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Hello there! Some of you might remember me, some of you might not, some of you don't really give a gently caress. But I return, with less content, less time, and a lot more on my real life plate than ever before! Basic info: I'm getting married within the year to my awesome 10 year, classic car owner girlfriend. I'm knee deep in trying to buy a house, an old one, that is capible of storing all of our "children" My career is backbreaking, but CREAM. Life is ok Lets begin: You remember my Cadillac? well it looks a bit different now:  My job takes me to the a different city every year for a month, 2 years ago, it was New York, this year it was Phoenix (largest sporting event in the US) - this year I decided to sweeten the pot of my return home by having my 58 Sedan DeVille bagged by a friend. It turned out to be a bit more of a process than anticipated, and I'll spare you the details until a later post about the system itself, but I will say this much - I'm extremely happy with the results - the car rides better than it ever did before, I no longer have to worry about dragging the rear end end coming out of a driveway, speedbumps no longer haunt my dreams and it looks bad rear end to boot:    I'm so happy with the result, somewhere down the line I plan on bagging my entire fleet, but I will be doing the installs myself. I decided not to cut out anything important to putting the car back to stock springs, so in turn, it doesn't lay frame, but it gets more than low enough to make me happy. More importantly, I researched the poo poo out of components and made what I feel was the best (well tested, more expensive) choice in components. The 48 Roadmaster  you probably remember the roadmaster looking somewhat like this:  not much has changed but she did get some new shoes:  and met a friend:  The trailer is not mine, but it belongs to a guy that lives near me, I met the guy driving home one day and got to bullshitting - he wants to take his new camper to shows, but he doesn't want to pull it with his modern pickup. we've been talking about taking the car and the trailer to shows together - the camper is a 1947 Curtis Wright. The car has been driving great, over the last few years she's required very little maintenance except for a new mechanical fuel pump - In January the brakes started going a bit soft so I switched back to the old caddy. sorry for the lovely IG pics in advance:  here it was the night I realized I needed a new fuel pump  I was asked to join a new car club here in LA - lately we've been doing some big things. We had a show in the LA river and it literally got overwhelmed with people, there were at one point 120 cars down there, including 2 vintage police cars that had heard about it and wanted to join in the fun. It was a day I will remember forever. We might do it again, but it will be under the radar until the day (or night) of. The awesome part about joining a new club is that we often get beautiful photos like this:  and:  and:  More to come, if you guys want them. Now on to some more serious stuff: I can't recall if I had shared this or not, but here goes: This is me circa 1991-92.  As you can see I'm decked out in the latest hot pink shoelaces and oversized Athletics teeshirt (I live in LA) but the boat behind me is my late fathers 54 Buick. It's been in storage since he passed away 16 years ago, until recently I hadn't seen it for awhile maybe 2-3 years. I made the decision to pull it out and finish the restoration that my mom and I started back when he passed away. The car has always been a sore subject for me in that my father and I didn't have such a great relationship, and it was the only thing I really enjoyed doing with him. Anyway, here's the car now:   you can see my 48 buick and the 58 buick that I used to own in the background. One of the things my dad told me before he passed was that the car didn't mean poo poo to him and he wanted me to sell it and buy myself something really nice. In my young brain I thought I would never sell the car, but now that I've grown older, I realized I created my own memories that stemmed from him owning that car. So I'm getting ready to sell it. Then there's the new kid on the block:   I bought this about 2 years ago, got it running perfectly, brakes dialed in, set it down, put it in drive - dead trans. With a good part of my car budget blown on the cadillac project, It's not really in the cards to start spending on this one right now. its a super rare car with only ~1500 of them ever made. I purchased this car for almost nothing, it's my ace in the hole. oh yeah, this happened too:  more. later. LobsterboyX fucked around with this message at 23:23 on Apr 10, 2015 |
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Apr 10, 2015 23:19
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Holy poo poo I need new pants. At the risk of breaking the illusion, what does the Cadillac look like at maximum height? Can you 4x4 over curbs?
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Apr 10, 2015 23:35
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I'll have to grab a photo of that , it looks pretty.. weird. The back goes up way higher than the front, so I'll max out the front and try to level the back - I'm 6'3 and with the rear end up the fin would poke me in the chest if I walked in to it.
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Apr 10, 2015 23:44
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Seat Safety Switch posted:Holy poo poo I need new pants.    I've really missed reading about your cars, LobsterboyX, it's good to see you posting again. The Caddy looks incredible with the bags, perfect in every way.
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Apr 11, 2015 00:05
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Welcome back! We should hang out soon, maybe even when my Bricklin is running. Not that it would exactly fit in with any of your cars.
