Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Bob Heine's Auto Emporium

[drivesitfar]

Bob: I wish I had a good way to ship you one of these old wood blueprint cabinets, but I don't think it could beat your current filing system. you are amazing.

also if you want to post how to get to PARADISE over here on your own thread that you just did on Lyndon's I bet your readers would laugh or at least have a grin that would be hard to wipe off their faces anytime soon.

thanks again for posting that.

also your Alaska trip looks like a REAL ADVENTURE. i'm trying to catch up on my ORGANIZING and your thread and both are going at a snail's pace sort of like my WEIGHT LOSS.

cheers

 

[shortykorte]

Bob with a S

Have you considered making up some photo books to give to your children and Denise/denephew? You could add narratives and may or may not include some fiction. I think the photo books make great family heirlooms and they don't require ever changing technology to use them.

 

[Bob Heine]

Bob: I wish I had a good way to ship you one of these old wood blueprint cabinets, but I don't think it could beat your current filing system. you are amazing.

also if you want to post how to get to PARADISE over here on your own thread that you just did on Lyndon's I bet your readers would laugh or at least have a grin that would be hard to wipe off their faces anytime soon.

thanks again for posting that.

also your Alaska trip looks like a REAL ADVENTURE. i'm trying to catch up on my ORGANIZING and your thread and both are going at a snail's pace sort of like my WEIGHT LOSS.

cheers

Drives, much as I would love to have a blueprint cabinet, I don't have a place to put it. The desk in my office is 29-inches deep and another 6 inches would prevent our torture rack (convertible couch) from opening.

Picture Note: The panoramic view is not from my megabuck wide-angle lens camera. It's a stitched picture from 7 shots taken with my $100 Canon PowerShot A3100 IS. I used Microsoft's 64-bit Image Composite Editor (ICE) that you can download for free (cheap is good, free is better). (http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/downloads/69699e5a-5c91-4b01-898c-ef012cbb07f7/

The garage has just enough room for me to park 3 cars and still walk around them. A blueprint cabinet would mean parking one of my cars outside. This is Florida and your car being parked outside in the sun is very close to parking it ON the sun.

My workshop has workbenches on all four walls. A retired twenty-dollar (new price) drill press, bucket of metal, blast cabinet on wheels, press on wheels, air tank on wheels, hand trucks and an antique desk project fill the open space between benches.

I try to control my accumulating habit by not bringing anything into my life that doesn't have a place, including and especially things to help me organize the accumulation. I violated that rule by buying a better vise for the garage. The now homeless vise is making me very nervous. I may do a Taumac and mount it to a board that can be clamped or bolted down to a temporary work table.

I'll post the Paradise thing in a moment. My weight loss journey has taken a dirt road and I'm stuck in the mud.

Thank you so much for stopping by, I do appreciate it.

Bob with a S

Have you considered making up some photo books to give to your children and Denise/denephew? You could add narratives and may or may not include some fiction. I think the photo books make great family heirlooms and they don't require ever changing technology to use them.

Stewart, I think that's a great idea. Luckily we only have two children and their nine children can share. I have been using Microsoft Word to write these stories down, partly so a hiccup on the Intertubes or a stray keystroke doesn't trash an hour or more's work and also so I have a copy of the posts when I am banned for shamelessly wasting GJ bandwidth.

 

[Ford52PU]

Bob,

I live pretty close to Paradise PA, you missed one, in addition to Blue Ball and ***********, a short distance away is Virginville! Not sure how these towns were named but it is pretty funny.

Dennis

 

[Bob Heine]

Going From Blue Ball to Paradise - Through ***********

For Drivesitfar

Way back in 1971 I bought my first boat. It was a wooden runabout manufactured by Skee-Craft.

The ID plate on the boat said it was built in ***********, PA. When I mentioned the odd town name to a friend (originally from Ohio) he told me it was named by Amish or Mennonite settlers and *********** was just one of them. He also told me that getting from Blue Ball to Paradise, you had to go through ***********. I was pretty sure he was kidding so I didn't repeat that story until I found a map of Pennsylvania and it turns out it isn't a joke -- it is literally true! Blue Ball is at the top and Paradise is at the bottom of this Google Map (https://goo.gl/maps/VPic6LKCRz72):

You'll note that doing it in a car takes 23 minutes. Not sure how long it takes in a horse-drawn buggy but by foot it takes about 3.5 hours.

