Fleabay Redux

The planet-wide junk shop that never closes has yet again dropped a really boss restoration detail right into my lap:

The Korean War prompted Ohio not to issue metal plates in '52, the year our Cruisette was originally titled.  I've looked at a fair amount of plates and never seen another one with the 1952 registration decal intact.  In an uncharacteristic instance of openmindedness the Ohio BMV will allow owners of historical vehicles to run, what they call, model year plates.  Come registration time this will be our new old plate.

Ceramic Coolness

A short time back I grabbed these for the Cruisette at an antique joint in Marietta, O.  The crap-weasel owner offered a discount while I was browsing, but stiffed me at checkout time. My chump-ass still laid down 12 bucks in a fog of  ceramic lust.  I'da given him $15.   HA!

Definitely in the Fiestaware neighborhood, but not marked with anything but some spiffy speedlines.  Now which one for salt, which one for pepper?

Found on Fleabay

OK, I'll cop to it up front.  This is sort of a filler post to get my Christmas post off the front of this blog just in case anyone but me has an RSS feed.  Anyway I recently scored an awesome vintage "pinch catch"  in an Ebay auction:

When it hit my mailbox I found out that I bought it from the one and the only R.J Dial of Vintage Airstream, the bad-assest vintage site on this planet!  That'd be like buying a set of spark plugs and finding out they're from "Big Daddy" Don Garlits.   I'm not worthy. 
This one is on deck to be used on the reconstructed under-bed cabinet in the Cruisette.  I bet it'll even pinch better than the others!

Airstream Cruisette Christmas

Merry Christmas from Airstream Moderne!

Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year !

You didn't think I was talking about Christmas?  If I were King of the Universe it would be Autumn all the year 'round.  Warm days, cool nights and achingly beautiful color everywhere you look.  Here's our Cruisette just hanging out, digging the leaves:





Olivia took this one!

 

Road Trip

This past weekend I was able to take our Cruisette out for a brief overnight trip.  I conducted a workshop for the Brigade of the American Revolution Northwest Department on how to construct 18th-century wigwams at the "Fallfest" held at Brecksville Metropark outside of Cleveland.

In order to prep for the trip I got the tires "serviced"--dismounted, bands and new inner tubes added, remounted and balanced--to remedy the problems outlined in Cruisette Diary 10. 
After the workshop was over I drove the trailer to the town of Boston Mills located in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  I was keen on checking out the M.D. Garage, a restored 1940's gas station.  The Park Service uses it to host local art exhibitions.  It is quite well restored, and while the gas pumps are locked the air pump is still functional.  This is likely for the convenience of the bicyclists using the nearby Cuyahoga Valley Trail.

Airstream Cruisette Diary 11

I started the rebuild of the damaged front vent.  I chucked a 9/64" bit in the drill in order to remove the rivets holding the vent together.  I worked from the peened side and carefully used the drill to cut away the rivet.  I stopped drilling while the rivet was still intact in order to keep the bit from enlarging the holes in the cover pieces.  Once the rivet shank was almost gone I used a drift punch and mallet to drive the rest of the rivet out of the cover.  Once the rivets were all removed the vent pieces could be separated.  This also freed up the ratty old gasket.