Almost a new year

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Princess Valiant

Princess Valiant

A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
Joined
Dec 14, 2011
Messages
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Location
Colorado
so with a new year rapidly approaching, I ask myself how the year went...

I looked back at notes I wrote and the pictures I was taking around a year ago.

I remember this time last year, I was looking at fabo at 67-72 valiants and thinking how i needed to put one in my driveway. Kinda set out to make 2021 the year of the valiant. I was also giving up on my other car group and my Lada project which was hitting a lot of dead ends.

I was also considering selling my 70 dodge D100 because it wasn't really useful to me as i need a truck that can tow a big car hauler trailer with a car on it. It was a slant six truck with little drum brakes and would not make the grade towing the demanded loads.

So over the year....

I was having a hard time finding a valiant near by in a good price range. I ran into a few 2 door valiants that I wasn't really happy with because I wanted a 4 door.

On Jan 62021, I bought a 74 valiant. Kinda rough ...ok, really rough but cost 100. bucks and it was too good of deal to pass up. The v8 Spool mount K frame or the disc brakes alone are worth more than that so I had to get it even if it was freezing the day I picked it up. I remember getting home and walking in to warm up and the capital riot was all over the news.

Then in August ....august 4th to be exact I acquired a 69 Valiant 4 door. complete but in pieces, very rust free and all there but some assembly required. like a really cute and big model kit.

I thought I was done but then in September I acquired a 68 Valiant. not really planned but it's so easy to fall in love with a valiant. Seen here 68 Lada Valiant

A year later the truck is still here but in the process of being body swapped to a 90 dodge ram 250 frame. I bought the 90 ram in may as a parts truck and I thought I would have had it parted and a bare frame by now but there it sits complete still as of this writing. I am so behind but when I think of the year as a whole, I set out to get some stuff done and kinda did and kinda didn't, depending if you see the glass half full or half empty.

How did your 2021 go so far??

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car wise, got the electric power steering installed with an IDIDIT tilt column. otherwise too much life not leaving me enough car time. finally getting to the end of cleaning up everything i moved out of my uncles place after he passed away. squeezing in the 10" southbend lathe to my already over flowing garage is done at least. that forced me to get rid of a lot of stuff i no longer needed in there and re-organize half the garage.
 
My year sucked. Dead. Corroded. Rotten. Molded. Disease infested. Mutilated. Elephant balls.
 
kursplat said:
car wise, got the electric power steering installed with an IDIDIT tilt column. otherwise too much life not leaving me enough car time. finally getting to the end of cleaning up everything i moved out of my uncles place after he passed away. squeezing in the 10" southbend lathe to my already over flowing garage is done at least. that forced me to get rid of a lot of stuff i no longer needed in there and re-organize half the garage.
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too much life getting in the way is something i can relate to. This covid shmovid has interrupted normal life so much. With so many people quitting their jobs, my office was so short staffed that I found myself covering two shifts and the work load of like 4 or 5 people almost the whole year.
Overtime has become a norm for those who choose to work. The downside was no time for anything but office work but the upside is a lot of valiant money, I almost doubled what I earned the year before. Again, is the glass half full or half empty??

Sorry about your uncle
Keep on the car, I want to see more of your build
 
2021 was better than 2020, but still very different. Work still doesn’t let us travel much, but that’s OK, I’m still employed and got to spend lots of time with the family. We homeschool our kids, so COVID had little effect on us or them. I planted a huge garden this year, but also canned and preserved a large amount of food this year, as we are trying to become more self sufficient. We also built a greenhouse, so that’s the experiment for this winter! Didn’t get much done on the car, but sold my dune buggy so I have more room in the garage now. Have plans for the winter now! Mom was diagnosed with cancer in April but she’s still hanging in there at 87 years young! Overall, God has been very good to us this year, as he is every second of every day!
 
Good and Bad. Lost my mother in law, but she was so ready to go. Started back to work part time from home, less time more money. 68 Barracuda fastback Formula S got painted. Went to two weddings, one in the Poconos, PA and one in Sioux City, IA. Things start to look up from this virus, if only the government would get out and let doctors call the shots. Looking forward to visiting children in Pueblo, Co, Portland, OR and snagging the 68 Formula S in Marion, SD next year. As for how many cars and parts, decide what you want and how much room you have, then when you want to add something think of what has to go to make room for it. Take time to enjoy what you have. Says the guy with 3 Barracudas, 2 Neons, 2009 six speed Challenger R/T, and a 2001 Jeep Cherokee.
 
