A Cool Old Truck

Bringing a whole new meaning to "single cab".

Thanks to Jesse for finding this and helping this olelongrooffan

Celebrate Life.

What I Saw Today

So, earlier today this olelongrooffan forgot to get some petrol for The Indian while I was over on the mainland. As gas prices tend to be 5-10 cents less per gallon over there vs beachside, I usually try to remember to have a pit stop while on the mainland.

Well, since The Indian's fuel gauge did something it has not done since it has been owned by this olelongrooffan, that is emit a red light indicating super low fuel, I decided to hit the Kangaroo Stop n Rob that is located next door to my favorite parts friends at the corner of Main Street and Riverside Drive down there in Daytona Beach.

As this olelongrooffan was heading east over the Main Street drawbridge often frequented by my olestationbus that virgin, to me, light appeared, I looked off in the distance a spotted What I Saw Today off in the distance turning north on Riverside and then pulling into the same Kangaroo that The Indian so desperately needed.

When I arrived, the owner was nowhere to be found and this olelongrooffan headed into that store to get me some $20 worth of go-juice. After I had exited that establishment, this tattoo bearing, flat bill ballcap wearing dude, toting a quart of cheap, Beachside Auto Parts oil, came around the rear of a parked out front car and the Kangaroo dude washing the windows started chatting it up with him about his ride.
I listened for a bit then went out to get The Indian and this olelongrooffan the vital fluids necessary to Hoon it around for a tad bit longer. As the machine attached to the other end of that hose was pumping that fluid into The Indian, this olelongrooffan was listening to the flat brimmed hat dude chatting it up with the Kangaroo dude about his classic old ride.
Once that task was completed, this olelongrooffan grabbed my no longer trusty 28 dollar ebay found image taker and headed over to check it out in person.

Pleasantly and surprisingly, the flat brimmed hat wearing dude, Anthony, proved every stereotype this olelongrooffan has of the bearers of this this brand of fashion wrong. He was super cool. Passionate about his "original" ride and showed off, not only the 429 under the hood but also the original spare tire and the "Jacking Instructions" badge under the trunk lid. Now Counters, this is one super cool ride and would fit perfectly in the livery of this olelongrooffan. It is a 1964 Cadillac Series 62 hardtop sedan and it is in great shape.
He pointed out that this particular model was a four window as the six window had operating vent windows at the "C" pillar, similar to the ones at the "A" pillar in the above image. It appeared to have a repaint, thus allowing this olelongrooffan to place "quotes" around original and makes this sweet ride "stock" as opposed to "original".
Either way it is a highly desirable ride and is similar to the 63 Coupe deVille TheGentleman Farmer owned at one time.

So anyway, Anthony, the Kangaroo dude and this olelongrooffan stood around chatting it up for several minutes and I shared my card with this blog address on it with them. It was during this time Anthony mentioned he also has owned a 63 Coupe deVille like my dad's, but in jet black, as well as a 69 Lincoln Executive Series. This olelongrooffan still has to google that one though.

It was super cool meeting another generation of car dude, one of whom, had he not been connected to an automobile, this olelongrooffan would probably not have approached. My eyes were opened today, that is for sure.

So anyway, this olelongrooffan must note that today I also spotted a late 80's Toyota Tercel 4WD wagon in primo condition out by the Daytona International Speedway, a Meyers Manx Dune Buggy on the same drive and a vintage early 50's GM product pick up truck with a great original patina. This olelongrooffan was unable to get his no longer trusty 28 dollar ebay camera to cooperate in order to share the images of those sweet rides with you.

Well, it's time for this olelongrooffan to head over to ebay and get me another, what I presume are disposable after about a year, 28 dollar image taker so that I can share with you Counter Out There the ways this olelongrooffan continues to

Celebrate Life.

Another Day At The Busted Knuckle Garage

One of the things that needed to be replaced on my new to me Jeep Comanche pick up, The Indian, was this piece that holds the ignition chamber on the steering column.
So, one day last week, this olelongrooffan spent a day at The Busted Knuckle Garage and headed out to my local U-Pull-It to find one.

I spotted a 1986 Jeep Cherokee and figured I would put thejeepjunkie's new steering wheel puller on it and get that piece.

This olelongrooffan even took an image of the interior of it so as to remind me of how it all went back together.
After a return trip to check out the repaving at the Daytona International Speedway, that blog is currently in draft form on By The Numbers, this olelongrooffan returned to the Taj Mahal and put The Indian in the garage.
thejeepjunkie stopped in for a quick visit before heading out to do a bit of work on his trailer and I mentioned this olelongrooffan would be over in a couple hours. I removed the original steering wheel and this is the sight I saw. All was expected though.
Once I removed all of the components necessary for the installation of that new piece, this olelongrooffan determined that sometime during the production year for the 1986 Jeep products, engineering determined that a redesign of this piece was necessary and that new piece did not accept the turn signal indicator lever into its design.

