fifteen years. I have owned a version of one continuously since 1999.
Here is a shot of *ss end of my wrecked ragtop. The second E30 ragtop this olelongrooffan owned.
A little known fact here on By The Numbers is that this wreckedsedan was owned by this olelongrooffan. It was purchased for $200 by this olelongrooffan.
Why? I am sure you are asking.
Well Counters, much like the Bus and his 8N tractors, the tires were practically brand new and I ebayed a bunch of parts off of it.
Below is an image of the first ragtop this olelongrooffan owned.
This picture was shot while visiting my Uncle Frank on his annual pilgrimage from St. Louis to Fort Myers, Florida to watch his local amateur men's softball team play in the national tournaments they were always in.
Love that expression on the face of this olelongrooffan, don't ya?
It was a great visit and the last time this olelongrooffan, thejeepjunkie, my daughter Jessica and Uncle Frank were together in this world. It was a wonderful time, in an Uncle Frank sort of way.
Love you, you 60's Pontiac Convertibles owning son of a gun.
Anyway, here is my current oleragtop.
Now, as to the purpose of taking you Counters along with me in this recollections of my E30's?
As a follower of the automotive industry, some stuff just jumps out to me, as I would suppose it does to others with similar interests.
Well, a couple Saturdays ago, this olelongrooffan and a great friend attended an art show down in MickeyMouseLand and I had my first live look at the new BMW 1 series.
This olelongrooffan was appalled. I mean, I know, I have been following the plight of BMW ever since Chris Bangle arrived on the scene and injected his thoughts into the design of BMWs. And it was decided during his tenure there that BMW decided to become all things to all beings.
Yes, as the esteemed Mr. DeLorenzo points out, BMW's board wants a BMW, no matter what type or style, in every driveway everywhere.
As a result, this olelongrooffan thinks they may have lost their soul, as Mr. DeLorenzo points out, to their rival, Audi.
Now, that aside, automobiles in general, due mostly to the United States of America's government safety requirements, stimulated by the Great State of California, has some of the most restrictive safety requirements In The World.
Now it can be said this is a great thing.
But this olelongrooffan doesn't hoon his cars in an unresponsible fashion as some do these days.
And this olelongrooffan is certainly in favor of the theory of providing safe automobiles to your average soccer mom driver, or a Prius fan, or to folks who just want a "safe" airbag equipped automobile to drive.
And there should be an option for that vehicle to be available.
But I have this to say about that.
BMW's entry level 128... sorry, in my last post I described it as a 135, my bad, but it is the same body style...anyway, this entry level coupe, priced is at $32,000
and it is larger than any of my E30s.
The reason for the bloating of all cars in general is the requirement of additional "safety" equipment.
Now this olelongrooffan is not just talking about BMW.
Remember the mid 70's Honda Civic? How about the late 70's Accord? The new Civic is larger than the flagship Accord of the late 70's.
And there are many more examples, just think of any automobile produced now that was around in the late 70's and the early 80's.
I just want fun in my daily drivers and having had only two accidents (and in neither of which was I at fault) since this olelongrooffan was 16 years old, yeah, 34 years, I don't really need a ton of airbags and crumple zones to protect me.
H*ll, the crumple zone on my olestationbus is my knees and this olelongrooffan is willing to pay a little extra on my Geico account to get this.
But no. Because of some folks out there, we all have to drive these semi sterile automobiles that just take the Joy out of the motoring experience.
But know, this olelongrooffan has the eyes and ears to protect this olelongrooffan and my passengers.
So, can I get one?
Nope.
My government has determined that this olelongrooffan's new ride needs to be, as the new BMW 128 coupe is, equipped with
Six Airbags...yeah six...hey I got seat belts, a brake pedal and a steering wheel to help me out here...
A climate control system that dedects the amount of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere and automatically changes the air flow to correct this.....hey this olelongrooffan has a pretty large nose and can just open a window on the super rare occasion when things don't seem so well....
and this 128 also possesses an Enhanced Braking System that will
*dry off your brake rotors if you are driving in the rain....won't just a tap or two on the brakes do the same thing?
*if you are stopped on a hill, it will keep you from rolling backward...hey isn't this what an applied brake is supposed to do? And if it is a standard transmission, that effort is something you should have learned a long time ago.
*if you are braking repeatedly, it knows you need more brake pressure.
Oh Wait...someone sell that technology to Toyota!!
And Counters, that is it for this blog.
It was fun to put together and remember to
Celebrate Life.
