[Adam]

I washed and waxed both cars yesterday. Both these cars, even if I repainted them, I'd keep these colors. Not since I had that avocado green 72 Impala (which I sold back in 06) have I had cars for which I really liked the colors they came with.

I put a full tank of gas in the Lincoln and that problem with the milage-calculating computer being stuck on 0 and beeping fixed itself.

It doesn't need to pass smog for another 2 years, so for now I just tied that air tube up to the exhaust pipe so it wouldn't bounce around. I can't locate another one (I figure in two years I can come up with something even if I have to get a piece of straight pipe and figure out a way to bend it).

This car is nearly impossible to locate parts for: car parts stores don't stock parts for it because it's too old, and online parts stores for older cars don't stock parts for it because it's too new! I'm going to have to start looking around for junkyards (I quit doing it when I lived in the midwest, but back when I lived in Los Angeles it was one of my favorite ways to spend a Saturday morning - wandering around the U-pull)

When I lived in CA I used to always try to get cars older than '75 so they wouldn't need smog. But here in AZ, the cutoff being 66, I just can't find a pre-67 car that doesn't either need lots of work, or isn't super expensive. It is nice that they have that 'collector car' exception here, and I will eventually go that route with the Firebird because I want to swap out that 2.8 V6 for a 350. For now the 'Bird is still registered in WI (it doesn't expire until next August). I don't plan on swapping the engine for a few years, so whether or not I try the 'classic car' registration right away depends on how hard it is to get it to pass smog when I finally get around to it. All the stuff's still there, so it probably will.

I'd consider moving somewhere just to get away from the smog checks, but I've done 6 long-distance moves in the past 10 years (and I just don't want to ever do it again.) And I like the Phoenix area, and would like to stay in the general vicinity. (Even though AZ seems to be a complete wasteland in terms of TV-collecting activity, in comparison MI was a real hub of TV collecting activity, and even WI had the warci swap meets) I do plan on moving locally, because I want to eventually buy a house rather than renting forever. But for now, I absolutely hate the job I moved here to take, and am desperately trying to find something else.