Spring and Status and Stuff
February 24, 2018 | Posted in 1989 Chrysler LeBaron Turbo, Family, Parts Cars, Shop Time, update | By fastwrecks
We know we promised the Chrysler LeBaron parts would be appearing on our eBay store soon, but we had a bit of a farm emergency in that Stormy, our 3 months out Boer buckling, developed pneumonia. We had almost a week of providing care for him including antibiotic and vitamin B complex injections, and close monitoring of him. We actually had him in the house and at the workshop with us for most of the last week. He’s made a great recovery and we’re now starting some deeper work around the shop to get ready to part out that LeBaron.
We’ll be taking a couple of days to tear down some old Mustang and other doors we have to post those parts online and clear out the shells, do a bit more cleaning and reorganizing of our workshop and then we should be pulling the LeBaron in by Tuesday to part it out. It has a strong running 2.2 turbo and builds solid boost, so if you need one, get in touch with us. You get a much better price buying direct versus waiting for it to be posted online.
Beyond that the goal is to get that torn down quickly, get the parts online, and get up to a pace of one car a month for the rest of 2018. Make sure you’re following us on Facebook @sportscarsalvage and on Twitter @fastwrecks for updates!
Think Spring!
This year, I am thankful for….
December 3, 2016 | Posted in Family, Shop Time | By fastwrecks
….Not parting out another SUV.
After acquiring a series of collections of already parted out vehicles and consignment lots over the past year, I was itching to dust off my large collection of 10mm sockets and wrenches and part something else out.
Enter this 1987 Toyota Supra MK3 A70, which we got shortly before Thanksgiving.
It has a blown motor and had sat for 5 years before we got it to part out. Fortunately, most of the other parts so far appear to be in very good shape. It has a black exterior, gray cloth interior, 180K miles on the drivetrain, and most of the electronics work. It’s 90% parted out right now. Our eBay store has a new category for the Supra parts, which I am adding to every day.
2016 has been a very productive year for us, both at home and around the shop. We’re hoping that 2017 is even better!
What’s happening?
October 22, 2016 | Posted in Family, Humor, Shop Time | By fastwrecks
In short, a lot.
You may have noticed that I haven’t written a blog post since April. Much has happened since then.
We got the second load of Porsche 914 parts in May, which I am still working my way through. There are still a few things to retrieve (mostly glass) but, for the most part, it’s in my workshop. I have seats, gauges, interior parts, assorted relays and modules, steering parts, a transmission, and much more. Visit our eBay store to see what we currently have listed. There is more being listed every day.
In June, we got two more goats. Tiara and Thompson were born in March of this year. They are Kinder goats (a cross between pygmy and Nubian goats) and are, of course, extremely adorable. Tiara will be old enough to breed next Fall. Thompson is her brother. We adopted them both so they could pal around together – Goats tend to pair up and we figured it would be good for them to have a similar age/size companion.
Thompson and Tiara, our Kinder goats.
July and August brought lots of gardening and outdoor adventures. We even started a new Facebook page to showcase our homestead adventures: https://www.facebook.com/witzendfarm/?fref=ts
Our nearly 1000 square foot garden was planted with mostly tomatoes for canning. This was the first summer that we had the goats, so mowing the yard was just a run of the mill chore, not an all-day project like last year. 2 acres is a LOT to mow and weed eat. When it wasn’t too hot to be at my workshop, we waded our way through Porsche 914 parts, tinkered with our 1985 Mercury Capri, and took in a few valuable consignment items. Our friends at AutoInterests had some assorted Mustang, Taurus SHO, and Jeep parts that they consigned to us to sell. You can find them in our Assorted New and Used Auto Parts category on eBay.
September was warmer than normal, so we enjoyed our swimming through the end of the month, more gardening, canning, and of course, garage time. Around this time, we started expanding our fenced area at home in anticipation of (surprise, surprise!) two more goats. They arrived at our farm a couple of weeks ago. Elliott is a 100% ABGA registered purebred Boer buck and his companion Blondie is a Boer/Alpine cross. He dwarfs all of the other goats at approximately 200#.
Our two newest goats!
The big E trying to look innocent.
That’s our past few months in brief. Here in the next few days, we will be receiving a Ford Escape to look at, plus I have been perusing our collection of automotive magazines and listing them in amongst the other parts. 2016 has been a very productive year for us all around and I hope to continue the trend.
