A day in the life... fillin holes...

Now that the track events have slowed down,

I'm able to tackle a handful of projects

that were on the imaginary chit to do list.

This warning barricade was put up last April.

It's bugged me ever since,

especially now that high-profile events like 

Indycar are scheduled for next year.

Someone had used a huge aluminum pot

as a manhole cover.

And yea this is a city park!

Holey chit.

It was banged up back when I started,

but something had mangled it beyond repair.

I'm thinking it was one of these boom truck things,

although I'm not sure why it would be out  there.

Underneath hid a gaping trap of a hole,

at least 5-6 feet deep.

A definite accident waiting to happen.

I searched our boneyard for donor material.

It's like the motherlode for scrap building.

Check this out!

A cool drag racing sign rotting away -

Northwest Drag Racing Association.

There were actually 2 of them.

The dragstrip had some fast cars back then.

Lo and behold the perfect chunk of 3/8" steel,

the exact diameter of the concrete ring.

A hole was missing it's cover somewhere...

A quick compass was made with a paint stick and screws,

no need for tape measures here.

I'm not sure what the previous mech expected to do 

with this baby torch.

After grinding a nice radius to follow,

an imperfect circle was hacked out.

Not my best freehand torch work...

It's been awhile.

More scrap used for the guide pieces,

doubling up as finger guards for the pickup holes.

Magic green rattlecan finished off this masterpiece,

now a forever part of Portland Parks...

Yea some damn glamorous stuff a raceway worker gets to do!

More fun at work later...

TP

The Invaders - part 0 - plates

So we are the invaders...

The dreaded influx that have clogged Portland,

jamming up traffic,

stealing the good jobs,

raising up housing costs...

Born from a community in San Diego,

Point Loma,

that kinda prides itself on localism,

I'm aware of the importance (to me) of blending in.

Nothing's worse than the out of state plate guy,

driving like an idiot,

taking up valuable space.

When I was a kid,

we visited Oregon.

I remember seeing a bunch of these bumper stickers.

In the 70's and 80's Oregonism was very strong,

and about 10 years ago the new wave created another push back.

Now it seems like the invaders are winning.

The locals are retreating to Washington and the outer regions,

the city locals are like the French in WWII.

I've written a "how to" before about this blending in,

and acquired a couple old trucks,

which really fake deep Oregon roots.

Coffee and craft beer drinking newbs 

are most likely to drive the subaru line...

In October the van brought up its last load north,

and it was here to stay,

or that's the plan.

It was time to do the out of state registration dance.

Oregon has a bevy of plate styles,

the extra fees partially go to the representative need.

Bike riders, 

fisherman,

environmentalists

wine-o's...

How to choose?

One of the cooler versions is the original Pacific Wonderland plates,

and similar to California's black plates,

they did a reissue.

Of course there's a $100 gift fee to the historical society,

but what do you do for self consciousness.

While I was blowing our hard earned money

on frivolous vanity,

the DMV clerk said to make sure you use special fasteners.

Thieves steal plates and sell or transfer them.

What?

Well in Oregon the plates are not state owned.

You don't turn them in,

they are the owners property.

You can sell your car,

and keep the tags.

There's no plate # check to transfer either,

for a $7 transfer you can bring in a pair and register them.

"Write your legislator to change it" she said...

At that moment I realized I just blew $100 for nothing.

Instead of fixing a leak,

I'd rather reap the benefits!

The coolest Oregon plates are the old yellow ones,

with the embossed month.

I found the month we needed on eBay,

and pushed my luck on a DMV transfer.

The plate # was from a discontinued # series,

but these were from a 1966 VW that was still in the computer.

The wild card being they were still a live plate.

Luckily the transfer completed!!

Now the van looks like an local snow beaten work truck...

A huge giveaway are our two SoCal dogs.

These thin-skinned pups aren't too fond of the cold...

TP

Dollars and Sense

There was some good racing at the track this year.

Ya wonder how people can afford it.

The local bar "Kelly's Olympian" has a fleet of racing corvettes.

The best way to spend tip money!!

This one is privately owned.

It had the most deep copper flawless paint job...

A true holey chit moment.

The guy pushed it hard,

Supposedly locked up the transmission,

then slid out in his own fluids.

They tucked it away super quick.

I overheard the wife/owner saying...

She,"never liked that color anyway..."

I'll bet it's better than ever next season!!

TP