Well, I got sent to Fort Leavenworth…
Any post that starts with a line like that requires explanation! You just know that there is a story behind it. So here is the story:
I was perusing Craigslist. That phrase is a warning. It is one of the most dangerous things you can hear, second only to “hold my beer”. I won’t say that nothing good ever comes from it, but it generally means that things are about to get interesting!
Hmm, that doesn’t go back far enough. Lets start at the beginning.
The Imperial is largely done. There are several small projects and the ongoing maintenance of a 60 year old car, but the major work is finished.
Despite all of the complaining here I have enjoyed the Imperial restoration. I’ve learned a lot, developed new skills, and acquired new tools and equipment. Seems a shame not to put those to use. Maybe even good use!
I’ve sunk at least 4,000 hours of my time and uncounted amounts of money (uncounted because I don’t want to even think about it!) into the Imperial. Plenty of sweat and tears, but fortunately very little blood. The Imperial was restored for the long haul and I want to keep enjoying it. But I do want to start another restoration project…
After careful consideration I lag bolted my courage in place and took it to the CFO. She had one question: where are you going to put a second car?
Well, one of the reasons for wanting the lift was that it could also be used to store another car – one on top of the other. Commonly done.
With this roadblock resolved the project was approved. And there was much rejoicing! The next step was to decide what car I wanted to work on.
You may recall that I chose to build a cruiser for the first restoration. This time around I wanted something smaller and sportier. Something fun to drive. Wait – that sounds a lot like a 60/70/80’s sports car!
No, this isn’t a mid-life crisis. First, I’m well past mid-life. Second, I already owned a sports car – a 1976 Datsun 280Z – in the past.
I’m looking for something “reasonably affordable”. That leaves out things like Ferrari, Porsche, and Jaguar. I don’t really care for the classic British sports cars like MG or Triumph. Whats left?
The leading candidates are a Fiat X1/9, an Alfa Romeo Spyder, or another Datsun 240/260/280Z. The search was on!