Actually, this olelongrooffan has had a total of four BMW E30's in the last fifteen years. I have owned a version of one continuously since 1999.
Here is a shot of *ss end of my wrecked ragtop. The second E30 ragtop this olelongrooffan owned.
A little known fact here on By The Numbers is that this wreckedsedan was owned by this olelongrooffan. It was purchased for $200 by this olelongrooffan.
Why? I am sure you are asking.
Well Counters, much like the Bus and his 8N tractors, the tires were practically brand new and I ebayed a bunch of parts off of it.
Below is an image of the first ragtop this olelongrooffan owned.
This picture was shot while visiting my Uncle Frank on his annual pilgrimage from St. Louis to Fort Myers, Florida to watch his local amateur men's softball team play in the national tournaments they were always in.
Love that expression on the face of this olelongrooffan, don't ya?
It was a great visit and the last time this olelongrooffan, thejeepjunkie, my daughter Jessica and Uncle Frank were together in this world. It was a wonderful time, in an Uncle Frank sort of way.
Love you, you 60's Pontiac Convertibles owning son of a gun.
Anyway, here is my current oleragtop.
Now, as to the purpose of taking you Counters along with me in this recollections of my E30's?
As a follower of the automotive industry, some stuff just jumps out to me, as I would suppose it does to others with similar interests.
Well, a couple Saturdays ago, this olelongrooffan and a great friend attended an art show down in MickeyMouseLand and I had my first live look at the new BMW 1 series.
This olelongrooffan was appalled. I mean, I know, I have been following the plight of BMW ever since Chris Bangle arrived on the scene and injected his thoughts into the design of BMWs. And it was decided during his tenure there that BMW decided to become all things to all beings.
Yes, as the esteemed Mr. DeLorenzo points out, BMW's board wants a BMW, no matter what type or style, in every driveway everywhere.
As a result, this olelongrooffan thinks they may have lost their soul, as Mr. DeLorenzo points out, to their rival, Audi.
Now, that aside, automobiles in general, due mostly to the United States of America's government safety requirements, stimulated by the Great State of California, has some of the most restrictive safety requirements In The World.
Now it can be said this is a great thing.
But this olelongrooffan doesn't hoon his cars in an unresponsible fashion as some do these days.
And this olelongrooffan is certainly in favor of the theory of providing safe automobiles to your average soccer mom driver, or a Prius fan, or to folks who just want a "safe" airbag equipped automobile to drive.
And there should be an option for that vehicle to be available.
But I have this to say about that.
BMW's entry level 128... sorry, in my last post I described it as a 135, my bad, but it is the same body style...anyway, this entry level coupe, priced is at $32,000
and it is larger than any of my E30s.
The reason for the bloating of all cars in general is the requirement of additional "safety" equipment.
Now this olelongrooffan is not just talking about BMW.
Remember the mid 70's Honda Civic? How about the late 70's Accord? The new Civic is larger than the flagship Accord of the late 70's.
And there are many more examples, just think of any automobile produced now that was around in the late 70's and the early 80's.
I just want fun in my daily drivers and having had only two accidents (and in neither of which was I at fault) since this olelongrooffan was 16 years old, yeah, 34 years, I don't really need a ton of airbags and crumple zones to protect me.
H*ll, the crumple zone on my olestationbus is my knees and this olelongrooffan is willing to pay a little extra on my Geico account to get this.
But no. Because of some folks out there, we all have to drive these semi sterile automobiles that just take the Joy out of the motoring experience.
But know, this olelongrooffan has the eyes and ears to protect this olelongrooffan and my passengers.
So, can I get one?
Nope.
My government has determined that this olelongrooffan's new ride needs to be, as the new BMW 128 coupe is, equipped with
Six Airbags...yeah six...hey I got seat belts, a brake pedal and a steering wheel to help me out here...
A climate control system that dedects the amount of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere and automatically changes the air flow to correct this.....hey this olelongrooffan has a pretty large nose and can just open a window on the super rare occasion when things don't seem so well....
and this 128 also possesses an Enhanced Braking System that will
*dry off your brake rotors if you are driving in the rain....won't just a tap or two on the brakes do the same thing?
*if you are stopped on a hill, it will keep you from rolling backward...hey isn't this what an applied brake is supposed to do? And if it is a standard transmission, that effort is something you should have learned a long time ago.
*if you are braking repeatedly, it knows you need more brake pressure.
Oh Wait...someone sell that technology to Toyota!!
And Counters, that is it for this blog.
