It
wasn't too long before an opportunity in Michigan presented itself. A complete
Cad 390 engine and Hydra-matic transmission from a 1959 Cadillac were put up
for sale. The pickup was empty and the price was right. Don offered up his
place for an overnight stay and Ben and I hit the road for a quick turnaround.
We made it back by Sunday afternoon though missed out by minutes on a
Radarange. We may also have worn out a few cassettes….
Next
thing you know, the Cadillac-LaSalle Grand National was staring me in the face.
Betwixt the construction projects and travel, I was also working on the '59 CdV
that's been off the road since '09. Brakes were completely dry and still on a
single MC. The rebuilt engine was untested. The fuel system needed an overhaul
including a new fuel tank, hoses and fuel sending unit, and the exhaust
remained loud as hell despite throwing money at it back in '05. The leather was
dry, the interior panels were once again discolored and the mice had made a
real mess. But by the end of July, the car was ready, and we set out for
Milwaukee with Ben and his '61 for the show. It was the perfect 'shot in the
arm' needed to get the car ready and roadworthy and we had a great time
traversing the countryside and taking in the other beautiful cars despite the
rainy departure. I think we may have even made a few friends there.
With
barely time for a breath, Cara, myself, and both grandmas, loaded into Grandma
K’s Deville and set-sail for Walker, MN for a week of relaxation. This was the
first 4th of July trip since my grandma sold her place so it was a little
different game plan, but I'll save that for another entry. Let it be said,
there was some Cracker Barrel on the way! The fireworks did not disappoint and
Cara and I got in a little canoeing. We even came right upon a bald eagle
perched on a branch enjoying a fish he had just caught. Our presence didn’t
seem to faze him.
The
'59 Pontiac became the daily-driver after putting exactly 1000 miles on it last
fall. Mileage is probably triple that by now this year. The only issue has been
a faulty fuel pump (new last year) causing a knock and occasional starvation
issue. Easy fix once I figured it out.
For
a brief while, we had a functioning 1957 dishwasher, after adding casters,
replacing hoses, and sprucing things up a bit by adding a lighted dial.
Unfortunately, it was not to be as the pump seal started leaking thereafter, so
this one goes back on the list for repair. A GE combo machine was added to the
collection and after a few hours work, is now in service. This was my first
transaction with Uship and getting the machine from California to Iowa was
interesting with delays, excuses, and break-downs, but it made it intact.
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| Summer Chores |
Almost
every week there was something new in July…from getting tipped off about a CRP
program and getting the ball rolling with the local FSA office, to finishing
the rock and drainage at the pole building. I even finally pulled the trigger
on a much-needed tractor at the local dealership which handled mowing duty,
lane maintenance and snow removal this December. Plus hauling and transporting
rock and other heavy things around the place (like toting a THM325 from the
Lodge to the pole building in its bucket).
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| Taking a break to enjoy a weekend bonfire |
By
this point we were bearing down on August, and a welcome invite from some
washer friends had us loading up the Sky and heading to Minnetonka, MN for the
weekend. The weather was perfect as we enjoyed drinks on the lake, cruising
away the afternoon. Just recalling it from the distance of this snowy January
morning is enough to give me a little inspiration to get the Blue Gill
restored. The trip was memorable for another reason as well….we almost died. A
4x8 sheet of plywood broke off of a semi we were about to pass and hit us
square on, but since we were so low to the ground we were fortunate that it
only skimmed us. Any other vehicle and the force would probably have tripped
the airbags while we were doing close to 70MPH. This also meant that I had to
deal with the transport company’s insurance and have the repairs made on the
car.
But
August was busy for other reasons, too. My failed attempts at trying to finish
the Lodge EIFS had culminated with me tracking down Fernando. He took on the
job but it was slow going, finally wrapping up almost a month later. Meanwhile
I focused on the Annex siding. Finished the front, the rear and 95% of the
west, though only the rear received paint treatment. My bigger focus was
finishing CS3 and between rocking the foyer, installing pavers and milling
cedar for the rear siding (which I painted a 2nd coat earlier in the
spring) I’d say is just about there. I also discovered MMM and the potential of
early retirement that month which I’ve written about prior.
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| Trimming out the doors after EIFS completion |
During
this time Cara and I were also busy sending out invites and securing Black Hawk
Park for our wedding celebration (29Aug). The party was a major success even
with torrential downpours the days prior.
September
kind of snuck up on us. I found a little breathing room to get things ready
before Geoff dropped in from Australia and spent a couple weeks. We paid the
Kiwi a visit to exchange a teletype for a homebrew computer that was once a
Mohawk Data Systems Key-to-tape unit and took in some super computers in an
Iowa barn as well as a Delorean, but more importantly, toured the Iowa
countryside in the Suburban on a sunny, but chilly, day, and had a memorable
meal at the Dirty Dog.
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| The '59 Catalina and '61 DeVille ventured to Montour, IA. |
The
month marched on, I continued with my evening RR panel repairs for folks and
struck up a deal with a seller on the east coast who had an actual RR-1. A
friend is holding it until I can get out there in 2016; while I don’t want to
count my eggs before they’re hatched, this would be a real centerpiece in the
collection. Meanwhile, more dealing was taking place on setting up the CRP
paperwork for next year. Cutting out costs and getting my insurance up to date,
and deciding to sell off the Sky. I could either have that money working for me
generating interest, or working against me as depreciation in a used car. Time
to get serious!
Now
it was getting cold and the prospect of snow was on the way. With the potential
for MidAm to come in this winter and work in our field, I decided a gate and
fence would be cheap insurance not only from trespassers, but also from damage
to my personal portion of the lane from their heavy equipment. I cut up some of
the old drive-in 6x6 timbers and Cara and I installed them along with a 12’
gate down near the tracks. It took a few weeks (not a lot of evening light in
December) but I eventually got the barbwire fence put in along with the timber
N-frames at each end. A come-along put the needed several-hundred pounds of
tension on the barbed wire so I could get it tacked in place and supported. An
educational project for sure.
I
had wanted to get CS3 online in the fall, but eventually decided the only way
to get the project moving forward was to skip connecting to water at that time
(digging down to the well and installing an underground valve and drainage
would have been a major undertaking). I can run an alternate path to the east
side of the building at a later date, and the savings of trying to combine both
in the same trench is minimal in the long run. After lining up the trencher, I
got cold feet and decided to ‘play it by the book’ with the service entrance.
It worked out as we spent all day trenching from the new gate to CS3, then CS3
to the Annex for power. We got a little snow a week later and the electrical
inspector got back to me and gave the go-ahead for the service entrance. While
not exactly a ‘fun’ time, cables were buried for power to the meter and for
communication into the lodge.
We
wrapped up the year with solar power up at the road, an automatic gate opener
controlled from the Lodge, and full time power into CS3.
