Ah, this feels good. It has been a while again since I put fingers to keyboard. Life has been busy, far too busy for my liking! I have spent my last two weeks at home. I should have been able to do all of the things that I have wanted to do and above all just relax. Yet that has not happened at all. These last two weeks have been a blur of activity from sorting out home maintenance issues, of which there have been many, to buying an old car.
I am a little surprised how in four months our house has deteriorated in such a big way. Add to that a brainwave where my wife and I moved some rooms around. Brilliant, but filled with wiring and furniture challenges! Our bid to replace our aging and semi functional stove resulted in a new gas stove and oven. It looks mighty fine in the kitchen but also clear proof that my wife and I need to stop shopping together! And so I have bolted, sanded, glued and screwed my way around the house and there is plenty more to come in the next week....
I have talked for years about my next car being an old car. Last week, I stopped talking and put out some feelers with all of the advertisers in the SA Hot Rods magazine. I knew that I wanted an early 1950’s Ford F100 but they are scarce and I have not been able to find one anywhere. Think of ‘Mater’ in the movie Cars – that is the truck that I wanted. On Monday this week, I got a call from a chap who told me about his 1956 Ford F100. To make things difficult, this chap was in Johannesburg and I of course live in Cape Town. Then again, I just happened to be flying to Johannesburg that afternoon and so it seemed that this vehicle was something that I just had to see. I had a fleeting notion that the cosmic forces were aligned and then dismissed that as cosmic rubbish!
I saw it and was most surprised. The previous owner had poured his heart and soul into this vehicle for nine years and then sold it before he was finished. The current owner had stacks of old cars in all sorts of stages of restoration, but really had his eye on restoring a very rare Packard. Enter myself and my half baked ideas and suddenly there was a match made in heaven (sorry more cosmic nonsense).
Yes, I know nothing about old cars, or engines, or bodywork, or hot rods, or really about cars at all. Most of my week has been spent lost in the net trying to understand the relative values of engines and old cars. The jargon has left my head spinning and me pretty grumpy as I have not known enough to make a proper decision. I like to know everything before I decide to spend my money or more likely I am just a stingy miser! On a whim, I decided to take a leap of faith and buy it. I now own an 80% complete, non starter, requiring much work and attention! With the decision made, I felt far calmer about dealing with the many issues that are going to come my way as a result of this decision. I think I deal with acceptance far better than procrastination.
One of the key issues that has clouded my week has been my business factor. I am so busy and now I have introduced a whole new level of time sink. How will I be able to fit in this time and the things that I have tried so hard to mould into my life? Time will tell but I have a plan and believe it or not, this 1956 Ford F100 truck is central to it!!!!
You will have to wait and see what that could possibly be.....lets call it Project TWEETY BIRD!
I am a little surprised how in four months our house has deteriorated in such a big way. Add to that a brainwave where my wife and I moved some rooms around. Brilliant, but filled with wiring and furniture challenges! Our bid to replace our aging and semi functional stove resulted in a new gas stove and oven. It looks mighty fine in the kitchen but also clear proof that my wife and I need to stop shopping together! And so I have bolted, sanded, glued and screwed my way around the house and there is plenty more to come in the next week....
I have talked for years about my next car being an old car. Last week, I stopped talking and put out some feelers with all of the advertisers in the SA Hot Rods magazine. I knew that I wanted an early 1950’s Ford F100 but they are scarce and I have not been able to find one anywhere. Think of ‘Mater’ in the movie Cars – that is the truck that I wanted. On Monday this week, I got a call from a chap who told me about his 1956 Ford F100. To make things difficult, this chap was in Johannesburg and I of course live in Cape Town. Then again, I just happened to be flying to Johannesburg that afternoon and so it seemed that this vehicle was something that I just had to see. I had a fleeting notion that the cosmic forces were aligned and then dismissed that as cosmic rubbish!
I saw it and was most surprised. The previous owner had poured his heart and soul into this vehicle for nine years and then sold it before he was finished. The current owner had stacks of old cars in all sorts of stages of restoration, but really had his eye on restoring a very rare Packard. Enter myself and my half baked ideas and suddenly there was a match made in heaven (sorry more cosmic nonsense).
Yes, I know nothing about old cars, or engines, or bodywork, or hot rods, or really about cars at all. Most of my week has been spent lost in the net trying to understand the relative values of engines and old cars. The jargon has left my head spinning and me pretty grumpy as I have not known enough to make a proper decision. I like to know everything before I decide to spend my money or more likely I am just a stingy miser! On a whim, I decided to take a leap of faith and buy it. I now own an 80% complete, non starter, requiring much work and attention! With the decision made, I felt far calmer about dealing with the many issues that are going to come my way as a result of this decision. I think I deal with acceptance far better than procrastination.
One of the key issues that has clouded my week has been my business factor. I am so busy and now I have introduced a whole new level of time sink. How will I be able to fit in this time and the things that I have tried so hard to mould into my life? Time will tell but I have a plan and believe it or not, this 1956 Ford F100 truck is central to it!!!!
You will have to wait and see what that could possibly be.....lets call it Project TWEETY BIRD!
1 comment:
dude that is stunning, me feels that it would look best in black!!
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