It’s beginning to look a lot like….Goatmas!
December 18, 2015 | Posted in Family | By fastwrecks
Allow me to deviate from all things automotive to tell you about our goats.
Lucy and her ears
Yes, goats.
Onyx and Marshmallow confused because I came in the wrong gate.
Java eating.
I spent a great part of the summer working on getting our barn in order and repairing the fence in anticipation of these four beautiful and funny goats. Some friends of ours downsized their farm and wanted to know if we’d take the goats. Uh, twist my arm! I am a huge fan of goats. It’s hard to believe that we’ve had them for almost two months! They add a lot of amusement and cuteness to our place.
When my husband’s parents bought this house in 1978, they had kept horses and some other animals here, but there hadn’t been any livestock on the property since the last horse left in early 2010. The two acres was kind of lonely without animals…..not to mention the extra yard work that had to be done. Let’s just say that yard work is far from my favorite task. I can’t walk past a plant with “poison” in the name without breaking out into a rash.
All four goats at the fence.
While they don’t eat garbage (a huge misconception,) they do eat poison ivy, and that is an equally valuable service. If you think a goat isn’t listening to you, try opening the feed sack – they can hear it rustle from a mile away. They love to chat. There may or may not be video evidence of me having conversations with the goats. Goats are very smart animals. I don’t know how they knew when I was planning on giving them their regular dewormer, but somehow they figured it out….but stopped caring once I lured them over with a little sweet feed. Talk about bait and switch!
They are also as amusing as the funny goats you see on YouTube.
The plan is to have these guys as a foundation for raising meat goats, which we plan to do next spring. These goats will always be here and will keep any other stock company. (Put the curry powder and the soup pot away.) I find the company of these goats very rewarding. They are much better at posing for pictures than the chickens, and well….did I mention the reduction of yard work?
Goats. I love them.
Happy Father’s Day
June 16, 2013 | Posted in Family, Pontiac | By fastwrecks
Here are some shots of the Fiero after mechanical work but before body work. I’d like to wish all of the fathers, step-fathers, grandfathers, and anyone who has assumed a fathering role a Happy Father’s Day. Sending love and light to those who are missing Dad today.
After mechanical work and before body work
After mechanical work and before body work
After mechanical work and before body work
The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.
June 21, 2012 | Posted in Family, Humor, Shipping | By fastwrecks
Nope, haven’t forgotten about the blog….just been very busy inside and outside the garage.
1) Reorganizing the shop. It’s been….Interesting. Let’s just say that we have the proverbial 5-pound sack for 10 pounds of, well, you know. Before I even think about getting another car, I need to have everything in order or I WILL pull my hair out. I have been even more inclined to give good deals on big items just to get them out of my hair 🙂 But read my next bullet point before buying one.
2) Making shipping exceptions on eBay. Always an adventure. When I post something as “Local Pickup ONLY” or specify that it will be shipped via Greyhound Package Xpress, there is probably a good reason for it. Size matters, for one. Shipping large items, even if they are very light, can be a PITA if you have to build a custom box for it. I don’t ship used gas tanks. Also, I usually don’t ship glass unless it will fit into a standard-size moving box and can be shipped via USPS or FedEx. What happens every so often is that we get these literacy-challenged customers who not only overlook this very important part of the item description, but then get impatient when it takes some time to accommodate THEIR unique-snowflake exception. Really, I *don’t* make the shipping rules and I can’t bend them for you. If I get a really out-there request (can you ship a glass hatch marked local pickup only? and by the way, can you remove the aftermarket tint first even though you sell items as-is?) it could take days to chase everything down.
3) New business cards are in. I love VistaPrint. Plus, I even got some matching t-shirts for the special people in my life. I send them out with every eBay shipment, along with a surprise. Next goal – give our website a makeover.
In non-car related news, we got a kitten. We adopted it (or maybe we adopted each other) after the family of stray cats living under the porch moved on, except for one orange and white kitten. Butterscotch is adorable. How I had forgotten that kitten cuteness is God’s way of making up for their pain in the butt tendencies 🙂 I have to hand it to him….he stole a treat from under Spanky’s 20-lb chubby beast nose.
