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With the excitement and visiting over I continued to clear one shelf after sorting things on the floor to get access. Buried up there were these headlight assemblies that will be going on the Limited. I haven't checked if they are working but there are two T3's in there. One is a low beam and the other a high beam. I'll likely replace them with regular ones and only install if I ever consider showing the car. (not likely but...) A little cleaning on the backs and they will be good to install when I get the fenders done. These and some of the really good parts are going to Mom's instead of the sea can where I have set up a shelving unit that is on wheels to store till I get the addition built at home. By supper time I had this wall cleared of everything to the window on the right but gives you an idea of what I'm up against... Think of what you would have gathered over a 13 year period and not contemplating a move?

Naturally with all the noise and commotion my other neighbour and his 9 year old son came over to talk saying he thought maybe I was moving my cars and wanted to see them before they leave. He's a good kid and I have let him sit in the cars (with his Dad's guidance) and think he will be the next old car nut one day. Can't wait till my grandson is able to enjoy them with me (God willing).

After parking the rider I went back to the Special garage and continued gathering tools, boxing/marking parts and hear the sound of air brakes outside. I went out and saw this parked across from me on our residential street. I put 2 + 2 together and figured the neighbour had sold his three year project. Since I've known him he takes a car and builds it up leaving the body original looking and the interior also but, his choice (not mine) sells them once completed to move on to another car. I have to admit he is truly talented on these builds but I prefer an original, smooth running vehicle compared to the snort / rumble of a high performance cam'd powered engine that loads up till warming up and finally somewhat clears itself. To each his own. His car, His time and Money, so be it.

Thanks fellas for your thoughts and yes I will try to see if I have the proper used parts first even though it will be used, at least it will be correct. It's going to be left for a bit due to the cold and efforts needed to try and be on schedule. It has been a busy couple of days though. I had to move two riding lawn mowers I had in a back shed to transport over to home and with both dead, flat tires and pushing into the carport, phew... I managed to get one loaded and moved to home with the aide of those block & tackles I posted earlier. I knew I wanted to save them for something besides nostalgia sake. Going to move the other one later after I put a tube in one of the big rear tires. Those are tubeless and once they start to leak it is best to put a tube in.

Thanks for that Lance. I figured it likely is one of one of those ball joints that broke. Not sure I have a spare from the Limited parts car but will look in the shed and see. Guess worst case scenario I could rob one from the good Limited foe now but really don't want to start that trend. It is supposed to dip down into the twenty for the next 7 days so will leave her for now as laying on the cold cement floor is not fun on these bones.

You are correct on that. Any other time I would have been happy to meet someone in or near Detroit but things are not what we would like today.

As stated I have the following parts for a '27 and '28 Whippet sedan that I'm hoping someone can use before I have to send them to the scrapper. (loosing storage the end of February) They are located in Windsor, Ontario, Canada and not looking to get rich on them. Please contact me via PM and I will respond to all inquiries. It goes against my very nature to scrap these so please, if you can use them or know someone that can, please contact me. I have until the end of February before the decision will me made. Need to add that they are for a model 96? (four cylinder model) Doug

While spending evenings working on the garage at home I'm also in the process of cleaning out another garage where my other cars have been stored for going on 13 years needing to vacate soon. Today I fired up the Special to back her out a bit and gain access to the shelves easier. That went well and having done what I wanted to do dropped her into gear and put my foot on the gas pedal to move back inside. That didn't go well! Something disconnected or broke in the linkage but was able to drop her into low idling back inside. One more thing in the day of my life right now! 🤬

Managed to take time to get at the garage with the Special today and load another trailer full of scrap steel I deemed not usable in my future. I have been doing this a trailer at a time since mid December and today found a lineup this trip. Was very surprised to learn steel price has gone up since my last trip and happy to receive almost 80 bucks for this load! It totalled 720 lbs. making the effort worthwhile. Went back to the garage and decided to fire up the Special to back her out and clean up the floor under her plus reposition her to access the shelves after parking her back inside since I had cleared some of the things beside her on the other side. She fired right off like she would normally do as if I had been driving her regularly having had her running not too long ago. Yes it doesn't look pretty having things put on the trunk like that but... I have had this garage for 13 years and moving is a huge process! Sorting things to put into containers means using space for the interim... I left her running / idling while placing a new plastic sheet on the floor to help keep the moisture down and jumped in to drive her back in when... I dropped her into drive, put my foot on the gas pedal and then... the pedal went to the floor with no increase in engine revs! Just My Luck! The linkage obviously came apart somewhere but could not see where. Fortunately the driveway is level and was able to idle her back inside dropping it into low but with all that is going on right now I need this like I need a hole in the head!! Some days I just gotta wonder... Next?

