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?

What I Saw Today: Willys Wagon With Barn Doors!

Just Another Afternoon Stroll, But With A Mission

So, a couple weeks ago this olelongrooffan lightly tapped the rear bumper of a newish Range Rover with the front bumper of my Commanche. (Green means go, dammit! But, yeah, ultimately, I'm the dumbass who smashed into a 50K vehicle with my $800 Jeep.) Anyway, the upshot of it was no damage to the pissed off dude's fancy SUV but the front bumper and bumper brackets on my beater pickup truck were mangled. And those Counting Along With Me know what that means?

Why a trip to my local U-Pull-It, of course.



As I usually try to do, this olelongrooffan searches out the coolest old shit in that junkyard which seems to turn inventory every few months or so. Last spring, there were a bunch of pretty cool older imports but they have gone to that great junkyard in the sky and there was a whole bunch of new stuff for my viewing pleasure. That motorhome in the first image is the first of its type I had seen at this place and can anyone tell me a better place for an Aztek than in a location such as this?



This truck cracked me up the moment I saw it. The owner basically took a one ton GM truck, cut the frame at the cab, welded in a couple sections of 4 inch box tubing to extend it, and then welded in some angle iron to rest the plywood deck on. Absolutely no idea why and the quality of the build was sketchy, at best. Might be from Gib-Town over Tampa way but who knows.



This orange Riv was at the end of the row farthest from this olelongrooffan but I had to go check it out based on the color alone. Now down here in the Sunshine State, red cars tend to fade but this one is in no way a faded paint job. A Gator fan maybe?



And just to pay kudos to the Hooniverse Asks Truck Thursday over on hooniverse.com question earlier this week about pickup trucks.



Based on this picked over new Bug, I'm guessing spare used parts for one of these are somewhat difficult to come by.



And while I have owned several Volvos in my lifetime, it sure appears to me this one is fairly new to be resting in a U-Pull-It yard. But then again, I am the olelongrooffan not the newishvolvofan.



It seems to me that one of my compatriots on hooniverse did a post recently about a 525 in his homeland. Just wondering how scarce parts for these things over there are. Can I send you a few bits and pieces? Hell, a couple years ago I parted out a junkyard attained World War II era Ford Jeep and sent more than a few parts to Europe.



I'm pretty sure this is the last year of this generation Nissan 300 ZX before this body style was retired and the newer, and more desirable to me, 300's came along. God, I would do almost anything for an early 90's 300ZX 2+2 in mint condition.



And since I have owned 3, count them 3, 325's in my life, I had to capture this one. It was identified as a 323 though. Can that be correct?



And there is nothing like a vintage Town Cow to make my day.

But hey longroof!! We are looking for a front bumper for a Commanche, get the hell out of the other sections and head over to the Chrysler area to see about a bumper, and don't forget, look at the Cherokees also.



I can tell you, finding a Commanche still around in a U-Pull-It these days is quite a task but today I found not just one



not just two



but three different Commanche pickups in various states of pickedoverness. And there was not a good front bumper on any of them. But this olelongrooffan has this to say about that, in the last one I looked I found a pair of, as I later found out, operable interior lights my old beater truck was missing. A couple snips of the yellow handled wire cutters I had in my tool pouch and those lights are now installed in the truck parked curbside here in the Birthplace of Speed.



A look see at all of the similarly bodied Cherokees turned up a couple possibles but the bumper I ended up grabbing was this morning attached to this Wagoneer. And know this, if this olelongrooffan could figure out how to wire that Wagoneer grill and headlight/turn signal assembly to my old Commanche, I would be out there grabbing it tomorrow.



But, as it stands, that flashy chrome bumper has now replaced that crumpled, rusty old painted bumper and all is cool in my world this evening.



But hey, I got a bunch of cool swag for the Taj Mahal and that, along with that shiny new bumper, really helps this olelongrooffan to

Celebrate Life.

On The Road Denver Edition: Just For thejeepjunkie and the Bus

Dateline Denver, Colorado: August 15, 2011

As you can surmise, this olelongrooffan is still in the Mile High City and spotted something today I know thejeepjunkie and the Bus would appreciate.



Frequent Counters may probably remember a post I did way back in January about a couple of trailers thejeepjunkie had acquired through somewhat dubious means.



The intent of thejeepjunkie was to restore that old U-Haul trailer and tow it behind his yellow CJ2a when he takes his family to the beach on Sundays. It will work great once it is done and all of his beach cr*p will fit in it nicely.

However today, while out and about near the big box retailer that likes Chad Knauss so much, this olelongrooffan spotted a much more appropriate one to be used behind that 2a.



To bad I can't fit this in my checked baggage on my flight home. FYI jeepjunkie, it is at Mile High Jeep Rebuilders on Federal Avenue near downtown Denver.



Spotting that toy trailer and the fact drywall is finally being installed at my project house is an excellent way this olelongrooffan can

Celebrate Life.

On The Road, Denver, Colorado: The Do You Remember It Edition?

Dateline Denver, Colorado; July 18, 2011

When I was a kid back in the 1960's, I distinctly remember visits to my paternal grandmother's home while we resided in the Gateway to the West back in the day. At Moo's home, kids were better seen than heard and if we weren't seen at all, that was even better. As a result, thejeepjunkie and this olelongrooffan spent a lot of our visits to that Giles Avenue home in the dark and dank basement playing with some cool old toy cars while our sisters were upstairs in the parlor visiting with Moo and the folks.