It was fun to put together and remember to
Celebrate Life.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
If you Counters have read this, you will know why this olelongrooffan is posting a blog about my Saturday earlier this month.
It is a rainy Sunday afternoon so this olelongrooffan is gonna try to catch up on my happenings the past couple weeks.
Stay tuned.
Anyway, after the events of this evening, this olelongrooffan woke up in Kris's guestroom to the scent of freshly brewing coffee emanating from that well equipped kitchen downstairs wafting upstairs to the oversized nose of this olelongrooffan.
I jumped up, threw some clothes on, went down to grab a Diet Coke and watched Kris rustle up some grub.
Much as she did the previous evening when our roles were reversed, this olelongrooffan grabbed that fancy dancy camera of hers and commenced to getting some shots of her in action.
And Kris was busy admonishing this olelongrooffan saying something about no makeup, hair is a mess, etc., etc., etc. But me? I kept shooting away.
And know this Counters, that eggs and cheese, strawberry and toast breakfast was every bit as good as that shrimp dinner we had consumed the previous evening.
So anyway, we headed over to Baldwin Park for their annual art show.
And you Counters out there know that this is the only piece of artwork there that this olelongrooffan had any interest in.
It's the new BMW 1 Series. This is the 135 128 and the retail was $32K. Sure made me appreciate my oleragtop.
After strolling around that street for about an hour, Kris and I were off for a historic building tour in the downtown section of the Big O.
One time this olelongrooffan misdirected us.
No, Counters, We Were Not Lost!! We are still in downtown Big O!!
Just misdirected.
Yeah, that is my story and I am sticking to it.
Anyway, this olelongrooffanI pulled off into a parking lot to consult my notes while Kris went off to get all artsy fartsy on me and got a couple shots of Lake Eola with its fountain turned off.
Oh yeah, and a couple geese.
On March 13, 2010!!
I love Florida!!
We did get a chance to see a couple cool old buildings, the coolest of which was this one with its cool granite and sheet metal facade.
I'm not really sure of the history of this building but it sure is a sweet art deco masterpiece.
I remembered and related to Kris, and now you Counters, when this olelongrooffan was in college so many moons ago, I worked for Dale Beveridge whose specialty was renovating old buildings in the downtown area, as well as those on Commercial Street, in The Queen City of The Ozarks. When we were doing this to the old Central Hardware building, I was on four stories of scaffolding scrapping those many layers of lead based paint off that sheet metal facade. Masks? I don't need no stinking mask!! Can anyone say OSHA?
So, after waxing nostalgic for awhile, Kris and I headed off to Lake Mary on the northeast side of the Big O. After having a delicious glass of wine in a cool bistro, we went outside to stroll around and check out some cars, the real reason this olelongrooffan was in this part of town in the first place.
By and large, as far a car shows go, it was a relatively low turnout event. Mostly muscle cars
of the 60's, 70's, and 80's with a few 50's era buggies scattered around.
And Kris, getting all artsy fartsy on this olelongrooffan, yet again, got a couple images of our reflection on the passenger side rear fender of a Factory Five Cobra.
This olelongrooffan never did get an image of that Cobra knockoff.
We were fortunate enough to see this lead sled pull in and it sounded pretty sweet, if you like that kind of stuff.
At first, this olelongrooffan thought it was a 49 Mercury, chopped, slammed and significantly altered.
But when we approached, we saw the only original item left on this street rod.
The Packard emblem on the nose of this giant beast.
Kris asked me if it was built this way. I commented about the only original part being the emblem out front. She had a good laugh at that.
Then she, in her artsy fartsy way, pointed out the size of the windshield wipers.
This olelongrooffan needs to hang out with that artsy fartsy woman a little more.
As we strolled down that street, we spotted this late 60's Chevy C-10
and then this Chevy SSR. A truck? A car? A convertible?
At least the El Camino had style.
As Kris has had a couple dates with a gentleman some years younger than herself, this olelongrooffan could not help to to give her a load of cr*p when we came across
this first generation Mercury Cougar.
And that likeness of the god Mercury is stamped into a full size wheel cover adorning the living room was of the Taj Mahal. I was given this wheel cover at the Turkey Rod Run, 2008 edition.
Yeah, Counters, that is correct. A vendor out there at the Daytona International Speedway gave this olelongrooffan that wheel cover, almost as soon as I picked it up. When I queried as to why he would just give this away, he commented that I was the first person, other than himself, to touch that wheel cover in three years.
Yeah, it is all about karma.
