Gnarly Rust

Cian still talks about sitting in the front seat of the "B in W" as I followed behind watching them chug across the Richmond San Rafael bridge - willing that little car with all my energy to just make it to the other side. Since this was her maiden voyage and he was about as excited as a five-year-old boy could be, I "overlooked" the fact that the registration was two years out of date, that the car had been sitting for years without being driven and just prayed that my precious little cargo would make it home safely. Little did I know just how unsafe the car was. The next day, on Colin's first official mission to get this little baby rust free, he tackled the drivers side first. When he removed the carpet - the gas pedal came with it. Yes, the carpet was holding the gas pedal in place. Jeeeeeeee-sus! My stomach lurched. I let my baby sit in this thing? He drove 18 miles and across a bridge in this rat trap?? Suddenly, my bare bones model Nissan Pathfinder didn't seem so bad - it felt luxurious, safe and RELIABLE. I questioned our decision for a about a day. We don't just have 5 g's hanging off our money tree to be spending on 35 year-old cars. We also don't have a lot of free time - our weeks are jam-packed as it is. It is not like CJ is kicking around looking for full time projects when he is not working. Somehow though, he made steady progress in between getting kids to school, unscheduled dentist appointments for an emergency toothache, doing laundry, waiting at the hellacious Walgreens pharmacy on Third st. for medicine for emergency toothache (definitly need to yelp about that place when finished writing blog) , picking up other kid, making snacks, making dinner, making peace and cleaning up after these little mongrels....we decided our life during the week is indeed just one long, run-on sentence. After removing the center consul, the remaining carpet and cardboard sound insulation and asphalt floor pan sealer he started mocking up the floor pan patch panels from cardboard. He got the passenger side completed just a few days later. I know nothing about the mechanics of cars, but I do know what the floor pans looked like before and how they look now - and I know I am a little biased but it looks like a craftsman's work. He could have purchased the floor pans on the internet for $500, but opted for the "loving hands at home" approach - he bought sheet metal, rust converter and paint for just $42 bucks! Good thing, because I happened to find his latest "wish list," and I can just feel the credit card debt heating up! On the needs list - carpet kit, floor mats, door panels, front seat upholstery & foam, rear seat foam, shift knob, vinyl repair kit, driver side seat belt, rear center seat belt and interior trunk light. Ouch. But, after a few long (and hot) days of work he is still grinning from ear to ear, covered in grease and loving every second of this. It is pretty awesome. We have plans today on this sunny California Sunday and car repairs will have to take a back seat. But I must say I have somewhat of a transformed husband - listen up ladies! All it takes is a vintage car, a few thousand bucks and steady stream of Longboard Lager to make a really happy guy.