Body work started.

Bringin' her back!

soonercruiser said:

Bringin' her back!

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The fellow called today and said the car is done.When this next rain event is passed, he's bringing the car back. He was going to pinstripe it but didn't. So parts of the pin stripe is missing. Since he wants the paint to cure at least a month before striping it.

The previous owner evidently had this car as her special toy. I talked to the mechanic she took it to and he said she kept everything taken care of until she got sick and it sat a long time. As weather permits, I'll be doing a deep detailing. There is some weather striping that is aged, but somebody looking for a good toy, will be able to find one in this.

Looks great!

Man, that turned out nice, Grouch. Are you SURE you want to sell it now?

chuzz said:

Man, that turned out nice, Grouch. Are you SURE you want to sell it now?

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I'm retired and ended up having too much into it. I've also found out I have issues getting out of two door cars. I have to lever myself out using my shoulder. I've fallen out several times trying to get out.

The paint has to cure for 30 days before I can buff the paint. I'm in no hurry to sell it. However, I look for someone who wants this particular type car to eventually buy it. I don't consider myself the owner, just the current caretaker. I like the Cruiser, the convertibles are just not a good fit for my knees and balance issues.

I get it. I have a screwed up back and left knee issue. Wife is eat up with rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis and our daughter is disabled too. Back and arthritis issues for her. I hated having to sell my PT GT to pay doctor bills, but that was the only resource I had at the time. It's tough for all 3 of us getting in and out of my Kia Forte, but I'm stuck with it for at least another year until I can trade it. Next vehicle will be some type of SUV, Van or CUV. Not sure which brand as they all seem to have their issues nowadays.

chuzz said:

I get it. I have a screwed up back and left knee issue. Wife is eat up with rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis and our daughter is disabled too. Back and arthritis issues for her. I hated having to sell my PT GT to pay doctor bills, but that was the only resource I had at the time. It's tough for all 3 of us getting in and out of my Kia Forte, but I'm stuck with it for at least another year until I can trade it. Next vehicle will be some type of SUV, Van or CUV. Not sure which brand as they all seem to have their issues nowadays.

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On bad days I find myself using my Ram 1500 a lot. It's a 4X4 so its a little high and I can slide out. I've also got a Mazda CX-5 that I can get in and out of fine and it's a really good little car. It may be going because a new medication I'm on is really expensive ($245 for a one month supply) and it along with the car payment is 1/4 of my monthly income. All the car companies are on the high end band wagon and the dealers are loading them with everything possible to drive profits. Somebody just needing a decent car is left out. Before I retired, one of the guys I worked with bought a new Ford pickup. He didn't pay extra, but he DID pay list. Nearly $100,000 and his monthly payment was $1200.

A lot of the car companies are going to be going from boom to bust again (like the last 130 years) when the chip shortage and consumer demand drops off.

Yeah, I live on my Social Security and most of that "increase" we got the first of the year will be going to my mortgage company now. I upped the coverage on my house because of a recent appraisal and now the payment is going up $103 a month to make up an escrow shortage. Of course, that shortage is just an ESTIMATE by the mortgage company, and if it's too much, I'll get a refund NEXT JANUARY. What a racket these mortgage companies have.

chuzz said:

Yeah, I live on my Social Security and most of that "increase" we got the first of the year will be going to my mortgage company now. I upped the coverage on my house because of a recent appraisal and now the payment is going up $103 a month to make up an escrow shortage. Of course, that shortage is just an ESTIMATE by the mortgage company, and if it's too much, I'll get a refund NEXT JANUARY. What a racket these mortgage companies have.

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My house has been paid off for years. I've thought about moving farther out of town as it's coming out towards me. I just don't feel like another mortgage. I'm fortunate in that my health is generally good. I just topple over at times. That's why I'm not keeping the PT. I have to lever myself out on the door jamb and the door on the ragtop is too wide for that.

As an owner of one of the final 5-speed stick convertibles in their last year 2008 I enjoyed seeing your progress on yours. Mine lives a charmed life - had someone at the dealer I use (unlimited free oil changes for life - 15 years now!) wondered why I had no rust on a car that has lived in Connecticut since I bought it new. Told him it's a pet - never comes out in the salt season and rarely in the rain. 94,000 miles mostly highway - from here to Florida, Maine and Prince Edward Island Canada. Haven't seen too many with obvious rust damage up here - they aren't rare yet even with 13 years plus on our salty winter roads.

I'm pretty happy with how it's coming along. I didn't realize how my balance issues have gotten worse. I sort of hate to see it go, but someone will get a nice driver.

