#but its battery port broke. and it was sent for repairs. after that i was only semi-careful but i was still careful with it.

[aria0fgold]

I'm staring to think that my phone is just anti-me at this point. Is it the name ya dipshit? Do you not like the name Puffy? Or did you decide to embody that and just wanna puff outta existence?

I've had 3 phones before this. All samsung phones, unfortunately can't remember their models but 2 are dead (they're very old tbf cant get em to start up anymore. in fact i dont remember where i put their corpses at but theyre in a box) Named em Pinkie and Polka.

1 is still alive and kicking, older than the current piece of shit that I have and yet it's alive, well, and functional with barely no problems, didn't even had to send it to repairs that one (it's currently my mom's phone now) Named that one Pearl.

And ofc my current one is giving me the most problems. The problem child of the family, I'll be introducing my phones and just, these are my children, Pinkie, Polka, and Pearl. And this is their sibling, Puffy. I'd disown Puffy if I could, but alas, I'm too broke to buy a new phone.

[gwynposting]

All Along the Watchtower (Ch. 3)

This story takes place after the “All Along the Watchtower” ending of Cyberpunk 2077, so spoilers ahead.

NSFW chapter ahead~

AO3 Link | Ch. 1 | Ch. 2

Panam was never one for being able to hide her emotions, and the attempted smile betrayed by the rest of her cringing features gave testament to it. Cassidy, on the other hand, looked upon V with amusement. 

“Yeah, uh,” V started with an awkward cough, “guess the rockerboy part of Johnny didn’t overwrite my brain yet.” She stared down at Cassidy’s borrowed guitar with a tinge of blush on her cheeks before handing it back to him. 

“Well anytime you want to start learnin’, give me a holler,” Cassidy said with amusement as he set the guitar in his lap and plucked away at an idling tune. 

V smiled in appreciation and turned to Panam, “So, what’s the plan for tomorrow anyhow?”

Panam leaned forward, the fire in her eyes sparking. “We’re meeting up with a contact of ours that’s worked with us and other Aldecado families in the past - Bryce Bane. We’ve used Bryce as our point of contact for operations in the Tucson area in the past - we figure it’s a good idea to help get general intel as well as see how we can help solve your problem.”

V nodded along, “And we can trust this Bryce?” 

Panam scoffed, “Could you trust Rogue?” 

V grimaced in recognition. “Only after convincing her a 50 year old terrorist from her glory days was trapped inside my head.”

“So unless you got another cyberpsycho inside your noggin’, I wouldn’t get too friendly with them.” Panam could see the disappointment creep along V’s face - she was rather decent at hiding it, but the subtle quiver of the lip always gave her away. “But,” she resumed, “with all the gear we’ve gotten from the Arasaka raid, it’d be hard to say no to a fresh load of biz coming their way.” 

“Right…” V hesitated. “Okay. So - who, when, and where?”

Cassidy let out a chortle, “Mitch wasn’t kiddin’ about you city slickers.”

V smirked, giving her forehead a few taps, “I blame the ticking time bomb in my head.” 

Panam broke in, “We’re due to meet them around noon, on the western side of the city outskirts. Now, I don’t have reason to suspect they’ll pull anything, but it never hurts to come prepared. V, you’ll be accompanying me to the meet while Cassidy, Mitch, and Carol provide overwatch.”

“All eggs in one basket, hmm?” Carol interjected, sizing up the roster for this mission.

“More like this is our first meet with this city and I need to make sure we get off on the right foot. And that means no itchy or jumpy triggers. I know I can count on the vets for that.” Panam looked around the table to mixed reactions. “With that being said,” she continued, “I want to perform some reconnaissance of the area so we can set up 3 separate areas of vision around the meeting place. That means we’ll be setting out early tomorrow - around sunrise - to set up. 

“Mitch, V?” she gestured towards each respectively, “You two are going to drive out today and use the drone to do some recon. Note the terrain in the area and try to find overlooks that give a good view of the entire meeting sight as well as any paths to the area.”

V and Mitch made eye contact and nodded in agreement. “We’ll set out right away then,” Mitch said.

Panam smiled and nodded in affirmation, “Excellent. We’ll reconvene later tonight when you two return and go over the finer details.”

“Preem. Anything else?” V asked.

Panam shook her head, “Nope, that’s it. Just lemme know when you two get to the site.”

“Yes, mom,” V smirked, and Mitch failed to suppress his own smile. Panam shot her a deadpan look of annoyance. 

Mitch and V broke off and made their way over to the mechanics station. The Aldecados had set up shop in an abandoned warehouse of some sort - its floor had been picked clean so there hadn’t been much cleanup required at all. But now, it housed the mighty Basilisk, along with the plethora of other vehicle repair necessities.

Mitch pointed to one of the corners, “Drone case is over there. I’ll grab a couple battery cases just in case.”

“What for?” V asked.

“Well, never know if we might need to use the active camo when we get there. And if we do, I’d rather we be able to get a full scan of the area. Not cut corners, y’know?”

“Good thinking,” V said with a huff as she lifted the hefty clamshell in her arms.

Mitch made his way back over, battery packs slung around his shoulder, and together they set off to their ride. 

“How well do you know this Bryce?” V asked.

“As well as you know any fixer in Night City, really.” Mitch responded with a gruff. He was set to leave it at that, but looked over to V’s expectant face. “We didn’t have a particularly contentious past, it’s just been quite a while, and well... we’re runnin’ blind right now. A lot can change in 3 years.” 

