for those of you interested in my car fixation I have recently listed two of my cars to be sold on eBay motors. they will be there for another 6 days. the first one (above top) is a custom-bodied CRX si, a quick agile little "pocket rocket" which I adore. I've had it since it was new in 1991 and still called a Honda CRX si. now it called a "Vitesse" by the customizers, a shop in Toronto. it took 3 months of labor to convert. such a fabulous car to drive, if you don't mind being constantly asked questions from twentysomething guys.
the second car (above bottom) is anything but quick but it's a beautiful all-original "land yacht". a 1963 Chrysler Imperial Crown, a huge car with a square steering wheel and push-button transmission! what could be cooler! we have always called it "the imperial hammerhead" for its odd looking face. when I was a teenager I thought these were the ugliest things on the road. now I drive one! for anyone interested in seeing more about the cars go to eBay motors. the Vitesse is #170159897999. The Imperial is # 170160281888.
good luck on your auction. Our 1960 impala (aka the red sled) sold for 15K, and is now living in California. She is gonna love it, and we love that we can get all our cars inside the garage again.
ReplyDeleteAdrian,
ReplyDeleteHave you ever done any driving on a track in one of your cars? Like a club day or whatever, where non-pros (racer car drivers) get to go fast in a controlled environment? That would be sweet.
A friend's mom used to worry about him racing motorcycles and he pointed out that at least at the track everyone is going in one direction, paying attention, and there are ambulances ready to go.
Does anyone know why my browser gets hijacked when I click on a picture on this site? It won't go back w/o some effort.
I'm sure you have your reasons for doing what you're doing, but I felt compelled to offer a brief anecdote of my own where letting go of things is concerned ...
ReplyDeleteOne of my great regrets in life is selling my first car. It was a 1963 Plymouth Belvedere. Black with red interior, a 225 slant-six engine, and the same push-button transmission you mentioned. What a great car! My dad bought it for me when I was 18, in the summer of 1985. It cost him $1,200.
What I know about automotive repair would fit into a thimble, with room to spare. Yet I could fix almost anything on that car with a Chilton Manual and a set of Craftsman tools.
The car had no a/c, making it broil in the St. Louis summers. Still, I had the coolest car around. Yet I wound up selling it two years later because I thought I wanted to live in Virginia and I needed to raise cash.
Not a week goes by that I don't regret letting that car go. Perhaps because now that I have my own complex life (family, career, etc.), the Belvedere represents the last element of simplicity I had in my life. And now that my dad is dying, I find that I think of that car -- and my dad in that context -- all the more.
I don't know what my point is. I just hope you don't wind up going through the same thing. Take it easy.
Which car do we hear at the beginning of the song Drive? That car sounds like it's a dream to drive.
ReplyDeleteIs the old fat cadillac that you took the president for a ride not for sale?
ReplyDeletejoel:
ReplyDeleteno, I"m not a fast driver, I have a family to look after. it's the aesthetics and styling of cars that I love most.
kathleen:
that was from a sound effects record, most likely it was a ferrari which would indeed be a dream car.
mkernohan:
the old fat cadillac was sold long ago (along with the presidency).
I am stunned, and so very sorry to hear that you are seriously considering parting with your 'love' of these past 16 years.... It is so obvious just how much you adore your little 'pocket rocket'..... Hopefully whoever acquires this 'sweet' little car will tend it with the loving care and attention that you have all these years Ade....
ReplyDeleteDo you still have the Mercedes that was shown along with the Vitesse in the Bears DVD tour of Studio Belew? I see the DVD isn't for sale in StoreBelew any more, so I must have snagged one of the last ones. As a public service, (because the DVD is absolutely GREAT!) it looks like it is still for sale from the Club Cafe website. That is, unless you're going to get a new shipment, then fans should wait and buy it from StoreBelew because it's the right thing to do! There are a lot of highlights in the video, like the studio tour and interviews, but my two personal favorites are the band's performance on "Success" (especially your solo early in the song), and your incredibly long sdrawkcab solo in "Under the Volcano." I know you've explained how you do that, but it's still amazing!
ReplyDeleteI believe I have a picture od Adrian & The Frippnotizer sitting in that CRX si. I hope the e-bayers are aware of it's history. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI hope you get a ton of 100 dollar bills for them, I hate that you are parting with them. ( probably not as much as you do. )
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My great uncle had a car a lot like that '63 Chrysler, though it may have been a Lincoln. What I remember about it is that the automatic transmission was push button, like one of those old car radios where you pushed a button to lock into a preset station.
ReplyDeleteSelling vintage cars? Call Neil Young.
ReplyDeletebradley:
ReplyDeleteI sold the Mercedes (replica) to buy a brand new car. I still own a real vintage Mercedes 280SL in excellent condition. I will never sell that one.
the Bears DVD is being ordered.