New Friends

[RICH MUISE]

Another story...
Last week I got the engine/tranny pulled from that low mileage Mark Viii I bought, the one I had a hard time deciding whether to fix the colision damage and use it as a daily driver...until the hail storm hit and wacked it pretty badly.
Two days after I pulled the engine, a guy stopped at the house and asked if the Mark viii was for sale. I told him it was, but it was just a low mileage parts car now, no engine, tranny, etc. Perfect he said, I just need the independent rear suspension out of it. When he told me that, I asked if he was into street rods. He said yeah, since I retired, that's all I do now. I want the rear for a '56 Ford Pickup I'm building. Anyway, he bought the Mark for 600. I had already gotten 180 for the 3 catalytic converters, so I got back 780. from the 1K I paid for it. He picked it up yesterday, So I didn't have to fiddle with trying to sell parts off it. Put a smile on my face, and I'm happy the Lincoln is going to get some additional good use.
Anyway, the best part..He's got a shop (actually 3 buildings), just a few miles from my house. They're pretty much Ford guys. He went nuts over my '57, and in fact has already brought two guys over to show it to them, and another coming over this weekend. He's got a bunch of car guy friends, he kept telling me I was going to fit in perfect with their group..they just loved sitting around talking and doing cars. They mostly just do thir own projects, but he does have a guy working for him that does work for other people. Nice little shop, great atmosphere, great group of guys. I'm happy.

[RICH MUISE]

I already have an add-on to this story. I stop by my new friends shop this morning to drop off a few parts I told him he could have. He told me he was looking at the Title I had given him and saw the previous owners name on it. Turns out he has known the guy for years and stops by his shop once a month or so, as he is also into street rods.When he first looked at the car, he had told me the car looked familiar, but didn't know if it was the same one or not. small world.

[Zapato]

Always good to find local connections. Not to pour salt on your situation but having been ripped off a couple times I'm cautious about who enters my shop. Most of the times its either someone who knows you or someone they talked to and now knows what you have. Sounds like your new crew is worth having.

So be careful my friend.

Zap-

[RICH MUISE]

Thanks Zap...I've got lots of dogs and an alarm system. LOL...a few weeks ago, I went to the hardware store and set the alarm when I left. When I got back, I went straight to the garage for a while, totally spacing out I had set the alarm (control panel is in the house). 15 minutes later, I went outside and there was a cop in my driveway looking around.

[jumping jack flash]

Now you know your alarm system works. Sounds like these guys have been afflicted with OCD. Old Car Disease. I've had it since I was 11 years old. To work in a shop like that would be like a kid working in a candy store. Like Zap, I too have been victim to losses around the shop. The one that burns me up the most, was an Indianapolis 500 medallion, given to me from an ex-fianc?. She was from Indy. The medallion was on my key chain, in my Ranchero, in my garage. It was removed and the key put back in the ignition. I know who did it, but to keep peace in the family, I just kept my mouth shut and changed the door locks on the garage and house. New policy, Only me and the wife live there, so no one else needs a key.