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Saturday, October 31, 2009

Classic Cars

SEARCH BLOG: AUTOMOBILES

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Anyone in this planet could only dream of owning any one of these cars. Please let me introduce two people that restored every one of these cars and still retain ownership to every one, Ted and Sharon (Sunflower) Forbes.

This collection is without a doubt the absolute finest collection of fifties cars in the World.

1956 Ford Skyliner (Glasstop) We restored this car in 1988 from an original car that came from the Indian reservation here on Vancouver Island. It is full power with all options.

1956 Meteor Crown Victoria We restored this car in 1990 and drove it to Ocean Shores Washington for its first drive. It is full power with all accessories except "air".


1955 Meteor Convertible This car is mostly original and it has taken me 28 years to buy it from the original owner. This car spent a good part of its life in Winnipeg. There is probably only about 8 of these cars surviving out of the total production of 201 cars. We have driven this car more last summer than any of our other cars. I rebuilt all the mechanics and added all the accessories and options and it has everything except "air". There is an article on this car in FoMoCo Times

1956 Meteor Convertible Meteors used some Mercury colors in 1956. This 56 Meteor is painted Grove Green and Saffron Yellow with a black lightning bolt and the production numbers are only 479. It is full power with all accessories except "air". She has taken us to Rockin Red Deer in Alberta, Hot August Nights in Reno and many other trips. Because of the color, we call her "Juicy Fruit" and many people have seen this car.

1956 Mercury M-100 Pickup We have driven this truck all over the place from California to Manitoba to Sturgis many times since we bought it in 1978. About 12 years ago I put an Aspen suspension, 302 and AOD in the truck to make it drive better. It has never missed a beat. The next time I rebuild the truck I have a 5 L. for it.

55 Merc Sun Valley. I bought this car from an old ladies estate sale in 1983. It was rust free but pretty banged up with only 26000 miles on it. I added all the options and accessories and restored only as needed keeping the car as original as possible.

56 Mercury Montclair Convertible. This car is one of our favorites. I found what was left of it in the Spokane area and restored and drove it to Hot August Nights in Reno in 1996. It is London Grey and Persimmon with full power and all accessories.

1955 Mercury Convertible I tow barred this car from Southern California in 1989 behind my little Ford short box 302. The 55 was so ugly, not once did anyone give me the "thumbs up". It is now restored Canadian colors, Sunset Coral with matching Tapestry weave interior and Metric speedo, full power and accessory steering wheel. It has only 530 miles on it because we mostly drive the 56 Mercury convertible.

1958 Pontiac Parisienne Convertible. I built this car out of a super basket case. I welded 6 months on this car alone. It is a 348 tri-power, bucket seats and with practically every factory and dealer option available in 1958. We drove this car to Hot August Nights in 2004.


The 64 Park Lane convertible is a good old 78,000 mile car, with all good parts to restore it. It is a full power, bucket seat car with super marauder engine and rare 15" wheels. I have cast iron headers and tri-power for it.

1958 Mercury Convertible I looked for one of these cars for about 10 years and finally got this one from John Fowlie in Calif. We restored it with a 430, full power with memory seat and everything and it is big. I was able to find a lot of NOS parts for this car probably because not many of these cars are being restored. Mostly 57's.

When I found the 59 Impala it was a rust bucket folded up on a 8 ft pallet. The car had no interior or power train. It was originally a black Canadian built car. I have installed a 1995 LT-1 fuel injected engine with 700R4 trans but when finished this car will look like it was built this way from the factory(I hope). It is going to be the usual cruiser with fender skirts, full continental kit, spotlights and so on. It is presently 70% finished but will probably be finished for next spring.

This 1959 Edsel Convertible is the latest addition to the Mountaintop Collection. Of course it goes without saying, this machine has full power options and has been meticulously restored under the skilled hands of Ted Forbes. Another beautiful contribution to an already stunning collection. Congrats Guys!

I suppose in 50 years someone will get excited about restoring these government-favored vehicles... I just can't imagine who.




2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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CO2 Cap and Trade

There is always an easy solution to every human problem—neat, plausible, and wrong.
Henry Louis Mencken (1880–1956)
“The Divine Afflatus,” A Mencken Chrestomathy, chapter 25, p. 443 (1949)
... and one could add "not all human problems really are."
It was beautiful and simple, as truly great swindles are.
- O. Henry
... The Government is on course for an embarrassing showdown with the European Union, business groups and environmental charities after refusing to guarantee that billions of pounds of revenue it stands to earn from carbon-permit trading will be spent on combating climate change.
The Independent (UK)

Tracking Interest Rates

Tracking Interest Rates

FEDERAL RESERVE & HOUSING

SEARCH BLOG: FEDERAL RESERVE for full versions... or use the Blog Archive pulldown menu.

