30: ROAD TRIP! - Atlanta, IL

It was a beautiful day for a car event, so off to Atlanta we went.

No, not Georgia...
Atlanta, Illinois.

Located on historic Rte. 66, Atlanta was truly a neat little surprise. The band was good, the cars great, people friendly (that's a given, it's the Midwest) but the cafe we stumbled upon was really cool.

Called the Palms Grill Cafe, and located on the main drag, it boasts all homemade food like your Momma makes, and is chocked full of vintage decor. We chose to sit at the old fashioned bar on old fashioned bar stools so we could talk to the staff and get the skinny.

They work hard 7 days a week just to make your taste buds pop, and we even met the pie-maker herself. Oh... did I not mention the pies? They have 'em in spades, and all homemade. I double-dog-dare you to not have a slice. The casual atmosphere and great food made for a fun lunch stop that we will definitely do again.

Parked just outside the cafe was a vintage vehicle sporting a car-side food tray, complete with (fake) A&W goodies. Anyone old enough to remember not only curb-side service with roller-skated servers, but how much fun making a trip to A&W was... this inside photo is for you.

This is what it looked like getting car-side delivery.
Wind wings, crank window handles, and the old metal trays that hung on the glass are wonderful memories to have. Turn the car lights on to have the roller-skate girl come get the tray!

Further up the street, and parked prominently on the grass was this vintage beauty. Suffice to say no other car was given such a parking honor, though there were other lovely vehicles present.

This shiny Pierce Arrow (hood ornament photo only) was gorgeous, and the owners just happy to have people look at it.  

(Car people are like that)

Okay, Lincoln looks a little tired, 
the debate must have been difficult.  

TD asked why I was only taking a photo of the ornament and I had to explain I love the accessories best. It's a woman thing.

Immediately nextdoor to the cafe is the museum. My first thoughts of "this will be a quick in and out" were quickly tossed aside once we stepped inside and were greeted by the museum caretaker and his pet Lab. 

The museum houses a nice collection of Atlanta's rich history, including a life-size display of Lincoln as he debated Stephen Douglas while in town.  

While Mr. Lincoln worked in Springfield (just south of here), he stumped all over Illinois and made a stop in Atlanta, and the town is very proud of that fact!

   

I like this photo so much, I think Atlanta should use it for a postcard.
Call me Atlanta, we'll make a deal.

The car show was a huge success and we were sorry to learn the town had already hosted 2 previous ones this summer. Apparently they host several each year and this was the last one for 2013.

Now this next thing... this is really something.

If Victor Mature and Arnold Schwarzenegger had a love child...

....it would look like THIS





Fair thee well Old Blue, you were a faithul
companion, and soon to be lunch.

Interestingly, one of the larger-than-life attractions in Atlanta is the Paul Bunyan (aka: Victor/Arnold) statue. TD read the sign below old Paul, while I snapped a few photos. Atlanta was actually gifted this statue (previously a Midas Muffler advertisement) and people come from all over just to see it. Really?

No clue on why Paul is holding an

all-beef hot dog the size of an actual Smart Car, we suspect this must be what happened to his pet ox named Blue. 

While the band played away at Paul's feet, Atlanta's local library--complete with chiming bell tower--hosted a book sale and TD picked up a couple books for a dollar.

All in all, Atlanta is a quiet little blink-and-you-miss-it corner in Illinois that deserves more visits, whether they are car show related or just stopping in for lunch.

Rte. 66 bound people should definitely make an effort to get here!



29: Bleeding Brakes

After the wheel cylinder was replaced TD announced it was time to bleed the brakes. I take this news in stride. Being married for 30+ years to a car guy, I've helped bleed brakes on every single vehicle TD has worked on; Abbey, is no different.

It is boring, and I'm not sure why I hate it because I'm always the one sitting comfortably inside the vehicle mashing the pedal while TD is the one under it.



So THAT's what the little hole in the floor was for!

For those who have never enjoyed this *bonding* experience, the dialogue goes like this:

TD: "Down, down, slow, slow..."

me: "Okay, down."

TD: "Hold that," silence for a second, then "Okay, up slow..."

me: "Okay, up."

TD: "Hold that."

Repeat all of the above several times until there is no more air in the lines and you get a cramp in your foot.

Bleeding brakes is very important. Air is leaving the brake lines while all this lack of dialogue occurs-and-air in the brake lines means poor working brakes.
One can see why this is an important exercise.

