The Adventures of FriarJohn on Two (and Sometimes Four) Wheels

[Updated with Photos, stored in this gallery--JB]

Inspired by, but not copying, this post on TTAC, here’s a list of all the car’s I’ve owned, running or not. My basic criteria is whether or not they had a title, but not even if I’ve titled them. Organized roughly by acquisition order. Maybe I’ll add a brief note and even a picture if I can find one. Also, this is about rides of the four-wheeled variety. I’ve only ever owned the one motorcycle, no ATVs, no trikes, no watercraft, etc.

• 1965 VW Beetle (Billings, 1982, $265): Bought with paper route money when I was a sophomore in high school, running gear trashed.
• 1967 VW Beetle (Billings, 1982, $300?): “Pan” only. Ended up not using in the project, but we had the title.
• 1971 VW Beetle (Lockwood/Billings, 1982, $?): Roof was chopped off by previous owner who wanted to make one of those BGW Speedsters. We discarded body and put the ’65 body on the ’71 chassis and made a baja bug out of it. The ’71 also came with a bigger motor, 1835cc.
• 1985 VW Golf (Helena/Bozeman, 1985, $0/gift): High school graduation gift car. Good car but I hated the manila beige paint. Only caught air (all four wheels) once. Once was all it took. Convinced my Dad to trade back the baja bug we built when I was in high school. A few years later a friend of my dad’s had a nice a stock bodied Beetle, so I traded him for his…
• 1974 VW Beetle (Helena, 1988, Trade): Car I had when I moved to Denver with my family in 1988. Still amazed I made it. Mom and Dad convinced me I needed something more reliable, so…
• 1989 Chevy S-10 (Aurora, 1988, $8900): Stripped down basic 2wd truck. Only new vehicle I’ve ever purchased (albeit with help). Job change caused me to hand it over to the co-signor (Dad) and borrow a little money from Grandma Jo for…
• 1971 Karmann Ghia (Westminster, 1989, $1300): Couldn’t stop running into things with it. Great little car, though. I still love the design.
• 1969 Karmann Ghia (Denver, 1990, $300): Body and pan only, had planned on swapping all the running gear into it from my poor beat up ’71. Ended up selling both Ghias before returning to college and buying a…
• 1981 Scirocco (Littleton, 1990, $1500): Loved. This. Car. Added Kamei spoiler, external oil cooler, Momo wheels, GTI seats, but then I fell in love with…
• 1973 Porsche 914 (Fort Collins/Helena, 1993, $4500): Customized to look like as a slant-nosed 916. More than any other, this car was an albatross around my neck. It broke down right after I brought it back to Colorado from Montana and I had nothing but trouble with it until I got rid of it last year. Had always planned on putting a Chevy 302-350 V8 in it but I could never get the money together.
• 1967 VW Baja Bug (Fort Collins, 1993, $300+trade): When the 914 broke down I bought this from a neighbor for some cash and the car stereo out of the Porsche, just so I could get to school (CSU). It was so cheap to maintain but there was virtually no heat in the thing. I only mention that because contrary to the stereotype heat was never a real problem in my previous air-cooled VWs.
• 1981 Rabbit Automatic (Wheat Ridge, 1995, $500): What a pig. turns out it had a bad headgasket and rather than fix it I unloaded it for…
• 1988 VW Golf (Arvada, 1995, $4800) Decent car. Had lots of weird things break down. I think it had been in a wreck before I bought it. Eventually the headgasket went and I bought…
• 1994 VW Golf (Englewood, 1998, $9950): Great car. Still have it as a back up when the Daily Driver Du Jour™ breaks down. Hit a deer in 1999, had it fixed and then repainted the whole thing in 2000.
• 1988 Mazda B2600 (Helena, 2000, $50 and a web site): Got it from a friend. Did a web page for a friend of hers who was running for County Commissioner. Lots of potential but lots of problems. When the clutch started going out I was at my wits’ end and traded it in on the Yukon.
• 1965 Ford Mustang Fastback (Helena, 2003?, $-I could tell you but you’d cry): My grandmother’s car; she bought it in ’69. Yes, she was the coolest grandmother ever. In 1998 the engine started knockin’ about the time she started running into things, so we parked it to save the car, my grandmother and the citizens of Helena. If we hadn’t she might eventually have driven it through a condo or something. A few years later my mom was sick of storing it so they gave it to me. It’s still parked, but I’ve been itchin to tear into it finally.
• 1972 Super Beetle/1971 Super Beetle (Helena, 2001-ish, $400/$300?): For some reason, even with my non-running 914 and Mustang, I felt the need to get back into air-cooled VWs. Never said I was smart! The former SB was a light wreck, but otherwise in excellent shape, purchased from my mechanic-buddy Eric. The latter SB was a dismantled but complete project from a former co-worker. Eventually I came to my senses and off-loaded both.
• 1995 GMC Yukon (Helena, 2003, $7500): Wanted something larger and more comfortable with more amenities. Great vehicle but the payments tapped out my cash flow and I wanted to build a garage. Thankfully I hadn’t sold my ’94 Golf.
• 1974 Porsche 914 (Helena, 2006?, $100): Rusty parts car. Complete sans engine. A price I couldn’t resist. Sold with the ’73 914 in 2009.
• 1975 Jeep J-10 (Helena, 2007, $1200): Felt like I needed to have a 4wd truck around. This one didn’t suit me. Got about 7 mpg. Lost a few hundred on the deal.
• 1984 FJ60 Toyota Landcruiser (Helena, 2008, $0/Trade): Sold both Porsche 914s to a guy from Livingston for some cash and this Landcruiser. Sold it almost immediately to a guy in Havre.
• 1989 Dodge Dakota Shelby Edition #1295 of 1500 (Turrah, 2008, $1800): My current daily driver. Neat little truck. Fairly unique. Not worth much, though, at least not until the economy rebounds and/or Carroll Shelby dies. In fact I’m already irredeemably upside-down in it, having rebuilt the transmission, replaced the alternator, cooling fan, two sets of tires, one set of rims, etc. But it’s a kick to drive and even looking like hell it turns heads. All I have to do is paint it, as it’s got that late 80′s Dodge peeling paint malaise.

