Shop Rat

See, Santa doesn't always drive a sleigh. I am on the board of directors here of an organization that serves 2,600 kids at Christmas called Secret Santa Foundation, Inc. We match sponsors to kids and each child gets three toys of their choosing up to $25 per toy. We work year-round. Your cars is awesome. Thanks for caring about kids.

Several years ago in Bramwell, W. Va. they did a gaslight parade through the town one night. It is a town that had the highest number of millionaires per capata in the country all in one town. There are still homes there from that era that will take your breath they are so beautiful. One even has a ballroom on the top floor. It was the prettiest parade of old cars I have ever seen with the soft glow of the lamps on all the cars and that town and those houses as the backdrop.

We have some friends here in the Mountain State T's Club in Charleston, W. Va. that have put the battery pack Christmas lights on the spokes of their cars and that was very cool looking. Your's is very pretty. I like the wreaths around the headlamps.

We sold the add-on tow mirrors that fit the Dodge and the towbar rig for the Tracker to folks from the forum, but these items are still for sale. Tow mirrors - Slip on style that are held on regular mirrors with two rubber straps per mirror. $10/pair (plus shipping) Fuel cell - RJS Equipment brand, 4 gallon, injection molded case with foam insert. $50 (plus shipping) Can take and send digital photos if requested to see items. billandsusanlinden@charter.net

Thank you very much for the offer. I will put your name and e-mail address in my address book and possibly have my husband to contact you. I will tell you that I bet my mom would be good at doing woodgraining. She is an amazing tole painter and has a very steady hand despite being almost 86 years old. What woodgraining system do you feel is the best?

We were at one show and the guy's kids got in a snack food fight in the trunk of their street rod and dumped a full can of soda over on the carpet in the trunk. Once again, their car-their kids, but I don't want them near my car.

I don't care what someone else does or allows to be done with their car. It is theirs and that is the way it should be. I don't care if you let your kids drink red Kool-Aid in your car. But don't think I am going to let them into my car with it. And don't get mad mad:at me when I head them off and tell them no way. Bad you? No. Your car, your business. Closet Street Rodder? Wouldn't call it closet. We do have a 1939 Dodge Four-Door Deluxe that is going to be modified as to paint inside and out. The rest will be restored to original. We just can't afford what it would take to totally restore it. The wood-graining alone would be more than the whole car would ever be worth. It will however be treated with the same respect and care as the 1963 1/2 Ford Falcon "Sprint" Convertible that Bill is building as an AACA show car. I was raised at the tailend of the last big depression. We were taught to buy the best we could afford and take care of it. And to respect what we had and what others had. Having a bad day? No, very good as a matter of fact.

Oh, believe me I know that they have problems with spectators also. And they can/do spend as much or more than people who restore to original. But from what we have seen at some pretty big shows they tend to be more tolerant of everyday use of their cars than people with restored cars are. We have a Legends racecar and we let kids sit in it and smaller adults that will fit in Bill's Butler race seat. But it is by invitation only. No one should just come up and get in it.

I have seen all manners of abuse of cars. Kids using curved fenders as a slicky-slide. Kids jumping up on running boards. I was captain at an AACA show where the car was owned by another judge so he was not there. A boy, before I could stop him, stepped up on a running board to look inside. I was polite and asked him to carefully get down. His mother looked at me and asked, "What do you care? It's not your car." I told her that judges look out for each other and it was the same as if it was my car and he was to get off of it and not get on any more cars or even touch them. How can we expect kids to have manners around old cars when their parents don't? And street-rod people are known for just using their cars. Eating in them, letting the kids wallow around in them. Then they come to our shows and act the same way. A car, any car, is private property. And just because it is being displayed does not give persmission to anyone to even touch it, much less climb on or in it or lean on it.

Everyone is born right-handed. But some overcome it.

Very good. And now, thanks to you, others will know to look there also. Sometimes we find stuff in the strangest places that fit what we need. My husband was looking for a way to file off rough spots on his racing tires. Something that did not require power in case he needed to true them up at the track. Regular files were too short so I suggested a farrier's (horseshoer's) file. The files that they use have a nice wooden handle, are wider and longer than standard files and it works like a charm. Other drivers have now gone out and gotten them.