V felt the gnawing of doubt creep back into her mind, despite her best efforts to keep it suppressed. The last thing she needed right now was to fall into despair before they even tried their first option. But even the existence of those lingering thoughts sent worry through her, every setback felt so severe and her mental health so weak, like fractured porcelain held in place by glue. A vace drifting through the air in slow motion, desperate for someone to catch her before she reaches the harsh and unyielding floor below.

Mitch seemed to be able to read the apprehension of V’s face, “But hey, we worked with some great techies back in Tucson. If they don’t know what to do, then they sure know someone who will.” 

A shaky smile formed on her face, but hopeful words did little to soothe her anxiety. But she didn’t have much time to ruminate over her thoughts as they pulled up to Mitch’s ride. They took turns loading their equipment onto the bed before climbing inside the cabin.

“Alright then, let’s get this started,” Mitch stated with finality. 

** 

V slung the canteen over her shoulder and let it rattle to the floor with a clank. She whinged at the sharp sound but was far too tired to react. It felt as if her entire body had a layer of dirt, like a second layer of skin. Yet all in all, it had been a very uneventful day, and she liked it that way. Though, she couldn’t say the same thing for tomorrow, whatever that would hold. V had been used to working with fixers in the past, but this time it was different. She wasn’t some solo anymore, money and fame the only thing on the mind. She was part of a family once more, her clan. When things went wrong, everybody had to suffer the consequences for it, whether physical or emotional. She had everyone else to think about. She had - 

Judy. V smiled as she saw the soft hue of blue light bleed through the cracks of the garage door. She shrugged off her jacket and hung it on the coat rack, pausing as she flexed and stretched her stiff limbs. In a similar fashion she shuffled off the boots from her feet.

V made her way over to the garage to poke her head in, but stayed silent as she saw Judy sitting in her desk chair, BD wreath wrapped around her head. But something caught V’s eye - many things, really. Judy’s hands clenched the armrests of her editing chair, her thighs pressed together as her legs writhed small motions back and forth. Her chest rose up and down with deep breaths, and the skin visible from the cut of her shirt was painted a deep blush.

V was about to raise an eyebrow in concern, but was interrupted by a soft mew that escaped Judy’s lips, followed by a much lower moan. V chuckled in response, Couldn’t wait for me it seems, she thought to herself. Deciding it wasn’t the best for her to interrupt Judy’s alone time while filthy, V made her way to the bathroom to wash away what she imagined were kilograms of sand and dirt from her body.

Of the few comforts she had gotten used to in Night City, hot water would have been one of the highest. The Bakkers had raised her through the traditional nomad lifestyle, but clearly she had softened up in a few ways. Shivers shot down her back as the cold water began rushing over her body, washing away the caked dirt and leaving goosebumps behind. 

V was meticulous when it came to cleaning, especially with her cybernetic implants. She gave extra care to clean the creases and ports of her mantis blades. She had never had a problem with them so far, and she planned to keep it that way. It had been a recurring fear of hers that some mechanism would fail her when she needed them most - whether they failed to open properly, or extended on their own without command. In those moments she could almost hear Panam rage at her tombstone for being stupid enough to let something like routine maintenance lead to her downfall.

Just as she finished rinsing the suds from her hair, she heard the bathroom door open and close. She turned her head to see Judy rolling her panties down her legs, bra already discarded on the floor. Without a word, Judy climbed inside and pressed V against the shower wall, capturing her lips with her own. Her hands betrayed her neediness as they traveled along V’s skin and down to her ass, roughly taking hold of each cheek. V yelped in surprise at the onslaught, but quickly gave in. V’s hands, momentarily idle, found new life as they began to roam up along Judy’s curves, coming to rest upon her cheeks. 

Judy paused and broke away, leaving both of them panting for breath. They looked into each others’ eyes, lidded and wanting. “Didn’t hear you come home,” Judy breathed.

“Didn’t want to interrupt your fun,” V smirked, “plus, I felt gross.” 

Judy’s hands began shifting, creeping around V’s front, “Probably woulda jumped your bones anyways.” 

V’s response was cut short by her own sharp exhale as Judy ran a hand along her hardening shaft. Judy bit her own lip in smug satisfaction as she felt V’s desire manifest within her grasp, before leaning back in, breathing warmth on chilled skin, and taking V’s lip between her teeth. The two came together once more as their lips interlocked, broken apart only through momentary calls for air or teasing bites. Judy’s hand began tender strokes, back and forth, along V’s length. Judy couldn’t help the butterflies that poured through her as she felt V’s hips begin to thrust ever so slightly - signs of a woman too pent up for her own good.

But Judy also felt that need, and it was quickly tended to. V’s curious hands traveled downwards until they reached Judy’s waiting sex. Her fingers teased along Judy’s entrance, lightly brushing over her clitoris. Judy flexed under her touch, her thirst finally given life. But V, not one to tease at the moment, deftly inserted two fingers and began to give slow, languid thrusts. A flare of pride rushed through V as Judy began to push into her grasp, grinding her clit against the palm of V’s hand. 

Each needy thrust and flex spurred the other on, as they fed off each other's need and want, pressing into each other, grasping, thrusting, their pace increasing with every shaky breath. Their kiss became sloppy and unfocused, disrupted through their descent into pleasure. The drone of the shower head and the cool of the pouring water faded into the back of their minds - all that mattered was their touch. 

Judy hovered over V’s lips, to whisper, “V-” as if but a gasp. V closed the distance once more and captured Judy’s lips as she came undone beneath her. Shivers radiated through Judy’s body as V’s fingers coaxed her through her orgasm. V’s free hand brought Judy closer, pressing her against V’s body for support as she came. Judy broke their kiss and slumped her head into the crook of V’s neck, her moans becoming muffled. 