I used to wonder what my finances would look like if I had just kept that ’85 Golf for a couple decades and skipped all the automotive shenanigans, but where’s the fun in that?

So I’m currently down to the bike, the Mustang, the Golf and the Dakota. Tempted to roll the Golf, but I won’t get much for it and it’s a good backup car, even in the winter. The Mustang is a family heirloom so it’s not going anywhere (indeed, it may just end up supplementing my retirement income since I have no heirs of my own). The Dakota might get replaced someday, probably by another truck. It’s nice having a pickup around.

Not sure how often you’re supposed to replace helmets during normal use, but I’ve dropped mine several times over the past few years so I think it’s time. I have a fat head and need a 3XL. Not many options for the cabeza gordo, so I ordered up another HJC CL-Max modular. Probably not the greatest, certainly not the worst, but it fits my head and I’ve had my old one apart to replace bits and pieces (and once the entire chin assembly), so I’m familiar with it on that level. And I can reuse my smoke tint face shield. My original reasoning on the color still stands. I know white is supposed to be the most visible, but I just can’t do white. So silver is my compromise. It will go with any other colors involved in the equation, but it’s gotta be more visible than black.

Last year I was considering an open face helmet for summer riding, until I saw John Halpop crash with an open face and tear up his face a bit in the spots that would’ve been protected by the chin bar. Who knows, maybe it would’ve been worse with a full face but I have a hard time believing that.

Disclaimer: I never criticize those who choose not to wear a helmet and wear a “beenie” helmet when they have to. I’m firmly in the “let those who ride decide” camp. But it goes both ways, I don’t tolerate those who criticize me for wearing a helmet. Thankfully those are few and far between (at least the vocal ones are).

Disclaimer 2: I’m mostly posting this so I can remember when I bought this thing a few years from now. I can’t remember how long I’ve had my current helmet. I think I had my original full-face (fixed) HJC for 2-3 years, which means I’ve had this helmet for 5-6 years. Definitely time for a replacement, drops notwithstanding.

I made my first itty bitty web application with JQuery (a scripting library, some would say the scripting library for Javascript). I’m mostly a designer, and while I’ve dabbled in Javascript over the decades it’s never been my strong suit. But the perfect project came up this week on BonnevilleAmerica.com. Another moderator on that forum, Pat Whitbeck (aka “Dinqua”), years ago created a custom jetting calculator for Triumph Americas and Speedmasters. When discussing a recent update he made to the calculator it came to light that, because it was written as a Windows application it couldn’t be used by Mac users, and even Vista and Windows 7 users had trouble using it.

So I decided to try and create a web-based version in Javascript. Pat sent me his data file so I could pull out his numbers for all the jetting options.

Voila.

It’s not quite finished. The math seems to be working, but I’m still testing. It isn’t pretty but it works. The biggest difference between this and Pat’s original application is that you have to click the “Calculate” button to update the main jet number. When I get some time I’ll throw some graphic design mojo at it.

Thinking about doing something like this:

View Larger Map

I’ve gone north, west, south and southwest. I think it’s time to go a little easterly. One of my high school (Billings) and College (MSU) buddies lives in Fort Collins. Another of my college buddies (CSU) Tony lives in Junction City, KS. Sounds like as good a destination as any.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the CF that was 2009. I need to get my thoughts down. I also need fodder for my blog, so here goes.

Health

I tried to take control of my health early in 2009. I ‘m not usually proactive but I went to the doctor for a physical in April. Other than high cholesterol I was in decent shape for a sedentary cubicle drone. One week later an infection kicked my ass and put me in the hospital for 12 days. My leg still isn’t better, my left leg is now “acting up.” The only bright side to that experience was losing 17lbs., but I’m still on the hook for a few grand after my insurance paid 90%. I tried Weight Watchers and had some success but I’ve plateaued and now have to figure out what to do next.

