Seniors Visiting Mexico

On February 17th I wrote an article "Driving Your Vehicle into Mexico". I expounded upon buying Mexican insurance and what you could or couldn’t take into or bring out of Mexico—all essentially true. However, I wasn’t prepared for some of the sights we saw. First, there was no check at all on what we took into Mexico and not much on the way out, except for the passport. I am not advocating trying to sneak things into or out of Mexico, just stating our experience.
Second, the constant presence of the militia was a bit disconcerting. Hummer after hummer passed us by filled with, what looked like teen-agers, brandishing automatic weapons. The sound of sirens was almost constant around our luxurious resort. Our desk clerk told us that a year ago, it was a bit dangerous around the area, but this year not so bad.
Next, I was a bit shocked at the poverty and squalor we witnessed around Tijuana. It sort of made me feel guilty that we were spending unnecessarily and all these people were living in such obvious poverty. Many are living on the street or, by our standards, in unlivable conditions. Many of the homes are unfinished. The explanation I received was that they don’t pay taxes on unfinished properties, so they never finish.
However, in spite of these unfavorable things, we had a wonderful time; the local population was extremely friendly and helpful. We have decided that we would like to return to the area. After all, we celebrated my wife’s birthday at a local restaurant and our server made us "promise" to come back for her next birthday. Perhaps we will.

Auto Restoration Continued

Soon after moving to California, our youngest child started school and my wife began to be restless with no kids in the house. She soon found a job and a second car became a necessity. I found a small car that would fill that requirement, plus it met my criteria for restoration. It was a 1959 Nash Metropolitan hardtop coupe. The body appeared to be solid, although there were signs of body putty, and the interior was in poor condition. The little Nash had an American style body over an English Austin engine and running gear.
My restoration project never got off the ground but it provided me with good economical transportation. I commuted from Camarillo to Oxnard, CA until I decided to retire from the electronics field. The little Metro made several trips between Camarillo and Burns, OR, where we had decided to return to our roots. The Metro was used for second car In Burns until the engine finally died. Again my restoration project faded into obscurity.

Several years later my career led me back to Maryland. Again, the old tow bar came out and the Metro was towed to Maryland where it sat in our driveway for several years The Metro was finally sold several years later to a 16-year old boy in Maryland who promised me he would let me see the restored car. Although I never saw it again, I hope he was more successful than I was. Perhaps it has joined the large contingent of restored Nash Metropolitans in the US.

Auto Restoration

Did you ever attempt restoration of an old car? What seems like a romantic project can often turn into a nightmare or at least a non-project. Twice I have been smitten with this malady and twice I tested my wife’s patience.
My first restoration project was a 1940 Chevrolet, four-door sedan—probably not the most desirable project. The old Chevy seemed to be in pretty good shape-good solid body. It didn’t appear to have ever been wrecked. The interior was original and in fair shape. But, the engine needed some work. It had a bad connecting rod. I tore the engine down to see what it needed and went to the nearest Chevrolet parts department. Surprisingly, they still carried the needed parts. I put the engine together and started it up. It purred like a kitten.
My employer then transferred me to California. So I purchased a tow bar and headed for California. The experts say you cannot tow that model without disconnecting the drive line. In my wisdom, I decided to attempt it because the driveline was the old enclosed type and rather involved to disconnect. All went well from Maryland to Needles, California. There, my son said "Dad, it sounds like the Chevy is running." I stopped and found that the transmission had seized up and indeed the engine was "running". At least it was turning over as we rolled. I then got to crawl under and disconnect the driveline. If you have ever been to Needles in midsummer, you know how hot it can be. I lay under the car on several layers of blanket to keep from burning my back on the hot pavement. After I disconnected the driveline, we continued on to California. The Chevy sat in our garage and gathered dust for the four years we lived in California. It was finally sold to some other dreamer and I purchased another dream car. I'll tell you about that one at another time.