Playing auto mechanic - Ford Fusion

I have not spent the time wrenching on my current car like I have my previous rides.  It's more like an appliance than a toy, so I don't relish the opportunity to do work on it.  I'm not sure there is anything fun to work on in this car, anyway.

But routine maintenance is something that I have always done on my own cars.  Like changing the oil and rotating the tires.  Which is what I did today.

Now I smell like oil.  And my neck hurts.

TBT - Throw Back Tuesday - Vector BMX in Florida

A cut-out from the NBL Members newspaper in 1985.  Check out the patch above my left eye...I fell earlier in the day.  Can't remember falling, but remember wearing that stupid gauze and it was messing up my vision the whole day.  Memories are strange.

Car Watching - 1970 Buick Skylark GSX

 If this is an actual Buick Skylark GSX, then it's a rare bird indeed.  This top-dog muscle car from Buick would be one of 678 examples built in 1970.  This one looked very nice indeed, looking through the glass windows.

The 455cu.in. V8 was rated at 350 horsepower, but it held one of the highest torque ratings of any car in it's time:  510 lb-ft.  There was one option higher, and still more rare, the Stage 1.  But I'll take a GSX spotting any day.

Lucky night for car spotting!

Car Watching - DeTomaso Pantera GTS

 Ok, so this Pantera didn't come to me.  I spotted it in a little place on Gravois past Bevo Mill.  You all know my love for the Pantera, so we had to stop. The size of the exhaust pipes make me believe that this thing will bring the thunder.

 This was a gorgeous car.  The yellow is stunning, although taking photos with my phone through the glass windows will not show that too much.

 Great body.

 I was able to catch the DeTomaso symbol in the grill under the point in the nose.

 The side view is just as stunning.

 The wing is enormous.  Look just at the tail end of the roof, just ahead of the black wind diffuser...are those what I think they are?

....Yes!  I'm so happy I was able to get a view of the velocity stacks stacks poking up through the engine cover.  If that's still a Ford 351 Cleveland in there, it's breathing pretty well!

Car Watching - 1965 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport

Into the lot pulled a 1965 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport today.  It was a sight for sore eyes, being the middle of winter.  Do you know how hard it is to spot cool cars...especially vintage iron...when it's 20 degrees outside?

 This was a 327 V8 car, and the owner had taken the time to do a fairly nice job of restoring this wonderful piece of Chevrolet history.  He did it himself, although his son had started the project with him.  Girls soon took the boy in a different direction, so dear old Dad finished it by his lonesome.

 The body was great, and the "Super Sport" script was on point.

 The interior was dandy.  White vinyl.  And that cue ball shift lever gave the nod to a kick ass manual transmission.  I should have gotten a couple more shots of the interior, as it was really nice.

 Good looking fastback roofline has always drawn me to this years car.

 Oh, those individual circular tail lights....love them.  The bumpers were looking fine, too.

 Looking down the side of the car was a treat.  He did a great job on the body of this one.

Muscular, great paint, 327 V8, manual transmission....I was really, really happy to see this one today!

Final Post of 2014!

 This was supposed to be my last post of 2014, but I was under the weather so it's my first post of 2015.  The first photo is of my two favorite people, Ma and Pa Zimmer at Christmas.

 Eli, reading Christmas stories to the little ones.

 ....he gets easily distracted.  Love the hat.

 Hanna always has a smile for the camera.

 We took Rex for a hike at Laumeier Sculpture park.

 Cool pyramid thing that Tyson would have been climbing on if he had been with us.

 Miniature high rise apartment building.

 Chainsaw-cut Redwood trunk

 The remnants of a very cool swimming pool.  This is my favorite part of the park.

 It was a personal pool, yet it was nearly as big as a public pool.

 The view from the other end.

 The story behind it's inclusion in the Sculpture park.

 Another part I really like.

 Metal sculpture hanging in the trees. 

 A boat-like structure.

 That is a lot of metal.

 Hanna loved the eyeball.  It appears as though this eyeball belonged to a heavy weed smoker.

 Rex was beside himself with all of the other dogs that were at the park.

 Hanna was not down with the mud hut.

 But, she was willing to lend a couple of hands to the armless sculpture.

 Hanna and I at Joey B's.

 Like her hand tattoo?

 Me trying to be serious at New Years Eve.

 Didn't work.

A parting shot with Alex, Michael, Mrs K and I.