All kinds of notsogood.com.

So, I decided to reinstall the existing piece with the wiring I had acquired from that junk Cherokee.

Well Counters, let me tell you it was easier said than done. The d*mn ignition control switch was not going back in the way it came out and this olelongrooffan could not understand it.

thejeepjunkie calls and asks where I am and I told him my dilemma. He shows about an hour later and commandeers my position under the dashboard.
Well, after about an hour of doing the same thing I had been doing for 4 hours, I commented it seems that if this bracket were to be bent into this position, it would work. "Did you bend it, longroof?" No. "Then it doesn't need to be bent, we just need to figure its position out," he says as he cusses both Chrysler and AMC!

Well, we can't figure the damn thing out so thejeepjunkie bends that bracket almost 90 degrees and everything just slides together and our job at The Busted Knuckle Garage is postponed for another day.

But know this Counters, that stock steering wheel was replaced with the sport wheel I got for eleven bucks and for that reason,
this olelongrooffan can

Celebrate Life.

A Couple Classics

So, this evening over at Hooniverse, this olelongrooffan did a couple posts about this past weekend's Daytona Dream Cruise and I thought you Counters might enjoy them.

But I saved this one just for you Counters out there.

Amidst all the blowers, fiberglass Ghias, street rods and overly restored vehicles, this olelongrooffan spotted these two and wanted to share them with you.

While slightly modified, they still have a stock appearance and are desirable to this olelongrooffan. And to be honest with you, I didn't verify the make of that pickup but I believe it is a late 1930's or 1940 Chevrolet product.
And that vehicle of the same vintage parked next to it? Well Counters, it is a
Harley Earl designed LaSalle. Originally designed to be the in between vehicle between the Oldsmobile and the Cadillac for General Motors in the late 1920's, it was a bit more agile and enjoyed a relatively sporty following. Nowadays, the LaSalle owners and the Cadillac owners have the Cadillac-LaSalle Club as their common association.
Now there is a much greater history of this marque than this olelongrooffan is aware of but I can tell you this: I doubt there are any late 30's Cadillacs with an Indian blanket as the front seat upholstery.

I spotted it that Saturday afternoon and my being able to share it with you...well it is that, which lets this olelongrooffan

Celebrate Life.

Daytona Dream Cruise Saturday

So, as I mentioned in a post over at Hooniverse, this olelongrooffan was supposed to direct parking at a venue for the Daytona Dream Cruise this Chamber of Commerce kind of Saturday down here in sunny Daytona Beach, Florida. It turned out to be much more than that.

Yeah, that umbrella has seen some action! That ole CJ was my point of origin and, much like a travelling salesman or an Officer of the Law, my office. But I am not complaining as I was still able to Celebrate Life.

But that was this morning. Now at 11:25 pm EST, my ass is dragging but know I am committed (or should be committed somewhere) to you Counters and needed to get this post in just for, as we say in the South, all ya'll.

No verbage is forthcoming but know this is represents a minor part of the variety of vehicles this olelongrooffan will be posting the next few days.











And even though this olelongrooffan is exhausted, I can still

Celebrate Life.

This olelongrooffan Is Not Being Narcistic

but if you Counters remember my By The Numbers series of road trips from a couple years ago and the way I started each of them, you should recognize something familiar here.

But it's okay. In a way this olelongrooffan is flattered and can still

Celebrate Life.

Homeless Homeless

So earlier this evening, this olelongrooffan needed to replenish my Hurricane Supplies and headed the block and a half to my favorite local liquor store, by the Letters.

As I was returning from that purveyor of all things needed to allow the "Party To Begin At 905", I passed behind the local Family Dollar Store and spotted a clump of palm trees and palmettos on fire. And like the dumb*ss this olelongrooffan is, I had neglected to bring either my phone or my camera on this 45 second drive each way.

Well Counters, I floored the accelerator on the Indian and got the block to the Taj Mahal covered rather quickly. I promptly called 9-11 while looking around for newly recharged batteries for my elcheapo 28 dollar ebay purchased image taking device.