But, anyway, that first gen Cougar is pretty sweet and there was not one but two of those rare upscale Mustang knockoffs at that show.
Sorry about my shadow in the foreground of this image and no, that is not Lake Mary in the background. It is a stormwater retention pond.
This was the only Corvette at the show and although this olelongrooffan is not a huge fan of that two seater, this is one of my favorite Corvette body styles.
Now one to the Camaro section of the show. As with the previous image of that Corvette,
this is my favorite body style of the Camaro.
Maybe it has something to due with the fact these cars were new when this olelongrooffan was a younglongrooffan.
Think about it. What is your favorite body style of a particular marque and was that the one produced when you were a young Counter? Me thinks so.
Anyway, Kris and I struck up a conversation with the owner of this Z/28. It sure is easy to strike up a conversation when you have a pretty woman in your presense.
He shared some information about this particular Z such as production numbers in particular colors, options, and much, much more.
Kris was fascinated but this olelongrooffan knew that Gentleman was just showing off for her.
But she ate it up and I had fun being an observer.
Parked next to that Z was this super nice SS, errrr Super Sport for you uninformed Counters out there.
Yeah, The Heartbeat Of America.
We had earlier stumbled upon this uniquely colored one with a 427 under its bonnet.
Immaculate inside and out.
Yeah, it says Yenko but, as the Z-28 owning dude pointed out to us later, after this olelongrooffan asked, "Is it a real one?"
"No, it is a recreation."
While a nice automobile, it is not worth anything more than a cleanly restored Camaro and that cleanly restored Camaro has a whole lot more credibility with the in crowd than this Poser.
Anyway, let's move on shall we?
There were a couple old school street rods at the show and here is one of them.
Definitely a fair weather ride.
And that dirt on the firewall in the above image? It's paint. All about patina.
But the engine and dash were in proper operating order.
And this olelongrooffan loves the wide whites Coker tires with steelie rims.
Now, with Kris getting all artsy fartsy on me, this olelongrooffan thought I would try to get in that habit and got a shot of this poker playing card size rear view mirror on the
passenger side door of this highly modified
street rod. There also was a mural painted on the underside of that hood
which covers this engine.
But I forgot to get an image of it.
I did, however, get an image of the *ss end of it.
And now on to the Tri-5 section of that GM dominated show.
Kris loved the color of this aqua colored coupe.
I got a shot of the traffic light prism mounted on the dashboard.
I was trying to figure out the name of them and neither the Bus nor myself could come up with it. And forget trying to google it. Bet TheGentlemanFarmer knows.
There was another '57 there but it was all restomodded and not all that interesting to this olelongrooffan.
Kris took a look under the hood at the chromed out engine compartment
of this '55 post and asked me if it was original.
Not even close, although the interior seats may have come from the factory in these colors.
There were several second generation Chevelles that made an appearance.
Yeah, in the above image, that is a reflection of this olelongrooffan and Kris's fancy dancy camera on the driver's side rear quarter panel of that Super Sport.
Equipped with the highly desirable 396, back when the boys from Detroit advertised what was under the hood of those muscle cars.
And although this '67 had been slightly restomodded,
this one was just off the wall!
I mean, you take a perfectly good, straight '67 Chevelle SS and blow the h*ll out of it.
Yeah, it was, once, a clean Super Sport with a straight body and create this
machine that needs 12" wide tires on the rear just to keep it on the road.
And it is Street Legal!!
Now, aside from those two Cougars, the Blue Oval was represented by this "Big Bird" as well as a few Mustangs.
And the "ricer" segment was represented by this Toyota equipped with Lambo doors.
And as this olelongrooffan has pointed out previously, "Lambo doors are so out, Lamborgini doesn't even do them anymore."
Now, Counters, Kris and this olelongrooffan saw some pretty sweet rides out in Lake Mary that Saturday but I have to award the Best In Show to this 1956 Chevrolet Belair Tudor Hardtop.
Looking at it you would not think much of it. Just an old car.
Well, Counters, this '56 Tri 5 was in original condition, with only the electric fan, seen in the lower left of the above image, being the only, and a functional, add-on to this original ride.
The patina was wonderful and
I was honored to have seen it.
Unchanged in fifty-four years and still straight as an arrow body parts.
Light paint fade and some surface rust only added to the desirableness of this sweet old ride.
It looked good from all angles and it even
had the original wheel covers!!
After all, these old rides are only original once.
Yeah, it was nice and it was enjoyable to show Kris what they looked like back in the day.