But her comedown didn’t slow Judy’s pace - if anything, it increased her fervor. As she regained her footing, Judy changed tactics. Instead, she focused along V’s erogenous zones, kissing and leaving love marks along V’s jaw and neck to below her ear, stroking to the tune of the heady thrusts that met her hand. 

V was holding on, prolonging her suffering, until she heard Judy plead, “Please V -” and she came undone. With each stroke V shivered, her hips spasmed unpredictably and unpracticed, almost fucking the hand wrapped around her throbbing length. Each release brought haughty gasps that sent fire through Judy. 

With one final languid squeeze, V nigh collapsed on top of Judy. “Woah there,” Judy helped lean V back against the shower wall.

V returned the smile, albeit weary, before leaning in to give Judy one last kiss, “Couldn’t stop thinking about this all day.”

“My my, what a pervert~” Judy floated.

V snorted, “Says the one sending me nudes mid-op,”

“Details V, details,” Judy reached for the soap once more. “Think we need to get cleaned back up, hmm?” 

“And then we go straight to bed,” V concluded.

“Right. Bed.” 

[chrismarshall1948]

BRAVOUR 2018

Further adventures of Bravour:

2018 season -  wintered at Port Bannatyne.

Elisabeth and I arrived on Friday, 18 May and found the boat absolutely filthy with leaves twigs and green mould all over the decks and back canopy.

On top of this the backstay on the mainmast had been fitted without its locking nut and the connections to the solar panels had been kicked off. Skipper Chris was not a happy man.

It took us until the following Monday using lots of bleach on the deck and a hard scrubber with Elisabeth doing the nooks and crannies which left the boat looking clean and tidy. She has never been as dirty as this before and all the scrubbing gave Elisabeth very sore hands which took some days to heal up. The decision was made not to put her on the hard next winter to avoid her ending up in such a filthy condition again.

On top of all this we had the normal de winter rise nation to do  - taking off sail covers and checking all the systems and equipment.

I noticed the battery charger wasn't working so Carlo came and gave us the workshop charger, also the 12 V system did not fire up so this needed checking.

The skipper's morale was beginning to sink lower and lower. The last cleaning job was to put the hood on the pontoon and carefully scrub all the green mould off it, getting it as clean as we could, folding it up and putting it away. Elisabeth did most of this work although I helped with the hose pipe.

One day somebody knocked on the boat and said he was a fellow banjer owner and he owned a boat based near Oban and called Banjer. Of course we invited him on board and offered him a whiskey. We then started swapping experiences regarding boating and banjering, he had only bought his recently in the last couple of years and was using it as a diving boat. He said there were no less than seven banjers in Scotland, that is to say:

Bravour

Banjer

Kiscadee sold for 55K we believe

Solarskier put up for 80 K but not yet sold we think

Pelican, that's the one in the tent on the Crinan Canal now all complete

Harebell

and the boat in Oban Marina – name forgotten but with £10,000 rail round the deck!!

that's quite a collection of banjers!

I got his name, Graham Bruce and we are invited to moor near his house which is on seal Island near Oban.

The following day, Tuesday 22 June, Carlo reported the charger was unserviceable and we went ahead to order a new one.

I should have said the previous Sunday I got an email from Pat to say his brother had died in Germany and he had to go over for the funeral arrangements. This was not good as it meant he was not able to crew for me down to Cork. I  immediately got in touch with “crew seeker” and registered that I needed a crew.

I knew the chances of getting a crew at such short notice were very slim.

On the Saturday Elisabeth and I went down to the very smart little Cinema in Rothesay to see “the leisure seeker” with Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland. Rather sad little film but certainly sums up the situation of the aged in our lives.

The following day Sunday, after I got the calamitous email from Pat, we went down to Ettrick Bay and had tea and a cake. In the evening we watched Paddington two on the DVD and cheered ourselves up.

Coming back to the Tuesday we did the final clean of the cockpit and went to Rothesay and a cup of coffee. Still no luck with finding a crew.

On Wednesday I even tried John Stirling for one of his lads in the workshop for a crew but he said he would not inflict one of them on me because they were not really sailors. I tried going into the Isle of Bute sailing club to see if anybody there was looking to be a crew, but no luck.

In the evening we had a meal at the Victoria and in the afternoon we had a trip to Dunoon. We found it a very ordinary place but the trip there was fairly exciting on a single track road with passing places, meeting massive timber lorries.

In the morning I went up the mast and managed to get a fellow boat owner Robin to help us. I got the main halyard re reeved and sawed off the useless wind indicator that was well broken.

On the Thursday I had developed a nasty cough and we were both still stiff from all the work we have done on the boat. Still no sign of a crew. We finished off Paddington two in the evening and had scrambled eggs -  great. I managed to get hold of Pat on the phone to talk things through, but it seemed hopeless for him to come and do the sailing.

On the Friday we had a chillout day, cough still bad and Carlo fitted the new dropper to make the 12 V system okay. Hurray something is working. For supper at we had whitefish which was a very tasty. I tried to get the wipers freed up broke off the port hand wiper. Something else to fix.

The following day Saturday I managed to get the Walkman fired up as it had been singularly dead, also the little red speaker seem to take charge. Great something else I managed to get working.

We took the car and visited the oystercatcher pub near Otter ferry. A very scenic route on a another small road with passing places, returned back via Kames and then went to the honky tonk bar in the evening and had an amazing hamburger.

On the Sunday my cold was still bad so we both had a chillout day to try and get our backs better.