Anyone who has assisted someone bleeding brakes knows not to say anything and just do what they are told. I also suggest everyone be in a good mood before you begin this task. I cannot stress that enough. It's also quite common to be sitting inside the vehicle and suddenly think of a thousand questions to ask the person under the vehicle about brake bleeding. As your council, I advise against this practice.

You also can't be interrupted. So let the dog out, feed the kids, and do whatever else you need to do ahead of time, because if you jump off the pedal in the middle of the process and leave, you will NEVER hear the end of it. (I'm using the word never here.)

People bleed brakes differently, and this guy's write up was amusing.

It starts like this:

If the term "brake bleeding" conjures up images of a clean, contented person stepping on a brake pedal while another grumpy, dirty, frustrated person yells, "Push down!" from under the car, your image would be correct.

Don't recycle all of your empty jars people.
You'll need them in the garage.  

The article discusses the importance of double-checking to make sure you have everything on your tool checklist in your immediate workspace before beginning this task. 

I agree.

I also just want to add that whoever is actually under the car getting grungy and watching for air bubbles should not be doing this on an empty stomach, so attacking this job after lunch is advisable.

28: Men and Wheels

Differentials and wheels - and - wheels and differentials.
It's a head spinning merry-go-round discussion.
No, a decision has not yet been made.

One thing I do want to mention (as long as we are on the subject) is the disproportionate passion men have to wheels compared to the other areas on a vehicle.

I equate it to a woman's passion about shoes, except that men only get 4 wheels and women get...okay, never mind how many shoes we get.

Understandably this is a generalized and stereotypical statement, but it has merit. We've all heard men joke about a woman's arsenal of black shoes. Comedians often use it for fodder. Jokes have been made for decades about women's shoes and the fact that men don't understand or see the differences from one pair of black shoes to the next.

Example:

"Honey, do you like these?" dangling little black sling-backs in front of him, "Or these?" now showing him the black open toe pumps. "How about these?" featuring closed toe wedges.

I don't even need to insert an image of a man with a blank stare here to emphasize this visual.

Newsflash: Men...women feel exactly this way about wheels.
(Chip Foose, I am so very, very sorry.)

TD can pour over pages of wheels in a catalogue and OoooOOOoooo and Ahhhh over all of them. I've watched this happen and am still befuddled by it. I look at the images and my eyes start to bleed after the fifth page. I just see round metal wheels. They all look the same to me. They're round, they are metal, and they go on the vehicle so the tire has something to grab. I can't for the life of me get in to the subtle differences.

Example:

TD: Look at these four wheels.

me: (nodding and staring at them) Umm, hmm.

TD: Which ones do you like best?

me: Wait...they were different?

Simply:

Black Shoes = Wheels




I've mentally pictured an outfit for each of the items on the left.
I wonder if guys picture different trucks for each of the things on the right.
These are questions that keep me up at night.
Not.

27: Painting the Cab Floor

Abbey's cab floor was painted.

Backtracking… the cab is already in great shape. It could use a new interior paint job, but right now, it’s fine and we will leave it as-is. The flooring is sound and has very minimal rust (all sandworthy) under the floor mat. All of that is completely normal for a truck that was well cared for by all owners. For trucks NOT well cared for, the rust could be a huge issue. My sincere condolences. 

To give the truck a quick make-over with POR15 paint, except...POR15 is about $45 a quart, so we went with the Rustoleum equivalent (and substantially less expensive) substitute for interior jobs like this. Just as an FYI: Sears was the only place we could find POR15 in our area, but Rustoleum paint quarts can be found in any paint section of a DIY store.

TD started this project before I could turn around. The paint goes on quick and easy and with the milder summer weather we are currently experiencing it made for a pleasant afternoon.






Too bad none of this will be seen when the mat goes back in.





BTW: That round hole in the floor has a plug.
It's still unsettling to see openness and earth underneath little plugs and battery box lids.

The smooth glossy surface that goes on when wet is exactly how it looks when dry. What a difference it makes inside the cab. Of course all this shine will be covered with the floor mat.

TD noted that the underside of the seat bench (open springs area) still scatters fine rusty particles on the cab floor after a drive. For those who missed it, I noted in the Have a Seat post that it was like having a '49 Chevy Rust-Fairy riding in the cab. To stop these free particles from cascading down on the cab floor we *could* strip the material off the seat benches, paint the springs and then reupholster, but if you look at the photos in Have a Seat, you'll see there is absolutely no need to do that. 

The job was quick and easy (according to TD who did it all) and dried very fast.

The whole thing was done in one quick afternoon.

That is all except the battery box lid which we took off and set aside...and then forgot about.

Dont do that.