And, Counters, that is another day in the life of this olelongrooffan as I, and a good friend, were able to
Celebrate Life.
It is a rainy Sunday afternoon so this olelongrooffan is gonna try to catch up on my happenings the past couple weeks.
Stay tuned.
Anyway, after the events of this evening, this olelongrooffan woke up in Kris's guestroom to the scent of freshly brewing coffee emanating from that well equipped kitchen downstairs wafting upstairs to the oversized nose of this olelongrooffan.
I jumped up, threw some clothes on, went down to grab a Diet Coke and watched Kris rustle up some grub.
Much as she did the previous evening when our roles were reversed, this olelongrooffan grabbed that fancy dancy camera of hers and commenced to getting some shots of her in action.
And Kris was busy admonishing this olelongrooffan saying something about no makeup, hair is a mess, etc., etc., etc. But me? I kept shooting away.
And know this Counters, that eggs and cheese, strawberry and toast breakfast was every bit as good as that shrimp dinner we had consumed the previous evening.
So anyway, we headed over to Baldwin Park for their annual art show.
And you Counters out there know that this is the only piece of artwork there that this olelongrooffan had any interest in.
It's the new BMW 1 Series. This is the
After strolling around that street for about an hour, Kris and I were off for a historic building tour in the downtown section of the Big O.
One time this olelongrooffan misdirected us.
No, Counters, We Were Not Lost!! We are still in downtown Big O!!
Just misdirected.
Yeah, that is my story and I am sticking to it.
Anyway, this olelongrooffanI pulled off into a parking lot to consult my notes while Kris went off to get all artsy fartsy on me and got a couple shots of Lake Eola with its fountain turned off.
Oh yeah, and a couple geese.
On March 13, 2010!!
I love Florida!!
We did get a chance to see a couple cool old buildings, the coolest of which was this one with its cool granite and sheet metal facade.
I'm not really sure of the history of this building but it sure is a sweet art deco masterpiece.
I remembered and related to Kris, and now you Counters, when this olelongrooffan was in college so many moons ago, I worked for Dale Beveridge whose specialty was renovating old buildings in the downtown area, as well as those on Commercial Street, in The Queen City of The Ozarks. When we were doing this to the old Central Hardware building, I was on four stories of scaffolding scrapping those many layers of lead based paint off that sheet metal facade. Masks? I don't need no stinking mask!! Can anyone say OSHA?
So, after waxing nostalgic for awhile, Kris and I headed off to Lake Mary on the northeast side of the Big O. After having a delicious glass of wine in a cool bistro, we went outside to stroll around and check out some cars, the real reason this olelongrooffan was in this part of town in the first place.
By and large, as far a car shows go, it was a relatively low turnout event. Mostly muscle cars
of the 60's, 70's, and 80's with a few 50's era buggies scattered around.
And Kris, getting all artsy fartsy on this olelongrooffan, yet again, got a couple images of our reflection on the passenger side rear fender of a Factory Five Cobra.
This olelongrooffan never did get an image of that Cobra knockoff.
We were fortunate enough to see this lead sled pull in and it sounded pretty sweet, if you like that kind of stuff.
At first, this olelongrooffan thought it was a 49 Mercury, chopped, slammed and significantly altered.
But when we approached, we saw the only original item left on this street rod.
The Packard emblem on the nose of this giant beast.
Kris asked me if it was built this way. I commented about the only original part being the emblem out front. She had a good laugh at that.
Then she, in her artsy fartsy way, pointed out the size of the windshield wipers.
This olelongrooffan needs to hang out with that artsy fartsy woman a little more.
As we strolled down that street, we spotted this late 60's Chevy C-10
and then this Chevy SSR. A truck? A car? A convertible?
At least the El Camino had style.
As Kris has had a couple dates with a gentleman some years younger than herself, this olelongrooffan could not help to to give her a load of cr*p when we came across
this first generation Mercury Cougar.
And that likeness of the god Mercury is stamped into a full size wheel cover adorning the living room was of the Taj Mahal. I was given this wheel cover at the Turkey Rod Run, 2008 edition.
Yeah, Counters, that is correct. A vendor out there at the Daytona International Speedway gave this olelongrooffan that wheel cover, almost as soon as I picked it up. When I queried as to why he would just give this away, he commented that I was the first person, other than himself, to touch that wheel cover in three years.
Yeah, it is all about karma.
But, anyway, that first gen Cougar is pretty sweet and there was not one but two of those rare upscale Mustang knockoffs at that show.