On the Monday we had another chillout day and ordered a new wiper £91!

I keep trying to remove the bit from the wiper, but without any success.

On the Tuesday we did  the bus trip round the island which was very interesting, even though we had done it before. Wwe then went to the Zavaronis and had a Knickerbocker glory  - what delights.

The new charger still hasn't turned up yet even though it's a week later.

On the Wednesday the workshop charger was taken off the boat and I decided to take the boat out and have a run up Loch Scriven, as this would hopefully charge the batteries up a bit.

We hoisted all the sails up and tried out our new rigging bit to make hoisting the halyard easier. The the water speed log didn't work, obviously fouled but the depth sounder was okay. The engine seem to be charging both the batteries and the domestics seemed more lively. However the engine batteries were still dead and we had to take the decision to order some new ones.

Good news the charger has arrived and now waiting for Carlo to fit it.

The following day Elisabeth and I started to paint all the green on the boat, this is a big job that has been waiting years and Elisabeth managed almost to finish one side.

I started to get some response to my request from the crew seeker however it was a bit late now, so I put them off but made a note of their email addresses for the following year.

Friday, still no Carlo, he promised first thing but has not turned up. Around midday, after reminding, Simon turned up and set to work on the electrics with Carlo. First of all they had to get the shore power sorted as this was very unreliable all due to corroded connections.

Elisabeth and I carried on painting the green on the starboard side and in the afternoon we went to Mount Stuart house so that Elisabeth could look round the gardens. Elisabeth had a great walk and then we had a scone in at the Esplanade.

When we got back to the boat we found Simon still there almost fixing the shore power which had proved an enormous job. The charger was not fitted, oh dear, Elisabeth and and I repaired to the Honky tonk hamburger place.

Sad day on the Saturday Elisabeth was off at 9 AM to catch the ferry to get back home and carry out her duties looking after Oscar. I went out and bought a small car charger and put it on charging at the domestic batteries, it is rather small but it seems to be doing something. I redid the leaves onto extension shore power leads. The new wiper blade was sent back as it did not fit.

The following few days I got on with painting the boat and eventually finished it almost on the Monday. I had quite a busy day on the Sunday, Simon called by and we had a good chat and also the couple from the next or boat called by and we had some whiskeys with them. Elisabeth got back home safely, having driven all the way to Northampton in one go, quite a feat.

I made a bit of a fuss on the Monday and eventually got a promise Carlo would be on the boat the following day to fit the charger. The new battery arrived on Tuesday and the charger was fitted on the Tuesday morning -  woo hoo something is happening.

I eventually nearly finished the painting all except for a lower strip on the starboard side. I tried some of the white paint on the coach roof but it's completely the wrong shade and in the evening I watched Yehudi Menuhin.

The following day we got the old engine batteries out and Wayne from South Africa came along to the boat and managed to get the new ones in which actually were a bit bigger but we managed it.

Finally finished the painting and tried out the new batteries, engine starts instantly.

However there was a moment of panic because we have not disconnected the charger when the fitting the new batteries and it went dead. Jon Rushworth come along, who had helped me understand the new charger, and checked everything at the same time rebooting the charger which then came alive again. Thank goodness for that -  cut throat razor now firmly put away.

Morale is beginning to lift a bit as the boat seems to be getting ready for Saturday when Kyla and Nick arrive. John's lad came along and got the bit off regarding the windscreen wiper so that's on the go.

On the Saturday Nick and Kyla arrived, as planned, and on the following Sunday we set off for Loch Ranza. How nice to be at sea again and actually using the boat rather than slaving away on it fixing bits and pieces here and there and everywhere.

Well the previous week had been very frustrating and regards the boat, expenses and not been able to get a sail.

Now that Nick and Kyla had arrived things seem to improve, although this week was not without its adventures and near disasters, read on.

The first day went as planned arriving at Loch Ranza and anchoring without a problem. We then proceeded down to Campbeltown the following day with a lunch stop and a smashing sail as we had had the previous day. What could go wrong?

Nick and Kyla did some shopping at Campbeltown and the following day we set off for Girvan via Ailsa Craig to see the gannet colony. We did a bit of sailing although the winds had eased off quite a bit. I have been into Girvan several times before without a problem and contacted the harbour master to tell him we would be arriving in an hour or so and was there a space to berth. They replied no problem take any spaces, plenty of room. I therefore proceeded in, trusting Reeds which said there were 2.6 m at the lowest astronomical tide. However I did not notice this said in 2001.

Just as we entered we went hard a ground, the sea was not rough and we were in no immediate danger, however the boat was gently lifting and then grounding on the bottom. With a bit of power we were gradually getting into the harbour inch by inch. The harbour master was at the end of the key watching us and then the Belfast Coast Guard contacted us as the “Ketch a ground at the entrance to Girvan harbour” -  did we need any assistance?, at that moment the lifeboat appeared and approached us. I said to the coxwain we did need assistance and could they tow us off.

The coxwain did a marvellous job, towing us off backwards back out to sea without damaging the boat. We heaved a sigh of relief to be once more afloat. They advised we should wait an hour, so we hung around for a good hour and then proceeded back in, only to find that we went aground again, although with a bit of power we managed to get into the harbour and tied up at a pontoon.

Needless to say I was not very happy with the lack of advice from the harbour master.

However it is always the skipper's fault and I should have looked more carefully at the pilot and the advice given in Reeds. It's very easy to get complacent when you been sailing for many a year.

However when Kyla went up to pay dues and I also rang the harbour master he was duly apologetic and said that we should have been advised not to enter outside high water plus or -2 hours. I told him we had entered about two hours after low water and still gone a ground. Anyway the story ended happily because he let us off our £35 overnight berthing fee by way of apology.