I have to admit, I did use it for a rather mean joke. When I got it, the first thing I did was take it to a friends oil change and let one young guy working for him to bring it in. Less than a minute later, he was back when he saw three pedals. He has since bought a stick shift pickup and learned to drive it.

Have you been to an ENT doctor about your balance issues? You might have ear crystals and there are some very simple exercises you can do at home to get rid of them. I had an issue with my balance a couple of years ago and tried this exercise called the Eply maneuver. IT worked for me. You may want to give it a try. Here's what I did. This is from Johns Hopkins.
What happens during the home Epley maneuver?

1. Start by sitting on a bed.
2. Turn your head 45 degrees to the right.
3. Quickly lie back, keeping your head turned. ...
4. Turn your head 90 degrees to the left, without raising it. ...
5. Turn your head and body another 90 degrees to the left, into the bed. ...
6. Sit up on the left side.

chuzz said:

Have you been to an ENT doctor about your balance issues? You might have ear crystals and there are some very simple exercises you can do at home to get rid of them. I had an issue with my balance a couple of years ago and tried this exercise called the Eply maneuver. IT worked for me. You may want to give it a try. Here's what I did. This is from Johns Hopkins.
What happens during the home Epley maneuver?

1. Start by sitting on a bed.
2. Turn your head 45 degrees to the right.
3. Quickly lie back, keeping your head turned. ...
4. Turn your head 90 degrees to the left, without raising it. ...
5. Turn your head and body another 90 degrees to the left, into the bed. ...
6. Sit up on the left side.

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I have a Parkinsonism. Possibly Parkinson's syndrome itself. I went through a month of therapy back before Thanksgiving. Outside of a tremor in my left hand and balance issues, I do pretty well. My father had it along with both of his brothers and his mom, my grandmother. I've known most of my life it might develop but I just play the hand I'm dealt. The hardest part was giving up motorcycles. Come up to a stop and you can't be sure where the leg will go. Unless I hit the lottery and get a trike, my riding days are gone.

The exercises you mentioned are similar, but less intense, than what I was taught in therapy. On the other hand, the therapist said working on old cars is good therapy and keeps my hands limber and the tremors down.

I got a camera out and did a video walk around on the PT today. It's an older camera and the sun was heavy on glare, but it'll give you an idea of what the car looks like. Dusty from sitting in the body shop and my garage. The panter said t let the paint cure before driving in the rain or washing it.



I have the car in the "for sale" section too.

Grouch said:

Nearly $100,000 and his monthly payment was $1200.

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That's 80% of my current mortgage payment.

chuzz said:

I upped the coverage on my house because of a recent appraisal and now the payment is going up $103 a month to make up an escrow shortage. Of course, that shortage is just an ESTIMATE by the mortgage company, and if it's too much, I'll get a refund NEXT JANUARY. What a racket these mortgage companies have.

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We just received our annual escrow statement. Insurance went up slightly, but the killer was the real estate property taxes went up by almost $300/year. Result is the mortgage payment increasing by $75/month. The reason for the tax increase was multiple factors - the property values were reassessed and tax rate increase. This is done every 4 years. By state law the tax rate changes to reflect the updated values, however, the county supervisors raised the tax rate so more or less a double whammy - assessed value went up and the tax rate went up. It'll be another 4 years before they reassessed the values.

I can either make up the shortage for 2022 ($542) in a lump sum, but there will still be a mortgage payment increase due to the higher insurance and tax bills for 2023 or just pay the increase in my normal mortgage payment. The shortage is for the 2022 calendar year when the insurance and tax bills increased.

Well, I'm lucky enough NOT to have to pay property taxes, Doug. Since I'm permanently disabled and a Senior Citizen, AL no longer charges me property tax. I didn't know it and when I went to the tax office last year because I'd gotten a notice from them that had my name AND the previous owners name on it (he died in 2001) I went to complain. The lady at the tax office told me that since I was 65 and permanently disabled, I'd no longer be responsible for property tax. I was thrilled, to say the least. That's $600 a year I don't have to worry about anymore. Alabama has some strange laws. Not only that, but I no longer need a hunting or fishing license, just my drivers license!

So VA has something similar but the state legislature has to approve each jurisdiction (county/city). Furthermore, it applies only to those 65 AND permanently disabled. Relief depends on income and assetts. It's 100% relief if gross income is less than $52,000. I don't qualify as I am currently 61 and not disabled. Even if I was 65 I would not qualify.

Yeah, my Social Security isn't anywhere NEAR that figure. LOL Now you know why I can't buy any of the nice cars that show up for sale here!