 

[Bob Heine]

Bob,

I live pretty close to Paradise PA, you missed one, in addition to Blue Ball and ***********, a short distance away is Virginville! Not sure how these towns were named but it is pretty funny.

Dennis

Dennis, I hadn't heard of and I've never been to Virginville but it sounds like a nice place. I notice it's a ways from Virginville to Blue Ball but it does make sense.

 

[Bob Heine]

Took a break from storytelling and did a few projects in the yard, including straightening up the sprinkler system (and adding a 10-foot length of PVC and a spray head to one section).

[FONT=&quot]For fun I decided it was time to fix a small problem with my paint sprayer setup. Because I set the regulator at the compressor to maximum pressure, I need to be able to regulate the pressure at or near the spray gun. I also need to be able to disconnect the gun for cleaning between paint sessions so I need quick disconnects. This is my worst-case setup, almost two feet of inflexible brass [FONT=&quot]behind the [FONT=&quot]gun nozzle, with [/FONT][/FONT]two plugs, two couplers and a regulator (the hose reel donut is a bonus to make it e[FONT=&quot]xtra[/FONT] heavy[FONT=&quot] and clumsy[/FONT]):


[/FONT] That’s a lot of weight and a very cumbersome package. The gun is a small Iwata LPH80 that I want to use to spray epoxy primer on the frame of my Corvette. I use a BreatheCool supplied fresh-air system that has a long hose that attaches to a belt and a quick coupler on a short hose to the full face mask. I want the spray gun hose to hook up in a similar way.

The small diaphragm style regulator has no handy mounting points so I decided to make a holder from some scrap 1/8” aluminum plate. I abandoned a telephone jack cover plate project and the piece looked just right for my regulator belt clip.


This is a perfect job for the vise-brake I bought a few months ago.


A couple of bends on the big piece of aluminum…


A couple of holes using a step-drill bit…


Bent the leftover piece of aluminum, drilled one hole in the bent side and two holes in the long side, used a couple of #6 nuts for spacers and pop riveted the piece to the back. I had originally planned to use a tape measure belt clip but it just didn’t look sturdy enough. I had also planned to rivet both ends of the clip to form a belt loop but decided I needed to be able to remove the regulator without undoing a belt.


Made the final bend with the vise to capture the two threaded ends. A quick connect on one side and a plug on the other and it was done.

I have a four-foot snubber (whip?) to connect the gun to the regulator on my belt. It keeps the hose out of my way and keeps a lot of weight off my hand.


[FONT=&quot]It took me about an hour to make but I think it’s going to work well, especially when I’m lying on my back and spraying the frame overhead (frame is sitting on jackstands with the car body raised six inches with allthread). The tiny gun should be able to reach inside the tighter spaces.[/FONT]

 

[taumac]

Took a break from storytelling and did a few projects in the yard, including straightening up the sprinkler system (and adding a 10-foot length of PVC and a spray head to one section).

[FONT=&quot]For fun I decided it was time to fix a small problem with my paint sprayer setup. Because I set the regulator at the compressor to maximum pressure, I need to be able to regulate the pressure at or near the spray gun. I also need to be able to disconnect the gun for cleaning between paint sessions so I need quick disconnects. This is my worst-case setup, almost two feet of inflexible brass [FONT=&quot]behind the [FONT=&quot]gun nozzle, with [/FONT][/FONT]two plugs, two couplers and a regulator (the hose reel donut is a bonus to make it e[FONT=&quot]xtra[/FONT] heavy[FONT=&quot] and clumsy[/FONT]):

[/FONT] That’s a lot of weight and a very cumbersome package. The gun is a small Iwata LPH80 that I want to use to spray epoxy primer on the frame of my Corvette. I use a BreatheCool supplied fresh-air system that has a long hose that attaches to a belt and a quick coupler on a short hose to the full face mask. I want the spray gun hose to hook up in a similar way.