I was successful on both counts and returned to that former oasis of all things representing tropical Florida fauna. And as if to reinforce the fact that we have had no rain for 28 days to we local yokels, Mother Nature had allowed this fire to get to this stage.
That white fence seen in the above image is vinyl and surrounds a neighboring condominium. That tall building in the background is a beachfront condo while the building in the foreground is the back of the local Family Dollar store. The Taj Mahal is about 200 yards behind me as I was taking this image. The center power pole in this image is located in the parking lot of my destination this evening.

Now Counters, take a look and this short video and see if you see what this olelongrooffan saw around 5:30 pm on my baby sister Joan's birthday.

Hey jeepjunkie! This is what you miss when you skip Happy Hour at the Taj Mahal!!

In the following image, that Beach Patrol truck is parked on the street in about the same location as this olelongrooffan was when I spotted the initial stages of this blaze.
Now Counters, I have this to say about that. This stretch of Northshore Drive in Ormond Beach, Florida can often be driven without encountering any other means of transportation. Well, this event drew out many gawkers and the traffic was crazy, well not Biketoberfest crazy, but certainly crazy for this block long stretch between A1A and Oriole Circle.
After making a mental note about the traffic situation to attempt to remember to share it with you Counters, this olelongrooffan took a look back at that Beach Patrol truck. I noticed a member of Ormond Beach's Defenders of Justice along with the Beach Patrol dude and there were also a couple other dudes who looked a bit askew.
At the time, I didn't think alot of it and went back to watching the firefighters do what they like to do. Put out fires.
But then the firetruck and EVAC unit arrived on the scene and I watched that EVAC unit turn right on Florida Street and head over to that Beach Patrol truck.

When this olelongrooffan spotted the EVAC dude and dudette loading one of those askew looking dudes on a stretcher I knew I had to head on over to see what was up. As I was walking to the *ss end of the Family Dollar building, another EVAC truck arrived and they started loading up the second dude on another stretcher.

I had the opportunity to have a moment with the Beach Patrol dude and he related that those two guys were homeless and living in that oasis just a block from the Taj Mahal. "How'd it start?" I asked. "It seems they were pretty drunk and started a fire to warm up some food."

Apparently they had spent some amount of time there as you can see the previously hidden pile of refuse in the center of the above image.

As you can see in the below image, the fire truck is in the reverse position from when it arrived.
Upon arrival, those firemen got the blaze under control with onboard water and once that had happened, they hooked up to a down the street fire hydrant and did the deep application of water to that "forest fire."

This olelongrooffan hung around long after most of the spectators had left because, well, just because.

The only others hanging about were a boy and girl, aged about 10 and 12 respectively. The girl, who brought to mind my daughter Jessica, asked if I knew what had happened. I related to her what I had learned and we continued to speak. She mentioned that she and her brother had played in those bushes many times. I looked at her with great alarm as she mentioned there were chairs, a fire pit and lots of "trash". Although I had never previously seen this gregarious young lady, I asked if she had mentioned this to any adults. She replied in the negative and I suggested that should she, or any of her friends, see this type situation again they should tell an adult about it. She asked me why? and I asked her if she had ever heard of an Amber Alert? Of course, she replied. I related that sometimes this is the reason an Amber Alert is issued. She looked at me with an incredible look and said "I never thought of that! Thanks."

By this time, the Big Dog in the Suburban had arrived and was doing his assessment of the situation and I knew the show, except for the cleanup, was over and this olelongrooffan jumped in my Indian and headed back to the Taj Mahal and this blogpost.

And it is knowing that I was able to, unfortunately, open the eyes of an innocent young lady and the fact that Ormond's finest firefighters are just a short distance away really lets this olelongrooffan

Celebrate Life.

I've Been Busy

Well Counters, I hope you don't think this olelongrooffan has forgotten about By The Numbers.

It's just that I've Been Busy successfully trying to

Celebrate Life.

I Wish I Could Blame Just Dad

This is a blog this olelongrooffan posted over on Hooniverse should any of you Counters out there give a d*mn. It will publish on Thursday morning around nine-ish eastern time.

So this week, we contributors to Hooniverse are exposing-hey get your mind out of the gutter-a little bit about ourselves so we Hoons can get to know each other a little better.

In my very first post on Hooniverse, this olelongrooffan described How This Hoon Became A Hoon.
Rather than rehash that old blogpost, this olelongrooffan thought I would approach my Hoonage from a bit different perspective.

As I described in my inaugural blogpost my Dad always had an unusual car around and sometimes more than one.