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Apr 11, 2015 00:09
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Cheers and glad to hear things have been well for ya! If you have any photos of the airbag setup on the caddy, that would be awesome to see. That Buick wagon though...!
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Apr 11, 2015 00:09
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Goddamn that '48 Buick is a thing of beauty. The lines on it are utterly amazing.
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Apr 11, 2015 00:14
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Thanks guys - Now to start taking more pictures!BoostCreep posted:Welcome back! We should hang out soon, maybe even when my Bricklin is running. Not that it would exactly fit in with any of your cars. Agree - IIRC you're in mid city? you should come by our Wed meets, very oddball cars show up. here's a bit more eye candy while you're waiting  Monark Holiday with "Station wagon styling" woodgrain, turn signals and brake light!  latest selfie.  a recent club outing to Paramount Ranch in sunny Malibu.. used to be a racetrack..  buick on the banked turn.
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Apr 11, 2015 00:27
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YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! I Love Lobsterboy threads! You always show me older stuff that is outside of what I by default am drawn to, and you're incredibly thoughtful about what you have/do.
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Apr 11, 2015 01:53
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LobsterboyX posted:Agree - IIRC you're in mid city? you should come by our Wed meets, very oddball cars show up. Glendale. Not too far from the valley.
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Apr 11, 2015 02:00
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I missed your stuff, man. I've seen a couple of your posts elsewhere, but didn't want to draw any attention. I figured you'd come back in time. I'm glad I was right.
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Apr 11, 2015 03:22
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Oh man this is epic. Welcome back!
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Apr 11, 2015 06:44
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Wrar posted:YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! That's quite a compliment. It really took me awhile to figure out that not everyone is in to this kind of stuff. Especially after I graduated college - my antics were not always appreciated. I really enjoy sharing this vast amount of useless knowledge of everything old. Cars are actually a very small part of what I really love. One of our favorite things to do is explore and discover the history of LA. We go to lectures, slide shows, vintage movies that all focus on the history of LA and drive around searching out the places that built LA. I'm a long time member of the LA conservancy, and I've even submitted a few proposals to preserve endangered historic buildings. One of my long term dreams is to get a masters in Historic Preservation, however with life marching on, that might be something I obtain later in life. So just tonight we found ourselves underneath the 6th street bridge for a weekly lowrider show - She took all the photos tonight and currently she is sawing logs, so when I get them I'll post them up - but more importantly than a bunch of cool low-lows was the beautiful 1932 bridge itself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_Street_Viaduct Now the sad (but true) part is what's about to happen to it: http://6stbrp.nationbuilder.com/ Onward to our drive home: we decided to take a quick detour to Carroll ave - the place in LA with the highest concentration of victorian homes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carroll_Avenue It's a part of LA that no one really talks about, but is probably one of the most special places in the city. - we also collect vintage "paper" which consists of postcards, photos, magazine ads, fruit crate labels ect. one of the first postcards we ever bought was this one:  a few years ago we were driving around and found the exact location : https://www.google.com/maps/place/C...7ec64ac88b91046 whaddya know! the guard rail is still in place and the trees have grown a lot. Oh!  ooOOooo  
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Apr 11, 2015 09:32
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Man your whole life just owns. All that stuff is neat as gently caress but I guess I just don't know what to look for, or something.
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Apr 11, 2015 09:45
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LobsterboyX posted:https://www.google.com/maps/place/C...7ec64ac88b91046 That's awesome. I love finding places like that in LA. I recently found a film location for my favorite episode of The Three Stooges from the 30's and the staircase is still exactly the same, except for being more weathered and uneven than when it was brand new. Proper star struck moment for me.
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Apr 11, 2015 11:26
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Glad you decided to make a thread. I've always loved the old cars like this and at some point would like to see how they are to live with. Guy at work has a couple that he daily drives during the summer, think a 48 buick and 53 ford if I'm remembering right. Noticed you mention having the radio in the Buick rebuilt and an aux in. Did you do this yourself or is there somewhere you sent it to be done? NitroSpazzz fucked around with this message at 20:32 on Apr 11, 2015 |
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Apr 11, 2015 13:38
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I dug around and found your original thread, as long as you keep the hosting for the pics up, it'll stick around with all its info. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3362175&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1 Again, welcome back. I love reading about any cars, even when they're way out of line with my own interest. I mean, we can't all be Jay Leno and drive one of everything.
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Apr 11, 2015 18:38
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Yes, we've had a sever lack of classic stuff in AI for far too long.
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Apr 11, 2015 20:06
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Son of a bitch, they're replacing the 6th Street Bridge? I've wanted to see it in person for years, I guess I need to head to LA soon.