Sorry about my shadow in the foreground of this image and no, that is not Lake Mary in the background. It is a stormwater retention pond.
This was the only Corvette at the show and although this olelongrooffan is not a huge fan of that two seater, this is one of my favorite Corvette body styles.
Now one to the Camaro section of the show. As with the previous image of that Corvette,
this is my favorite body style of the Camaro.
Maybe it has something to due with the fact these cars were new when this olelongrooffan was a younglongrooffan.
Think about it. What is your favorite body style of a particular marque and was that the one produced when you were a young Counter? Me thinks so.
Anyway, Kris and I struck up a conversation with the owner of this Z/28. It sure is easy to strike up a conversation when you have a pretty woman in your presense.
He shared some information about this particular Z such as production numbers in particular colors, options, and much, much more.
Kris was fascinated but this olelongrooffan knew that Gentleman was just showing off for her.
But she ate it up and I had fun being an observer.
Parked next to that Z was this super nice SS, errrr Super Sport for you uninformed Counters out there.
Yeah, The Heartbeat Of America.
We had earlier stumbled upon this uniquely colored one with a 427 under its bonnet.
Immaculate inside and out.
Yeah, it says Yenko but, as the Z-28 owning dude pointed out to us later, after this olelongrooffan asked, "Is it a real one?"
"No, it is a recreation."
While a nice automobile, it is not worth anything more than a cleanly restored Camaro and that cleanly restored Camaro has a whole lot more credibility with the in crowd than this Poser.
Anyway, let's move on shall we?
There were a couple old school street rods at the show and here is one of them.
Definitely a fair weather ride.
And that dirt on the firewall in the above image? It's paint. All about patina.
But the engine and dash were in proper operating order.
And this olelongrooffan loves the wide whites Coker tires with steelie rims.
Now, with Kris getting all artsy fartsy on me, this olelongrooffan thought I would try to get in that habit and got a shot of this poker playing card size rear view mirror on the
passenger side door of this highly modified
street rod. There also was a mural painted on the underside of that hood
which covers this engine.
But I forgot to get an image of it.
I did, however, get an image of the *ss end of it.
And now on to the Tri-5 section of that GM dominated show.
Kris loved the color of this aqua colored coupe.
I got a shot of the traffic light prism mounted on the dashboard.
I was trying to figure out the name of them and neither the Bus nor myself could come up with it. And forget trying to google it. Bet TheGentlemanFarmer knows.
There was another '57 there but it was all restomodded and not all that interesting to this olelongrooffan.
Kris took a look under the hood at the chromed out engine compartment
of this '55 post and asked me if it was original.
Not even close, although the interior seats may have come from the factory in these colors.
There were several second generation Chevelles that made an appearance.
Yeah, in the above image, that is a reflection of this olelongrooffan and Kris's fancy dancy camera on the driver's side rear quarter panel of that Super Sport.
Equipped with the highly desirable 396, back when the boys from Detroit advertised what was under the hood of those muscle cars.
And although this '67 had been slightly restomodded,
this one was just off the wall!
I mean, you take a perfectly good, straight '67 Chevelle SS and blow the h*ll out of it.
Yeah, it was, once, a clean Super Sport with a straight body and create this
machine that needs 12" wide tires on the rear just to keep it on the road.
And it is Street Legal!!
Now, aside from those two Cougars, the Blue Oval was represented by this "Big Bird" as well as a few Mustangs.
And the "ricer" segment was represented by this Toyota equipped with Lambo doors.
And as this olelongrooffan has pointed out previously, "Lambo doors are so out, Lamborgini doesn't even do them anymore."
Now, Counters, Kris and this olelongrooffan saw some pretty sweet rides out in Lake Mary that Saturday but I have to award the Best In Show to this 1956 Chevrolet Belair Tudor Hardtop.
Looking at it you would not think much of it. Just an old car.
Well, Counters, this '56 Tri 5 was in original condition, with only the electric fan, seen in the lower left of the above image, being the only, and a functional, add-on to this original ride.
The patina was wonderful and
I was honored to have seen it.
Unchanged in fifty-four years and still straight as an arrow body parts.
Light paint fade and some surface rust only added to the desirableness of this sweet old ride.
It looked good from all angles and it even
had the original wheel covers!!
After all, these old rides are only original once.
Yeah, it was nice and it was enjoyable to show Kris what they looked like back in the day.
And, Counters, that is another day in the life of this olelongrooffan as I, and a good friend, were able to
Celebrate Life.
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