Norm's Coupe

Personally, I like the 1/24th or 1/25th scale models the best. They are large enough to get good detail and small enough that they don't take up much shelf space. That said, when determining this, don't go by what I like. I've more or less stop collecting models (ran out of room for them:)), so I probably wouldn't be buying one anyway.

Shel, You have a good point. However, I would do it the way my son use to store his completely restored 80 Firebird before he was able to get it in his regular garage. He used the tent for about 3 years to store that car with no problems. All he did was lay a tarp down over the ground, then 3/4" plywood on top of the tarp. He then put the car on jack stands. No ill effects at all to the car. Stayed nice and dry in there. But.........that's all a moot point for me since I can't get the car into the yard anyway.

It's best not to mount the buffer or grinder on a bench. That will usually limit you in the size of item buffing and make a mess on the bench. Best to either make a stand or buy one so you can move the buffer or grinder out into an open space to do larger items.

Looks like you've been busy. Now I won't know your car from the others with the primer on it. Brother in law said he was following a gold colored D24 coupe a few weeks ago in his 38 Ford Coupe. Said he had driven over to the car show on Layton Ave. Told him that was probably you in the gold dodge. Don't know of any others around here. I've been doing a little body work myself on my coupe (finally). I'm only touching up the old paint though with the same color for now. Not quite a perfect match since the old paint is faded, but good enough until I get done. Won't paint the whole car though. Will take it over to Maaco for a cheapie paint job when finished with the touch up.

Tim, I've read about the Tennessee/Georgia battle over that water along the border. Almost sounds like the battle of the Great Lakes. It's controlled by the states and Canada that border them. Using Lake Michigan as an example. By the rules set up with water usage, only those counties bordering the lake can draw water from it. If a county away from the lake wants to use that water, it has to be approved by the commission that governs the lakes. For example, Milwaukee county had to get approval to sell water to our neighboring Waukesha county when a few of those cities in Waukesha county wanted to draw water from the lake. It's also against the rules to sell water to other states outside the lakes borders. For example, we can't sell water to Iowa or any other state for their use. Seems as though water has become a big commodity, just like oil. With all the flooding you guys got, hopefully, it will solve some of your drought problems down there. At least there would be some good to the bad flooding that way.

Thanks guys. Don, haven't looked at the listing to see who is the top poster lately. Last I looked Tim was well behind you. You'll have to pull ahead again now to win the race. As for the coupe, yes as of now it will reside outside for the winter. Having a problem finding reasonable storage that's close to home for now. Did find one reasonable place near me, but my insurance company won't cover the car while its there. Anyone storing a car better check with their insurance company before doing so. The place I found gang parks the cars in one large garage/barn. My insurance company says it will only cover the car when it's parked in it's own space divided by walls. So........that storage place is out. My son offered to give me his tent garage. Have lots of room to put that up in the back yard. Only problem is, if I do that I have to drive over the wife's flower gardens to get the car in and out of the yard. Checked out car covers too, but they are also out of the question until I get the car repainted. I called the makers of two of the leading brands of car covers. Was told the snow, etc. would not harm the covers and would not cause any problems with moisture staying under cover, so that was good. But.......the bad part is, I still have the old lacquer paint on the car now. Was told if I used one of their covers, the weight of the cover could cause the cover to leave the pattern of the cover in the paint because lacquer paint stays soft to some degree. The covers do not do that with the modern paints, or enamel. So........it will sit out uncovered like any other car this winter. I'll just have to keep the snow cleaned off as it snows. Fred, can't park the car in the street around my neighborhood. There is no overnight parking allowed, you'll get a ticket if you do. Wouldn't want to park it out there anyway. It's no big problem in the driveway. It's a double wide driveway and I just go around it. As for the flying statements. I use to like to fly myself. Did a lot of flying from 1968 to about 1989 for business and pleasure. Always felt it was the only way to travel due to getting someplace fast. But.....I agree with you guys about flying today, it's a real pain. Not only are you stuck sitting in some airport for hours with nothing to do, but you don't even get anything to eat while on the plane, except maybe a cookie or a bag of peanuts. Back when I was doing all of my flying around, we use to get a full breakfast consisting of eggs, sausage/bacon, toast, hash browns and coffee on a one hour flight. On that same one hour flight in late afternoon, a nice steak dinner was served. If on a flight over the lunch hour, would get a nice sandwich, chips, fruit, etc., plus a drink. All included in the price of your ticket in coach class. Today, if you want some water, you have to pay for it extra.

Thanks James and to the others as well. I agree, you don't have to work on the car yourself to have fun in the hobby. But.....we do have to know a little about them, or should want to learn about how they operate, even if we don't work on them. Just like any other endeavor we me may take on. Am I enjoying the new car? I would say yes. That said, it doesn't get much use either. Bought it about one month ago. Since then I've put 540 miles on it, and about 370 of those miles were put on for two day trips the wife I made. Gets great gas mileage. I'm only on my first fillup (dealer filled it up when purchased) that I paid for and still have a little over half a tank left. It's been getting about 32 MPG combined city and highway driving. Not bad for a mid to full sized car with lots of room in it. Even Coatney would fit behind the wheel comfortably. Also on the plus side is that I now drive the coupe more often. That's because I now park it out of the garage and the new car in it's place in the garage. So.......now it's easier to hop in the coupe and drive it. Wife said she'll stay with driving her own car for now, as she doesn't want to be the one who gets the first ding in the new car. So........she still has not driven it since we bought it. Only time she drove it was for a short way on the test drive before we bought it.