Relationships/Family

I’m still dating Sherri. December 1, 2009 was the second anniversary of our first date. It hasn’t all been wine and roses (what relationship is?), but we seem to be making a go of it.

In August my dad decided to clean out his shed and brought me a truckload of tools, including a rollaway toolchest, an air compressor and a router table. He also brought a nice computer desk.

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I’ve detailed elsewhere the calamity that was my July Vacation, and my friend’s accident. I’ve posted on Twitter about his recovery but I don’t believe I’ve blogged about it so here you go.

Not only is he up and walking (hobbling is more like it) without a walker or cane, but he’s back to work and driving (has been for a few months now). Pretty remarkable recovery after a fractured pelvis.

Here is the final bit of that recovery: Next week he travels to Billings (I’ll probably tag along) to pick up his new bike, a 2007 Speedmaster. This is probably the most desirable year: still has carburetors and the better looking gas tank. It’s deep red, low miles, loaded with accessories and a heck of a price. The best part is I get to tease him about only buying bikes that I ride first.

In the Fall of 2002 I rode a cardinal red demo Bonneville America while mine was getting its 4000mi tuneup at Tingley’s in Missoula. That’s the bike John bought and eventually wrecked (Here is John and our bikes in 2008, while we were traveling to NW Washington):

When the current owner of the ’07 Speedy came through Helena for lunch, he asked me to take it around the block because he thought he “heard a weird noise.” Sure thing. That was the largest block I think I’ve ever ridden around.

I know what John’s plans are for customizing this bike and I can’t wait to see it. Even more I can’t wait to see him riding again.

Didn’t get out much this year. Tracking both car and bike trips. With a nod to Jason Kottke, “One or more nights were spent in each place. Those cities marked with an * were visited multiple times on non-consecutive days.”

• Thompson Falls, MT (car and bike)*
• Nelson, BC (bike)
• Spokane, WA
• Riverside, CA (Shelby)
• St. George, UT (Shelby)
• Lehi, UT (Shelby)
• Fillmore, UT
• Las Vegas, NV
• Springville, UT

2007 and 2008 saw much more travel, but 2005 was about the same. Apparently I didn’t do one for 2006.

My furlough was ended after 4 weeks (a few days early) and I returned to Northrop Grumman yesterday, Monday, November 23rd. Ongoing employment is not guaranteed, of course, and never was. The prospects for keeping busy at my day job do not look good. Therefore I am still working on my resume and networking. It pays to be prepared. In the meantime I’m still looking for certain kinds of freelance work, locally based at this time.

Well it happened, sorta.

Got called into the Site Director’s office this morning and told I was on 30-day furlough (with 9 others, I gather from the invite for the meeting that happened before I arrived). Furlough is a LOT like being laid off, except you get to keep your benefits if you pay the portion that is normally taken out of your check and you get to put off cleaning out your desk. This is a direct result of losing that big proposal last week. It’s strictly business.

I’ve got about 37.9 hours of vacation accrued so I’m getting paid through next Monday (I worked over the weekend which counts for today). But I’ll be at zero balance if/when I return.

One of our big systems is starting Phase 2 in a month and ostensibly that’s what they will bring me back for, as a business analyst, gathering requirements. It’s mostly guaranteed to happen but that client has been a bit unreliable lately (maybe they’ll ship that off to India, too). After that part of that project is done, who knows? Maybe I’ll be cut loose for good or maybe they’ll have other work for me to do.

This is like a slow death. I don’t know what to do. I’d rather not leave this company if I can avoid it. Great benefits and retirement. I have a great boss and lots of friends there. But if they’re going to string me along like this maybe I need to look elsewhere. But looking elsewhere basically means pulling up stakes, selling my house and moving (unless I can find suitable telecommuting work), because there’s nothing else for me in this town that will pay anything like what I’m making now. Graphic and Web Designers tend to make shit here. The State is the closest, and they’re in a hiring freeze last I heard.

I’ve been dealing with a serious infection in my right leg since the 9th of April. I was in the hospital for 12 days, starting out with a 104+ temperature. I’ve been out for a week but after seeing my doctor today I’m not exactly out of the woods yet.

So the weekend before that all went down I did manage to remove the belt drive belt and sprockets and reinstall my stock chain (with about 8k miles on it so plenty of life left). I also installed a new “cush drive” in the rear hub, a tighter model from the Triumph Thunderbird Sport. It was very snug but I managed to get it together and get the rear wheel reinstalled. Now I have to go back through and make sure everything is good-and-tight and install my Scottoiler and I’ll be back on the road (oh, and my leg has to finish healing, of course).

As time allows I’ll get the dual disc front wheel and associated parts installed and hopefully make some progress on the bobber conversion. These health issues have really thrown a wrench in my plans.