When last I posted regarding Ringo, I’d received a replacement seat cover from Clark’s. The next day, a new lower fender was dropped by UPS. Then Friday another box from Clark’s showed up on my doorstep. This box contained new rocker panels.
Saturday morning, a 6:00 AM alarm put an end to another night of tossing and turning. Why had I drug my flu-ravaged body out of bed so early? The NJACE chapter of CORSA was holding their annual auction in Flanders, NJ, and I needed to be there. Not that I was planning on spending any of my precious budget on parts that might come across the block, I did have a date to meet a man about a door. A week earlier I’d found a Craigslist ad from a guy selling Corvair parts. He had a solid EM door to replace Ringo’s rotted one and he was planning to attend the auction. Figuring the savings in shipping would pay for the gas I told him I’d be there too. He also had some rocker panel pieces he’d cut from a 4-door, so I had them included in the deal.
My ‘vair buddy Jonathan had agreed to join me on this adventure, and after picking him up at the prescribed meeting place, we were Jersey bound by 7:30. Google maps predicted a three-and-a-half hour drive to our destination and it took every bit of that as we arrived only moments before bidding began on the first lot. By the lunch break, I’d only bought a set of head nuts for $6, but I’d also figured out who the door seller was. He and I completed our transaction and I loaded the parts into the back of the lovely Loriann’s PT Cruiser.
The rest of auction, while enjoyable, was also frustrating in that there were a few items I really needed (LM turn signal units) and some others I REALLY wanted (Spyder dash with a very cool Stewart-Warner 160 mph speedometer) that I bid on, but was quickly trumped by others with deeper pockets. One of the auctioneers, Bob Marlow, did a really nice thing during the morning session. He paused the proceedings to ask how many had heard of the blog, Corvairfleet, where a guy and his daughters worked to keep a fleet of ‘vairs on the road. I don’t anyone raised their hand in response, but he went on to explain that the writer, me, was sitting in the front row. I waved my hand, thanked him, and the auction went on. Since I’ve disabled the counter on this blog, I won’t know if his announcement will garner me any more readers or not.
So that we’d get home by dinnertime, Jonathan and I left the afternoon session early without winning any more parts. The drive home seemed shorter than the drive there, but due to an unplanned tour of downtown Wilmington, it took the same 3.5 hours.
I now should have all the metal I need to rid Ringo of all his rust-eaten-ness.
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