The push is on now with the garage clean out for real...

Taken at the Essex, Ontario, Canada Restored Train Station.

Not a job for everyone for sure John but like the expression goes, Young and fearless comes in play. That is not a ladder, it is what platform stages commonly known as swing stages were made of and the back bracing had separated from the other end when it dropped. I could describe every detail moment by moment even today like it was yesterday but will say that someone in the building called 911 and the Fire Department came with four trucks as I climbed up over the end of the stirrups where the ropes are attached and then was able to hoist myself up over onto the roof. Always trying to find something humorous in most situations (if this can be funny...) of all the trucks there NOT one of them that was a ladder truck! LOL Guess they figured to hose me down which might have been appropriate as I was seething mad at the guy on the ground who had let the rope go before I had crossed the 24 feet to tie it off! (it was an antiquated system even then,,) Knowing this would or could scare me out of what was going to be my lively hood I had the crew back on site the next day and went back up. It didn't take long to realise inspecting the ropes that they needed to be replaced so shut the job down till new ones were put in place. As an aside, back then I learned to do all the rope splicing from a boater friend and that ended about 10 years later when we switched to synthetic lines for the boatswains chairs instead of using the swing stage. That unit hung around on the wall till I finally cut it up and scrapped it fairly recently. Memories....

After a trip to the metal scrapper and getting 60 bucks for it I stopped in at Mom's. Steel price is slowly going up here and I have a few more trips to make yet so making it worth the effort! I found her having made the decision to go ahead with the next step for her cancer treatment which means taking two shots of a drug each time for two weeks for a month and then once every four weeks after that to hopefully slow it down. The other choice is, there is no choice with her age and the side effects from chemo or radiation. Fortunately our conversation was good and we are all resigned to what will be shall be. After that I had to go and load up the ropes that the College Fire Rescue Training Department was willing to take. I was really amazed that they felt the ropes could be used in some form or another and took them all with no issues. I even had four coils of manilla rope totalling 2400 feet stored in metal containers that I quit using back in the late 70's. They were always stored inside and were decent enough and asked what they might use them for? The head instructor said they cut them, give students a length to practice knot tying to aide in different situations. I'm guessing it is a successful training class as that alone is a lot of rope to cut and hand out! I did save a set of blocks with a length of rope not only as a memento of my early days in the business but figure they might come in hand moving a car or two in and out of my garage one day. Since it is quite clear my years of being over the sides of buildings is over now I will post this shot to prove I used these ropes and blocks. Yes that is me and very fortunate to be here to tell the story. (It was on a 100 foot tall building - 10 stories) It changed my perspective on life that very moment like you can't imagine...

The garage work continues. Still much to do but having put up about half the OSB on the ceiling I can soon concentrate on installing the overhead door tracks. Wish it was work on the car but the goal is to finish cleaning up then getting back to the Limited.

Managed to install another 6 panels tonight quitting at 11:30. Started above the wall shelf which naturally has things in the way and makes it a bit of a reach to secure in place. The next three panels were much easier till I came to the light box. Measured twice, cut once and made a minor fudge to get it right so all good. Reconnected the fixture and went to take a shot of it and the next panel but the battery showed needing to be recharged. Gathered the tools I used and had laying around before going in for the night. It is 16 degrees F outside and the little heater is keeping it at 38 so with overhauls and a heavy coat it is manageable in there. Supposed to be only in the mid twenties for a high this week.

