And Then There Was One

What a momentous weekend. Last Saturday, I sold Luna and took a deposit on the sale of Glinda. Within a couple hours, my car-world went from Corvair-centric to LeMans-centric, and I couldn’t be happier. Once the sale of Glinda is complete, I’ll be putting this blog, as well as Scarlett’s wreck repairs, on hold.

My efforts to document the trials and tribulations of old car roadification will not end however. I’ll be creating a new blog that will start with the extraction of my 1965 Pontiac LeMans convertible from its storage spot behind my garage. This long-suffering car needs plenty of attention to get it back on the road after twenty-three years of sitting. Really, this car has never been roadworthy since I bought it in 1985.

Back to what happened this weekend. I got a call last Wednesday from a guy in PA interested in Luna. He told me how he’d fixed up a couple Corvairs before (a EM coupe and a LM 4-door), but always wanted a convertible. He’d sold the two he’d had and was in the market for a project. I answered all his questions, and we ended the conversation with him saying he was interested. Saturday morning I got a call asking if he could come by that afternoon. I gave him my address and he arrived around three in the afternoon. After about forty-five minutes of talking to me and thoroughly checking out the car, he asked me how far down I’d go. We went back and forth until we settled on a sale price of $1700 plus the cost of gas for me to deliver the car. I believe he got a very good deal, but, more importantly, Victoria (the daughter who’d bought this car back in 2012) and I can move on.

The story of Glinda’s (presumed) sale is very different. Around ten Saturday morning I had the following text conversation with an unknown phone:

Him: Hello Tom do you still have the 68?
Me: Yes
Him: Standing here with Lee he says I need to buy it.
Me: Tell Lee I think he's a smart man

I didn’t hear anything more until soon after Luna’s buyer had departed. Then, a long-ish text popped up explaining who the sender was and making me an offer of $2500 to buy Luna, the 140 engine pieces, and my tow-bar. I replied that the engine stuff had been sold and I needed to keep the tow-bar since I still had old cars that would probably require a tow in the future. He then asked a few questions and I answered them and he offered me $2000 and I accepted. He PayPal-ed me a deposit and we made plans for him to come and conclude the deal in two weeks.

And with that the fleet has shrunk to one.

Should I “Just Do It”?

The lovely Loriann recently wrote an article for our church’s newsletter titled Just Do It. In it she shared that the Nike slogan is her New Year’s resolution, and ended the missive with the encouragement for all of us to “Just Do It” a little more in our lives.

With the cold weather icing any impetus to go work on cars, I’m feeling rather frustrated with what has become my credo – “Don’t Do It”. Should I drag Mikhaila out to the garage to work on TwoTone? Nah, don’t do it. Should I finish prepping the front end to weld onto TwoTone? Nah, don’t do it. Should I disassemble the Powerglide that I’m planning on rebuilding? Nah, don’t do it. Should I install the stereo in Glinda that I bought months ago? Nah, don’t do it. You get the message.

So what am I to do to get out of this funk? Maybe changing some of our plans would put a new perspective on things. Hunting down and acquiring a TwoTone replacement is one change that is currently afoot. Giving up on Glinda’s PG swap and diving into the 4-speed conversion could be another change. Moving Luna into the garage extension and putting the LeMans into the portable garage so I can easily access and work on it is also a possibility.

Bye, Bye Suburban

WARNING – THIS PARAGRAPH IS WITHOUT CORVAIR CONTENT: At less than six years old, the beautiful Silverado pickup the lovely Loriann and I just bought is the youngest daily-driver I’ve ever had the pleasure of driving daily. It goes down the road so nicely, and is much, much quieter than the Suburban or any of the Corvairs. The seats are so supportive that while travelling home from southwest Virginia, I didn’t have the need to continually shift around to stay comfortable. The buying experience was painless as I’d set everything up beforehand with phone calls and e-mails, so I was in and out of the dealership in about 15 minutes. There is one item I need to address before the truck is totally tow-ready. I must purchase an adapter that converts from GM round trailer jack to generic flat four. Oh darn! I’ve got to Harbor Freight again.

WARNING – ANOTHER PARAGRAPH LACKING CORVAIR CONTENT: At some point before the first digit of my age becomes an even number again, I WILL drive my ’65 LeMans, fully restored, down to my buddy Bill’s house in central VA. As of today, however, this poor, patient car is only a very solid starting point for what will be a long, hard road of restoration. This past Saturday morning was a shot of hope and inspiration that I occasionally need to keep this dream alive. My son-in-law Nich and I joined my long-time Pontiac buddy Bill and his friend Tony, for a frigid Saturday morning of sidestepping frozen cow-pies while wandering the car-filled pastures of a central Virginia farm. We stayed away from the expansive Mopar section and oohed and ahhed at a collection that included a number of late-fifties Chevy’s, the occasional Ford, Oldsmobile, and Cadillac, and the ones we really came to see, the Pontiacs from a 1958 Cheiftain through a 1972 LeMans and many, many models and years in between. When we’d seen all there was to see, we entered a block building and maneuvered our way around and between aisles of fenders, seats, quarter-panels, dashes, hoods, trunklids, air cleaners, etc., etc., etc. It was an incredible experience. I asked one of the guys who worked for the owner, if he was getting out of the business, and thankfully, the answer was no, he’ll be into this for quite a while longer. Great, I don’t need to fret about losing out on the ’65 quarterpanels I need or the overhead-cam-six engine I want to buy, rebuild, and install as my car’s means of motivation. Now to just get TwoTone finished.


Finally some fleet news. Friday, I took the day off and focused on Lucy’s floors. After putting her back up on jackstands, I made some measurements for the front driver’s footwell and began cutting out the first patch from New Betty’s scavenged hood. A simple bend at the front, a bit of trimming at the side and rear, and dozen or so 5/16ths holes, and it was ready to install. The patch from under rear seat was a bit more of a challenge since it had to bend and curve to match the transition to the rear firewall. After some more cutting and pounding, it was ready. Finally, I measured and cut the bridging panel that’ll span the space between the front and rear patches. Once it was complete, I put the flap wheel on my grinder and cleaned off the POR-15 from areas where I needed to weld. At that point it was time to quite, so I could be ready to hit the road for our weekend in VA.