Being a car hoarder comes with important responsibilities. Ideally, you try to make sure you drive all of your cars and make sure they do not fall too deeply into disrepair. Hopefully, you also try to keep in the good graces of your neighbors.
David Tracy wrote about how he found a ‘Reference’ Jeep to help him build his new World War II Jeep. Now, it sits in front of his house. DialMforMiata:
“Now my Reference Jeep sits in front of my house, and I feel significantly less nervous about this daunting project.”
Now your neighbors are looking up all your old articles, and feeling significantly more nervous.
Dodsworth:
It’s biblically epic the way you keep wandering in the desert looking for answers.
Kevin Rhodes:
The best sort of automotive insanity. And only David Tracy could manage to find a rotted out jeep in a *desert*.
Crimedog:
Only David.
If this was anyone else on earth, the story would never get posted as such. Instead, the headline would read “Local man found strangled in the desert after being lured there with a WWII Jeep”
The gods favor the Bold and Stupid Man.
David also wrote a touching story about the history of his new-to-him Comanche. I highly recommend you read it. Otherwise, have some comments. Mrbrown89:
F#ck cancer! Thats all I have to say.
Mr. Canoehead:
I have a Yamaha FJR that I bought from a friend 13 years ago. He had contracted ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and had to stop riding. He bought it new and we completed a number of trips together but he found it increasingly hard to handle such a heavy bike.
We lost him a couple of years later and now I see myself as the custodian of Dave’s bike. I don’t ride it that much but I’ll never sell it. Sometimes a machine is a connection.
Bkp:
Many thanks David, this nicely expresses why mechanical modes of transport (cars, trucks, motorcycles, etc.) are both more than a machine but also just a machine. Don’t often get choked up reading on websites, but this is one of those times.
F*ck cancer indeed, lost a sister-in-law this summer to cancer.
Rest easy, everyone. Have a great night.
So do we know what caused the problems?
Thank you much. My day is made!
Earning COTD on a somber post is… strange? I have been lucky with friends and family on the cancer front, but not so much on ALS/Lou Gehrig’s/Dementia/et al. and heart disease.
I am glad David is still with us, nonetheless
My 86 VW Cabriolet is that car. Flew to Boston after bought it sight unseen. A first car for a soon to be 16 year old daughter. Got in to drive it home to Wisconsin. Tires were shit. The seat had a weird angle. Also Boston sucks to drive through. On the road about an hour. Flat tire. It was late. I found shit motel. Slept. Put on the donut next AM. I’m driving in Connecticut and steam/smoke rises like a specter from engine compartment. I am not a mechanic. I have 2 brothers who are gearheads. One is an actual mechanic. In Wisconsin One is an aeronautical engineer in Somers CT. I call him. He laughs. His wife is away for the weekend come on down and we will fix it. I as actually make it to his house. First words from him? Why the fuck didn’t you ask me to go and look at it for you? I said because I’m an idiot. Over the weekend tires. Radiator. Oil. Pizza beer talking into the night. Fred, my oldest brother, was the reason I love cars and motorcycles. Vincent Black Shadow. BSA’s Norton. TR2. MG. Or in my young mind : the stuff that dreams are made of. I had the best weekend I ever had with him. EVER. Car running, his wife comes home Late Sunday. I leave Monday and drive straight through because I’m nuts. Insane rain in Indiana and Chicago. I drive on to Milwaukee. I’m outside the city a few miles. The VW seems to stutter. I’m like oh well I can get a tow if needed from here. I make it home. Turn into the driveway and the car dies. Later I find there was a hole in the gas spout and water from the tires was finding its way into the mix. That was 18 years ago. A variety of pitfalls and rehab wrt the car. But it is in my driveway. Fred died of cancer and that car is my living memory of the best connection I ever had either my oldest brother. I will never get rid of it snd I will continue to spend stupid money to get it back on the road someday. PS. I’m sure he is laughing his add off at me from the beyond because I’m an idiot. I’ll take that any day cause I miss him
I made it to COTD lol but yeah, I just lost two close persons thanks to Cancer in a matter of two weeks.
He may get better, but he’ll never get well.
Best of luck to Elan and Delmo (Pntn), it appears he is out of remission. (-;