I promised to make a £50 donation to the RNLI which I did a few days later.

As if the grounding wasn't enough we had more excitements to come, the weather forecast was for a force 10 gale or storm the following day, kicking off at about late afternoon. We decided to leave Girvan around high tide and get up to Lamlash, which is a very sheltered harbour near Holy Island which is owned by the Buddhists. We set off the following day and arrived around midday as planned and then took a buoy with two mooring lines and awaited the storm. The storm arrived as expected late afternoon and we had to keep a buoy watch all night in case the lines parted, this was on an hourly basis and completely tired us as we couldn't get any sleep all night. Me in of the vee cabin because of the ropes making terrible noises on the front chains and the boat being blown around and rolled over to 20° which is quite severe just on a mooring.

The storm eventually blew itself out late afternoon the following day and we stayed a further night and set off for Rothesay the following day. I have never experienced such a severe storm when the wind blew literally blew the tops of the waves away, very spectacular.

When we inspected the mooring warps neither was damaged at all which we thought miraculous, bearing in mind the terrible noises it was making.

We arrived at Rothesay and Nick and Kyla went off to look at Mount Stuart which is a very a splendid house with an amazing Chapel all made of white marble.

Nick and Kyla left the following day, Saturday, as planned and left the boat un naturally quiet. I do miss them, what a splendid team they were and what fun we did have despite all the excitements.

I spent the weekend finishing off the final bit of painting, masticing round the galley worktop and doing various chores and keeping the boat up to scratch. As John Stirling said, its a lot of boat to keep up.

The other job I've done of course is to write up this blog looking at my carefully written up log book (which is almost full)  - this finishes up until Monday night 18th of June,

your skipper

Chris

[itsworn]

For Chuck Ellis, This Free 1964 Valiant Became the Dream Machine

The ideals of horsepower come in many designs. Some simply like it brutal—all power, all the time. Some like technology: What is the coolest way to make the air pump under the hood as complicated as possible? Some like economy—maybe not totin’ it all out of the factory in the lunchbox à la Johnny Cash, but definitely finding ways to stay within budget. For Chuck Ellis, it was none of the above. Actually, he’d been dreaming about a vintage Mustang as his first car when this 1964 Plymouth Valiant was offered to him for free back in 1997, before he even had a driver’s license.

We met Chuck and his wife, Carolyn, at the 2017 Carlisle All-Chrysler Nationals, where he was showing off his just-completed A-body Mopar. What makes this impressive is a couple of things that some Car Crafters may never even attempt. First, they drove up from Florida to Pennsylvania on a fresh restoration, which was a ride of just less than 1,000 miles…in each direction. Second, this was Chuck’s first car project. Actually, it’s his only car project, and, in fact, the only vintage car he has ever owned.

There is still 225 ci of Plymouth’s “leaning tower of power” tucked into the little 1964 Valiant body. Produced in a year that echoed the final reflection of both Virgil Exner and the Italian firm of Ghia in Chrysler’s early-’60s Plymouths, this car deserves a little introduction. Chrysler Engineering had originally tilted the new engine—first in 170ci and later in the more popular 225ci configurations—to allow it to fit under the low hood of Valiant, which debuted as a sports model in 1960, in competition with the new Ford Falcon and Chevrolet Corvair. The original Valiant, which was a stand-alone model before joining the Plymouth family, had an aluminum engine. It was tipped to the left to allow clearance for the water pump at the side instead of at the front of the engine, thereby opening up right side of the engine bay for a more impressive intake and exhaust system.

The Valiant package was even the subject of the 1960 Chrysler SAE meeting in Detroit. Perhaps its best claim to fame was its dominance in NASCAR’s pair of first and only “compact series” events that January, where driver Marvin Panch used his factory-tweaked version to lead all the other Valiants to victory; the Fords and Chevy lost both events so badly that Big Bill France subsequently cancelled the program! Factory Race Program coordinator Tom Hoover later noted that, other than the 426 Hemi, the Slant Six was the most efficient engine Chrysler built in this era. (For the complete story of the Sixes and Hemis, from a technical perspective, SAE’s book Chrysler Engines 1922-1998 by former Chrysler engineer Willem Weertman is worth every penny.)

Back to 15-year-old Chuck, who was cutting those Mustang pictures out of Auto Traders when his father, a local mailman, heard from a fellow letter carrier about an old car abandoned in a carport in a house that had sold. They went to see it, found out that the little old lady who owned it had put about 50,000 miles on it before it ended up parked a decade earlier, and her son was glad to give it to them if they would take it out quickly. The new owners of her house were not happy it was still there when their moving van had arrived. As they towed it home, Chuck’s dad, Rik, said, “Son, you have a year to get it running, or it’s out of here.”

A year. Chuck liked cars but knew nothing about them. However, it was the ’90s, and he was pretty savvy about computers. He was taking repair classes at a local technical school and met a guy who was having some trouble with the books but could spin wrenches. They agreed to help each other out. Meanwhile, he began chasing parts to get the car running again.

“That November, my dad and I drove up to Ocala, Florida, for my first big car show, the annual Mopars with Big Daddy event at Don Garlits’ place. I was excited to get to the swap meet and get the parts I’d need to get the car running. The first booth I went to was manned by an ornery old dude. I told him what I had and he said, “I’ll give you a hundred bucks for that car right now. A kid like you is just gonna ruin it anyway.” That made me mad. More importantly, it made me determined. I was going to do awesome things with this car.”

