The Pony Car Project- Old Is New Again.

It has been a long time since I posted anything about new work being performed on the Pony car. After my accident last March, it was difficult to do much and work on the Pony car ceased until I was able to be more mobile. 

My Pony car is a 1990 Mustang GT. From 1987-1993, the GT models used a taillight with painted "louvers" and strips of visible lens. Amongst Mustang people, this style was often referred to as the "cheese grater". If someone wanted to be original, this was the taillight to have. The "cheese grater" style was not real popular and now replacement parts are very hard to find. Many changed their taillights to the taillights from the Mustang LX model. This was a much simpler looking taillight.

 These aftermarket taillights are often referred to as"Euro" style. They are round lenses with chromed sculpted bezels covered with a clear cover. This style can be seen as OEM taillights on a lot of newer cars now. One of the previous owners changed the taillights to these aftermarket lights. At first I thought I would like them, but they got old after a while. Also, one lens cover came loose and I needed to glue it back on. Plus, they did not fit on the car real good and there were gaps between them and the body sheetmetal.

  I found these taillights on Ebay and after negotiating with the seller I got a good deal. They were shipped from his business in Ohio last week.These new/old taillights are from a 1986 GT. The Mustang LX taillights are similar except the amber lens section was clear in 1987-1993. I like this look. Furthermore, this style of lens was brought back in 1993 and used on the Mustang Cobra and Cobra-R models. The only difference in 1993 was the addition of a couple of horizontal thin black stripes in each lens section. I can buy those lenses if I want this car to look more like a !993 Cobra.  I would suppose that some people could be critical that I am not maintaining the stock nature of my Mustang. That is not my goal as this car has been far from stock for a long time! 

And everything lights up! There seems to be more light emitted then the old "Euro" style taillights.

Duwamish Head Race-The Race That Wasn't ...Again!

The Duwamish Head Race is the second race of the four race South Sound Series. This race is sponsored by Three Tree Point Yacht Club and starts at the Des Moines Marina breakwater.The course this year was to be raced in the opposite direction from previous years.  After the start, the course then heads north around Blakely Rocks east across Puget Sound into Elliott Bay, around the Duwamish Head light (leaving them to starboard). After rounding Duwamish Head light, the course continues south to the finish off the Des Moines Marina breakwater. The total length is 30.8 NM. Even though this race is run in the middle of the winter, the winds are often light and the course has been shortened at the Duwamish Head mark several times since I started racing it.

I was underway at 0745 for the delivery to Des Moines. The wind was very calm and there were some patches of fog. The fog was especially thick between Manchester and Blake Island. I arrived at the Des Moines Marina at about 1110. And tied up in my usual spot. The sun came out and I opted to walk uptown and explore. I especially wanted to find a used book/DVD store as I have been looking for a specific DVD. I found the store location, but it was gone and the building red flagged. I checked on my smart phone and found another location for the store. But after I retraced my steps several blocks, I found the strip mall was almost entirely vacant and no used book/DVD store. Poor Des Moines seems to be withering away.

Saturday morning Jim, Tim and Tom arrived at 0645 to pick me up for breakfast. We could only find two places in Des Moines that offered breakfast, so we went to a small cafe where I had eaten breakfast before only to find that it did not open until 0800, too late for us. We then chose the alternate location: Jack In The Box.

After breakfast, the rest of the crew arrived, we rigged the boat and headed out to the starting area. There was no wind. We idled around for about an hour and a half when the race committee canceled the race at about 1100. It is funny that a year ago, this race was cancelled for exactly the opposite conditions, too much wind: Duwamish Head Race-The Race That Wasn't I don't think anyone was upset about the decision to cancel the race. There was another sporting event later that day and many wanted to get home to their television sets.

After unrigging the boat and dropping the crew off on the dock, I "raced" another boat back to Brownsville. The other boat is much larger than mine and motors much faster. But practiced my current evasion techniques and course selection and arrived back at Brownsville by 1420 ahead of the faster boat by a few minutes. I was home in plenty of time to watch the Seahawks game on TV.

Thanks to my crew of Jim, Tom, Tim, Rainer, Walter and Kathleen for showing up and drifting around for a while.

 Moored in Des Moines in my usual location.

 Race morning. There was no wind. Surprisingly, it was warm.

No wind. we did not even try to put the sails up.

New Years Day 2015 Car Show At Shari's And The Brownsville Marina Polar Plunge

On New Years Day, I was up at my usual 0600. After breakfast and taking care of some house work, I watched the coverage of the Rose Parade for a while and then went to the Sharis Restaurant New Years Day Car Show. This is similar to the Tuesday evening shows that are run during the spring and summer. It was a very cool but sunny morning. The temperature was about 27 when I left the house and I had to scrape ice off of the windows of the Mustang.  There were a lot of cars, as many or more than in the Summer. There were so many that the event overflowed into the parking lot beyond Taco Bell. There were a lot of cars that I had not seen before and it appeared that some groups came from out of town. The Mustang club was out in force as was a Camaro group and a Corvair club. I ran into some old friends there too. It was a great day for a car show, the temp was cool, but the sun kept everyone warm.

 I used to have a Datsun pick up like this, but without the V8 engine, louvers,flames, big slicks on back, big tubs in the bed, etc...  This was a very well done custom.

 Not your normal street car.

 Nice rat rod! Rat truck?

 The sunny skies brought lots of cars and people out.

 A new 2015 Ford Mustang GT. Very nice!

  The sunny skies brought lots of cars and people out.

 A very nice coupe.

After I went to the car show, I went to the Brownsville Marina where the annual Brownsville Polar Plunge occurs.

 I suppose appropriate apparel is required.

 Five hearty souls lined up for the noon plunge.

 And there they go!

 A quick dip....

And a hasty retreat.