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I've had a busy, but pretty good year. I'm thankful for it too, because 2018 sucked out loud, 2019 was mostly spent dealing with the aftermath of 2018, and 2020 I had a serious health issue to tackle and defeat, plus dealing with and successfully avoiding Covid.
In 2021, I have enjoyed good health, and working from home and not having to deal with the dingalings at the office. My wife says I have been practicing for retirement...lol. The worst part of 2021 for me has been watching the little puppy dog love of my life decline health wise this year. She's a 16 year old Shi Tzu, and last year she lost her hearing. She has had cataracts for several years, and our vet insisted she was too old for the surgery to correct one or both of them. This past spring, she could still see well, and we spent lots of time outside on our "yard tours". As her eyesight slowly and steadily left her thru the year, she got to where she couldn't see how to get down the back steps, and didn't want to do the tours anymore....just pee, poop, and go back in the house. Now, she has little vision and bumps into everything. It's so bad that I have nicknamed her Pinball. She's otherwise VERY healthy and could live several years like this. I'll take every minute I can get with her, but its just sad. :(
Car wise in 2021, I have had a fairly good year. I've spent a bunch of money on parts for several of my cars, but mostly the 65 Barracuda. My transmission is built and ready to go in, my 273 is at the machine shop and should be done soon. I got some awesome front fenders for it from a good friend in Colorado, and a hood and valance panel from another friend in Georgia. Once I get the motor done, the rest of the car should progress pretty quickly. I came out of middle GA, so it isn't very rusty, and other than the headliner....the interior is nice.
In 2022, I hope to continue working from home as much as possible, and skate on thru. I'm gonna save all my vacation until the end of the year, then put Johnny Paycheck on my outgoing message of my work phone....and retire! :D
 
Got all the shots available. Last year saw my two granddaughters (under 5) at a distance and that was TERRIBLE. This year we bubbled with them and didn't do much else, but that's fine with us as they are the most important things in our lives. It was a WEIRD year, with very low lows and great highs. I lost two life long friends to Covid. My godchild had healthy twins boys at 38, but her father was one of the Covid victims at 68. My oldest brother passed away, and his granddaughter got her PHD at Penn St. a week later. I sold my '66 Biscayne to a guy who lives 1200 miles away. He saw it while visiting with family here. Called me a week later and said couldn't get the car out of his mind as he had owned one long ago. Guy is 79 :). I'm looking for a A/B body replacement.

I've made new friends and new enemies in record numbers this year, usually with little effort on my part :). The whole world is truly tilting, and not in a good way. I wish you all well.
 
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I admit I get kinda disgusted. Inflation. Got laid off and at my age part time work that I can still perform effectively is far between. And the broken ribs thing. They STILL bother me and it was more than a year ago now. The last insult was the glas company that just could not seem to install the glass in the Scamp. I'm STILL not sure what's up there, and may have to pull the dash out. I am not looking forward to that. And of course the 67 is STILL not back together
 
Year is good-dealing with stupidity is bizarre. Fall colors are great! I thank God for his blessings and I am understanding more of his giving people over to a reprobate mind.
 
Rani, I haven’t been able to see the Lada’s yet as the guy has had Covid and is too paranoid to let anyone on his property. He was pretty careful b4 but now it’s a no go. Kim
 
67Dart273 said:
I admit I get kinda disgusted. Inflation. Got laid off and at my age part time work that I can still perform effectively is far between. And the broken ribs thing. They STILL bother me and it was more than a year ago now. The last insult was the glas company that just could not seem to install the glass in the Scamp. I'm STILL not sure what's up there, and may have to pull the dash out. I am not looking forward to that. And of course the 67 is STILL not back together
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But you got more boat motors, so at least that's good!
 
2021 has been decent for the most part. I'm semi-retired, so the 2020 covid junk cut my income by about 80%. I put a stranglehold on my wallet and made it through without having to dip into savings. Once things started to loosen up in 2021 and tippy-toe back towards normal, I was flooded with work. That's good for the bank account but bad for my personal life and car-fixing time. However, I managed to get the truck rebuilt and running nicely even if it has a disturbing ticking going on that I'll have to sort out promptly.

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Work levels eased off to more normal demand in the last few months. I logged my property so no more worries about my monster trees tipping over and destroying stuff. That means the shop and house will get pounded with sun in summer so I put in a mini-split in the shop. Oh my, it's heavenly working in a t-shirt in winter. Having A/C in the summer will also be splendid. The house will get the same heat pump upgrade in a few weeks. First time in my life I'll have A/C in the house.

