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Water doesn't seem to bother me, just the extra dirt that accumulates on the car when it's wet out - only means more cleaning chores when the weather is nice. So, ours are on the road, rain or shine (but no ice or snow).
Haven't had to drive in ice or snow yet, but who knows? At the end of May, May 26th to be precise, Brian Metzger and I are heading west to Callyfornia. I think it may snow out there in the mountains, but it's surely possible in Idaho or Montana which we plan to tour on our way back east. "Annie" has 34,500 miles on her odometer now, but after the road trip it will probably be closer to 45,000. We'll be starting off with a new set of Michelins and probably a new battery. Those are two items I don't want to be buying on the road. Gas is a lot cheaper than last year when Steve Legel made his road trip, that's a plus. However we don't plan on any 800 mile plus daily drives, so our hotel expenses will probably be higher. I'm not bringing my laptop with me but I will keep a log and write it up in July when I get back to Charleston.
Well, now our FLYAWAY is my daily driver. When we first bought this car it had 20,000 miles and the idea was to baby it and just use it for weekends and Summer evening jaunts.
However, things changed last November when I changed jobs. Previous to that both me and Rachel worked together which meant we travelled to work together using our other car.
When I started my new job, the idea was for Rachel to use the bird because she only works 3 miles from home and this would keep the mileage down. After a few weeks, although she loves the car, she felt a lot safer driving the FX because of the better visibility and higher driving position. Fair enough, I thought, if I have to, I'll drive the bird every day to work and back. It does mean 100 miles per week on it but I love it, and I'm still keeping it shiny.
At this time, we're very blessed with good jobs, and Carmino has a company car, which allows us to baby our baby. It only saw rain when it was being transported to us from Florida. We're not against using it in the rain, that doesn't bother us; however, we do have very harsh winters and God willing we'll never have to take it out during the winter months; it stays in the garage with a battery tender on it. We took a 200 mile ride yesterday and will be out again today to enjoy this beautiful weather we're having. This will be our first full summer with it and we're sure to add to the mileage. As far as TBN events, we're looking forward to the Cape Cod ride in a couple of weeks (more miles - LOL) and Thunderama. But we'll use it for our Saturday and Sunday enjoyment. Isn't that what it's all about...life is too short. My granny kept her living room roped off and the furniture covered with plastic and guess what...she died and never enjoyed it. How sad...that is not our plan.
My 2003 has less than 16,000 miles, but being a garage queen may change very soon.
My 94 TBird is due for state inspection this summer. If it fails for any reason that could be costly, that will be the end of the road for that car. At 148,000 miles, I think I got my money's worth.
The worst problem has been the trans. Two rebuilds, and now it's acting up again with very few additional miles on the latest rebuild; however, it's beyond the warranty period. (I'm tempted to post the repair shop's name and location, but I don't want any hassle legally, if you know what I mean.)
The same shop did the second rebuild at a discounted price because the accumulated mileage wasn't that great.
Now the problem is, what will do I do with her? Body, interior, and motor (4.6) are all very nice. Probably have to junk it or sell to someone as a parts car.
Shame. She was a nice replacement for my 85 TurboCoupe.
2010 Explorer Limited Edition, tri color white, camel interior
2003 TBird black/saddle
1964 Ford Galaxie 500XL conv't turq/black
2004 Lincoln LS 8 Sport light tundra metallic/medium stone
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