The small diaphragm style regulator has no handy mounting points so I decided to make a holder from some scrap 1/8” aluminum plate. I abandoned a telephone jack cover plate project and the piece looked just right for my regulator belt clip.

This is a perfect job for the vise-brake I bought a few months ago.

A couple of bends on the big piece of aluminum…

A couple of holes using a step-drill bit…

Bent the leftover piece of aluminum, drilled one hole in the bent side and two holes in the long side, used a couple of #6 nuts for spacers and pop riveted the piece to the back. I had originally planned to use a tape measure belt clip but it just didn’t look sturdy enough. I had also planned to rivet both ends of the clip to form a belt loop but decided I needed to be able to remove the regulator without undoing a belt.

Made the final bend with the vise to capture the two threaded ends. A quick connect on one side and a plug on the other and it was done.

I have a four-foot snubber (whip?) to connect the gun to the regulator on my belt. It keeps the hose out of my way and keeps a lot of weight off my hand.

[FONT=&quot]It took me about an hour to make but I think it’s going to work well, especially when I’m lying on my back and spraying the frame overhead (frame is sitting on jackstands with the car body raised six inches with allthread). The tiny gun should be able to reach inside the tighter spaces.[/FONT]

That's a great idea. Good work there Bob. I'm gonna steal that idea.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Cleaver idea Bob and well done.

I have just brought a vise break and boy are the handy.

Regards

 

[Bob Heine]

That's a great idea. Good work there Bob. I'm gonna steal that idea.

Thanks Gerard, I have GJ to thank. Every time I tried to bend a piece of aluminum using just the vise jaws, the aluminum cracked. The vise brake makes a nice tight bend but I think I need to grease the aluminum so it doesn't get marred.

Cleaver idea Bob and well done.

I have just brought a vise break and boy are the handy.

Regards

Steve, the vise break is great. My only problem is I spend too much time looking for ways to use it. I haven't always had the money to buy tools but when I buy one, it doesn't just become drawer decor. I have to use it right away. Sometimes that means spray painting a stump just to try out a new gun.

 

[Toolfool]

Great idea, Bob. I've been wrestling with a pressure regulator and fittings (and that same donut) attached to my RO sander. Problem solved. Now I just have to buy a vise brake.

 

[BBChevro]

Top idea Bob, I've often thought that a pressure regulator near the gun would be good, but the extra bulk has put me off the idea - I always just take a guess at the pressure drop (and set a higher pressure at the regulator), but it takes a while to sort the gun out.

I try to keep the guns as light as possible - I use a barb fitting in the gun with several feet of hose so the quick-connect fittings are further away.

I also have a dedicated hose that I use for air tools to avoid any oil contamination in the fittings.

 

[Bob Heine]

Great idea, Bob. I've been wrestling with a pressure regulator and fittings (and that same donut) attached to my RO sander. Problem solved. Now I just have to buy a vise brake.

Thank you John, I tried solving the problem with smaller regulators but the small regulators are all choke-style. As the pressure in the tank drops, the flow in the choke regulator drops as well. The diaphragm regulator is a better choice but I haven't found a small one yet.

I would apologize for the vise brake epidemic but once you catch one, you are going to be hooked for life (unless you already have a giant Baileigh finger brake).

Top idea Bob, I've often thought that a pressure regulator near the gun would be good, but the extra bulk has put me off the idea - I always just take a guess at the pressure drop (and set a higher pressure at the regulator), but it takes a while to sort the gun out.

I try to keep the guns as light as possible - I use a barb fitting in the gun with several feet of hose so the quick-connect fittings are further away.

I also have a dedicated hose that I use for air tools to avoid any oil contamination in the fittings.

Thanks Mark, glad you like the idea. I'm with you on the gun weight. It is especially important when you have a litre of paint in the cup -- every little bit counts. The hose I have for the gun is a very light 1/2-inch diameter 4-foot Flexzilla. These new(ish) HVLP guns need as much volume as possible so the hoses on my reels are 1/2-inch.