I readily remember riding in and driving his 1972 Citroen DS21 Palas. It was a super sweet ride, not overly powerful but, Man, the leather front seats were soft and cushy, much like a barco-lounger, and seemed to swallow you whole in their comfortableness. And yes, it had a clutchless semi automatic transmission.
He drove that automobile until it just gave out and then he parked it in the pole barn out back for a number of years. At the time, I was in my early college years and tried to talk him into installing a VW GTI motor in it. But, alas, he passed along to me, and all my brothers, the belief that Stock Rocks! And that car withered away. But by then he had purchased a pair of 66 Pontiacs and moved on.

But as the title suggests, it is not just Dad I can blame. I have three older brothers who are also into all things vehicular.

During my preteen years, my oldest brother, prior to leaving for the Land War In Southeast Asia, purchased, not only a swing set for we "four little kids" and a matching console television and stereo system for the folks, a 1970 Chevelle 2 door hardtop. And as Dad had passed along his trait, it was bone ass stock and stayed that way until he bought his Cutlass Supreme after his first marriage. His wife couldn't drive the "three on the tree" equipped Chevelle! He also owned a vintage WWII Willy's M38A1.

My second oldest brother (the Bus), back in the same era, purchased this sweet British racing green Triumph Spitfire. Prior to leaving for Germany to serve his country as a medic for the US Army over there, he put this thing up on concrete blocks and took the knockoff wheels and tires to a buddy's home so that my little brother (thejeepjunkie) and I, about 13-14 at the time, wouldn't steal it and totally Hoon The Hell out of it. Know this, we would have! But I do remember sitting in that thing, up on blocks, with thejeepjunkie as my navigator shifting that 4 speed transmission while driving in our imaginary rally that took place, not geographically, but cerebelly. And this olelongrooffan remembers that like it was yesterday. It was actually 37 years ago!


Now for my third oldest brother (thehorsefarmer), back in the late 60's he owned a 1955 Chrysler New Yorker. Later in life, after he retired after serving in the US Navy as the Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman, Submarine Services, he bought a small farm and had the two trucks shown in the following image.
thehorsefarmer got that blue F1 from my dad. Dad bought it as a backup pickup on our farm back in the early 70's. My dad had a friend, Hap Henley, who was an old Chrysler New Yorker driving, plaid flannel shirt wearing, pipe smoking shade tree mechanic. When it came time to rebuild that flathead six under the hood of that old truck, Hap was around and told this young whipper snapper to file down the top of the engine block til it was smooth. So I commensed to filing that old block to what I thought was perfection. When I had completed that task, I went to get Hap to show him what I had done. He came over, inspected my work and told me I had done a "jam up job." This 14 year old boy didn't know what that meant and went to find Mrs. Henley and ask her. She told me I must have done an exceptional job as Hap rarely paid that compliment. I walked out of the kitchen just beaming with pride!

Thus far I have explained the contributing genetics as to How This Hoon Became A Hoon. Now I want to share a couple more memories.

Prior to moving to the Missouri Ozarks, my family lived in Shrewbury, Missouri, a bedroom community on the border of St. Louis. My paternal grandmother, Moo, lived across town from us and for my family to go visit her was a big deal. She was of the age who believed kids were to seen and not heard. Whenever we "4 little kids" went with the folks to visit her, my brother and I were bannished to the dark, dank basement of Moo's row house to play with toy cars from an old wooden box. I have been fortunate enough to have gotten a couple of them over the years.
I showed these to thejeepjunkie earlier this evening and he about died! "I remember that old Packard from when we played with it in Moo's basement." And that wheelless silver longroof I remember playing with it while it still possessed those vital items necessary for vehicular movement. Wonder if that toy planted an early seed of longroof fondness in this olelongrooffan? This is my earliest recollection of anything automotive, occuring around age 3, 1962.
While we lived in St. Louis, this Microbus was my Mom's daily driver. My Dad had an identical one. Those are my three older brothers looking cool in the early 60's.

As I mentioned, my dad always had a unique vehicle around. In the early '60's while in St. Louis he picked up a 1932 Ford Model "A". Shown below are me, second from the left, and thejeepjunkie on the far right. My neighbor across the street, Mark Ryan, is on the far left and the other boy is unknown. Yeah, I remember "jam up job" but forget someone's name. Well, that's how I ride.
That car rode down to the Missouri Ozarks on a flatbed trailer behind my Dad's 65 Country Squire and, for a time, resided in my dad's garage where it became a backdrop for a photograph taken by this olelongrooffan of a bunch of neighborhood kids with thejeepjunkie front and center.
And lest you think dad never started on that restoration, note the following picture of more neighborhood kids after we had rebuilt the motor in that early FOMOCO product.
At this time, circa 1970, my dad's fleet consisted of the following: 1967 Ford Country Squire, 1966 Buick Electra Deuce and A Quarter(the bishop's old car), this Model "A", a 1963 Corvair Convertible, a Starcraft tent trailer, a 32' pontoon boat, two Wheel Horse lawn tractors and about a hundred bicycles, including one built for two.

