The Price Is Right

So, a whiles back I did a post about thejeepjunkie and this olelongrooffan doing a little long distance shopping for a windshield frame for his CJ2A. At the end of that post, I posted that if any of my fellow Hoons happened to stumble across a door for a 1973 Jeepster Commando, the "Charles Barrett Special", to let me know about it. Well, early on Saturday morning my massive communications system in my Taj Mahal wakes me up.



 It turns out it was my brother, thejeepjunkie, on the other end of the line.

"Whatca doing longroof?"

"Sleeping in on a rare Saturday off. What are you doing jeepjunkie?"

"Just got off the phone with a guy down in Orange City who has a pair of Commando doors. His number is 555-1212."

"I'm on way" was my response.

So this olelongrooffan drags my sorry ass out of bed and climbs into my Comanche and head down that ass beating warped as hell concrete Highway 92 towards Orange City, Florida.

I arrive and this is what I see as soon as thejunkjeepdude and his kid, thejunkjeepson of course, let me in their back gate. That M38 in the foreground is thejunkjeepson's daily driver. He proudly started it up for me and trust me my fellow Hoons, it purred. Well as only a Hurricane motor can.



thejunkjeepdude had more parts and pieces of old Willys and early Kaiser Jeeps than you could shake a stick at. I mean that is a rare half cab (although my brother Bus-Plunge has one on his 2A) leaning up against what little remains of a 69 Commando. Just beyond that German Shepherd, a thoroughly well behaved pup, is the CJ it came off of. Now that CJ is currently drivetrain deprived but thejunkjeepdude and thejunkjeepson certainly tried to convince this olelongrooffan that the Hurricane Kaiser era motor they had installed in an even worse condition CJ adjacent would work in this one as well. Even though the motor in that old Jeep wouldn't crank and the battery tender they had needed charging so it wasn't of any help. Although that didn't stop us from trying.



Just beyond that sans drivetrain old CJ was the shed as shown above. Sorry for the blurry image, unlike our Finnish Hoon friend who has a camera that makes night time look like high noon, this olelongrooffan is still sporting my elcheapo ebay camera. But know this my fellow Hoons, that shed was filled with all things Willys and Jeep. Seat frames, new mud tires, suicide gas tanks, flat fenders, radiators, grilles, windshield frames (no 2A ones though) and I don't know what all. Just a bunch of shit that this olelongrooffan is certain thejeepjunkie will kick himself for not cruising down here with me to check out.


Out yonder, just past the stall of that shed was this cancer free frame for a '58 Willys station wagon. As this olelongrooffan is now in search for four brake drums for the "Charles Barrett Special" (yeah, that's a whole nother story) I was tempted to buy it but I wasn't sure if it possessed the 11" drums needed. But thejunkjeepdude sure tempted me with his Buy It Now price of Fifty Bucks. With a little research, it may ultimately be mine. But, as always, where to store it?


So, thejunkjeepdude and thejunkjeepson escorted this olelongrooffan around the corner to the next stall of that backyard shed and, lo and behold, there is a damn straight Jeep CJ6 with a full steel top. Hoons, this 6 is even more desirable than any other Jeep or Willys known to exist. Well, maybe with the exception of this one or maybe this one.  Alas, thejunkjeepdude and thejunkjeepson remarked that this one is slated for restoration later this year and it's not available for consumption by thejeepjunkie or this olelongrooffan. Too bad cuz the roof is just long enough for me.



Just outside of that everything Jeep desired shed was this 1973 Jeepster Commando, nearly identical to the "Charles Barrett Special" this olelongrooffan owns. I was lusting after it from the moment it was sighted. It has everything I need the most, that specifically being a passenger door and the hood and hood springs. Yes, I was nearly in nirvana over it.


While was a bit more rodded than my tastes tend to be, it did have the correct tailgate and I surely wanted the door, hood and tailgate for my ride. Unfortunately, thejunkjeepdude informed me it was unavailable as it belonged to a buddy who is in the process of fixing it up. No parts available off it but there are doors for a different Commando available, Now this olelongrooffan gets this idea but the last time this buggy was licensed here in the Sunshine State was 2000. Me thinks I'll be giving this dude a call in a few months to check on the status of that 6 as well as this "Charles Barrett Special" wannabe.

