Sometimes life just gets in the way

Several weeks ago I made a posting regarding dream cars. It was my intent to follow that up with a second installment... but life hit me smack-dab in the face.

My wife and I decided to pretty much completely remodel our house and as such I've not had any time to update the newly created blog.

So anyhow... here I sit, making excuses... but as they say better late than never.



Cool Compromise

Last week I talked about dream cars; what are they and how do we get them?

 

I stated that almost everyone can single out a specific make and model of vehicle that they would love to own and drive (or just look at) and how everyone's dream car is different.

 

Today the concept of dream car individuality was clearly demonstrated to me in a training seminar here at the office.

 

The speaker asked each of us to state our name, position in the company and our dream car to the group. Finally!... a training session I can sink my teeth into.

 

Nineteen people... nineteen different dream cars... varying from a brand new Toyota Tundra, to a 1968 International Scout, to the likes of Ferraris and Lamborghinis; everyone had a unique answer. So I see this as almost a tried and true experiment... science if you will. Well... maybe not quite science.

 

Anyhow, like everyone else I also have a dream car and you can read about it in last week's posting. My dream car combines the handling of a sports car with fire and personality typical of an American muscle car; the 1965 Shelby GT350R.

 

Shelby is a word which is synonymous with inaccessable. No one that I personally know has one or can actually afford one... unless you're counting the 70s and 80s attempts by Ford to reclaim their past glory. Call me a purist, but I just don't see the thrill of driving a mid 80s Mustang with Recaro bucket seats and Shelby graphics kit... but that's another topic entirely.

 

So like many people I can't afford my dream car. Well maybe my back-up plan would work, or so I thought. A 1967-69 Camaro decked out like the vintage racecars from Penske and Yenko excite me... but to build it properly it's way above my budget. Then the solution hit me in the face... almost literally.

 

About a year ago my father in law asked me if I'd be interested in owning a Corvair.

 

A Corvair?... are you serious? What the heck do I want with a Corvair. It's the only classic Chevrolet that sounds like a Massey Ferguson tractor at idle. They're void of horsepower, carry no value what-so-ever and are just generally quirky cars... Right?

 

We strolled out into the back 40 and uncovered my new "prize". Once the 30 year old automotive cocoon was removed, a Nassau Blue 1966 Corsa coupe emerged. There she sat in all of her... well... glory.

 

Time had not been exactly kind to the little coupe. There was a little bit of surface rust eating away at the paint job, a few minor dents and so on. Spiders had long found safe haven within the interior and don't even get me started about the amount of dust on the seats and dash. In fact the car looked down right pitiful and unloved resting atop the jack stands.

 

As I walked around the coupe, observing her graceful body lines and hourglass figure, a thought suddenly occurred to me. "Now why is it that nobody likes these vehicles?" I'm mean...yeah,... it doesn't have much power but it's faster than the VW Beetle and has way more horsepower than the BMW Isetta; both of which have a cult like following. The appearance of both the interior and exterior is quite European... certainly not like anything else that Detroit built.

 

Standing there in the warm afternoon sun, I began to see styling queues incorporated a year later onto what would become the iconic Camaro. This car is actually quite beautiful.

 

From that point forward I've had a love affair with the car that would forever be known by the majority of Americans as the vehicle that was Unsafe at Any Speed... my new  realistic dream car.

 

Over the summer I'm going to detail (in a couple of postings) how I plan to turn a sedate mid 60s commuter into a vehicle that not only turns heads... but corners as well.

Ira

Hold out for the dream... Or settle for reality?

I don't know about you but I have a picture of my dream car imprinted deep within my mind.

Pretty much everyone has an idea of what the perfect car would be for them. To some it may be the environmentally friendly Prius, while to others that dream car might be a Hummer.

Each and every person is unique so it stands to reason that everyone has a differing opinion on the subject. In fact, I once dated a girl whose goal was to one day own a Nissan Maxima. I can't even begin to tell you the grief I received for suggesting that she set the bar a bit higher... but I digress.

Many of us (including myself) have a dream car, which is so unobtainable that we have to live vicariously through the likes of Jay Leno.

In my case I would go to great lengths to own a 1965 Shelby GT 350R... and since there were so few manufactured I'll have to drop down a rung to the more available 65 GT 350. An unimpressive example of a GT 350 will run around 90-100K, while a truly pristine car might set you back one quarter of a million dollars. I suppose that since the economy is in such dire straights I might be able to sneak up on a deal for around 125-150K. Who knows?... maybe one day you'll see a 65 Shelby parked in my car port... most likely not though.

