Car Shows are good for Depression

So far this year has sucked.

Short on work, often broke, personal problems have me considering selling both my Comets.

Today was the KMS Show and Shine and since I couldn't even afford to register and didn't have the chance to polish my car I almost didn't go. But I popped a few batteries in the digital camera, a few bucks into the gas tank, and ventured out into spitting rain and hoped the show would still be as neat as it was last year.

Lots of amazing cars - restored antiques, restored muscle cars and unrestored daily drivers, and lots of very kewl hot rods.

As I turned into the main road for the fairground a bunch of people start pointing and talking about Comets and Mavericks as I (slowly) drive by. That feels good. One guy wouldn't stop pointing at my car and as I drove by he was all excited about the "econobox" everyone used to own and noone was looking at the row of pristine 60's Mustangs any more.

The streets are packed with registered show cars and but when I asked an attendant about parking he pointed me back towards their lot and I get to pull in amongst a slew of hot rod 50's and 60's pickups instead of parking 4 blocks away with the Chevy Cavaliers and Toyota Camrys and miles of benign SUV's.

As soon as I park a few people are looking at the car. I walk around the grounds and take some pics, and come back for a battery swap and a few people are looking at the car.

I go into the store and start rummaging through old car parts looking for some pieces I need and - in the used carbs - I find a much needed gas line adapter (and of course I also buy 2 little tools that I can't tell my girlfriend I bought) and return to the car again. Someone's peering at the interior.

Talked to an older fella with an original Mercury Marauder X100 (unbelievably cool car) and tell him I have an unhealthy obsession with my two old Comets. He says they're great and is trying to find one for his wife because they're such "nice little cars".

When the show ended I proceeded into a long parade of hot rods and "regular cars" slowly working back onto the boulevard and highway to end the day. Big monster 8's and equally appreciated glasspack 6's rumbling and resonating as they push against hot torque converters in the 20 minute traffic jam trying to get out of the parking lots.

So cool.

Feelin so good on the way home, I spent the whole first night of summer hooking up the Demon carb and FINALLY sourced an ingition fault to an incorrectly installed distributor.

I've had no cash to fix up the V-8 Comet, but at 3:00am tonight the flames stopped belching out the carb and the car finally came to life on it's own - running without a shot of ether for the first time. Carb fires tend to mess up polishing jobs, and the Shelby valve covers leaked oil all over the intake. ANd the steering ram is spewing oil faster than I can add it in. Forgot to remove the big 1/2" ratchet sitting in the crankshaft bolt before starting it once so now I need to repaint the fan blades (fortunately it didn't exit the front of the engine through the radiator).

At least I know it runs now. Yesterdays' depression disappears so fast when I've had so much fun getting my hands this filthy and end the day planning the 'next step' of progress for the car (bodywork and paint).

Can't wait till tomorrow now...

 

thats my idea of a stimulus package! Let everyone keep an extra 20 from their taxes so they can go to the local carshow.. of course mav comet guys get an extra bonus of having the best cars there

 

This is so true , you can't go anywhere without someone pointing or looking at your Mav or Comet . what a blast.

 

What a great story,thanks for sharing it.

 

I did the same 1/2" wratchet trick just the other day but fortunately the engine didn't start and no harm done

 

Glad you had a great time. That's what it's all about.

 

Great story..................

 

wish i can have a good day like that someday

 

Glad you had a good time. I've done the ratchet thing countless times over the years and so has the rest of the shop.

 

i went to a local show yesterday my galaxie is in parts have got nothing done on my mav still had a good time cant wait for the big show in august both cars will be there done or not

 

Man I honestly have the other reaction, when I see a 69 Gto judge or 55 crown in showroom condition I think of how far I am from that goal and the money it would cost to get mine there and fight depression! I still go and look foward to them just sometimes on the way home think it is an impossible dream, I guess the fact that there home in the garage instead of on the road is part of it, we have some younger guys starting to work with us that are starting to inspire us to get back on our projects though so maybe theres hope!

 

Excellent story!
I took my recently acquired '72 Maverick to a local show but didn't enter. I got to showing a friend under the hood and a guy came along asking if it was for sale! Quite a few other people checked it out, too. Too cool.

 

Great Story Man! That is exactly why I like going to car shows. It does give me a kind of high. As far as your own project the best advice I got from my brother (who has done several cars) he said " Don't look @ the whole job, look @ it like alot of little jobs". That has helped me in alot of other BIG jobs I have done as well. You feel as if your getting something done even though it may not be that much. It helps to keep you motivated! Good Luck!!

 

Great story really, sometimes i feel the same way, but in the end i still keep the old Comet. Today i decided to finally start to clean up my engine bay as it is filthy, just one little job after another that's all.

 

And I *still* keep our little secret....

Something I learned from the film industry was to "think outside the box" when shopping for parts. I spotted the brass adapter on an old Holley in one of their junk bins (cost $5.00 and matches my other one - and not $18.00 like at the parts store).

That one little piece FINALLY allowed me to hook up the Demon carb and see if it worked (it works big time - but 5 of the 8 connections are leaking).

So I shopped in a plumbing store and found teflon tape for fuel lines (didn't know it existed - it's thicker and yellow) and o-rings, gaskets, and springs to make a throttle and all the necessary connections for the Demon. I also have a big piece of phenolic resin (gift from a carpenter at the hospital - it's a sink cut-out from chemical proof laboratory counters). It's enough to make 1" heat sinks for the 2 barrel as well as the Demon on both my cars. It was also free because I asked.

This saves me about $90.00 to hook up the two carbs. And now I can FINALLY start working on the V8 car again. That was a major "holding back" point with the car since I haven't been able to move it to do the bodywork and paint.

Our other little secret is that Maverick and Comet cars are CHEAP and so are the parts.

I overheard 3 guys talking about it being IMPOSSIBLE to source some of the parts on their "original" cars. Two of the 50's pickups guys were trying to fabricate missing pieces, and the Mercury X100 had a remote passenger mirror which got smashed and he had an old Lincoln mirror on it - has been looking for about 10 years for an original one apparently.

If I had one of those show cars I'd be scared to use it as a daily driver. I guess what was uplifting in hindsight is that I saved the $20 registration and still had a good time and when I go home I still have my two "babies" to play with. I can't afford the expensive pieces like battery, tires, ignition and brakes - but like someone mentioned, there are still a million little other jobs I still love doing....

...one piece at a time.