I have 1/4- or 3/8-inch 5-foot Harbor Freight whips on all my air tools so I don't have extra weight on them as well. I also have a dedicated 4-foot triple-outlet hose that I use with air tools (keeps oil out of the main hoses as well). It is rare for me to be using just one air tool at a time. At a minimum I have a blow gun and RO sander hooked up.

 

[shortykorte]

Great idea Bob. It also keeps the hose behind you better than just throwing it over your shoulder. I also like your air gun holder. Please post some more on your moisture removal system.

p.s. Grizzly vice brake is enroute as we speak.

 

[Zeke]

Spray gun cheater valves are usually right there at the handle.



You don't need a gauge as you will be dialing in the pressure at that point by the spray pattern. Narrow the pattern and reduce the pressure and/or close down the gun needle on the fly.

 

[Bob Heine]

Great idea Bob. It also keeps the hose behind you better than just throwing it over your shoulder. I also like your air gun holder. Please post some more on your moisture removal system.

p.s. Grizzly vice brake is enroute as we speak.

Welcome back Stewart and thank you. I got the gun holder idea from someone (several) on the Garage Journal and used it for my cordless tools as well. I used to keep the air impact guns in my stainless tool cabinet but they took up too much space. Having them up there means I can grab one without having to rummage through a drawer full of tools.

I'll post more on the water-free air system very soon.

That Grizzly vice brake is dangerous because you will be bending stuff that doesn't need to be bent, just because you can.

Spray gun cheater valves are usually right there at the handle.

You don't need a gauge as you will be dialing in the pressure at that point by the spray pattern. Narrow the pattern and reduce the pressure and/or close down the gun needle on the fly.

Zeke, I am on the "know nothing try anything" side of painting. Until recently all my spray guns were relatively cheap and a couple of them are siphon/pressure feed. If you are the owner of a Binks 2001 gun you are obviously on the expert side. Those Binks guns are selling for pretty good money on eBay.

I have been trying out some better guns and they are great but seem very sensitive to pressure changes (my compressor swings between 90 and 120 psi). The cheater valves I have change the spray pattern as the pressure changes so I was trying to get a more consistent result with the diaphragm regulator. I do go by the spray pattern rather than being a slave to the gauge. Just trying to eliminate everything but my skill as variables.

My first spray gun was a Craftsman siphon/pressure feed and I still have it. Bought it back in the mid-60s so I could paint the cedar shake shingles on our house (brushing was nearly impossible. I still remember slinging the quart of paint around until my arm was on fire.

As a confirmed tool hoarder, I don't throw away/sell many tools. I found latex paint was best sprayed with a pressure setup rather than siphon feed so I converted the Craftsman to pressure pot feed, like the one you show. I also have a collection of cheater valves in addition to the diaphragm regulator.

I had an excuse to by another pressure pot gun when I had to paint the bronze panels at the base of our screen enclosure.

The Craftsman gun didn't handle thin paint very well so I bought a Harbor Freight pressure feed gun and 2-quart pot.

A few years ago I discovered acrylic lacquer paint was no longer the rage. If I wanted to paint my Corvette myself I would need a better spray gun and to meet pollution restrictions the gun would need to be HVLP gravity feed. Rather than asking for advice (pre-internet-forum days) I ordered a two FinishLine gun package from Eastwood.

Once I joined a reputable painting forum I HAD to get a professional grade gun. My first was an Anest Iwata LPH400 and after spraying some polyurethane clear I realized there really was a difference between the hobby and professional guns. As long as you are going overboard, you should have a primer gun, base gun, clear gun and detail gun. My primer gun is a hose pipe 2.2 Vaper. My base gun is a Satajet 2000 HVLP. My clear gun is the already mentioned Iwata. My detail gun is an Anest Iwata LPH80.

I was unaware spray guns were like vises and could be addicting. I plan to take up huffing as a hobby, now that I have some really powerful intoxicant delivery machines. It will help me forget how much money I've spent on my addiction.