Since most of us live in the real world, where money out of pocket is the bottom line, compromises must be made.

Now when I say compromise, I don't mean a polar opposite of the dream... the proverbial Ferrari for the Volkswagon Beetle so to speak. No... not at all. There are many compromises, which could be made, that would save not only money, but time and headaches.

For instance if you dream car is a 1932 Ford three window coupe, maybe you would be willing to settle for a Model A five window coupe instead... at least until money becomes less of an issue.

If you aspire to one day own a 55-57 Chevy two door hardtop or Nomad, a good intermediate car might be either a 4 door sedan or a station wagon. Both of these two options are much more affordable than the more sleek and highly sought after hardtops.

I'm not saying that we should give up on our dreams, but instead to realign our halcyon ideals with the reality of the times.

In my next posting I will demonstrate how I am taking a much less desirable car and transforming it into a dream worthy car which will suit my family's needs where we are right now.

You know... now that I think about it... I never did hear whether Julie ever managed to ever purchase her Maxima or not.

Ira

Tomorrow is the Day!

Background story- One sunny day back in the summer of 1986... (I know it sounds like the beginning of a song, but it's not)... my dad announced at the dinner table that he would be purchasing a 1930 Model A Ford sedan. The goal would be to assemble and drive a family hot rod. Well, needless to say it sounded great to all of us... including the matriarch of the family, who as a side note thinks Model A's are cute.

Fastforward to 1987- A lot of work was completed that first year, at least as far as the disassembly and sale of unwanted parts was concerned. Unfortunately for the little Model A, my 1968 Pontiac Le Mans was absorbing money and quite a bit of my dads time, so on the back burner she went.

Fastforward... yet again to 1988- My dad and I convinced my little brother that his first car should be a 1956 Chevy. Actually, we twisted Eric's arm... after all he was holding out for a 55, which at that time was his favorite of the three years of classic Chevy. The bottom line was (at least in the eyes of the A) an intruder had pushed its way into our family and once again she was shoved aside.

For the last twenty-some years projects have come and gone, all the while the little Model A sat and waited for the day she would receive the attention she deserved. Ah yes... always the bridesmaid but never the bride.

All of that ends tomorrow!

Yes folks!... the day that I have been waiting for... for twenty five years arrives in mere hours.

Tomorrw the Model A will be hauled off from our shop to Whitt's Street Rods for paint! Purple is the choice of color and I can hardly wait to see the finished results. Eric mentioned that it will definitely be cause for a family celebration once completed and I must say that I completely agree.

Anyhow, moving forward I just hope it doesn't take another 25 years for final assembly.  ;)

Ira

PS- For a more accurate and less detailed description of the aforementioned events contact my father.

Is a blog really necessary?

Okay... so I have to admit I'm not really into most of the past times the majority of Americans love.

I hate cell phones... and if I want to take a photo I'll grab my camera. Realistically, who the heck wants to talk with me anyways?

Facebook isn't my bag. I mean it's great to keep up with old friends and what not... but once again who the heck wants to hear what I think regarding anything. Hell... I don't even care what I think.

So blogging? Really?

To me this whole thing (blogging) is like journaling. "Dear Diary, Today I met the cutest boy/girl" (... you fill in the blank). In short... I don't really get it. The idea of posting my deepest personal thoughts on the internet so that everyone can either rag on them or ingnore them entirely doesn't interest me in the least.

All of that changed however, when a friend of mine... (let's call him David... as he hates being called Dave or Davie) suggested that a blog might be helpful regarding our family's street rod shop.

Street rodding and blogging huh? I know, I know... right about now you're thinking- "Ira... I just don't see the connection." Yeah... I agree with you there, but I thought to myself... What the hell? I'll give it a shot and we'll see what happens.

So really the title of this week's blog should have been- 'The History Of Davis Street Rods LLC- A Brief Synopsis'... or something along those lines.

Davis Street Rods LLC was formed in 2006 by my father Jim Davis and supported wholeheartedly by the entire family. We're a family owned and Colorado based company, competing in the rarified business of building classic cars. We specialize in 1955 through 1957 Chevys, but we'll build pretty much any vehicle a paying customer brings us. Currently our projects range from a 1938 Willys two door sedan to a 1966 Corsa Corvair coupe.

---Pause.... blank stare.... blink.... blink---

Well... that's enough background information for now... lets get to the photographic evidence!

I'm not sure which I ran out of first... things to say or time. Either way, that's it for now.

Ira