Chuck was successful in his mission and got the car running two months before the deadline from Dad. Now 16 years old and with a driver’s license, the car was Chuck’s vbest version of the cars he’d grown up seeing on TV. “During that time it became known as the ‘Flying Valiant’ because I was always trying make the car act like the cars in The Dukes of Hazzard or Starsky and Hutch, driving through fields and trying to grab air off hills. I successfully got it fully airborne one time, and that’s why it no longer has the original 170 under the hood. I still don’t know how I didn’t bend the unibody and destroy the car. The only damage was to the engine (it threw a rod six weeks later) and to the front passenger shock that bent in half,” Chuck says.

Despite that, the car served as regular transportation for a number of years, with JC Whitney seat covers and an economy, “quick-bake” paintjob. Then in 2011, the transmission mount broke and sent the fan right into the radiator. The car was off the road again, but would never be the same.

“The accident proved to be a catalyst for the life of the car. I knew I couldn’t keep patching the car up while I drove it forever, and that the tin worm was only going to get worse unless major surgery was performed. We’d finally gotten a house with a garage and I realized it was going to be now or never, and if I was going to do this restoration, I was going to do it right.”

Now living in Gainesville, Florida, Chuck’s friend, Ben Simons, had just finished restoring his family’s factory 426 Street Wedge 1964 Dodge D100 High Performance Package pick-up. After some encouragement from Ben, Chuck began working in earnest on the Valiant. He stripped the body to bare metal, sent out to be media-blasted and slowly patched up. He even took welding classes at a local technical school, and in 2016, it was ready for paint. Mike Nelson, of Mike’s Custom Car Shop aprayed the TB3 Basin Street Blue, also known as Petty Blue in some circles. The all-steel body now has mild front fender flaring to accommodate larger tires, homemade frame connectors join the front and back framerails, and the C-pillar and hood trim were shaved off. Underneath you’ll find a Hellwig front sway bar, a boxed and gusseted K-frame, Firm Feel tubular upper control arms, boxed lower control arms, and poly bushings, including the engine and trans mounts. The framerails were coated internally with Eastwood Rust Encapsulator, and the full underside of the unibody sprayed with Rhino Liner. All of the non-visible steel on the interior was painted with thermo-acoustic paint, resonant areas received Dynamat coverings, and the floor and ceiling were insulated with half-inch insulation called “The Insulator” used in light aircraft.

A 225ci version of the of the Slant Six is backed by a mildly worked automatic and an 8 ¾-inch differential from a 1971 Scamp. The engine is bored 0.060-inch over and was built by Chuck and Ben, with balanced bottom-end parts, a 9.20:1 compression ratio, an Erson cam using 340 V8 springs, a reworked ported-and-polished head with hardened seats, and Doug Dutra’s special Dutra Duals headers feeding into a single pipe. The eye candy is that Offenhauser intake supporting a dialed-in 600-cfm Edelbrock with choke, with a recurved, stock Slant Six electronic distributor set up with HEI parts for fire, and a vented, trunk-mounted Optima battery. A Ron Francis 24/7 wiring kit finished it off, and for Florida driving, a custom A/C system was fitted by Slant Six guru Charlie Schmid, who built an adapter for the Sanden A/C compressor. Feeding the cool-breeze atmosphere is a vintage Mark IV evaporator/blower underdash unit found at a swap meet.

There’s no shortage of custom work inside the car, either. In addition to the custom upholstery by Rob Philpot, Redline Gauges rebuilt a set of NOS stock gauges that included the 120-mph 1965 Barracuda speedometer, an amp gauge converted to a voltmeter, and a vintage 1970s Sun Super Tach, modernized internally. The OEM radio is now converted to AM/FM/USB/Aux/Bluetooth by Rick’s Radio Conversions, and a real 1964 Barracuda woodgrain wheel serves as the tiller. Meanwhile, in keeping with the theme of an OEM star machine modified for TV or movie use back in the day, a set of Chrysler A-pillar spotlights with both interior handles and old-school yellow KC HiLiTES covers were found and added.

Chuck’s wife, Carolyn, was all in on the project as well. She and Chuck have known each other since grade school, and she did a lot of the detail work, getting as dirty as Chuck did in the process. When it came time to rebuild the engine, it happened in their living room. She shared in the end result as well, driving part of the way on the 1,000-mile journey to the Annual Carlisle All-Chrysler event, smiling as much as Chuck did when we gave their car our celebrity-pick award.

As always, there were a lot of wild cars at Carlisle: a four-door Barracuda, Hemi convertibles, supercharged street machines, and homebuilt projects in progress. But the scarce Offy parts caught our eye, and as Chuck began pointing out the little things, the more apparent the purity of the project became. Nope, it’s not that Mustang he once dreamed of, and it’s not a 1,000 hp street terror, but it is one-of-one, and it’s Car Crafted Chuck’s way.

Tech Notes

Who: Chuck and Carolyn Ellis What: 1964 Plymouth Valiant Where: Gainesville, Florida

Body and Paint: Light customizing, like fender flaring and shaved trim, helps make a unique statement, and Chuck even went back to night school for welding classes. All the tin was hammered at home; the Petty Blue paint is gunned-on, courtesy of Mike Nelson. A 1968 Barracuda flip-top gas cap has been adapted to replace the body-color twist lock. Chassis: The factory unibody survived the rigors of youthful driving, and now features subframe connectors and upgrades like Rust Encapsulator in the framerails, a gusseted K-frame supporting the engine, and a Rhino Linings coating as protection from the elements.