One of the cool things about that house, other than my Uncle Frank's wide track Pontiac convertibles, was the fact my quite elderly grandmother was still sporting around in a 1953 Desoto Firedome, yes with a hemi. It was maroone with a grey cloth interior and the semi automatic transmission of the time. You used a clutch to get underway and stop but when it was time to shift gears, you just lifted off the accelerator and it shifted automatically. It was pretty fascinating at the time although I rarely rode in Moo's car back then, only to learn to drive it much later in life.  It was the same body style as the one in the above pictures. This olelongrooffan will never know how I came to be in possession of those images but I am sure they were saved so they could be utilized in this post.

Later, after it was determined that Moo was unable to drive herself any longer, that old MOPAR product, now extinct, came to reside on our Halltown edition of Haven Lee Farm.

One time an older sister, who had recently gotten her driver's license, and I were traversing some country road out in Lawrence County, Missouri, had to be 1971 or 72 and when we crested a hill, that gravel road also took a blind turn down to the left.  My sister over compensated and we bounced off the adjacent embankment severely damaging the left front quarter of the old beast, which had by now been painted a bright orange by one of TheGentlemanFarmer's buddies.

Well, needless to say, when we returned home, the proverbial sh*t hit the fan for a couple days and then it kind of blew over. And my Dad, in one of his many travels around the countryside, stumbled across a 1952 Desoto 4 door post sedan parts car and, of course, drug it home.  And it was a parts car for the repairs to Moo's car so this olelongrooffan could hoon it around for a while.

So by now this olelongrooffan is sure those of you Counting Along With Me are screaming at the tops of your lungs..."WTF longroof, you think we are here to reminisce the ole days with some dude who is hanging in the Rockies for the month?"

Whoa?...Where did that come from?....But I think it was pretty funny considering...

So anyway, this afternoon while out scoping out suppliers for this remodel project I am involved in and which solely represents the reason I am here.....anyway, until a couple days ago, life in the mountains had left me disoriented with respect to north/west/south, etc. "If you see the mountains, you are looking west." Yeah that's great if you can see the mountains!...sh*t where the h*ll was I?  Literally and Geographically.

Oh Yeah! So this olelongrooffan was out and about and on a street which I knew and in a location roughly where I thought I was and I spotted this while travelling north on Lowell.



Yeah, it's a 1952 Desoto Custom two door post.  Looks to be nearly original and I had to teach Filmore, the Vanagon, how this olelongrooffan likes to whip ueeeys just for this reason.



And in my world, seeing this old classic and not gathering some images to share is beyond my comprehension.



I mean Counters, when was the last time you saw a manufacturors name, trademark and design flair all on the same car?  H*ll not just the car, this was just the rear emblem.



So, I guess it is time for this olelongrooffan to put his foot in it again and share the absolute next image after the trunk emblem I captured.  Yeah, Klutz could be my middle name.



Having said all that, this sweet old beauty had the exact same transmission set up as did Moo's '53. I drove Moo's car (as it was known until the day it was sold) up and down that mile long driveway out at the farm many times to "check the mail" as it were.



That multi-toothed '53 sedan, the '53 turn signals were moved outward to the chrome in the fender and Chrysler was able to squeeze in a couple more teeth on each side, anyway...Moo's car would haul *ss, in the hands of a 16 year old Hoon and on a gravel road, well let's just say I had a couple Lightning McQueen incidents before this olelongrooffan met my Doc Watson.



To my mind, even the front emblem on this automobile is nearly asspectacular as the rear. This olelongrooffan would love to have one of those hanging from the wall of the Taj Mahal. Not this one though, it is in its proper location, hopefully forever.



I don't know if many of you Counters Out There follow we Hoons over in the Hooniverse.com but over there is a Mystery Car Contest, usually on Fridays...anyway, I thought about submitting it for a post in that category but those Hoons can guess a mystery car by its freaking shadow at night, so that image remains here on By The Numbers, for now.

After this olelongrooffan had gathered those images of that two door,



of course, I had to take a peek out back. The fun ones are a 54-55 Ford Ranch Wagon, a baby Jaguar of some indiscriminant designation, a couple beige vehicles, an early 70's Cutlass, what I'm gonna call a 50's era Olds and behind that Ford pickup was the nose of a '56 Chevrolet. It was quite a sighting, not unlike most days here in the Mile High City thus far.

But it was when I sneaked around the other corner and spotted this



ole flatfender to share with thejeepjunkie, the Kid and the Bus that this olelongrooffan really remembered how to

Celebrate Life.

The Art of The Automotive Lifestyle Car Show, Part 1

As this olelongrooffan mentioned here, I stumbled on an absolutely awe inspiring car show a couple weeks ago.  I mean I have been to many car shows over the years and they all are pretty cool but this one had over a thousand vehicles in it and the diversity was astounding.

I mean Counters, just check out the variety here



An 80's era El Camino with '57 Chevy panels attached.



A Meyers-Manx dune buggy



A Series II Jaguar XKE



A late '60 Ford Ranchero and yes, that is a Cadillac Allante in the background.



A rare chrome bumper Triumph TR6.



A 70's era Lincoln Versailles



A vintage, and highly desirable, Toyota FJ Land Cruiser.



A '63 or '64 Pontiac Bonneville convertible



with these awesome wheels!



A 1959 Triumph TR3A.



The rare CJ2A around these here parts thejeepjunkie hasn't or doesn't own!



And this olelongrooffan has not even left the parking lot yet!

Man, I was able, that day, to have a blast and

Celebrate Life.