Preparing for the holidays
November 27, 2011 | Posted in Family, Uncategorized | By fastwrecks
The holiday season is upon us. We’ll still be at the garage, but will be slowing things down a bit until after the 1st of the year. (Don’t worry, Sports Car Salvage is not going ANYWHERE!)
It’s important to spend time with family this Christmas. Last year, we were faced with a family member’s battle with lung cancer, which ended on December 22nd, 2010, after contracting MRSA pneumonia. Our LilBear had come up on the morning of the 22nd from her mother’s house to stay with us for her Christmas break, and losing her grandfather was a huge blow for her.
Now that the business is growing, and we’re not dealing with any illness, death, or relocation, we can make this holiday much nicer for her. We have some trips planned on her weekend visits (like the Polar Express!) plus she will be with us for a couple of weeks until school starts back up.
We also plan on participating in some Christmas activities in the community. Some of these are our typical gift-giving to local churches for children in need and the like. Some of the others….well, those are a surprise and I can’t spill the beans yet.
But don’t fret, because we will still be active in the business. I’m aiming to do more administrative-type stuff that I can complete from my home office during that time. While digging out Christmas decorations and the like, I found some interesting miscellaneous stuff that I can list on eBay. Plus, I plan on working more on the Internet marketing side of things. Long story short, I plan on dedicating the same amount of time to the business – just focusing on different areas.
Yellow Ribbon Fund: Why We Donate
October 30, 2011 | Posted in Family | By fastwrecks
For those of you that follow our Sports Car Salvage eBay store, you may have noticed that a select number of our eBay listings donate a portion of the proceeds to the Yellow Ribbon Fund through eBay’s Giving Works.
Yellow Ribbon Fund, founded in 2005, assists injured service members and their families. The mission began when the organization’s volunteers learned of needs not met by other donors. Yellow Ribbon Fund provides transportation, lodging, job mentoring, and assistance for families and caregivers. We at Sports Car Salvage chose this organization because we have friends and family who have served in the military, some of whom have been badly injured in the line of duty. We believe there should be no such thing as a “Homeless Veteran” in the United States. Unfortunately, have seen too many service members who bravely served but are marginalized by society after being injured.
I, for one, am especially pleased that Yellow Ribbon Fund assists family members and caregivers of wounded service members. Family caregivers encounter many obstacles on the road to recovery. Financial costs include dipping into savings, opting for a part-time job or leaving the workforce altogether, and incurring hefty medical bills. The emotional costs are harder to quantify, but still as significant – depression and anxiety, for one. YRF’s Family Caregiver program aims to acknowledge the value of family members and caregivers.
To learn more, check out YellowRibbonFund.org today.
Oops, I did it again…
April 18, 2011 | Posted in Corvettes, Family | By fastwrecks
The majority of the cars we’ve bought lately have ended up being too nice to part out. Today’s is no exception.
We bought a 1987 C4 Corvette from Georgia this past week, which we had delivered earlier today. It’s teal with a matching interior (The 80s look will be all the rage on Barrett Jackson in 20 years.) We were told that it was in rough shape. It needs some work, but is much nicer than we were expecting.
It hasn’t been wrecked. This is a rarity in and of itself….do you have any idea how many front passenger-side hits we’ve encountered in this line of work? 🙂 Plus, all of the pieces parts are there, including the Torx wrench for removing the targa top.
It’s had some rather, um, “interesting” paint modifications done. We had Johnna wash the car in hopes of her finding pink paint underneath. Just kidding! No Barbie pink here, but I did acquire a nice helper out of the deal 😉 (A video is forthcoming)
In every Corvette lurks a pink Cadillac waiting to leap out....or not.
Time for a little slow-down…
March 10, 2011 | Posted in Family, Humor, Travel Stories | By fastwrecks
After burning up the miles between Akron and Rochester Hills, MI, including a lovely trip down Telegraph Road (US 24) through the western suburbs of the Big Daytwa, we’re going to take a few days to have our munchkin up from her mother’s place in Dayton.
Lil Bear helps around the shop, swings a mean broom, and thinks all cars should be Barbie Pink (she’s 8.something,) and gets emotionally attached to cars. In other words, a little car princess. 🙂
So it’s gonna be a chill-out, visit, enjoy loved ones kinda-weekend. We hope you get the chance to do the same!
After the nerve-wracking trip down to Columbus and back to get her, that is. O_O
LilBear torments BigCat 🙂
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