Out for a spin.

[ew1usnr]

The temperature this morning was 59 degrees and there was a heavy overcast with a slight rain. I took I-275 south to I-4 and drove east at 65 mph to visit Dinosaur World in Plant City. It is a tourist attraction that is alongside I-4 about 20 miles east of Tampa.
See: http://dinosaurworld.com/florida/

The park had not opened yet when I got there and I took this picture at the front gate.
Dinosaur World Entance.JPG


Shortly there after, a girl showed up and unlocked the gate. I didn't actually go into the park. I just wanted to take pictures at the front gate and in the parking lot.
Triceratops.JPG

Brontosauri.JPG

There is also a winery near there that is famous for their blueberry wine. See: http://keelandcurleywinery.com/ Going home I took I-4 west and then I-75 north. The Falcon ran great.
Winery.JPG

[ew1usnr]

I had today off for Veteran's day and and the Florida state parks also had free admission today. So we added another 100 miles to the odometer and visited Weeki Wachee Springs. It used to be a famous privately owned tourist attraction, but it was a casualty to Disney World. The State bought it in 2001 to protect the natural and historical resource and now they operate it as a State Park. See: http://www.floridastateparks.org/weekiwachee/

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It is a natural spring that has a viewing area with glass windows that let you see an underwater mermaid show. There are not many places where you can see a similar show.
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On the way back home we stopped by Salt Spring State park. It was my first time there. They have a nature trail that leads back to several springs.

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Happy Veterans Day!
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[ew1usnr]

I just looked a the weather forecast for Rainier, WA and was surprised to see that your temperatures are very similar to what we are having in Tampa right now. Tomorrow we will have a high of 65 and a low of 48.

I have been using my Falcon as a daily driver and have been driving to work everyday, but try to avoid driving it in the rain. This past Monday fooled me, though. The forecast was for a 20% chance of rain, but it started drizzling as I drove in to work, it drizzled off and on all day, and it turned into a light rain that evening. It was cloudy, raining, and the the temperature had dropped to 50 degrees by the time I got off work. It was an uninspiring day.

But, ... it gave me an opportunity to try all my car's comfort and convenience features. I flipped on the wipers and my new wiper arms and wiper blades kept the windshield clear. The heater that I had flushed with a garden hose warmed the interior up nice and toasty. The windshield began to fog up and I pulled out the defroster knob and turned the fan on with the new fan switch. The mist evaporated and the windshield cleared. Bob Marley was playing through my AM radio from the FM converter and cigarette-lighter MP3 player and out my new dashboard speaker:

"One ting about music,
when it hits you,
You feel no pain"

And I was appreciating that while it was a miserable day outside, all the Falcon's features were properly functioning to keep me warm and comfortable, with a clean windshield, and listening to music. Very nice.

Cold driving is old fashioned.jpg

Bob Marley would have said: "Everyting is irie, mon."
(Irie: to be at total peace with your current state of being. The way you feel when you have no worries.)

The Suncoast Falcons got together this past Saturday for a Christmas dinner and to elect officers (see attached pictures). I accepted a nomination for "Junior Director" and it was approved by a show of hands. I am a club officer now!

Meeting f.jpg

Garage.jpg

David Wagner's Sprint F.jpg

In gargae wf.jpg

The little red car is a 1966 Sunbeam Tiger that belongs to a club member. It has its original Challenger 260 engine complete with a generator and period correct 13-inch wheels. Look at the low-profile air cleaner.
Tiger RS.jpg

[dhbfaster]

Nice...congrats on your new position.
They recently had an episode on Overhaulin about a Sunbeam tiger project...it really looks like a neat car. Simple, very light, a little British style, but a Ford V8. Gotta love it! I've been thinking maybe it's my next project after the 57 T-Bird, and 60-Ford truck like my Dad had, and, and, and...

[Jeff W]

Yes... Congratulations! What does a Junior Director do? Maybe we need one in the Rainier Group.

[ew1usnr]

Congratulations! What does a Junior Director do?

Hello, Jeff.

When I was nominated I asked "What does a Junior Director do?".
They said "not much".
The club e-mailed me the by-laws and this is what they said:

"The Junior Director shall chair the membership committee and be responsible for the election process of officers and chair the nominating committee."

