Some random, rambling thoughts this month …

I have moved, and I don’t want to do that again for a long time. At least not until a lot of those parts and boxes of parts become whole cars again. Whole cars are more fun and far easier to move. For everyone who doesn’t already know, my new phone number is 708-798-1737. The phone company wouldn’t give me 798-1798. The address is 1524 Linden Road, Homewood, Illinois, 60430. Far, far closer to Glynis’ job now. I figure the money saved on her commute due to no tolls, a tank or two of gas less a week, etc. can jumpstart her Bugeye restoration. Seems like a perfectly reasonable idea to me, but then I am the house gearhead. But Glynis is getting converted - she did suggest, without being prompted or encouraged by anyone, to look into getting an old Land Rover at the last BCU Fest instead of a pickup. We quickly discovered we could either get a single project Landie or three 10-15 year old Chevy/GMC pickups that could haul more stuff. Which is why there’s a ’93 Chevy ¾ ton in my new driveway.

Speaking of the new truck, who would have thought that an MGB would be more dependable than an 11 year old Chevy truck? Other than me? I can’t be too surprised at this since I know the MGB has been properly put together and cared for, while the truck was bought at an auction for a ridiculously low price. Back when I bought it, when I turned the key, the starter would in turn spin around even with the very tired old battery. Not so anymore! Now it just clicks, even with a new battery. As of the time of writing, the starter and alternator both checked out ok at a trusted parts shop. The connections didn’t look that bad when I took the parts off, but if that’s it just goes to show that the potshots taken at the Prince of Darkness can just as easily go to AC Delco. And at least you can check the starter connections on a ‘B without removing the starter – and if you DO remove the starter you can do it without removing the slave cylinder as well! Oh well, even with its problems the truck was still a darn good buy and earned its keep hauling tools and parts.

For those that didn’t see me at the tune-down party, there were several reasons. First, I don’t tune down. Besides the benefits of keeping things working, fluids circulating, etc., etc., see above. I did get there later and Barney reported that nothing unusual or especially broken was found, kudos to you for taking care of your cars. We’ve found some real interesting stuff in the past. Most importantly, it was a damn nice day for mid-November so I put the top down and went for a last ride before the hardtop went on.

There’s an election coming up and I’m up for Co-chair or president, however you want to look at it. Since there are 4 people running for four posts, I’m not going to waste any space campaigning. I will use some space thanking Wilbur for his years of service to the CMGC. Wilbur, the column is getting long so please accept a big fuzzy overall thanks on behalf of a grateful club for a job well done.