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Apr 12, 2015 06:21
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Haha. Welcome back sir. Glad to see you took my recommendation to resurrect this. LA is pretty neat. I love all of the historic buildings there and the architecture.
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Apr 12, 2015 13:57
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God that Caddy is cool. Low and slow.
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Apr 12, 2015 15:00
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Thanks for coming back LB! I was wondering just last week what might have become of you.
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Apr 12, 2015 21:46
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I need more pictures of that wagon. What is it?
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Apr 13, 2015 00:36
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Welcome back! Looking forward to reading about some lobsterboy adventures.
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Apr 13, 2015 03:08
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Raluek posted:Man your whole life just owns. All that stuff is neat as gently caress but I guess I just don't know what to look for, or something. I imagine he has searching craigslist down to a science by now  Welcome back Lobsterboy!
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Apr 13, 2015 03:32
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leica posted:I imagine he has searching craigslist down to a science by now I mainly meant all the things that aren't cars. Speaking of which, is there a good resource for identifying old-ish bicycles? I have what I believe is a French road bike from '61 that doesn't have any usable markings on it, and would like to know more about it. It's not valuable, just interesting.
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Apr 13, 2015 04:25
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NitroSpazzz posted:Glad you decided to make a thread. I've always loved the old cars like this and at some point would like to see how they are to live with. Guy at work has a couple that he daily drives during the summer, think a 48 buick and 53 ford if I'm remembering right. A friend of mine was the president of rock-ola jukeboxes, he runs a business on the side that restores vintage electronics, jukes, radios, tv's - I've known him for some time and he is a perfectionist. he has done most of my work for me. I did one myself many years ago, a small tabletop zenith radio from 1952. it was fun, but it was a lot of trial and error - I wouldn't say its easy, but unless you have access to components, it can be quite time consuming waiting for stuff to arrive, only to test the next bit and it too is bad. I have had a few large "console" radios restored. at one time I had 3, I gave them as gifts to my best friend and my mom one year for christmas - they both had aux cables. this is mine:  its a late 30s Firestone (yes the tire company) "Air King" - I bought a cheap bluetooth speaker with a headphone jack and just plugged it in to the aux cord and now I have a bluetooth enabled console. we both love listening to old radio shows on it - there's a great app on iphone called Vintage Radio that has a great db of old shows to listen to. There are also some great podcasts and XM has a great station called Radio Classics. Das Volk posted:Son of a bitch, they're replacing the 6th Street Bridge? I've wanted to see it in person for years, I guess I need to head to LA soon. I'll let you know, but my club is planning to have a show down there again in the summer time when its dry again, ironic, right? Fart Pipe posted:Welcome back! Looking forward to reading about some lobsterboy adventures. I just got offered an incredibly cool car last night for a price that's almost too hard to refuse. I have to let that cook for a bit, but it would be foolish to let this slip away. leica posted:I imagine he has searching craigslist down to a science by now cars by owner > 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932..........1960 - rinse and repeat. bicycles > elgin, higgins, western, shelby, colson, prewar, pre war, skip, skiptooth, wooden antiques > philco, predicta, zenith, streamline, deco... yeah, i could go on for days. Raluek posted:I mainly meant all the things that aren't cars. http://thecabe.com/ - sign up for the forums and lurk. it gets very childish at times - grown men take bicycles extremely seriously. th vwls hv scpd posted:Haha. Welcome back sir. Glad to see you took my recommendation to resurrect this. LA is pretty neat. I love all of the historic buildings there and the architecture. then you will love this: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=170279 1000+ page thread of photos of vintage los angeles. I've literally spent days on this. one time I collected a bunch of pictures, printed them out then we drove around to find them. Left Ventricle posted:I need more pictures of that wagon. What is it? 1954 Century Estate wagon - bought it in early '13 - I spent some time on it and got it running like a top, got the brakes tip top - set it on the ground, put it in drive.. nothing. trans needs a rebuild, but because I have so little time, it sits. I have a new set of tires waiting for it. I have to sell some bikes to get the fire under me to get it on the road. I bought it initially for the Mrs to promote her business. It's really just about finding the time. A friend of mine was at a rear-end shop in orange county (quite far from where we live) and saw a simple hand written ad that said "54 buick wagon for sale, call Dan" - older guy, didn't know anything about cars, had it sitting in his garage for years... it cost me less than the 100 mile tow to get it home. There were only ~1500 wagons built in 1954 - making it the most rare (not valuable) car I've ever known   this was in the garage of the guy I bought it from.  terrible photo, but the interior is almost perfect. the windlace is coming apart, but other than that, its really nice. Really need to get some better photos of it. As i mentioned briefly in this post, I've been given the chance to get another, very rare, very cool car.. for nothing basically.. I'm weighing options. Anyone want to buy a bike?