And Zeke, I wanted to thank you for the Lake Louise memory. I actually found a decent picture of my brother, mother and me at the Lake Louise overlook. We were flat broke so we never even got close to the Chateau.

 

[Toolfool]

First pic is late additional info in response to your 'whip/belt hook' solution.

Let me preface the other photo by saying that I've never even attempted to paint a car. My FIL, in Cleveland OH, was an auto body and paint man for over 45 years. I knew that someday I would want to do a restoration or hot rod project and would have a topnotch instructor. When we decided to move West, FIL set me up with some of his 'extra' stuff. I have several large boxes filled with all sorts of rolls and stacks of sandpaper, paper racks, sanders, solvents, and these guns. The day FIL retired he gave the rest of his equipment to the guys he worked with and stated that he wants NOTHING to do with body work or painting ever again ..... including helping or teaching. SOL .

 

[Zeke]

Bob, no 2001 here. I don't even know what it is. I have a Model 7 siphon and a Model 32 PP with different air caps, fluid nozzles and needles for various paints. There is the junk up there too which serves me well. And just below the pic is a HF purple gun gravity feed which might be the best of the lot.

Model 7 = how old you are.

 

[shortykorte]

Gotta love the paint outfit. Loafers and black socks? Must have been about 10 years ago.

 

[Bob Heine]

First pic is late additional info in response to your 'whip/belt hook' solution.

Let me preface the other photo by saying that I've never even attempted to paint a car. My FIL, in Cleveland OH, was an auto body and paint man for over 45 years. I knew that someday I would want to do a restoration or hot rod project and would have a topnotch instructor. When we decided to move West, FIL set me up with some of his 'extra' stuff. I have several large boxes filled with all sorts of rolls and stacks of sandpaper, paper racks, sanders, solvents, and these guns. The day FIL retired he gave the rest of his equipment to the guys he worked with and stated that he wants NOTHING to do with body work or painting ever again ..... including helping or teaching. SOL .

John, I have too many air tools. Wait that's not right, I have almost enough air tools. There's the sanders and grinders...

...and a whole lot more.

Unlike you I couldn't make a living with my tools so I tended to buy tools by price rather than quality. Choice between cheap table saw and no table saw meant I own a cheap one. I still can't justify a used Delta and standing close to a Festool made my wallet shrivel (I think it was my wallet). If one of my cheap tools breaks, I just buy another.

Your father-in-law sounds like a nice guy. When I was young I wanted to get into auto repair/painting/customizing more than anything. I got to work (for free) alongside some pros and I realized how soul-crushing that work could be. Change the tar in the customer's crankcase knowing it's not going to help made me crazy. Charging the customer for a new starter when you did brushes and paint made me cringe. He yelled at me for cleaning up a customer's engine compartment: "He'll never see it and he won't know the difference if he does." 45 years of that and I would have been one miserable SOB.

Bob, no 2001 here. I don't even know what it is. I have a Model 7 siphon and a Model 32 PP with different air caps, fluid nozzles and needles for various paints. There is the junk up there too which serves me well. And just below the pic is a HF purple gun gravity feed which might be the best of the lot.

Model 7 = how old you are.

Zeke, that's even better! Until 1968 I didn't know anyone besides Binks and Craftsman made real spray guns. I thought DeVilbiss was a knockoff. In my cabinet of shame I have a couple of HF siphon touchup guns (if you drop them they break - ask me how I know). People look down on the Purple but I've seen some pretty good results from them.

Gotta love the paint outfit. Loafers and black socks? Must have been about 10 years ago.

Glad you like my trendy outfit Stewart. I had to wear a suit and tie to work so the only socks I had were black and my work shoes were worn out dress shoes (cardboard insoles to fix the holes). No way I would wear my "good" sneakers to paint. I hope you also noticed my emphasis on safety -- I'm not standing on the top step and there's nothing in the way when I fall (just the ground).

 

[taumac]

Very impressive there Bob.

 

[shortykorte]

Yes definitely safety minded when painting. You were lucky enough to work under a ladder though.

I assume when sanding a roof, the hose is over the shoulder so the couple doesn't bang against the vehicle.

 

[Bob Heine]

Very impressive there Bob.