Suspension: This bomber now has a Hellwig front sway bar, Firm Feel tubular upper control arms, boxed lower control arms, Bilstien shocks, and poly bushings, including the engine and trans mounts, and ESPO six-leaf springs at the rear.

Steering: Tweaked for handling and tilled with a 1964 Barracuda factory woodgrain wheel. Brakes: Wilwoods up front; OEM drums at rear.

Wheels and Tires: Thanks to Summit, the OE mini rollers gave way to nicely blended 15×6 police steelies, with OEM hub caps and fat 235/60-15 Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/Ts on all four corners.

Engine: The “leaning tower of power” gets its retro look thanks to an Offenhauser intake and 600-cfm Edelbrock carb. Other outside changes were the valve cover and detailing, with ignition via an HEI conversion; Mallory Promaster coil; recurved, stock Slant Six electronic distributor with vacuum advance; and “Flamethrower” HEI III four-pin module for spark. An Erson cam with 0.465 lift and 280/270 degrees advertised duration fills the cylinders, with Doug Dutra dual headers taking it out. Minor head work, 9.2:0 compression, and added Sanden AC complete it.

Transmission: Drag racer Mark Wilson rebuilt the original A904 transmission, adding an Edge Racing mild street 2,600-rpm stall converter.

Rear End: The rear axle is an 8 ¾ from a 1971 Scamp with a 3.23 SureGrip unit and Moser axles with green bearings.

Interior: This 2,900-pound car is street-driven and still has bench seats. The custom upholstery is by Rob Philpot of Gainesville, with the dash featuring bezels re-chromed by Layson’s, NOS stock gauges calibrated by Redline, a 1965 Barracuda 120-mph speedometer, and the alternator gauge converted to a voltmeter by Redline as well. The vintage 1970s Sun Super Tach was modernized internally by Redline, and the OEM radio has been converted to an AM/FM/USB/Aux/Bluetooth by Rick Seaman of Rick’s Radio Conversions. In keeping with the factory look, a 1964 Barracuda woodgrain steering wheel is in place.

Electronics: Chuck fitted a Ron Francis 24/7 wiring kit, added a Ford Duraspark voltage regulator now hidden in vintage Sun Tach sender box in engine bay, and put the Optima battery in the trunk.

Thanks to: Carolyn Ellis, for being the most amazing, supportive, and patient wife ever. Ben Simons, for countless hours of time, skill, and encouragement (and loaning me his fancy tools and not being mad when I broke some of them). Mike Nelson, Charlie Schmid, Mark Wilson, and Frank and Jean Paty. Thanks also to my mom and dad for giving a kid with no prior mechanical knowledge a chance to build an ugly and messy car in their carport, and my neighbors for not being too mad when I set up a makeshift paint booth in our driveway to prime the car.

The post For Chuck Ellis, This Free 1964 Valiant Became the Dream Machine appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

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[travelingtheusa]

NEW YORK

23 Sep 2017 (Fri) – Wow!  It has been some time since I posted to this blog.  It’s surprising how easy it is to fall out of the habit of regular postings.  I will try to remedy that.

      We met our friends, Tom & Sandy from Arkansas, for a delightful trip into New York City.  They were coming to New York to visit one of Tom’s friends as well as his granddaughter. We met them at Battery Park and rode the ferry to Ellis Island.  It is amazing how the museum has grown.  The story the museum tells of 12 million immigrants who passed through the Island during a 21-year period is awesome.  Everyone should see this place – especially if your ancestors came through there.  

     There was also the most interesting carousel in the park.  It is supposed to be something like experiencing what it is like to be in a school of fish under the water.  I had to ride it! What fun.  We also had a couple of guys serenade us on the subway.  They were panning for money but were pretty good.

     We also drove to the annual RV show in Hershey, PA, on September 14.  It was fun to see all the new models and explore the innovations that are out this year.

     We have set our plans to get back on the road. Hoping to depart New York on Tuesday, September 26 at O-dark-thirty (our favorite time of day to escape Long Island).

7 Sep 2017 (Thu) – The oncologist’s visit this morning went well. The PET scan showed very low grade lymphoma.  The doctor says no treatment is necessary at this time and told me to come back in three months.  Paul and I immediately began looking at what we have scheduled during the week and contemplating when we can get back on the road.

     We went to Port Jefferson for lunch and ate at Danfords, a high-end historical resort sitting right in the port.  The meal was expensive but enjoyable.  We sat out on the deck and watched the ferry to Connecticut come and go. After lunch, we walked around the port soaking in the warm sun, feeling the soft breeze blowing in from the sound, and listening to the seabirds call out to each other.  There was a large building that used to be a machine shop for a shipbuilder back in the early 1900s.  It is now a community center.  There was an art show going on and we walked down the aisle admiring the talents of many artists.  

     We then left the port and drove to the surgeon’s office where he did a quick check on my side.  Everything was fine.  We now will be making our plans to leave as soon as we can.

4 Sep 2017 (Sat) - The desk is done!   And a gorgeous piece of furniture it is, too.  Paul matched it to the cabinetry in the RV so it looks built in.  He’s such a talented guy.  

     Today is our 46th anniversary.  Sometimes, it seems like just yesterday that we got married.  Other times, it seems like we’ve always been together.  Got a few more to go.  We celebrated by going to a barbecue at Travis & Sam’s house.  The boys were delightful and very energetic.

1 Sep 2017 (Fri) – Waaaaaaahhhhh!  August is gone.  It is so sad to see the waning days of summer. This coming weekend is the basic marker for the end of the season.  I am sorry to see summer go.

