Ridin' Around in My Automobile...
Dear mechanic guy:
Please don't take 2 weeks to return my husband's car the next time we bring it in. I mean, I know you and your gearhead buddies liked joyriding in it, despite the fact it had no license plate and no legal registration paperwork... but seriously, you took too freakin' long. I solemnly swear to kick you in the shins the next time that happens.
Signed,
The Owner of the guy who owns the car <3 <3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And now, on to the car:
That there's a 1961 Studebaker Lark VIII - 4 doors, V8, automatic, engine in decent shape, not too much rust... spiffy! It's Dan's new toy. The interior is mostly restored and the chrome is shiny and still attached. So it just needs some body work and paint, interior door panels, and a new headliner. There's other minor stuff, but it's a cute car. And we can probably handle everything but the paint ourselves, barring any serious problems arising.
We already had one adventure with it. Dan brought it home and was going to take me for a test drive. We got to the stop sign on the corner and the breaks went out... and we were going DOWNHILL. The car is sooo heavy that it literally went from 20 mph to 40+ mph in the blink of an eye. And when it finally stopped we were on a very, very slight incline (it looked flat to me, but the car insisted otherwise), which meant I had to lean on the bumper to keep the car from rolling away while Dan called a tow truck. I've pushed a Jeep before by myself and didn't have a lot of trouble, but this thing was pushing me over. Mucho del suck-o.
We've been kicking around color ideas. Dan has said red or black and I'm thinking black or white (since the original color was white). But black would look really sharp with the interior if we went to a cruise or something. Guess we've got a long way to go before paint, though!
posted by Kiri @ 4:54 PM
1 Comments:
Aaah Studebaker! Burn it!
Did you know that around '98-99, for over a year, I worked as a cashier and general maintenance guy at the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend? Yep, it's just a bit past downtown, in one of their converted auto plants. During that time, I got to meet a lot of people who were a hell of a lot more interested in old cars than I was. For me, it was the only job I could find, and I stomached it. I have to admit though, that looking at all the cars there, I couldn't help but appreciate their thoughtful design. If I remember correctly, the Lark was introduced when Studebaker was having some financial problems, and they wanted to hit the market with a low-cost model for the everyman. So they made a car that was smaller than the rest of their line, but retained their signature style. From what I remember, it was a success, helping delay the company's ultimate demise. Anyway, Dan's new toy is looking nice, I hope you guys have fun rebuilding it. Then you can cruise around in style, truly representing SBI in B-town. And just look at that big back seat!
Post a Comment
<< Home