Jennifer writes...
{Thanks for the thoughts on the dead 1800 in my driveway. Thinking of
{the good years of use I got out of it probably recouped whatever cost
{it lost by turning from a nice coach into a pumpkin. Now, I just have
{to decide if there is anything worth parting out (it certainly isn't
{original inside :-( or perhaps plan to save it sometime in the future,
{but now I don't feel quite so guilty. It was a fun car and good
{transportation, so, that's worth something.
Ya got nothing to lose now, get out the cutting torch and make it a
convertible....
Speaking of dead cars and convertibles, a few years ago when we were
living in the country, I came across a Triumph Spitfire convertible with
a largish hole in the side of the block. I paid a hundred bucks for it
and towed it home. I figured sooner or later I'd come across an engine
for it and drop it in.
In the meantime, I gave it to our kids as a BIG toy. I locked the
trunk, disconnected the battery, secured the doors, rolled down the
windows, dropped the top and told them that they can play in it any time
they wanted. The only rule was that that they had to play nicely in it
and not damage it. It was a big hit and really worked out great. They
loved it. They spent hours climbing in their car and zooming to places
that existed only in their imaginations. They would invited their
friends over to help wash and "drive" it. And they never broke or lost
any of the little parts that they could get to.
In the end, we moved and I sold it for what I paid for it. But the
kids (and their friends) still talk about it and always ask me to get
them another sports car when their birthdays roll around. It had to
have been one of the best returns on investment I've ever made in the
toy department.
/\ Lawrence Buja Climate and Global Dynamics Division
\_][ southern@ncar.ucar.edu National Center for Atmospheric Research
\_________________________Boulder,_Colorado___80307-3000__________
|