Well here I sit. It is 0 degrees outside this morning ... up from a low of minus 1 or so ... still surviving winter in Maine ... and still not enjoying it! It doesn’t help that my Facebook “newsfeed” reminds me every day of someplace much warmer that I was enjoying grilled shrimp or great BBQ ... on this date 1 or 3 or whatever years ago!
The good news?it is going to warm up tomorrow so we can receive a big nor’easter with a bunch of snow ... yippee? But I’m not going to whine ... nope .. not me!
So what’s new? Well, we are both as healthy as can be expected for a couple of 70 year olds not getting enough exercise, hunkering down in the frozen north country. We have both managed to avoid the Coronavirus to this point ... I received my first dose of the vaccine last week and am scheduled for my second dose in a few more weeks. Peggy? Well that’s a another story.
I have spent many hours over the past month cleaning, inspecting, and repairing parts on my Honda Superhawk II project, including moving the engine to the basement, disassembling the engine, repairing the kickstarter mechanism, and reassembling. Once it warms up enough outside I’ll finish getting the frame cleaned up and re-introduce the engine to the frame ... whenever “warm enough” returns to Maine!
I have also spent some time helping out my lobsterman friend Bill work on one of his many collector cars. Bill has built a very nice and large workshop/storage area/display area near his home in Harpswell, ME ... complete with heat! Bill has about 20 or so cars in his collection. Most of his cars are 1930 something Streetrods in varying levels of “modification.” A few years ago I helped him with a few “upgrades” on one of my favorites in his collection ... a 1937 Ford Coupe. One of the modifications we added was the installation of a new digital dash with all modern gages ... but with a retro look. Bill also decided that he wanted this car to have a modern radio system ... and of course it needed to have a modern GPS navigation system ... and a backup camera just like all the new cars! Back when I helped install that digital dash I recommended against it since it required cutting up a perfectly good original 1937 Ford dash. But Bill insisted ... so we did. Installing this “infotainment” system in a Bonny and Clyde era Ford seemed like further sacrilege ... but Bill insisted ... so the dash got cut some more! It was no easy chore but I managed to get the radio to fit in the dash and got the GPS system, Backup Camera, and radio to work pretty well without cutting any more holes in the original car exterior! Of course, just about the time I was announcing success Mr. Bill decided he wanted to replace the steering column as well. “What the heck” says I, it’s your car, your money, and your vision ... and apparently I have nothing better to do!
Parts are on order. Pictures to follow.