So, anyway, this olelongrooffan got to haggling with thejunkjeepdude and thejunkjeepson about that door needed for the "Special". Turns out they had both the driver's and passenger's side doors and really wanted to move them both. As all I needed was the passenger door, I was reluctant to purchase both until they mentioned what they wanted for the pair. 75 bucks. Yeah, my fellow Hoons, what are the chances of finding a door for a '73 Commando anywhere close to me down here in the World Center of Racing? So this olelongrooffan snagged both of them but I did have thejunkjeepson load them in my oldbeaterpickemuptruck. And on the way out of their backyard, I snagged this image


of thejunkjeepdude's cool assed M725 Kaiser Jeep military ambulance as I headed out. It is much like the pickup the Bus-Plunge owned around 20 or so years ago when he was in his military vehicle phase. Just after the Volkwagens and just before old stovebolt trucks and airstream trailers and S10 pickups and pontoon boats.



 So anyway, this olelongrooffan now possesses the rust free replacement door for the passenger side of the "Charles Barrett Special" and it is now one step closer to a meeting with thepaintdude. 

So....anybody needing a driver's side door for a 1973 Jeepster Commando, just let me know. I got one.

Oh yeah, between my Taj Mahal and thejunkjeepdudes house are two u-pull-it junkyards. Guess how this olelongrooffan spent my Saturday afternoon?

That's Zyncro Young Man

So, after spending a couple post Turkey Run days out of town for a small project, this olelongrooffan returned to my home in the Birthplace of Speed around mid-afternoon. I had eaten a sturdy breakfast prior to leaving but had spent the lunch hour, on a rare trip on a portion of the Eisenhower Highway System here in central Florida, without bothering to stop at any of the multiple corporate roadside eateries along the way. Upon the culmination of that road trip and knowing I had almost no food left in the frig at my condo, also realizing how much I can spend shopping an my local Publix when I am hungry, (hummus anyone?) I did something relatively unheard of in my world; I hit up the Golden Arches for a quick, cheap and tasteless sammich and fries prior to doing the whole grocery thing.

Well, I have say this about that, the experience around the acquisition of that McChicken sammich was unlike any other.



As I desolately awaited, in that ubiquitous drive thru lane, for my sustainable, abate cheap, mundane sammich and fries (this olelongrooffan seldom does not have a couple Diet Cokes just a reach away) to be prepared, I innocently looked over to the parking area just a driving lane away.

While there may be a couple vehicles in the next image that may be of some interest to those Counting Along With Me, the above infrequently seen decal was, well, seen on the front of a parked motor vehicle, and it immediately drew my attention. Yeah Counters, it was a Volkswagen Syncro. Rarely seen however there is one round these here parts but it is a bone stock version and, trust me based on experience, "Not For Sale."



Anyway, I saw this treasure and the couple sitting in the front were demonstrating their ability to Celebrate Life as was evidenced by her reading the text as seen on her laptop and his giggling all time.

Well, this olelongrooffan knew at that moment the then hot, quasi chicken sammich was going to get cold while I checked these folks out. And it did.

I circled around those clueless Seabreeze High School kids hanging at Mickey D's after school let out and I parked adacent to that palm tree possessing parking median next to my Holy Grail, that Syncro.

As I approached this laughing, obviously enjoying life couple, Rainier lowered the driver's side window to accept my presence.

I introduced myself and them to By The Numbers and commented I am a contributor to all things Hoon, and he introduced himself and, cordially, allowed his partner, Bridgitte, to introduce herself. She graciously spelled it out for me. She then mentioned she was on a local to the Sunshine State blog looking for a great place to stay the night. As she, the 60 something retired secretary for an "American firm" in "the middle of Germany," had decided on a location to retire for this evening, she was prepared to let her partner, a 71 year old retired owner of a German AutoDriving Instruction company, get them safely to their destination down near Cape Canaveral.



Of course, this olelongrooffan had a couple million questions for them and they were gracious enough to let us all know what they were up to.

"Longroof, we're retired. Can you think of anything better to do than tour the world?"

"After touring the rest of the US and western Canada, we are headed to the West Coast of your States then through South America to either Australia or the south of Africa, It really depends on the next ship leaving the port."



It turns out that Rainier, at a young and enthusiatic 71 years of age, has done a previous "Around The World" trip with his, now 30 something and offspring expecting, son joining in for various segments of that trip.