Oh okay. Not knowing that certificates and pins were done other than for judging points, I thought it might be something that people could show off where ever they went. And some people expressed here, as have other people I know, that they were overrun with trophys and awards and had run out of room for them. So I was trying to come up with something nice, not a huge price and smaller.

What about a nice certificate and a specially designed pin for that year that could be displayed on a hat, jacket or shirt like the judging award pins? Then if people wanted they could mount the pins on a display of their choice when they got a new one to wear.

I sent Howard an e-mail and told him you wanted his advice.

Excellent!!!! What made you think to look there?

I admit I am out of my legue on the rules of the spaces and access to them with vehichles. I do know that traffic is only allowed during certain hours because of the pedestrian traffic. Have you contacted the Hershey Region about the rules and to apply for space(s) yet? They are the ones that run that part of it, not the National. Having a real camping spot is nice. Hot showers, heat and A/C and you can come and go from a campground. It is harder to get in and out of those spaces from what we have seen over the years. And I don't know why you couldn't drive the Chevy in and out every day. Most people drive something in and out. Or they leave a vehicle in the space to put their stuff in overnight and park another vehicle in the regular parking area every day and just walk to their space(s).

Not sure how many spaces you intend to get. I know that some folks do stay on the fields in all kinds of camping units. A friend of ours that runs IVAN stays in his RV in the white field. But he is not selling anything. IVAN is a auto appraisal group so he just has one table, some chairs and a canopy for shade. But I know that some people do. Most people don't as there is not room enough. They drive in and out each day. Some spaces are so small that they can barely have a chair to sit in with all the "stuff" they are selling. You may want to go to the General Forum and ask people that have flea market spaces how they handle it. I know that to be on the field you are self contained and there are no hook-ups of any kind there. Being a creature of comfort I like my A/C if it is warm and my heatpump in our RV for cold nights. Pluse we have a lady that travels with us that works in Administration who stays in the RV during the days while we are going through the flea martket areas. And we travel with two ferrets and a guinea pig and they have to have climate control to be comfortable and safe.

Well at least now you know that they don't have that material. Hopefully Howard's method will work.

You are welcome. I will tell you what I can. The campground that we have stayed at for many years is the Hershey Conewago Campground, 1590 Hershey Road, Elzabethtown, PA 17022 Their phone number is (717) 367-1179. They are six miles south of Hershey on Rt. 743 according to the instructions on their brochure. Like I said, not fancy but clean and well run and you get first dibs on your spot each year. They can handle everything from tents to RVs. We have a 35' RV with two slide-outs and the space is plenty big enough. Several from our area stay there also. It is a short drive in to Hershey Park and there are back-ways in that avoid a lot of the morning/evening traffic. Apply for a camping space now. I don't have the camping book handy to know if they are open right now but you could send them a letter and they would get it and at some point send you a reply. If you do decide to stay there Bill and I will help you find your way around. We both judge but have never had flea market spaces there. But we have a good friend in NY that does and I could put you in touch with him and he could tell you about the flea market information. Rob has gone there for several years. Hopefully this will get you started. October will be here again before we know it.

Have you tried the company called Tractor Supply? They have stores and also are on-line.

Since you have computer, or access to one, you should be able to get that online. I am not sure what the cost is but their webpage should contain that information.

Mika~Thanks for all the photos of the GT. I really enjoyed looking at them. Someday I do want to find a '65 like my dad had. It was bright red with the black vinyl top and all the chrome they offered. It was beautiful. It even had chrome wire wheel covers.

Most judges that do that have friends or family members to help with the flea market space. If not then on show day they just don't uncover their items for sale and they leave a note as to when they will be back. Some have an agreement with the person in the next space to help each other. As far as the HPOF (or any) class, judges that are also showing a car in another class leave a note for the team captain as to what class they are judging so that they can be found if need be. [color:\\"red\\"] Most places are sold out a year in advance. If you camp I can tell you where we stay and they have not been full the last couple of years. Nice place, nothing fancy but not far away and well kept and clean and once you get in you get first dibs on your spot from year to year.

Congratulations to you Mr. President. How many electoral votes did you get?

To the left on this page is a link to the Buick Club of America. Did you post there also?