Well......I had quite an adventure this afternoon. A nice summer afternoon in southwest Michigan. A place that hasn't seen rain in nearly a month. Do I take the 4Runner or do I take the Tub to drive 55 miles to check out drdemanto's new ride in Caledonia, MI? Naturally....I go for the Tub. As I back out of the garage, I wonder to myself.....should I take the side curtains? NO! It hasn't rained in a month. My grass crackles as I walk across the lawn.
About 40 miles into the drive the sky gets dark. I pull off of the highway to check the radar on my phone. Things look a bit sketchy but I am so close! I put the top up and question the wisdom of leaving the side curtains back home. I almost put my tail between my legs and retreat for home...but I am so close! Let's go! It does spit a few drops but no big deal. I make it to Caledonia and YES drdemanto, the car is REAL! and Richard....who prefers to be called **** is a hell of a nice guy who happens to be dying of cancer. A very interesting man indeed. A former General Motors machinist who happens to be one hell of a craftsman. He showed me his collection of small scale trains which he has hand built. One of them took nearly as long to build as his Street Rod (Nearly 4 years). He also has built many intricate wooden models of "tall ships". Fantastic detail!
Like you said....he probably would have talked to me for hours if I didn't have to get home. We chatted for over an hour and had I been a bit smarter, I would have stayed for another hour but I decided to get home as I was expected to be ready to be the "Grill Meister" for dinner back home.
About 20 miles into the return trip.....the sky is getting dark again. This is not looking good. Suddenly the skies open and I am fortunate enough to have a bridge overpass in sight. I pull under cover and enjoy the protection that the bridge affords me...even though every semi truck that goes under the bridge provides me with a nice cooling mist. After about 45 minutes of refuge beneath the bridge, the rain seems to let up. Thankfully, that was the end of the rain but it still provide me the opportunity to find out why they call these cars we drive "Tubs". The roads are wet....spray from cars and trucks...drip drip drip
20 miles from home, I am getting low on gas. I pull off of the highway to fill up. The guy at the next pump jokes with me about seeing me under cover at the bridge and tells me tales of a similar nature when he had owned an MG Midget. We have a couple of laughs and I am off again, however, to my dismay, the entrance ramp to the highway is completely torn up and the detour ends up adding an additional 20 miles to the trip home! Fortunately, the roads were now dry and the ride was most enjoyable. I even got a few "thumbs up" from passers by.
So....DR. D. Here is the proof. Your car IS real! **** is going to do his best to have it pretty for you but he is not a healthy man. I suspect you will want to do a nice detailing of it but for what you are paying, I think you will be pleased. It should provide you another ride to have fun with. Congratulations!
