Midshipman

Well I allready payed him for the top-end rebuild... So I'm hoping he atleast did that and only procrastinated the paint and bodywork. If I get down there and find he completely screwed me over, I think I'll take you up on this! But it doesn't sound like you have a paintbooth onhand... and I'm hoping all the girl needs is some minor rust repair, a strip, and a spray. KLASSIK1 (Leo) has said he should have time to do some bodywork for me this summer... but I am still trying to figure out if I want to send my car all the way up into MI. (No offense, Leo) It will be a pain to get her up there, and a pain to get her back. Ideally I want a shop in or around Indy or Chicago. But price will be an issue, and Leo can probably break me a fair deal. I don't know, I'm quite dazzled and befuddled at the moment. I could let it just be driven as is, but I'd like to just get this body taken care off before it turns into a rust-bucket like every other "decent" body car that enters the midwest's atmosphere. P.S. If you have a paintshop Alex... you may be my new best friend! Where in IL are you?

Funny thing is, Jim... my Father tells me that every chance he gets . He was a Chief in 'Nam... and never misses a chance to let me know that CPO's run the Navy. It;s pretty much engrained into my head. I wanted to enlist, but my father told me he'd kill me if I did that. So I geuss I'll "settle" for being one of those snot-nosed Ensigns.

Well Hello cBolt, Yes, yes, and yes. The body is in pretty good shape, but the clearcoat (did they use Clearcoat on these?) is flaking off and it needs a new top desperatly. You are correct, I can leave it as is and enjoy it like that. But I really had my hopes set on just cruising the country during my last summer before my commissioning. I was all set up to hit the drive-ins and car hops and enjoy the summer in style. That's a lot of fun if one's car drives smooth AND looks beautiful. I'm just anxious to look cool, I suppose. I miss having my pristine 57 Chevy to tool around in... I sold her to buy this babydoll. Figured I could use a car that drove and handled better than my stock inline 6 chevrolet. And I will be changing my name come commissioning... I was going to use my normal forum name, but it was taken! And in a stroke of sheer midnight-braindead-glee I just threw midshipman in there because I could. I may be stuck with it now, who knows! And as for selling my car when commissioning comes, I may or may not. I do not want to, but it's a matter of storage. Do I really want her sitting in a lot while I'm gone... do I just loan it to my up-and-coming brother? Or should I just unload it and buy something more practical (READ: junker) that I wont worry about being vandalized or stolen while underway? Everything is up in the air at this point (including my commission BTW, since it turns out that the accident I had on my way to buy this Monte is still giving me problems... the Doctors just finally diagnosed me with a slight fracture in my Hip thanks to that crazy nut back in November! And I haven't been able to walk without pain much less PT since the collision. And my LT is getting slightly aggitated since I have missed the last two PFA's.) *EDIT: By the way cBolt, where are you serving? And congrats on your 20, I'm planning on being in for the long haul myself.

Well I would just slap a cheap paintjob on it... but I dont have the money to go throwing on a cheapo just to tear it off in a few months and start all over. My funds are relatively limited as it is

Well, it's been awhile since I've posted... but I need some sympathy at the moment and I'm fuming.... so please bare with me. My purchasing story can be found here , and thats a sad story in and of itself. Anyway, I first purchased my car back in November... but she had car trouble and I had to leave her with a mechanic 1300 miles from my home. The mechanic and I had an understanding that he would rebuild the top of the engine, so it would run again, and since he would have it all winter... he would strip it down and put a new paintjob on it for me. (I'm terrible at paintwork) Well, I was supposed to go down to South Carolina and pick my baby up on the First of March... but he called me and asked for more time. So we agreed I would retrieve my 70 Monte on the first of April. I have been trying to call him for the last 3 weeks, and he has not answered his home number or his work number. His Work number is now the voicemail for some person I've never heard of and I've left 12 messages on his answering machine at home with no answer. So needless to say, I began to feel a little insecure about this situation. So yesterday, without knowing what else to do (I mean, he suddenly stops talking to me when it comes time to pick up my car! And nobody has heard from or seen him!) so I called the county sherriff down there and asked them to drive by his house (I had his address from mailing him a check for the engine work) and see if he was alive and if my car was there. Well this did indeed light a fire under his *** and he called me that afternoon SCREAMING obscenities at me over the phone... But what was I supposed to do?! I hadn't had him arrested, I'd just asked to have it checked out so I knew if he had skipped town or was lying in his house dead. He told me that I can pick my car up on the First at 7pm, and I'd better be there or he's pushing it into the street and abandoning it. I felt a little bad for upsetting him so much, until I began to ask a few questions. Turns out the little ******* kept my car from November until April... and NEVER EVEN TOUCHED IT! He's pissed at me, and he never even did the work he was supposed to do... and now I've lost an entire four months and probably won't have this thing ready to cruise for the summer. So now, I miss out on my last summer to just drive and cruise... because next year I'll be commissioned and serving with my shipmates onboard a Navy ship. So my baby will be put into storage or sold without me getting to truelly enjoy and/or bond with her. Does anyone know of a good shop to do paint and minor bodywork in the Midwest? Preferably around Chicago or Indianapolis? I was really aching to cruise the country on my last summer of freedom... and although I can do enginework like a typical weekend warrior, paint and bodywork is beyond me. I always screw it up, and I'd prefer a professional looking job. Thank you for listening to my rant... maybe I was out of line calling to have him checked up on... but I didn't really know the guy that well and if someone took your car and stopped talking to you, you'd be scared too! Especially when your entire savings are tied up in it.

This happens ALOT during the changing seasons, especially during the dryer winter times. It is exactly what you described, a "static" shock. It is basic physics, which I'm not really going to get into, but all you need to do is ground yourself before putting your feet on the ground. Try touching some metal part of your car before you get out... if this seems to hard to do, I've heard of people rubbing dryer sheets on their carpets/seats or buying some anti-static spray at walmart. All of these things DO work. Or you can do the expensve route... switch to leather interior. That will solve it too. Cloth interiors on an insulation buffer (READ: Rubber Tires) are the culprit, as you get into and out of the car your clothes rub on the seat and "charge" you... kind of like when you would shuffle your feet on the floor and go touch your little brother when you were a kid. Hope that helps. Billie ------------------ <IMG SRC=\"http://www.ussedson.com/montesig.jpg\">