"A nominating committee chaired by the Junior Director, consisting of three (3) members in good standing will meet in the month of September. The committee will propose a slate of officer candidates with at least one member for each office and preferably more. This slate of candidates will be given to the Secretary by September 30."

That does not sound too complicated.

This is a non-Falcon photo that I was impressed with. Check out the dash board of a 1954 Mercury. My gosh! Look at all the knobs and gauges. That was really something.

1954 Mercury.JPG

[Luva65wagon]

"The Junior Director shall chair the membership committee and be responsible for the election process of officers and chair the nominating committee."

Oh! We definitely need one of these!

[ew1usnr]

Happy 2015, everyone!

I've been keeping track of my miles.
I bought the car in July 2012. There was a lot of stuff to fix and I only put 291 miles on it that first year.
In 2013 I did better and added 3,999 miles.
In 2014 I broke my previous record and added 4,280 miles.
For 2015 I resolve to break 5,000!

I have about 8,500 miles on a rebuilt engine and transmission that should both be good for another 120,000. I am 53 now, so at 5,000 miles per year that will take me until I am 77 years old! I gotta get moving!

The Wonder Falcon is performing like a little sports car and it puts a big smile on my face every time I take it out. I filled it up with $2.09 gasoline this evening while coming home from work and three people asked me what year it was and told me that they liked it. That car is more fun than should be legal.

Thanks, all, Dennis.

Vintage.jpg

[dhbfaster]

WoW! That's a lot of miles for a classic! I think I can say we've all enjoyed riding along with you.
Good luck on your goal for 2015!
My goal....at least one mile!!

[doghows]

You go Dennis!! Since I've had the delivery on the road (about a year) I've racked up just shy of 5000 miles on mine. I drive it every chance I get with my longest trip about 400 miles round trip.
I think you could bust that record if you plan a trip out here for the mini regional next spring/summer. Now that would be some miles!!

[doghows]

Oh yes Happy New Year everyone.

[ew1usnr]

The morning temperature was 52° and clear with no rain and I drove my Falcon to work. I noticed a few minor glitches.
The car stalled after I had pulled out of my driveway.
The windshield became badly fogged and using the defroster made it worse.
The driver’s door had become difficult to unlatch from the inside and I needed to pull up sharply on the handle to open the door.
Hmmm.

1. After lunch I went out and started the engine and sped the fast idle up from 600 to 800 rpm in Park to minimize the cold stall potential.
2. After getting home I worked the door handle up and down and noticed that the latch wobbled. I found that the crosshead screw below the latch on the trailing edge of the driver’s door was loose. The picture shows the loose screw above the left top edge of the specification plate. I tightened the screw and the door opened properly. Yay!

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3. I cleaned the inside of the windshield with "Invisible Glass" glass cleaner. Hopefully, that will take care of the foggy glass.

We are getting hit by some kind of polar vortex this evening. Tomorrow morning is forecast to be 39 degrees, clear, with no chance of rain. Perfect! I'll get to try out my corrected door, see how the engine responds to a cold temperature, and I'll get to run my heater and see if the windshield still fogs up.

As a side note: While driving home this afternoon, traffic was stopping for a red light and a guy was trying to pull out into the street from the right. I was on the inside lane, but I slowed down and waved at him to enter in front of me. He waved back for me to go first. Wanting to get out of his way, I punched the gas and ...... my tires squealed! On dry pavement, and without even meaning to, I spun my tires! Yea! I have about 8,000 miles on the rebuilt Challenger 260 engine, and as it loosens up it just keeps performing better and better.

[Luva65wagon]

The windshield became badly fogged and using the defroster made it worse.

Your heater core may be beginning to fail and blowing steam onto the windshield. If it keeps happening, you may wanna take a peek at that.

[SmithKid]

Another tell for a leaking heater core is if the carpet is damp under the heater box.

[Luva65wagon]

The first tell, long before it leaks on the floor, will be steamed windshields that don't defog. Plus if you have antifreeze (in Florida people may think they don't need it - I don't know...) it has a sweet smell in the cabin and leaves a film on the glass.

Stay warm down there. Seeing posts on the truck forum about very cold temps down south.