Gerard, I'm hoping it's a cure for some kind of disease or at least reducing the possibility I'll electrocute myself with an electric version of all these tools. Then again it might just be my childish attraction to shiny things,

Yes definitely safety minded when painting. You were lucky enough to work under a ladder though.

I assume when sanding a roof, the hose is over the shoulder so the couple doesn't bang against the vehicle.

Stewart, I think the black cat is out of frame in that photo.

Actually my biggest worry is dragging the hose through fresh paint. My elbow is so much more effective banging into things (hitting my funny bone always makes me laugh out loud).

 

[HOTFR8]

Reading but not posting until know. Clever the way you made the belt clip.

 

[Bob Heine]

Reading but not posting until know. Clever the way you made the belt clip.

Simon, so nice of you to stop by. Thanks for the compliment. It was one of those "Hey, I have a tool that can help me make that" moments.

 

[HOTFR8]

Simon, so nice of you to stop by. Thanks for the compliment. It was one of those "Hey, I have a tool that can help me make that" moments.

Often I read many topics and do not comment unless I feel I am contributing but what you did to make that and make it work for you is just down right clever. I had another forum member visit me here the other day and we talked about what you had done.

 

[Bob Heine]

Often I read many topics and do not comment unless I feel I am contributing but what you did to make that and make it work for you is just down right clever. I had another forum member visit me here the other day and we talked about what you had done.

Simon, it doesn't happen often but your comment made me blush.

 

[Bob Heine]

My wife and I spent Sunday with our two children and eight of our nine grandchildren at our son's house, celebrating Mother's Day. Our daughter and her oldest son left before I had a chance to snap a group portrait. The young lady on the far right is our oldest grandson's fiance (he's on the far left). The girl third from the right is a friend. The little guy right of center is 15 and hopefully finished growing. If he isn't he's going to have to duck to get through the 6'8" doorways in the house. He recently received an award for his portrayal of Lurch in his school's Adams Family musical.

It was a wonderful visit and at one point we talked about the movie John Wick. My son mentioned how much he liked the cars John Wick drove. Much as he loved the Mustang Boss 429, he said he liked the Chevelle SS454 best of all. He said "If $85,000 falls out of the sky into my lap, that's the car I'd buy." I had no reaction but apparently it was a ticket to Crazy Town for my wife. On the drive home she explained money falling out of the sky into his lap was what we worked a lifetime to save. She then explained his source of the raining cats and bucks was our stash when we are no longer on the green side of the turf.

For the past 5 or 6 years I have been talking about buying a Cadillac CTS-V. The 2009 and newer models have a slightly de-tuned version of the supercharged V8 in the Corvette C6 ZR-1. Shortly after we arrived home on Sunday she told me we should make it rain and buy a Cadillac. I had thought of buying a flashy red one but a car that goes zero to 60 in 3.9 seconds is an absolute ticket magnet in red. I chose this Charcoal Gray one that is a lot less flashy. The car has a clean CarFax and 10,704 miles on the odometer. As soon as the security sale is complete, I'll pick it up (hopefully this Friday).

As I was uploading these photos, I realized this is almost the same color as that 53 Olds from my childhood.

The all-important part of the car is real clean but has just enough dust to indicate it isn't a spray-shine cover job.

 

[HOTFR8]

Simon, it doesn't happen often but your comment made me blush.

Why?

I have a friend here called Bandit for reasons that should be obvious and he has built his own A Model Roadster Pickup. He often jokes it cost him his arm. He can often do things I struggle to do.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Bob, great family shot.

And that is one nice set of wheels.

Enjoy.............

 

[Lyndon]

Bob

Great looking Family (& Friends) picture. And also great looking new family addition. I'm trying to think of a sly way to get one of daughters (since I don't have G/kids yet) to drop in that line about "$85,000 falling out of the sky and into... lap" etc if it was incentive enough for your good wife to "make" you go get the car of your dreams (Ok, everyone else's dreams..... ).

And I only want about $15,000 for the next thing I've got my eye on.....

I'm wondering if that would work on my better half?????? Worth a go, don't you think.