"It was three years ago," he commented, with some translation from Bridgitte, "that we finished that year long trip. That one was also in an older Syncro through Africa and the Middle East, but not as much fun. I didn't know then what I know now," he shared with me, along with a wink of the eye as he, and his longtime traveling partner, Bridgitte squabbled over the something trivial that is still beyond this language impaired olelongrooffan.

But they are still laughing and she mentioned they had often been approached for photographs but noone had ever asked about their adventures.

"Of course, touring the world in a 1989, somewhat relatively obscure, (c'mon, a Syncro?) machine has to be problematic? Is it not?," I asked.

"This time the only problems," Rainier related, "on this 20,000 km trip thus far, we have had have been with the fuel filler tube leaking and the 'gearbox B-needle' problems. However we have met a couple guys, one here in Maryland and another in Canada who have been instrumental in getting those problems resolved." Rainier did comment on how polite everyone has been thus far about their adventures and the limited number of obstacles encountered. Note here that Bridgette offered a whole damned bunch of translation for this conversation to have taken place.



As we all may imagine, the conversation evolved toward the "when, where, and why" questions my journalist father, TheGentlemanFarmer, always want to know.

Bridgitte and Rainier left "the middle of Germany" five months ago and caught a ship to Nova Scotia. On to Newfoundland, Quebec, Ontario, (or vice versa)then down "into the States" via Minnesota. They spend no set period of time in each locale, it all depends on the weather, the local yokels (yeah that is this olelongrooffan's term) and Bridgitte and Rainier's own state of mind.

One of the many endearing aspects we spoke of during this conversation in the parking lot of that corporate American icon, thus far ignored by our visiting brethren Hoons (other than the free wifi), was the fact they are choosing to stay off the Eisenhower Highway System so as to see the real life sights that our country has to offer.

As a fellow follower of the whole "stay off the beaten path" philosophy, I asked about the overnite experiences they have had.

Although this olelongrooffan does not immediately recognize the most comfortable language Bridgitte and Rainier possess, I identified with Bridgitte when she put her hands in the air at the command,

"Hands up"

when they encountered a constable up in Canada. But it was immediately noted that "they were very polite."

Bridgitte added she thought those officers may have been surprised to see a "couple of such advanced age" enjoying a free overnight spot in their mode of transportation.



Rainier immediately popped in with the comment that the power to that laptop, as well as the frig and lighting, is supplied by the solar panel he installed in the fixed top a buddy of his and he had constructed just above the contoured map of the world on the driver's side of their Syncro. Their heater is powered via propane.

He took me around some more of the modifications including "raising the body" (a lift kit), an "open sleep tent" (that diamond plated folding tent at the rear of that fixed top, and a bypass for the carldan shaft. Rainer even looked that term up in his quick reference book of translations. This conversation occurred when I asked about gas mileage and "do you ever take it off road?" I tried several times to comprehend what the name was but I finally got that it was the forward driveshaft on that highly desirable Vanagon. Yeah, this guy and a buddy engineered a way to disengage the front driveshaft to increase the fuel mileage of this old four wheel drive Bus! And yes, Rainier pulled the old rubber encased VW knob on the dash and mentioned how it is engaged for off road use.

Our conversation then evolved into the inevitable "Why in the hell a Syncro?"

Of course, the bulk of this conversation was with Rainier as the primary spokesman, so it was not a "Syncro" but a "Zyncro". It took me a moment to catch on but then this olelongrooffan figured it out.

His response?

"My first car was a Volkswagen Type II with 15" tires."

"My second one was a Volkswagon Type II with 16" tires."

"Why wouldn't I want my best traveling experience to be around the world with a wonderful partner in a Zyncro?"



After we discussed the means of powering this beast, an intercooled, ssupercharged, fuel injected 2.0 liter motor sourced from a Golf, and the idiosyncratic rules concerned the length of time one can stay here in the States on a government issued visa, we took our leave from each other.

As I was returning to my Comanche, I felt truly happy for this couple and wanted to offer them something for their journey to remind them of our visit. I passed by the rear end of my old truck and noticed the "DB" magnet that has adorned every automobile I have owned since I moved here. I pulled that magnet off, returned to Rainier and Bridgitte and offered my small token of appreciation for their time. Rainier immediately jumped out of that Zyncro and shook my hand. "Thank you very much young man," were his final words to me.



I again returned to my "beater" truck and moved on down the road to my next adventure all the while wish Rainier and Bridgitte all the best on theirs.