I'm not so sure about that. If you read Tod's reply that explains (answers your original question) how it works, you would have realized that at the most, you probably only needed a new spring, instead of the whole heat riser kit. That's because if the flapper door is moving freely in the manifold, there is nothing wrong with that part. The spring is all that makes that work as Tod mentioned in his post to you. That same information is also on the main site in the reference section, and it's also in the service manual I mentioned you should buy. So.........since your mechanic is doing all the work, I would just give him the new spring from the kit and keep the rest of the kit for some future date, if needed. I would also print off those instructions on how to install it and give those to the mechanic. If he didn't know the proper name for the riser either, it tells me hasn't got a clue as to how to set it up either. And, that would tell me I should buy the service manual for the mechanic to use, or find another mechanic that knows how to work on old engines without the use of a computer. Otherwise, you are going to end up wasting not only time, but also a lot more money, and still not have the engine running correctly.

If you had wasted a little time and read all the post, then called those people that were given to you, you would have found the heat riser for about half the price you say you paid. Granted, someone said they were out of stock for now. But..........again, if you had taken the time to talk to the vendor listed, you'd also find out they make those heat riser kits. They probably won't make anymore until they get an order though. I know this particular place makes them because they told me so when I ordered mine a few years back. I found that out by wasting time and asking the vendor questions when I ordered the kit. I'm not going to repeat the vendors name again because that would be a waste of time since you already paid twice as much, and don't need another one. As for calling the Heat Riser or any other part the wrong name because you don't know the real name. That will also get you in trouble when trying to order something because the parts vendor may not understand what you mean. So...........AGAIN, BUY A SERVICE MANUAL AND A PARTS BOOK. Then you can find the part in one of those books and use the proper name when requesting help or ordering new parts. It's called educating one's self when they don't know something. Now, if you don't have time to waste on that, I have to think you really aren't all that interested in this hobby anyway. AND, that's why I have not responded to any of your post since the first one or two you made. It's a waste of my time and everyone else to answer questions when you are not going to read and follow up on their answers. I've been on this forum since it was first started (within a day or two of it's start) back in the 90's. I've never heard one person on here that ever said it's a waste of their time to read and follow up on an answer in all that time. I also have not met or ever read a mean thing anyone said on this forum. What you might think is mean, is usually just banter. A little banter here and there among individuals breaks the ho hum and adds a little fun between the guys. It's nice to have a little sense of humor in anything we do, including work and hobbies. Now, if you have no sense of humor, or don't like the banter, just ignore that part and use the real answer to the question to your benefit, like I do and others do. Now, if you want to write a little note to GTK and complain about this post, go right ahead. I really don't care if he warns me, bans me from the forum or deletes this post, because I think I only posted what everyone else is reluctant to post. You can also add me or anyone else who you don't like replying or reading their post by simply putting me or the others on your ignore list. But.........if you do that I'm afraid it won't be long before you have all the regulars on your ignore list. Then you won't see any of their reply's and will have to wait that much longer for a reply to your question. Certain people have made postings as to "Where's Norm's Coupe"? That's because we also have concern for people. We've also made other similar post when someone doesn't post for awhile. They are people who we've met in person when traveling or simply from posting on the forum. May not be car related directly, but...........it shows a little concern for those people. And, I want to thank those again for that concern who have sent me PM's asking. Sorry Gerald, I couldn't sit back and read anymore of this without saying something about it. There are no mean spirit people on here that I know of. After all, the people on here are all part of a good group trying to help one another. May not be an official club like the Pilot House, but close. People in a club may not like what one says from time to time, but they also have some respect for one another because they are in that club. When someone says "it's a waste of my time" reading a reply, it shows they don't respect the answers, or those who answered, so.......why should others waste their time answering. So.........now everyone knows "Where's Norm's Coupe". He's right here. That is, unless GTK wants to ban him. He's just been "Lurking" since 9/4. Will get off my soap box and turn it over to someone else now.

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Our deepest sympathies go out to you John for your loss. You are so right about taking retirement to enjoy each others company. My older brother just passed away July 15th. Became ill the end of April and spent from beginning of May until he died in the hospital. Was only 66. He could have retired last year, but........he said he wanted to keep working as long as he was able to. Said he'd miss getting up and going to work each day. So, he too missed out by not retiring when he could have. You are so right about enjoying each others company. That's why my wife and I try to take trips, etc. each year, since 1989, regardless of what else is going on around us. That way we'll always have memories. I'm sure you have many memories of your own too. As mentioned, those will always be there for you.

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