     Not much has been going on this week.  Paul has been busy building a custom desk for the RV.  We have been spending some time watching the grandbabies and waiting for medical tests to be done.  I had a PET scan today.  They injected me with a radioactive isotope which “lights up” the cancer cells.  They then lay the PET scan over the CT scan and see where the differences are.  I am eager to talk to the doctor.  It will be a long week until next Friday.

22 Aug 2017 (Tue) – We went to the lab at six this morning so Paul could get a blood test.  Then we drove to the Bay Shore Marina.  Our plan had been to watch the sun rise but the sky was clouded. The sky just got lighter but there was no sun to look at.  We walked along the boardwalk, explored Nicky’s on the Bay (a summertime restaurant that has grown significantly over the years), admired all the boats moored at the docks, and disturbed the geese wandering around the area.

     At 11:30 a.m. we went to the oncologist.  He told me that I have a low grade lymphoma.  It is so low grade, in fact, that they don’t even treat it.  Doctors look on it just like other diseases – high blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. – and just monitor its progress.  He gave me a script for a PET scan and took more blood.  The pathologist is also doing a DNA/genetic study of the biopsy for further diagnosis.  If I have to have periodic testing (i.e., bloodwork) then I could do that anywhere. There is no reason for us to come off the road.  I could get the tests and have the results sent back here to New York.  Hopefully, we can be on the road by the end of September. Keep your fingers crossed.

21 Aug 2017 (Mon) – Paul had an appointment with the doctor this morning to get the results of the carotid artery sonogram that was done two weeks ago.  He has a small amount of plaque in his arteries and has to be monitored on a regular basis but, otherwise, Paul is just fine.  

     We then drove to my surgeon’s office where he removed the drain in my side.  Dr. Craig was on the way to Montauk for a week-long vacation with his family and came in especially to see me (dressed in shorts and a t-shirt).

     Next stop was to pick up Peter at our cousin, Lee’s, house.  Peter needed a ride to the airport.  We stopped at Panera Bread for lunch then dropped him off at Islip MacArthur Airport. He will be in the air during the solar eclipse.

     Paul and I drove to Melville to the Canon service center to get my Sureshot camera fixed.  There was a gate guard who took down our license plate number and noted Paul’s driver license information.  He then called for an escort to bring us to the service center (this IS a camera company, right?).  A bunch of employees were standing around outside the large office building watching the solar eclipse.  

      Inside, the service agent informed us that Canon does not repair the cameras.  She took the broken one back and told us that Canon will replace it with a new one at a reduced cost.  We paid about $300 for the new camera when we bought it 3 or 4 years ago. Today, I paid $79 (plus fees) for a new one.  That was a pretty good deal.

18 Aug 2017 (Fri) – We left Indian Island Campground at 10 a.m.  It poured most of the way home.  Remarkably, it stopped raining a mile from the house.  We were able to get the RV backed into the yard without getting soaked. When we opened the slides, I found that the floor had gotten wet.  It looked like water had pushed up through the bottom of the slide.  We drove through some pretty deep puddles on the way home and our new RV appears to NOT be well sealed.  Ugh!

     After set up and lunch, we drove to Amityville to find a camera shop to get my camera repaired.  The one shop Paul was looking for was no longer there.  The other shop does not do camera repairs.  That trip was a bust.  We then stopped at Bed, Bath & Beyond to buy a gift certificate then at Best Buy to buy a new mouse for the computer.  Somehow, the mouse we had broke.  While at Best Buy, we also bought a movie making program.  We are still trying to make videos of our travels and looking for a program that is easy to use.  I think this makes the third or fourth program we are trying.  I’m so bummed that Microsoft removed Movie Maker when it upgraded its software.  That was a great program.

17 Aug 2017 (Thu) – The computer was down for several days.  I brought it to Best Buy where they cleared out viruses and malware and installed upgrades and updates.  

      Things have been humming along.  I had a biopsy done on Monday, the 14th, where the surgeon removed a couple of lymph nodes.  We won’t know for sure until I see the oncologist next Tuesday, but he thinks I have a low grade lymphoma.  It looks like the kind they don’t even treat; just watch it.  That means periodic testing and bloodwork but, hopefully, it won’t interfere too much with our travels around the country.

     We spent five nights at Indian Island Campground out in Riverhead with the Long Islanders.  Friends of ours from church (Jan & Ed) invited us to join the group for a campout.  It was quite enjoyable and the weather was good for most of the time we were there.

5 Aug 2017 (Sat) – We watched Caiden for most of the day. After lunch, we went to the library. Caiden played for about an hour. Next, we drove to the East Islip Marina and had a snack at the Bayside Clam Bar.  We tried to walk along the dockside but there was goose poop everywhere. Yuck!

     Later we went over Travis’ house and enjoyed dinner with him and the boys. Paul gave Noah the posters he had gotten from his father when he was a boy.  They were pictures of the early space rockets – the Atlas and Titan rocketships.

4 Aug 2017 (Fri) – Paul is watering the sidewalk several times a day.  It takes 21 days for concrete to cure and it needs to be kept moist.  It just looks very funny.  At 2 p.m. we checked in at Zilkha Radiology for Paul’s carotid duplex ultrasound.  After sitting for over an hour, it looked like the nurse had inadvertently skipped him. She tried to tell us the technician was stuck on someone who needed extra help but you could tell she was lying. We rescheduled the appointment for Monday and left.

     I dropped Paul off at home and I went for physical therapy.  Cosmo (yes, that really is his name) explained in great detail how the muscles, tendons, bursa, and bones all connect and interact.  He did some measuring and evaluating then had me do a few exercises followed by ice.  I scheduled three more appointments next week.