Hay Larry, I think you should have went with dinkle balls and colored
lights under the wheel wells. %0)
Regards Armand
> ... so I pick up the Garage Queen Friday afternoon, apparently a few
>minutes after the work is done, and the guy hasn't had time to clean off the
>accumulated dust from the shop; and he expressed concern about returning it
>to me dusty. No prob, I reply, it's about 70 degrees (mid 60's elsewhere,
>but we're downwind from Congress), so I would just as soon clean it myself.
> The ride home is uneventful and I park the GQ just outside its
>normal indoor residence. It's so nice out, and I'm basking in the glow that
>can only radiate from the beauty of a Rootes product. :^) I'm sitting on the
>garden wall next to the driveway, sipping a beer and reading a magazine
>before starting on washing the car, when I hear this awful racket.
> Down the street comes this mid-80's Civic wagon, one of the
>short-but-tall ones. Scruffy, lower 4-5 inches, four mismatched hub caps,
>and half of the trim is painted white on the blue car. Out back is one of
>those Folger's-can exhaust tip, and there's clearly some big stereo speakers
>inside. I try not to laugh as I watch it go by, and return to my magazine.
> About 10 minutes later, I watch it return. I look up again, and the
>driver watches me. A couple of hundred feet down the street he stops, and
>starts to back up. Uh-oh; some kind of confrontation? Right in front of our
>house he stops, and gets out. It's a young Hispanic boy, oh, about 4'10"
>tall.
> Coming down the driveway, he holds out his hand; there's a business
>card in it; I start to read: "Millennium customs -- California style. Hub
>caps, rocker panels, stripping (sic), fenderwell moldings." it goes on. I
>look up, and he's walking around the GQ, pointing at various parts of the
>car and speaking in what might be Spanish, or perhaps with my hearing it
>could be a Boston accent. He wants to customize my Tiger!!!!!
> Well, without laughing, I thank him for his interest, and explain
>that, as a collectors' car, I really should change it too much from stock
>(yeah, right). He smiled, said 'nice car', and got back in his car and drove
>off. Whew! Just imagine a Tiger with the full-blown Pep-Boys / Auto Zone
>look.
> OK, just where had the GQ been for a couple of weeks? A few miles
>away, where I got the frame worked on. I now have the reinforced exhaust
>pass-throughs that will enable a larger exhaust, and beefed up forward rear
>spring perches. Also, the Panhard rod bracket reattached, and some holes
>were filled in, and others closed up, for new routing of the speedometer
>cable. The factory holes are fine w/a Toploader, but not for a T-5 on the
>slant. I think I picked up a full 1.5" of ground clearance on the speedo
>cable alone.
>
>Lawrence R. Wright, Purchasing Analyst
>U S Office Products, Mid-Atlantic District
>Formerly Andrews Office Products
>larry.wright@usop.com
>Ph. 301.386.7923 Fx. 301.386.5333
ritchie@mcn.org
Armand & Lorie Ritchie
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