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1968 Plymouth Fury - Illinois State Police (tribute) carWelcome to my blog! It’s a “work in progress.” Please be patient, because Dog* isn’t finished with me yet.

*Did I mention: I’m dyslexic? (Not really. I just obey my dog…)

If you’ve never visited a blog before, one thing you need to know is that these posts are listed in reverse-chronological order. That is, the most recent post will be displayed at the beginning. As you scroll down the page, or advance to successive pages, you will be “going back in time.”

Also, clicking on a photo will usually display a larger version of that photo; sometimes it will take you to a photo gallery page. Links to other pages or sites are in a different color (and underlined when hovered over), and those marked with are external sites and will open in a new browser window or tab.

Enjoy!

Jun 14

Added Guestbook feature

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Well, I’ve been a little under the weather lately, so I haven’t been able to attend any car shows or work on the car. I think it was something I ate. Unfortunately, what I ate was my own cooking!

Anyway, being stuck indoors, I decided to use that time to add a Guestbook feature to the website. So visit my Guestbook page and leave a comment.

Aug 06

Sophia’s Car Show

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20150806_193957-scaledParticipated in the car show at Sophia’s restaurant in Roscoe. A lot of familiar cars on display.

Once again met some more nice car enthusiasts and in general just had a nice time. Weather was pleasant.

Click on the picture to see more photos from the event.

Aug 04

National Night Out 2015

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20150804_183655Participated in the car show at the National Night Out 2015 event in Roscoe. Nice little event, with probably a couple dozen cars and trucks on display, ranging from nice to very nice.

They had free food (watermelon, burgers, dogs, chips, bottled water, cake, ice cream, etc), displays of fire trucks, ambulances and other emergency equipment, a dunk tank, a bouncy-house for the kids, door prizes and raffles, and more.

Met some more nice car enthusiasts and police officers (Cpl. Weston and Chief Evans) and in general just had a nice time. Weather was pleasant. Good time!

Click on the picture to see more photos from the event.

Aug 02

Dog & Pony Car Show

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Click here to see more photosParticipated in the 4th Annual Ricky M Dog & Pony Car Show to benefit Friends Forever Humane Society in Freeport.

It was a great day. Sunny and very warm, but with a strong breeze that helped when you were in the shade.

A lot of gorgeous cars, trucks, etc., not to mention the dogs! (They had dogs available for adoption on display, and well-behaved, leashed pets were welcome to attend.) Took a lot of photos; got most of the cars and trucks — and quite a few of the dogs, as well!

Click on the picture to see more photos from the event.

Jul 20

Got exhaust repaired

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Got the exhaust system repaired. They just installed a short section of pipe to replace the area that rusted out where a poorly-done weld joint was made at some point in the past. They said the rest of the exhaust system is in surprisingly good condition, and should last for several years. (Glad to hear it!)

Jul 19

Mopar Happening 2015

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At the Mopar Happening 2015 Participated in the Mopar Happening at the Boone County Fairgrounds. It was a nice, sunny day, but dangerously hot, with a heat index around 105°.

They had a good turnout, with 262 cars registered, and quite a few spectators in spite of the high heat. I took a lot of photos, but due to the heat and my medical issues I didn’t make it all the way around the show to see all the vehicles.

Talked to a number of nice show participants, including a fire inspector from Iowa, a retired Chicago PD officer, an active-duty Chicago PD officer, and another gentleman who I believe was also involved in some way with law enforcement.

Also talked to quite a few spectators, answering questions and generally just “shooting the breeze.” One of the spectators remembered me and my other car from a recent show at Sophia’s Restaurant in Roscoe.

The biggest surprise came when I heard my name called at the awards ceremony at the end of the day. My car received the 2nd place award in its class! The class was “special interest,” and it was up against the fire inspector’s car (3rd place), two immaculate Chicago PD cars, a couple miscellaneous cars and truck, and a restored/modified school bus (1st place). Yes, that’s right: I lost out to a school bus! But I have to agree with the choice; the bus was gorgeous! And very unique.

All in all, in spite of the difficulties getting to the show and the dangerous temperature once there, it was a very enjoyable day. I’m glad I went.

Click on the picture to see more photos from the event.

Jul 19

She’s falling apart!

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On the way to the Mopar Happening, while pulling away from a stoplight I noticed a little bit of a loud-sounding exhaust. I assumed it was the diesel pickup truck in front of me. After traveling about 100 feet or so, with the truck pulling away, I noted the sound was getting louder. Uh-oh. Next came a pop, followed by the sound of metal scraping on the roadway. Oh, crap!

Pulled over and checked the problem. The front exhaust pipe (between the exhaust manifold and the muffler) was dragging on the ground. It broke at what appeared to be either a flange clamp or hanger (couldn’t really see it very well laying in the ditch).Looked like it just rusted through.

Didn’t have anything with me to strap it up to the car, so I limped the car to Bob’s house and used a couple coat hangers to hook it up to the frame. The car runs fine, but it’s loud. Thought about canceling my plan to attend the Mopar Happening for a little bit, but that thought was not a happy one, so I decided to head out to Belvidere in spite of the problem.

Rumble, rumble … Or as the old muffler company commercial used to say, “Rattle, rattle, thunder, clatter, boom, boom, boom!”