12 Days of Fun

The past 12 days were fun for me as I got to take one of my road trips. I don't travel as much as Angelo or Ron, but when I travel I pack in the stops. This time I drove my 1989 Caprice 9C1 state trooper car around 3,000 miles and it ran faultlessly, although you do have to watch those "cop car" ABS brakes, which were trouble when new). I left Iola on Feb. 23 and touched base with my old photographer buddy Mike Carbonella on Staten Island. Then I made three stops in Valley Stream, N.Y. Austin Azzeretto, a big Buick collector, runs a Goodyear store in the Green Acres Mall. He tackled a wheel alingment for me and I watched his '34 Ford hot rod being detailed for the Atlantic City Auction. About a mile from Austin's tire store is Corvette Repair, Inc., a famous shop that does Corvette racing cars. After stopping there, Kevin Mackay directed me to an old speed shop nearby, where the man who got him started in Corvettes still fixes 'Vette engines and injection units. What a day! On Wednesday night I scooted down to Atlantic City and I spent the next four days at the auction there. You have already read about some of the doings down there. Sunday I left AC and went to the outskirts of Philly for a next-morning stop at Ragtops & Roadsters, a British restoration shop of note. From there I went up to Eastwood to test some of their new tools and products. Then I headed to Pittsburgh to visit Glassworks/The Hardtop Shop, which I have already blogged about. On the way home I made one stop in Elkhart, Ind., to see a trailer maker. They make a very cool little trailer that breaks down so you can carry it in a minivan. Think about that. You could drive to a swap meet in an economical minivan, but if you find something big that you just have to have, you can assemble the trailer and get it home very cheaply. This trailer is called "Port-A-Chopper" because it comes in motorcycle form, but for swap meets you'd want the utility kit that makes it into a cargo hauler (there's also a boat kit). For info call QC Metal Fab at 1 800 828 1374 or visit www.portachopper.com.