Well Hoons, one day my dad pulled an Oliver Wendel Douglas and moved his brood lock, stock and barrel from urban life to a 173 acre farm a thirty minute drive from "town". He traded that partially restored Model "A" for a big, stout Black Angus bull who provided many calves out there on Haven Lee Farm. My sister totalled that red Corvair so my dad took the proceeds and purchased a brand new 1971 Dodge Sweptline pickup truck for daily use on that farm.
While in the stead of this olelongrooffan and thejeepjunkie, it spent alot of its time in this condition.
Usually stuck during the spring thaws.

Dad also found a tricycle front IH Farmall "C" tractor and much like Mr. Douglas's tractor one day the wheel fell off!
And those are just a few of the thousands of memories this olelongrooffan retains from a childhood with a dad and older brothers who, just like you and me, were Hoons of their time.

I have shared with my brothers this fine website and they follow it as religiously as you and I do. And I am confident my Dad, with a glass of all things Cutty in one hand and a cigar in the other is watching over we Hoons from up above and giving all of us his nod of approval.

What I Saw Today

Last evening, this olelongrooffan decided he was finally going to install the carpet remnant, courtesy of the recarpeting of TheGoodAttorney's home, in the cab of the Indian.

You see, when the Indian came into my possession, there was a gaping hole in the floorboard on the driver's side and the vinyl covering and the padding beneath it was shot. Several weeks ago, this olelongrooffan tore out the remaining vinyl and padding in front of that bench seat, patched the hole, used a little liquid insulation to mask the patch work and sprayed the entire front floor with undercoating paint.

It looked okay, but I wanted to have a tad more quietness in the cab, for when this olelongrooffan gets the sound system operational. Plus thejeepjunkie was giving me a ration about having tin floors in my Jeep. I mentioned he had them in his and he promptly shut up!

Well, as you Counters probably deduce, the rust inside that cab was not contained to the floorboard but also affected the bolts holding that massive bench seat in place.

So today, this olelongrooffan spent the day at the "Busted Knuckle Garage".
Yeah, I had to use a pair of vice grips to remove the rear nut from the stationary bolt on the driver's side. The front nut? No worries, the entire lower end of the front seat bracket was so rusted that, after removing the two passenger side seat retaining nuts, when I lifted that seat up the bracket just broke loose from that bolt.

So anyway, today, the "Busted Knuckle Garage" was in the parking lot of the Taj Mahal on a pleasant Chamber of Commerce day here in the Birthplace of Speed.

One time, after reentering the Taj Mahal for some now forgotten reason, when I returned to the "Busted Knuckle Garage", across the way was this sweet Mercedes 190E with the desirable 2.8 litre engine.
There was also a never-before-seen by this olelongrooffan Tennessee badged Ford Explorer, a U-Haul truck and a young couple working a GPS inside that Explorer.

Now lest you Counters think that this olelongrooffan is a "Condo Commando", think again. I am merely observant. A "Commando" would have gone over to find out what was going on, after giving me a ration of sh*t for having the Indian's seat in the yard of the Taj Mahal.

Anyway, back to What I Saw Today. This is a pretty sweet old ride. The only flaw I noticed was the crack in the rear wing between the third taillight and the driver's side support bracket.
A little later, a guy around my age (I almost said "older"), who I presumed to be a Realtor, came out and as I was working on the Indian seen in the background, I commented that it is a nice 190. Thanks, he said. It is a 91.
As an aside, in the above image, you Counters can see What I Saw Today, my Indian, and the roof of my oleragtop.

Now I am sure you are wondering why I still have that oleragtop when I have previously mentioned that it was sold. Well, the buyer left his wallet on top of a gas pump awhile back and has spent the last few weeks getting that situation resolved. He contacted me yesterday that he wants to come down on Sunday and pick it up. Sounds great to me.

Except now I can't find the d*mn title! I am sure I put some place unique just so I would remember where it was!

And for the final image of What I Saw Today.
The interior is immaculate and not a cracked dash in sight. This car must be garaged to be nearly 20 years old, have 236,000 miles on the clock, have such a nice rumble and still be in such pristine condition.

And just because this olelongrooffan can, check out this link with just a few more 190's.

Know this Counters, this busted knuckle possessing olelongrooffan is sure happy to have gotten that new carpeting installed in the Indian, moving that oleragtop on down the road and seeing that sweet 190. Yeah, it really helps me to

Celebrate Life.