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The last bit of news, I got a new dog. I wasn't really looking for one but was farting around on Petfinders one Sunday morning over coffee, and saw this.

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It really got to me and I'm generally not one to tap into the mystical side of things although I do believe it's a factor in life. That look said "Hey, Halfafish, I am your dog and you don't even know it yet. Come get me."

After mulling it over for a bit I took the plunge and two weeks later Dixie came to her new forever home. She's a rescue and a fabulous dog.

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All in all, it's not been a bad year. I need to continue to keep my workload under control - I'm no longer willing to shortcut myself to keep up with demand. I'll do as much as I want to and the rest of it can sort itself out with someone else.

Here's hoping y'all are doing as well.
 
halfafish said:
2021 has been decent for the most part. I'm semi-retired, so the 2020 covid junk cut my income by about 80%. I put a stranglehold on my wallet and made it through without having to dip into savings. Once things started to loosen up in 2021 and tippy-toe back towards normal, I was flooded with work. That's good for the bank account but bad for my personal life and car-fixing time. However, I managed to get the truck rebuilt and running nicely even if it has a disturbing ticking going on that I'll have to sort out promptly.

View attachment 1715818658

Work levels eased off to more normal demand in the last few months. I logged my property so no more worries about my monster trees tipping over and destroying stuff. That means the shop and house will get pounded with sun in summer so I put in a mini-split in the shop. Oh my, it's heavenly working in a t-shirt in winter. Having A/C in the summer will also be splendid. The house will get the same heat pump upgrade in a few weeks. First time in my life I'll have A/C in the house.

View attachment 1715818660

View attachment 1715818661

The last bit of news, I got a new dog. I wasn't really looking for one but was farting around on Petfinders one Sunday morning over coffee, and saw this.

View attachment 1715818663

It really got to me and I'm generally not one to tap into the mystical side of things although I do believe it's a factor in life. That look said "Hey, Halfafish, I am your dog and you don't even know it yet. Come get me."

After mulling it over for a bit I took the plunge and two weeks later Dixie came to her new forever home. She's a rescue and a fabulous dog.

View attachment 1715818662

All in all, it's not been a bad year. I need to continue to keep my workload under control - I'm no longer willing to shortcut myself to keep up with demand. I'll do as much as I want to and the rest of it can sort itself out with someone else.

Here's hoping y'all are doing as well.
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Wow, nice dog
 
Mine was good enough.
Since covid, I've reaffirmed my faith & love of Jesus Christ. I went to long without my dude !
So far this year, my wife, my mother in law & I have spent all 4 seasons in our country home.
We've had family & friends over periodically.
Our best friends from Seattle bought a mountain home just 30 minutes up the road.
We added 5 kitties to our family that live indoors now, several others we feed & I leave a way for them to protect my barn & stay out of the cold.
I quit killing myself trying to be a 1 man construction company, helped a friend aka yellow rose build a duster and ended up getting an in at a local machine shop. I am the head bench guy, trusted & appreciated.
I Got all my loose ends done this summer.
That's all my Mopar stuff & my dart home.
Lots of home fixing, painting, doors, trim stuff I don't wanna do.
But I love my life & on the 23rd I will be 10 years clean & sober. Lots to be grateful for.
 
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2021 was by far a better year . 2019 was rough for my wife health wise, she was very sick, plus my mother in law started to go down hill....So I was caring for my wife and mom the best I could....2020 looked so much better than Covid...Mom passed mid march 2020 and I mourned that woman more than my own parents
After she died we had to sell the house but couldn't because of Covid....Eventually we did sell it but the sale took some time......I use to go up to that house, open it up and sit in the old woman's recliner and just think back to all the good times we had in that tiny little bit of a house, the barbecues when my daughter was a infant 45 years ago, the holidays.....I swear sitting there all alone in that empty house was a somber but yet warm experience
The house is torn down now and the foundations are in for two narrow side by side houses,,,,It just sucks
 
The one good thing about this past year suckin is, it can only get better from here.
 
Well Princess...my working from home full time stopped in June so, back to the office I went but, they have become much more flexible about letting us work from if we have something going on so, that's pretty cool. Work has been busy and, much like you have going on I'm doing several peoples job.

Car wise all my junk stayed going and, put lots of miles on them. I put my fuel delivery problems to bed on the 512 in the E body so, that makes me super happy. Still have lots of car related things I want to get to before next cruise season...we will see if I get to all of them..lol.

Had some situations with my son and his mental well being but, we hope to be on the right track with that (fingers crossed). It's been a different year..some good...some bad.

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