Had a fairly good day today. Checked in on Mom (daily now) and she was more up than the last couple of days but... it's tough being alone and isolated (due to the Lock Down) but left her feeling relaxed for tonight. I realised back in October that Dad's car trailer was still in his name and while I wasn't using it since his passing, had a difficult time reaching someone to speak to about it over the phone with all the changes/restrictions. Yesterday took a chance to go by one of the three offices here and saw the open sign so went in finding only three people inside and walked right up to the teller. Understanding all they required and the cheapest way (their words not mine) to transfer ownership/title was to get Mom to sign the sellers portion and in brackets write Executor. I then would be buying it for 1 dollar, pay the 13% government tax as it was from parent to son (otherwise a specific value would have to be taxed...) and purchase a new trailer plate. Went back today after she signed the ownership and one two three it is done and all for 72.00!!! Wish the damned website would have been that clear and easy... I was able to clean it up before Dad's viewing back in March '17 before putting the Whippet on it to pay tribute to him. His beloved '66 Corvair I also drove over and parked on the other side of the Funeral Home entrance as most of the 250 people that came and signed the registry that day knew both of the cars. Today it is tough to even think about a funeral as we are currently limited to people calling to make an appointed time to meet with the family and are limited with that time. Then we are limited to only 12 people at the grave site in total including the Funeral Attendants... Can't get better soon enough for me.

Hey Joe, Wish I could help you out with your effort man, especially since you have been storing that spare nailhead this long. Thanks for that! If the Border ever opens up again I'll be Johnny-on-the-spot to come and get it! Now, the engine will have to be dropped into the Limited right away with not much extra room around but thinking that's OK. It would be great motivation to get it running and make some progress on the car but for now, busy picking and choosing what to keep...

With a text from my wife asking what time I would be home for supper I shut the lights off as it was 6 pm. About 7:30 I went out to the garage at home and continued with the ceiling panels. Between sorting tools I brought home and putting some things on shelves I have out back I managed to get another row of panels up in place. What fun that was around the attic access door with nothing being square.... I keep the radio going when in there and could not believe it when I heard it was 12 am! (Wish I was getting paid for a 14 hour day.) Guess it's going to be this way for awhile.

My lively hood has been window cleaning soon to be 47 years and have stored some of my equipment here which now has to be moved. Long story short, I have ropes for high rise work and enough to put three people in the air. Unfortunately regulations require certification for safety after so long and they are now all out of date. Wondering what to do with them I called our local Fire Department as they have teams that do high rescue and was told to call our local College as they donate their out of certified equipment to them for their Fire Rescue Program. Sure enough I received a call from the head of the department and is glad to have them for training purposes!! I will be dropping them off on Thursday. Each 1/2" line is 300 feet which is about our highest building in the City other than the Casino (which I never was awarded the contract) so there is a lot of rope there as the descent devices require two lines per person by law. This by the way is for boatswain chairs which is quite a thrill on a warm summer day.

I have not posted many pictures here because it is such a cluster... mess but have been working at it since Xmas and can now see the spare motor for the Whippet. It is on dollies so it can be moved out fairly easily. We bought it from a place in New York State that had it mounted on the back of an International duel wheeled truck supplying power for a boom to hoist trees out of the forest for lumber. It wasn't running when we got it but turns over freely and might be good for a rebuild.

In anticipation of a snowy forecast on Tuesday Filled up some gas cans for the Blower and to add some for the Special as the effort was to dig into the garage there. After putting in 5 gallons I connected the battery and hit the starter. Having fired her up not long ago the fuel filter had gas in it and away she went. While not extremely cold, having the door open made it feel colder so left her running on a nice fast idle and soon felt the heat from the engine.

I'm looking into doing the seat foam on my Limited also. While it has dried and hardened it is not yet crumbled down like I see yours did as it has not been sat if very much. Good luck with yours and please post your progress.

Managed another run out to the storage container and picked out a small section of panelling to bring back and cut to finish the remaining piece above the door. Before going home I went to the Special garage and dug a little deeper into the mess there... No pictures of that as it is too embarrassing! Started in the garage at home after supper and the first thing I did was to hang the bumpers. So glad I hung the shelf the way I did as that corner works out perfectly for now. I then cut the three 4x8 sheets of OSB to get ready to finish another row so I can install the door tracks but where the evening went just can't say... I checked the clock and called it quits as it was 12:30.

Thanks Lance! I know you get it with your collection of '57's in play too. I just wish I had the height you have in your garage to be able to stack another Buick in there!!! Sounds like you have been doing some remodelling / re-organising too from what I read. (and know you have a young family to be attentive too along with it all - ain't life grand?)