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Apr 13, 2015 05:37
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Didn't you have some old motorcycles too?
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Apr 13, 2015 09:13
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Belated welcome back Lobsterboy 
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Apr 13, 2015 11:27
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BrokenKnucklez posted:Didn't you have some old motorcycles too? I did - I sold a majority of them last year and the photos are of course on my home computer. I had: 1977 Honda CB750a - an automatic motorcycle. I bought it from a friend who had fallen on some hard times and needed it gone, in turn, I rode it a handfull of times and like most stuff let it sit. it was a great bike, just boring and a bit too new for me. 1966 BSA Lightning 650 - bought it one day for 500, sold it the next for 3500 1950 BSA B33 - 500 thumper. had a weird expiremental alloy head. I had it running and rode it around the block. it was an original 50s bobber - it was painted metal flake green and had a bunch of really cool custom parts from the 50s. The Honda and the B33 I sold as a lot to.. someone who used to post here, not sure if he wants to be mentioned. I still do have my 1960 Vespa VBA:  I really don't like riding in LA because, as they say, I trust myself, i just don't trust anyone else. sometimes I'll fire it up for a ride around the hood, to the coffee shop or to a cruise night. It's great fun - it has a modern LML (indian) engine in it with the upgraded 4 speed trans. IMHO it's too fast for what it is, cooking at 50 on 8" wheels is a bit hectic. I also put a replica Abarth pipe on it. It was restored in the 90s and is starting to show its age, thinking about offing it soon too. it will be just another thing to carry over in the move.
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Apr 13, 2015 17:27
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Every time you post I start looking at classics again. drat you. Also, do you have any info for the guy who restores radios? I have two I'd like to get restored at some point.
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Apr 13, 2015 18:19
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iwentdoodie posted:Every time you post I start looking at classics again. drat you. His name is Ross - you'll probably talk to his wife if you call http://rjb.sharepoint.com/Pages/default.aspx
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Apr 13, 2015 18:21
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Now you're making me want to bag my truck. drat you!
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Apr 13, 2015 18:42
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IOwnCalculus posted:Now you're making me want to bag my truck. drat you! So easy! I bet you there's more tutorials on bagging your exact car than you could count. 58 cadillac sedan deville? not so much. I got most of my kit here: http://www.theslamstore.com/category_s/51.htm
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Apr 13, 2015 19:27
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Oh yeah, there's no shortage of kits built for the '67-'72 C10, but the vast majority of them assume you're bagging a trailing-arm truck, not a leaf-spring truck like mine. Which means then I have to look at doing a four-link or something nearly as aggressive. The ride would be so much better though.
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Apr 13, 2015 20:10
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IOwnCalculus posted:Oh yeah, there's no shortage of kits built for the '67-'72 C10, but the vast majority of them assume you're bagging a trailing-arm truck, not a leaf-spring truck like mine. Which means then I have to look at doing a four-link or something nearly as aggressive. On the bright side, if you go four link and notch it you can fit massive rubber out back.
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Apr 13, 2015 20:33
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IOwnCalculus posted:Oh yeah, there's no shortage of kits built for the '67-'72 C10, but the vast majority of them assume you're bagging a trailing-arm truck, not a leaf-spring truck like mine. Which means then I have to look at doing a four-link or something nearly as aggressive. I assumed as well  My buddy just did a "bolt in" notch for his 70.. You could go the cheap route and go yank a trailing arm setup from something else and go to town. IIRC some company sells a "NASCAR" arm kit that basically is an exact copy of the truck arms..
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Apr 13, 2015 21:22
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LobsterboyX posted:I assumed as well I think these are the dudes you're talking about. http://www.hotrodstohell.net/truckarm/truckarm_index.htm Tempting, but a bit spendy for me. Less than $1000 for IOC's truck.
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Apr 13, 2015 22:37
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I've been thinking about bagging my Caddy since I bought it and you have pushed that decision forward. You have some amazing cars and I love the Vespa. I crashed one of those in Cango Park when I was 15. I popped the clutch and dumped it. That one had a windshield which I destroyed. I felt horrible because my friend's dad just rebuilt it for him. He then bought a sidecar and I rode in that instead. PS. Pink Caddies are the best Caddies. 
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Apr 14, 2015 02:09
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Hello friend! I think you should move forward with bagging that car. 59 - 63 have a different frame that allows them to go very, very low without cutting anything.. I'm gearining up to make a post about the system. I have 2 friends with bagged 62's and it's really not as big of an outlay as most think.
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Apr 14, 2015 03:37
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