BJ

Unfortunately, Johnny has been a bit neglected these past few days. I had a 4-day trip which took me out of the loop for, well, four days and along the way I managed to catch a bad head cold, which knocked me for a loop. So I’ve been a bit loopy lately. Feeling  a bit better today, I went to work on the air cleaner yet again. Another hour of effort with only a bit of improvement and a sore index finger to show for it. There is so much pitting due to corrosion I’m beginning to wonder if it’s a lost cause. My choice is to continue and accept it for what it is, try to find a used one in better condition or see if NOS replacements are still available from MBZ. I have yet to dig that deep yet. My hope is to keep Johnny as original as possible, but that too may be a lost cause as I know a new front and rear bumper are on the menu along with new (refurbished) wheels.

After tiring of rubbing my finger in circles I decided to continue with the underside of the hood, a.k.a., bonnet for our U.K. listeners. This afternoon I attacked it with Mother’s Detail Spray, which worked a treat, making short work of the overspray form some well-meaning, but dull detailer. It leaves a nice sheen to the gray under hood bits without looking too glossy. Unfortunately, I accidentally scraped along the bottom edge of the hood pad and being old and brittle (the hood pad, not me) a small bit flaked off all over the outside vent intake and onto the engine. Out comes the leaf blower to blow the bits away and to my surprise a lot more foliage came up from the crevices down under. I did the same last week and thought I got most of it out, however, you wouldn't have known it by the amount of debris that surfaced yet again. H.R.H. stepped out just as I was finishing blowing the engine and said: “I guess you really love that car. I see you were giving it a blow job.” To which I responded; “If you really love me then maybe you… blah, blah, blah…” I can’t really print what she said here, but I will be dining (and sleeping) alone tonight. That said, if you’ve never thought of a leaf blower as one of the first tools to use when detailing an engine then think again.

I did encounter a bit of a shocker at the end of the blow job when I looked under the battery tray for any recalcitrant greenery. I know the battery tray is in need of attention, however, much to my chagrin I saw some surface rust on the body panel hidden underneath the tray. Something I did not expect or notice earlier. Let’s hope it’s nothing more than superficial. I would loathe having to pull the engine to do a major panel repair in that area. It would mean a cost escalation along the lines of the Navy’s new Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier. I’m not looking to build a show car here, I just want as nice an example as I can have for display and to drive to MBCA events and along the way preserve a TV icon’s automobile for the future. I do take some comfort in knowing that this car cost over $79,000 when new in 1988, which adjusted for inflation is about $163,000 in today's money.

I did take JC for another short spin today in addition to a 38-miler yesterday. I’ve racked up the miles since picking up Johnny almost six weeks ago, but what the hell, H.R.H. (a.k.a., Avril, my darling wife) is right, I simply love this car.

P.S. While I was typing this tome my new best friend Malcolm called with the wheels I am in dire need of. Kind of makes up for the rest of the day’s maladies. Happy day!