Trip to Arizona

Carol has two wonderful sisters. One lives in Sun City, AZ, near Phoenix, and the other is a "snow bird," who spends the Winter in nearby Salome, AZ, with her husband Ardell.  The three sisters decided they needed to get together for whatever reason girls need this.  Thank goodness for another male; otherwise, I might have gone nuts.

The girls, sewed and did scrap-booking and re-lived old times.  Ardell and I hung out together and had two notable adventures:  we visited Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's Winter home and school.  The next day we went to Barrett-Jackson and saw some cars that brought back memories from our youths, oh so long ago.

When I was in high school, I worked for a small decorating store in Idaho Falls, my home town. The owners' sons were Frank Lloyd Wright fans and it rubbed off onto me.  I love Wright's work and think his structures are the most interesting and beautiful buildings around.  His Taliesin West was built as a place to get away from the cold at his Taliesin in Wisconsin. He brought his school with him and they built the place from nothing in the desert near Scottsdale. The apprentices studying under him, and paying him for the privilege, did drafting and built the buildings by hand mostly using local rocks held together with concrete diluted with lots of sand.  In his genius way, he got a beautiful building for free and earned money while doing it.

Christmas 2008

Christmas with grandkids is almost as much fun as Christmas as a child.  Carol, Melanie, and I went to Jonny and Kimberly's early Christmas morning.  We actually got there before Evan and Seth were up.  It was nice to talk with Jonny and Kimberly but, when the boys woke up, the fun intensified.  A bike Jonny and Kimberly got for Evan was sitting in plain sight, and Evan jumped on it. Seth likes the bike too, photo to right. Emma, their cousin in North Carolina, got Seth the monkey in the top picture.  The three boys posed for a great photo, all wearing identical pajamas, in picture above.  

December 24, 2008

The boys slept under the tree on December 23.  Next day, we all rested up and enjoyed each other.  Above, Melanie and Evan.

Below, Carol, Melanie, Evan and Seth resting up.

To the right, Seth, relaxing with a drink.

December 23, 2008

One of our family traditions is letting the kids sleep under the Christmas tree the night before Christmas eve.  Melanie came home from Nevada, Jonny & Kimberly and boys came over, and some great friends, the Oenings visited.  Their daughter, Jamie, her husband and kids were here too.  We had a great time.  Jamie brought a video game, Rock Star, that had us playing drums and guitars.  We ate, played games, ate some more.  Then Melanie, Evan, and Seth slept under the tree.  Photos.

Corvette part IV

I went to Walden's today and saw the car.  Walden is almost finished and will truck it to Lang as soon as Lang has a spot for it, a week or two. Lang will finish the mechanical parts, the engine and so on and get it running.  Lang has promised to work quickly. Some of the work Walden has left includes the drive shaft, the small rear vertical bumper pieces, and he's waiting for some pieces from the re-chromer.  The car looks great!  Here are some photos. 

November 19, 2008.  Today Frank and I picked up Lang and went to Walden's.  After going over a few things, we pushed the Vette onto Walden's trailer and Walden drove it to Lang's.  This is another milestone in the long and expensive history of the restoration of this vehicle.  Lang will give me his thoughts on how long it will take to get it finished, maybe about two months.   The photo at the top, added today, shows us pushing the car onto the trailer.

Corvette, Part III

My good friend Frank and I drove to Victorville today and worked on the Corvette.  I cleaned the gas tank inside and out, while Frank disassembled and cleaned the side windows.  He media blasted some of the parts and painted the gas tank after I cleaned it.  He also completed a very complicated job of cleaning and assembling the aluminum dash insert which, in black letters, reads "Corvette."  This is a very visible piece and has to be done right.  It was.  The tank is now ready to be installed.  We started the installation process but ran out of time.  This was the second time he went up there with me to work and he has agreed to go up again next Wednesday. Thank you Frank!

Update on October 5:  On Friday the 3rd, Frank and I drove to Victorville again and worked on the car.  The gas tank was installed and so was a lot of the chrome trim.  Frank, Walden and I worked on installing the dash pad and the windshield.  This is a complicated and slow procedure.  We soldered the piece Frank assembled the last time,  the dash insert.  After about 3 hours, we had the pad properly located within the car, the radio speaker in and the speaker grill glued to the pad.  I sandblasted the support unit for the parking brake and Frank painted it.  Walden said he had previously sent several parts to the re-chromer. 

Update on October 15:  Neither Frank nor I could visit the Vette this week, so I called Walden to get an update.  Here is what he said:  The dash pad is installed, the windshield is installed, the doors and hood are color-sanded and in place.  The trunk was color-sanded but the sanding went through the paint and it has to be re-painted.  The "spears" that run vertically along either side of the hood are in.  I am very anxious to see it.

Corvette, part II

The Corvette is now painted Boyd Coddington Red; it has been color-sanded, and is sitting on the frame. This is a big milestone in the long, long history of the restoration of this car. I recently met with some long-time friends who teased me endlessly about the cost and the time it is taking to restore the car. One of them wrote a poem about the car. To understand this ode, you need to know that the car is not original and the restoration I am having done is designed to make it better, but not original. It will be better than it was new. Here goes.

Ode to Jon's Car
by Lloyd Gerber

A Corvette of vintage is
a very rare car
And tough to restore
you bet they are

But good friend Jon
struck it rich
He bought a Corvette
but he didn't know which.

A sixty, a fifty-nine
even an eight
Three cars he got
but the parts didn't mate.

Time's passed since
restoration began
and rust and misfits
have beset this man.

He replaced every part
I am told
the only original
is the exhaust manifold

The car has parts from 

many sources

Ford and Tremec handle

the horses.

It will be beautiful with
flawless paint
He bought a Corvette but
a Corvette it ain't.

But it will be a fast car
will zoom here and there
Jon will be proud
as old men stare.

Jon is plexed at the
car he has got
He bought a Corvette
But a Corvette it is not!