Lyndon
Some chin scratching going on.

 

[jbmatth]

Bob, I'm glad you had a chance to spend with family on Mother's Day, it is always nice to be able to get together with everyone. Now about the Cadillac, OH WOW, I really like those cars and have wanted one since they came out. A decent used one wouldn't really be all that hard to justify. My wife is due for a new car and that does come with 4 doors for easy access to car seats. Best of all it can be had with a manual transmission which is all she will drive. I just won't tell her it has 556 hp on tap and the gas mileage will kill her budget. Then when she grows tired of it I'll just take it over. Thanks for the idea. LOL
JB

 

[dlcwent]

Happy looking family there Bob. I (most always) enjoy family gatherings. It sounds like your son has his "retirement" package all sewn up. Now it's up to you and the wife to see it through.

Nice looking Caddy. I've heard a lot of good things about them. But no first hand experience with working on any of the problems the may or may not have. I guess all the owners are "dealer" type customers.

I've always hung the air hose over my neck when painting for the same reason as you. 'cause murphy's law requires the hose to drag through the wet paint if it isn't behind your head.

 

[Joe-R]

My wife and I spent Sunday with our two children and eight of our nine grandchildren at our son's house, celebrating Mother's Day. Our daughter and her oldest son left before I had a chance to snap a group portrait. The young lady on the far right is our oldest grandson's fiance (he's on the far left). The girl third from the right is a friend. The little guy right of center is 15 and hopefully finished growing. If he isn't he's going to have to duck to get through the 6'8" doorways in the house. He recently received an award for his portrayal of Lurch in his school's Adams Family musical.

It was a wonderful visit and at one point we talked about the movie John Wick. My son mentioned how much he liked the cars John Wick drove. Much as he loved the Mustang Boss 429, he said he liked the Chevelle SS454 best of all. He said "If $85,000 falls out of the sky into my lap, that's the car I'd buy." I had no reaction but apparently it was a ticket to Crazy Town for my wife. On the drive home she explained money falling out of the sky into his lap was what we worked a lifetime to save. She then explained his source of the raining cats and bucks was our stash when we are no longer on the green side of the turf.

For the past 5 or 6 years I have been talking about buying a Cadillac CTS-V. The 2009 and newer models have a slightly de-tuned version of the supercharged V8 in the Corvette C6 ZR-1. Shortly after we arrived home on Sunday she told me we should make it rain and buy a Cadillac. I had thought of buying a flashy red one but a car that goes zero to 60 in 3.9 seconds is an absolute ticket magnet in red. I chose this Charcoal Gray one that is a lot less flashy. The car has a clean CarFax and 10,704 miles on the odometer. As soon as the security sale is complete, I'll pick it up (hopefully this Friday).

As I was uploading these photos, I realized this is almost the same color as that 53 Olds from my childhood.

The all-important part of the car is real clean but has just enough dust to indicate it isn't a spray-shine cover job.

Hi Bob,

Congrats on the purchase of your Caddy. I think you will enjoy it immensely. My brother in law leased one for a while, it was a freakin' rocket!!!

I have really enjoyed your thread. Your humor and story telling are without parallel!!!! And I really like your air hose belt clip!!!

Joe

 

[sublime68charger]

Great story and pics as always Bob!

Enjoy the caddy!

 

[shortykorte]

Mom had to be happy being with all (most of) her babies. Kudos to your son. With a family the big, you need to host a block party, a block sanding party to get the vette ready for paint.

A supercharged car for a super guy? Umm. I think it fits. Had the V6 version and enjoyed it so I can imagine you have a big smile on your face. Enjoy.

 

[Toolfool]

Sounds like you're going to need a road trip to christen that new car "Heine-style".

 

[taumac]

WOW, That car is SHARP! I really like all the power and luxury that it has. Enjoy sir.

Need another son or son in law? LOL

 

[shortykorte]

Bob

May I ask where you purchase the service manual for the CTS?

 

[wrenchn]

You might find something here. Just make sure it is a service manual and not an owners manual if that is what you want.

https://books4cars.com/