An Older Woman?

So we acquired another bug at our house much to the delight of Dixie of course. This was just too good of a deal to pass up on. It not much to look at but it's actually a hidden gem underneath for 1 really good reason. ITS RUST FREE!!!! OK actually it has very minor surface rust in spots but the heater channels and other problematic areas are in awesome shape. I have been looking long and hard for a rust free body for a good price. I was able to jump on this one quick enough to fight off the others that wanted it. I had to go up north to west point to pick it up. I swear there never is a good deal in Salt Lake. Here She is behind my truck. I needed to fill up on gas before the trip home.

 She arrives home. These tow bars work out awesome to haul bugs around. I have now towed all 3 of my bugs home. They have come from Logan, Tooele and West point and I have never had a problem with the tow bar. My harbor Freight tow lights came in handy again also. I'm pretty sure I got my 10 dollars out of them. Ellie and I actually went up to west point the day before with the tow bar ready to get it and tow it home that day but we ran into a snag. 3 of the wheels had only 3 lug nuts on them and 1 only had 2. I was willing to tow it if they all had 3 but I wasn't going to risk the one with 2. It's definitely not worth killing someone over so I picked up 9 lug nuts and went back the next day. Ellie was very upset that we didn't bring it home. In fact she was down right mad but I bought her some McDonald's fries on the way home and I reassured her I would get it the next day and she seemed OK with that.

 So a little info on it. It's a 1966 bug. That was a pretty unique year for the bug because there was some things that were only done that year. That makes it a little bit more rare but also makes some parts harder to get. I bought it from a guy who pulled it out of a barn in Wellsville. I guess that counts as a true barn find in my book. The front end has had a little tap so I will need to do some work on the front apron to get the hood to latch correctly. The wiring is a mess but the dash is unmolested and it has the original radio which is very cool. I got 2 more original front fenders. The interior is in decent shape for sitting in a barn for who knows how long. The doors are going to need some work. That's the only really crappy thing about it. I may end up just replacing them altogether. I need to look at them closer before I decide what to do.

Here's Ellie glad to see her friend again. She is so funny. I was laying on the ground looking at the underside of the bug and Ellie was right there under the car with me. I can see her having the hottest car in high school when she gets to be that age. She likes shoes, bows in her hair and changing her clothes so maybe she will be well rounded.

I parked it and it will most likely stay there for the winter before I am able to do much with it. I will probably clean it out and see what I'm in for but I guess we'll see. I am constantly tempted to just flip it because I got it for such a good price and it's in better shape than I thought for once. I really want to get fenders and bumpers for Ed. I guess I'll sleep on it for awhile and then decide.

 The family hasn't come up with a name yet but I'm sure they will. I figured this one has got to be a girl because we have Ed and Tugger already. It's time to have a girl name and by the way things are looking, Shes going to be high maintenance.

Last big road trip for 2012

So, with Summer running out quickly and Saturday being an awesome day weather wise, everything was set to take Ed out for one last long ride. I had some stuff to take care of in Logan so I figured I would take care of that and then cruise around and see some towns up north. I took Ed back up to where I bought him a few years ago. To commemorate this ride Ed had just the right amount of mileage for a picture. This way I will remember the year of this drive anyways. So with a fresh oil change and a full tank of gas I headed up north to see what I could see. I didn't have to be back anytime soon so I had nothing but time.   

Ed performed flawlessly the whole trip and the weather was amazing. There is something almost magical about cruising in an old car with no air conditioning, anti lock brakes, power steering, or fuel injection on the open road. I had a smile from ear to ear the whole time. I stopped by and checked out my parents house along the way. Ed left 2 drops of oil in the driveway marking his spot I guess. Hopefully this winter I will take care of that little problem when I pull the engine and take care of some minor leaks.

 I had to stop and take a picture of the Logan temple while I was there. It is a beautiful building built by the pioneers long ago.

 I cruised past my parents old house in Providence just to see it and on my way out I got on the road that heads to hyrum and saw this old tractor just in front of me. I just love small towns. In hyrum I saw a farmer filling up his tractor at the gas station in town.

Ed and I found Paradise along the way. It's a neat town just south of hyrum. I also went through Avon and finally flipped a u-turn to try to find a fun way to get to Brigham City.

The GPS sent me down this road to get to Brigham City. It was 6 miles long and I wouldn't recommend driving it in a lowered bug. Ed got a few scrapes on his new front beam due to this road. I also had a few guys in trucks giving me weird looks.

So this is where the road pops out into civilization. That road  in the distance is highway 89 just above Mantua. I was really glad to see pavement. I did a quick check on the tires and the bottom of the engine and then headed off to Brigham City.

This is the closest I was able to get to the Brigham City Temple and the only shot I could get of it. It's a new temple the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints built. It's a beautiful building outside and even better inside. Brigham City was booming! The annual Peach Days was going on and the temple was having an open house. Needless to say there people were everywhere.

 I cruised down to the car show and I started out at the coolest part of the show. The rat rods of course! This truck was awesome. Everywhere you looked on it there was some very cool art/engineering done to make this truck my favorite rat rod of the show.

 I like old bikes and I really like old bikes with motors. This was really cool. It might not even be that old but it has the look.

When I first looked at this truck I didn't think much of it, but the more I looked at it the more impressed I became. It was put together in a way that made me laugh. That's the coolest thing about rat rods. They are put together using whatever you have laying around and this truck was awesomely done.

I liked how well this rod was done. The flames on it are just what I want to do with Ed. If you don't look close, you may miss them.

 Very nice lines on this car. Love the color and it is sitting perfectly.

 There is more engine in this car then there is car. Beautifully done. One of my dream cars.

 Can you tell I like 32's?

I think this car was the best in the show in my opinion. This car was beautiful inside and outside. I am not a fan of really big wheels but this one worked. By far the best one in the show!

Here is a shot of the back of it. I wish I would of gotten a shot of the car from the side but I didn't for some reason. The paint was flawless and so much better looking in person. It changed colors at different angles.

 The car show wasn't as big as last years but it was still fun. This was really the only big car show I went to this year. The drive and the fun made it all worth it. Here is ed waiting patiently by a bus for me to finish going to the show.

I decided to take the fruit loop home. I was tempted to stop and get a bushel of peaches but Dixie told me she had plenty of peaches already.  This is a picture outside my window along the fruit loop.

 This is looking out the other side. Willard Bay is in the distance.

It took me most of the day but I had a blast on the last big drive of the year. I still drive Ed everyday but a big roadtrip is always something special. The next one on the books will most likely be to St. George in 2013. Ed's going to get a little makeover this winter. Hopefully his engine will get all the leaks fixed and then he is going to get new fenders and bumpers. He may even get his flames put on if I can talk my buddy into painting them on for me. There will be lots of things to write about so stay tuned.