silverado update #3 , and what I did on my day off . . .

So my Friday started pretty normal . Actually it was kind of exciting because my new rims from Cragar arrived and I was on my way to have them put on at the local Tire Depot over on Adams Avenue . Good guys and fair priced tire work . Anyhow . . .

I get to the tire shop and this guy pulls up . All the tire guys start up with , Oh yeah I see , you need a new set of tires , etc etc . I guess the trailer needed a tire filled up or something , but oh man . I didn't ask why t hey were transporting this mess but it was creepy .

A few years back there was this drag racing accident down on Imperial avenue and a few kids died in this car . It gave me goose bumps looking at it . I felt like it was going to ruin my day through bad juju magic , but as it turned out , my rims were going on fine and there were no foreseeable problems to mess me up . I even went for a walk to Starbuck's ( yeah I know ) for my favorite iced sweet black tea .

When he gets to the back rims he figures out that we need a 1/4 spacer because the rear drum is kind of dished and the center of the rim isn't seating . As he's telling me this his buddy tells him , wait I have a set of spacers that will fit in there , one sec . Sure enough he does and they do and the rims start going on again , no problems .

I decide when we're all done and back on the road that what I need is a delicious bean & cheese down at Sombrero's in Golden Hill . It's a really nice day and i have new kicks on the truck so I'm taking my time and letting people go in front of me and stuff , because you know it's a nice day and I'm feeling it . I order my deal at the restaurant and what do I see on the receipt . . . .

Booyah . Could it be that mother nature is trying to fuck me up somehow ?!?! No way . I don't believe in any mystical sky gods , and certainly don't believe in center of the earth fire monster dudes , I'll take that challenge . I say thank you and load up on the hot carrots and go on my way .

By the way , for those of you who would like to enjoy this demonic delight, it's a bean & cheese burrito with rice inside , and a cheese quesadilla . Comes out to $6.66 . Good times .

I realize that I need to gas up and shoot over to the 7-11 for $30 of regular and then get back on the road home to chomp on my snack . This is where the paradox of timing starts to fuck with me .

Old lady #1 & old girlfriend shopping buddy ( clearly not from here ) scooting up on her stop sign , decides to go for it at the last minute . I'm watching her so naturally I lay back and let her get lost right in front of me for a whole block of slowing down and speeding up . Whatever , She's probably from Rancho Bernardo and never been to the " ghetto " before , but she's seen on the news that it's a really neat community and there is great kitchy shops to check out if you don't mind mexicans or scary tattooed people with mustaches & tight pants . . .

Old dude #2 pulls the same shit on me even closer but I decide to lay on the " stupid horn " and let him know he almost got crushed by a big ass truck .

He flaps his hand around at me as if to say sorry , I'm old and mostly blind . I throw my hands up as if to say " what the fuck , old blind dude " and he flips me the bird ! At this point I start laughing out loud . ( that's LOL for you internet only folks ) . Seriously , old dude . You cut me off and then flip me off because I point it out to you ? I take my foot off the gas and let him wander home and as he's making a left in front of me and I go by him , I hear him yelling at me about this or that . I give him the patented " thumbs down " maneuver followed quickly by the " oh and , fuck you too " hand signal .

After that it was smooth sailing all the way home to enjoy my satanic meal and watch a few episodes of cops with a tall glass of ice cold sweet tea . I dare life to fuck with me any more today . I might have to get out of the hot tub later on to slap the shit out of someone if I don't get a little driver's respect in my own damn neighborhood ! Come on people , it's Friday . Slow down and get home alive . Have some ice cream or something . Just leave me out of your problems cause I feel good , my truck looks good and I don't have time today for this mess !

Sneak peek . . .

It's that time again.....

Silverado update #2

14 inch rims don't fit over my calipers , so these rims are a no-go and are currently for sale .

Okay enough of that sad shit . Silverado update # 1

So my buddy Dave who a few posts back was going to put a set of Cragars on his 60's Dodge wagon ran into some trouble with them and decided to bail on the idea . Bad for him , good for me .

He made me a pretty fair deal & I got the set of NOS never mounted late 70's Cragars for a decent price and aside from a little road rash due to idiot shippers , and one dummy trying to take out a small dent with a large crescent wrench that was incurred due to said idiot shippers . . . they are mint .

14 X 6 , chrome is prefect and they came in the original boxes with the original booklet and a set of NOS hubcaps . It shows you how to mount them and this and that . You know , neat old shit .

The Tru Spokes will be for sale as soon as I get the Cragars mounted , so keep an eye out .

I also realized that I need to lower it in the back , like 2 more inches to get it to sit right . That will mean it needs to be notched , so that will be sometime down the line after I redo the exhaust . . .

The fun never ends !

These are now for sale , let me know when you want to come get them !

His name is Astro

We got him when Amy moved into my house that I was renting back in 1994 . We had been dating for a while and she was always talking about how she wanted a little chihuahua . I told her that we would get one if and when she ever moved in , and when she eventually did , we did .

