Yeah, It's Been Quite A Couple Months

In the words of the infamous Johnny Carson, MORE TO COME.






























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Yeah, I'm Back.

Whatcha Been Doing?

Well Counters, this olelongrooffan must submit an apology to all of you Counting Along With Me. I have been a bit AWOL on By The Numbers this past month.

As I have mentioned previously, I Have A Job and it has been keeping me busy.

Plus between Biketoberfest, The Daytona Beach Dream Cruise, talking about my new truck, The Winter Park Concours and this past Thanksgiving weekend, The Turkey Rod Run, this olelongrooffan has been slammed.

Plus hosting Happy Hour for thejeepjunkie and TheGoodAttorney. Oh yeah, I also installed baseboard in a 2,800 square foot lived in home.

Yeah, I've Been Busy.

And this olelongrooffan did not even wish you Counters a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope yours was fun, fulfilling, and plentiful.

But I bet a whole bunch of money I don't have that none of you did what this olelongrooffan considers himself lucky enough to do on Thanksgiving Day, 2010.

I went to the Daytona International Speedway for the largest automotive swap meet in the southeastern part of these great United States of America.

I woke up Thanksgiving morning, Gave a Prayer of Thanks, showered, put on a pair of khaki shortpants, my "Ford" logo clad oxford shirt, sensible walking shoes and packed a cooler with el cheap diet cokes and bottled water acquired from my local Dollar Store, stuffed it in a backpack I own courtesy of the Kid, headed out to my means of transport for the weekend and made the 20 minute trip to The Speedway.

As I am local to the area, I knew how to get to the Daytona International Speedway and park in the nearly vacant parking lot of the NASCAR headquarters building across International Speedway Boulevard without even getting on ISB, fully laden with touristas.
So I parked TheGoodAttorney's classic 69 Ford Bronco in that lot and headed across that boulevard, utilized my "Get In Free" card and got into that facility with my free refreshment bearing backpack in tow.

As this olelongrooffan walked across the plywood layed upon that newly paved tri-oval I got this shot of it to share with all you Counters out there.
I wandered over to the open air garages where all the legendary race cars are and saw a whole bunch of the same cars so I quickly headed out to the swap meet area to see what was to be seen.

This olelongrooffan has been attending this event for many years but this is the first time I recollect
seeing these ALMS series race cars advertising the Mobil 12 Hours of Sebring which occurs in early March down in Sebring, Florida.
I passed by the Hemmings Motor News booth hawking all of their excellent publications.
And got on out to the grass portion of the infield to see all the quirky stuff that was available, should you need it.
Anybody need a $50 light bar to impersonate a cop?

I then spotted a late 40's Morris, one of which I had seen a couple weeks earlier at the Winter Park Concours.


And Counters this is a mere example of what can be seen in the vendor booths out there in the grass infield.
Willys Station Wagons, trim rings, hub caps off the Bus's old Burb, dashboards, consoles and whatnot.

Oh yeah, any body need some old car bodies?
I also spotted this Aerodeck Monte Carlo that NASCAR required in order to get Chevrolet into NASCAR racing in the late 1980's.
This toy and memorabilia possessing booth always captures the attention of this olelongrooffan. By the way, see that ride upon dump/tow truck on the closest corner of that table?
It was in that location last year and sports it again this year. I wonder if the $375 price tag might have something to do with that?

See that sweet little convertible in the following image. How about a Crosley Hot Shot Super Sport ragtop for your driving pleasure?


I don't remember alot about this old speed boat except that it was a 1957 model. But see those rope encased glass balls?Those are what were used as bobbers for submerged crap traps down around these parts before plastic or styrofoam balls were invented.

And a sweet ole El Camino just because I liked it enough to capture an image of it.
One of the last booths I checked out had this cool old "Big Boy" burgers mascot along with a whole bunch of old signs. And know, they were not cheap. In the far left of this image you can make out the *ss end of a coin operated riding horse that was listed at $1,250!
And once this olelongrooffan decided to head out, I was walking down an aisle and spotted, in a partitioned off area, the tools used to repave the Daytona International Speedway.And, Counters, that was my Thanksgiving Day, 2010. Well, this olelongrooffan did head over to Bellair Plaza to meet up with thejeepjunkie later but that is a whole 'nother blog.

And while it may be not your cup of tea, this is how this olelongrooffan can really

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.

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.