February 3, 2006 Go back to 1999-2000 and see what the Fed did. They are following the same pattern for 2005-06. If it ain't broke, the Fed will fix it... and good!
August 29, 2006 The Federal Reserve always acts on old information... and is the only cause of U.S. recessions.
December 5, 2006 Last spring I wrote about what I saw to be a sharp downturn in the economy in the "rustbelt" states, particularly Michigan.
March 28, 2007
The Federal Reserve sees no need to cut interest rates in the light of adverse recent economic data, Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday.
The Fed chairman said ”to date, the incoming data have supported the view that the current stance of policy is likely to foster sustainable economic growth and a gradual ebbing in core inflation”.

July 21, 2007 My guess is that if there is an interest rate change, a cut is more likely than an increase. The key variables to be watching at this point are real estate prices and the inventory of unsold homes.
August 11, 2007 I suspect that within 6 months the Federal Reserve will be forced to lower interest rates before housing becomes a black hole.
September 11, 2007 It only means that the overall process has flaws guaranteeing it will be slow in responding to changes in the economy... and tend to over-react as a result.
September 18, 2007 I think a 4% rate is really what is needed to turn the economy back on the right course. The rate may not get there, but more cuts will be needed with employment rates down and foreclosure rates up.
October 25, 2007 How long will it be before I will be able to write: "The Federal Reserve lowered its lending rate to 4% in response to the collapse of the U.S. housing market and massive numbers of foreclosures that threaten the banking and mortgage sectors."
November 28, 2007 FED VICE CHAIRMAN DONALD KOHN
"Should the elevated turbulence persist, it would increase the possibility of further tightening in financial conditions for households and businesses," he said.

"Uncertainties about the economic outlook are unusually high right now," he said. "These uncertainties require flexible and pragmatic policymaking -- nimble is the adjective I used a few weeks ago."
http://www.reuters.com/

December 11, 2007 Somehow the Fed misses the obvious.
fed_rate_moves_425_small.gif
[Image from: CNNMoney.com]
December 13, 2007 [from The Christian Science Monitor]
"The odds of a recession are now above 50 percent," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "We are right on the edge of a recession in part because of the Fed's reluctance to reduce interest rates more aggressively." [see my comments of September 11]
January 7, 2008 The real problem now is that consumers can't rescue the economy and manufacturing, which is already weakening, will continue to weaken. We've gutted the forces that could avoid a downturn. The question is not whether there will be a recession, but can it be dampened sufficiently so that it is very short.
January 11, 2008 This is death by a thousand cuts.
January 13, 2008 [N.Y. Times]
“The question is not whether we will have a recession, but how deep and prolonged it will be,” said David Rosenberg, the chief North American economist at Merrill Lynch. “Even if the Fed’s moves are going to work, it will not show up until the later part of 2008 or 2009.”
January 17, 2008 A few days ago, Anna Schwartz, nonagenarian economist, implicated the Federal Reserve as the cause of the present lending crisis [from the Telegraph - UK]:
The high priestess of US monetarism - a revered figure at the Fed - says the central bank is itself the chief cause of the credit bubble, and now seems stunned as the consequences of its own actions engulf the financial system. "The new group at the Fed is not equal to the problem that faces it," she says, daring to utter a thought that fellow critics mostly utter sotto voce.
January 22, 2008 The cut has become infected and a limb is in danger. Ben Bernanke is panicking and the Fed has its emergency triage team cutting rates... this time by 3/4%. ...

What should the Federal Reserve do now? Step back... and don't be so anxious to raise rates at the first sign of economic improvement.
Individuals and businesses need stability in their financial cost structures so that they can plan effectively and keep their ships afloat. Wildly fluctuating rates... regardless of what the absolute levels are... create problems. Either too much spending or too much fear. It's just not that difficult to comprehend. Why has it been so difficult for the Fed?

About Me

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Michigan, United States
Air Force (SAC) captain 1968-72. Retired after 35 years of business and logistical planning, including running a small business. Two sons with advanced degrees; one with a business and pre-law degree. Beautiful wife who has put up with me for 4 decades. Education: B.A. (Sociology major; minors in philosopy, English literature, and German) M.S. Operations Management (like a mixture of an MBA with logistical planning)