Our good friend Matt found an add in the reader for a family that was breeding chihuahua puppies and we called them , to find out that they had one left , and we decided to go see him . They told us that if we didn't take him home that they would probably keep him because he was snow white and they had never seen an all white chihuahua before . That and he was very friendly and all around awesome .

We tried to think of a good name for him and did the whole " let's wait and let the name come to us " deal . It never did , until our friends Amy Lu & Bob met him and decided that Astro ( of the Jetsons fame ) seemed to fit his personality , and so it was .

He's been to Palm Springs and helped me get drunk . . .

then he took care of Amy when she was hung over .

He could rock a pink polo shirt and make it look good .

He helped remodel our kitchen .

He would yell at babies .

Then he would plant one right on the mouth . He was very big in Japan .

He had a pro model .

He enjoyed dining alfresco , sometimes too much . . .

He would drive anywhere at the drop of a hat and had been to more car shows up & down the coast than most people I know . He would ride in the back of a chopped up old car with no windows for hours and not complain a peep .

He was a great on the road , old car or new , he loved it all .

He watched over me while I slept . . .

He was the best dog anyone could have ever wanted , and he was our best friend for so long it makes my head hurt trying to figure it all out .

We had been taking pictures of him for the whole time we had him and this is the last picture of him I took , as he lay dying next to me . It was quiet and very peaceful and he couldn't have gone out any better . All through out his long fun filled life , I was so proud of him and now even in death he made me proud one last time .

He was a hero as dogs go . A lover , a tiny fighter and most of all a true solid friend . He will be missed and it will hurt each time we think of him gone , but his memory lives on in our hearts and that will always make me smile .

Goodbye little friend . . .

Went on a little motorcycle ride for the Forth-o-July...

2600 miles old friends, new friends and a bear.....

My buddy Gary , his son , and his Chevy

living the good life

Sometimes life is good back to you when you aren't expecting it

And sometimes people can make you feel good about people and the whole human race in general .

Case in point . After going to my eye doctor to get my new glasses checked out , his tech assistant told me that there was a weird problem with one of the lenses that was making it go from clear to blurry intermittently across the lens . It was making me feel like i was going crazy because my left eye was off & on every time I looked at something . . . very bummer .

Anyhow he pops it out and comes back with a new one and it's good to go , no biggie . I then take out my sunglasses and show him where I scratched up the lens . He tells me he'll order some new ones and take care of it for me , then tells me no charge .

I leave feeling pretty stoked on how nice he was and now sometimes people can rule instead of suck because it seems that mostly people go out of their way to suck . I'm pretty good at blowing it off and forgetting about it because i grew up as a dopey ass punk rocker that had a hard time walking down the street and not stoping traffic .

It was my own doing but whatever . I looked like a circus side show freak .

Anyhow . . . on the way home from the eye doctor I stop off at a Home Depot to grab some dude shit for some dude shit I have to do when I get home . It's what we ( dudes ) do . I get my shit and get in line and some father with a cart full of much dude shit see's me with my 2 little things and offers me his spot in line . I thank him and proceed to swipe my card only to find out that the card is denied . It was a late payment issue that as of 20 minutes ago has been handled , we're not headed for skid row anytime soon so keep it together .

The cute tattooed girl at the register tells me that it's been declined and does she want me to take one of the items off ? I get back into my wallet and pull out a lonely $10 bill and hand it to her and she tells me I need another $1.59 ( totally flirting right ? ) . So I start looking in my pockets in a futile gesture to find the lacking funds . No luck of course , but just then the same dude who let me take cuts asks me " hey how much do you need ? " I tell him the amount and he proceeds to pull out a couple bucks and covers me with it .

Humbled , and just short of embarrassed , I shake his hand & thank him and wander off . On my way out of the store , I hear cutie Mc Tattooed pants at the register telling the dudes 7-ish looking daughter , " That was a very nice thing your dad just did , you should be very proud of him " .

I hope she is and I hope she understands why , and I hope that seemingly insignificant moment lives with her for the rest of her life .

Thanks for the cut in line and for the $1.59 fellow dude , father & Home Depot shopper . I hope your project went off as well as mine did . Because of you , I had a project when I got home and I got it done . . . done right .

1977 Chevy Silverado C-10

I just got this neat little truck from my friend Billy who lives up in Hemet . I'm the 3rd owner of this thing and it's pretty cherry . He did a lot of little things as well as all the body and paint work on it . Lowered it , added a set of Tru-spoke wires , a little chrome and some dust knocked off here and there , now it's mine .

All good things come to pass and in this case It was the '77 Harley . I traded it for this truck straight across . It feels weird to be without a motorcycle , but as are all things in life , this is a temporary situation and will be fixed shortly .

Anyhow , Here are a few pictures . I'll add more as I make changes and add my own shit to her .

We live in a pretty nice neighborhood , and we like to take our bikes out everyonce in a while to tour the hood and see the sights .

These are a few of the things we saw , on this ride .


Amy and a super clean '36 Plymouth that sort of matched her 1954 Schwinn Hornet .



Neat 1976 Executive motorhome , with awesome factory ( probably home made ) trailer option .



Very nice 23 T touring , with emergency brake engaged .