Breaking up is hard to do.
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| This picture has nothing to do with the opening of my post. I just knew that it was eye catching! |
I guess that you could say that mulling over my stable of cars, is my Buffalo fat to chew. In other words, you can spend a lot of time doing it, without making any real progress.
I finally made a move by listing my XJS on the Jaguar forums. I don't imagine that I'll have buyers breaking down my door to get the car. An interesting thing about the listing is that it keeps a running tally of views and replies. I listed it on April 1st. and so far there have been 204 views but zero replies. These are cars that some people like to read about, but don't particularly want to own. I cant say that I blame them.
It's a 3,500 dollar car that needs another five to seven thousand dollars invested, just to get to a satisfactory level.
As an enthusiast I'm lately kind of finding myself in a weird space. I still like cars and driving.
I'm just kind of getting tired of the dreaming and scheming, and the thoughts of having to work on them.
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| Just watch it for the car. |
I found a post on Pat Ganahl's Rod and Custom site about tracing the route of the California Kid.
The California Kid was not only a movie, it was a car.
This was an 1973 ABC Movie of the Week, that I watched live on TV. It supposedly starred Martin Sheen, but the actual star was Pete Chapouris' fantastic '34 Ford chopped and flamed coupe. This was one of the cars who's publicity led to increasing re-interest in street rods.
In my mind that car personifies the essence of a real Hot Rod!
After readings Pat's post I found the movie available on YouTube so I watched it a couple of days ago.
The car was about forty years old when the movie was made.
Watching the car being driven down the highway was amazing, it is the perfect marriage of streamlined aggression and enticing beauty. So impressive, especially with the fantastic flame job. Since then, I've always wanted a flame paint job but have never had the right car to put it on. I did put a flamed graphic on the tank of my fatbobbed Honda Shadow. I wish that I had a picture of that bike, with ape hangers, solo seat, leather bags and the factory shotgun pipes, it was the best "Harley" that I ever had!
I sure would like to have a car like the Kid, in my garage!
Interestingly enough, I saw a very nicely flamed black '59 Chevy two door sedan driving down the street in Newark a couple of days ago.
I sure would like to have a car like that in my garage!
But would I really?
Would I really want to actually own it, would I actually ever drive it?
Even if I could afford to buy a car like that, would I think that it would actually be worth the money?
For that kind of money, there are so many other cars that I could buy instead. Almost every one of them would actually cost a lot less.
Things in my retirement are not happening quite as I would have hoped them to.
Surprise, surprise, there's not as much extra money lying around as I thought that there would be!
I suppose that that's not a surprise to anyone, except me!
In my older age, I guess the "good enough" mind set has started to take hold. Things just don't impress me as much as they used to. They just don't seem to be that important. Why do I need anything better? Or newer?
This is an understandable attitude.
Like my house. It's nice enough, we like the location and the neighborhood. It just needs to be fixed up a little bit.
I don't need a newer, bigger, fancier (more expensive!) place. So why expend any energy dreaming about it? What we've got is plenty good enough.
When it comes to my vehicles, what I've got does the job. Like my truck, and my old Mustang, and my old Explorer.
These are plenty good enough also. I also actually enjoy each of them.
On my trip to Santa Cruz last week, I passed a guy cruising around Gilroy in a '48 Chevy Lowrider. I had actually met him a couple of years back at the Santa Cruz swap meet.
I was checking out his car and asked him how long he'd owned it. I was surprised when he told me that he'd only had it around a year. He told me that he had another '48 that had been fixed up really nice and he sold it for a good profit when a buyer made him an offer that he couldn't refuse. So he was starting over with this '48. He was happy and he knew what he wanted.
I sure wish that I did.
I could use a newer "family car." Something newer that get's better fuel mileage. I suppose this should take a higher priority over my next Mustang GT, but both of them can wait for a bit. I don't mind buying a family car provided that it's something that I like.
I've still got those three Jags which I've kind of lost enthusiasm for.
I thinking that while I've lost enthusiasm for them, my Wife has has been losing her tolerance for them!
Maybe she's even lost a little of her tolerance for me!
She didn't say much as I merrily went on my way to acquiring them, but she is starting to lose her patience when she hears me grumbling about them. She has openly wondered why am I messing with them if they aren't making me happy.
Good question.
If I don't feel like working on them, she's got lots of other "suggestions" where I can put my efforts!
I'm starting to see how those other old guys that I see at shows held onto their cars. Once they already had them, they just got tired of thinking about replacing them. Sometimes they sat, while the owner moved on to something else. If they later regained their interest, then maybe the cars would be rebuilt. Sometimes they were kept in running shape. Sometimes they were just ignored.
If they had started out with a desirable car in this case, they just had to hold onto it.
But the operative word is "desirable."
Who makes that decision?
I just took my Mustang on another top down, two hundred mile excursion.
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| photo source: Brian Butco Sign identifies the route of the Lincoln Highway at the Summit Garage Altamount Calif. |
This time I headed east, out towards Mt. Diablo and the Tri Valley area. I followed some back roads as they wound their way through some pretty tony suburban retreats like Blackhawk. I kept going until I reached the remnants of the fabled Lincoln Highway. I went over the Old Altamount Pass Road then down onto Grantline Road. I followed that road all the way into Tracy.
The only adventure I faced was trying to find an available rest room!
Luckily I found one at a Circle K gas station. On my Son's prior recommendation I bought some of their Krispy Krunch fried chicken and a Mexican Mocha coffee. I sat in the car eating the chicken in the bright warm sun and felt a bit of a connection to that motorcycle riding youth that I once had been.
On the way back I took a wrong turn on Corral Hollow Rd. enroute to Byron, and ended up making a big circle, ending up in almost the same spot I had started at! I decided on a more direct route and retraced my path on Grantline and the Altamount road.
It's amazing that the old road is also used as a bypass for highway 580 commuters heading into the Valley from the Bay Area. I passed a long queue of frustrated drivers headed in the opposite direction.
I guess being retired isn't that bad.
This morning I checked the status of my Jaguar Forum ad for my XJS. 272 views, no replies.
I guess that answers the desirability question.
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