I have not been awfully productive in my home workshop lately.  We decided to redo the kitchen in the cabin we purchased last year at Canyon Lake, TX.  The last couple of trips down there have involved picking out new cabinets, tearing out the old cabinets, redoing the in-wall electric wiring, installing new pendant lights over the bar, installing new cabinets and picking out a countertop.  This month we will be going back to oversee the counter installation and then I can set the new tile backsplash.

We ordered matching cabinets for the bathroom, but we decided that we will wait on installing them.  One thing at a time.  Meanwhile, below are some of the flora that are blossoming in Texas lately.

We had rain all day last Saturday in Denton.  It was particularly heavy in the morning when the set-up for Arts & Autos was taking place.  I was not much inclined to drag all my stuff out in the rain and risk getting my craft items water damaged, especially considering that I sold only one or two items last year when the sun was out all day.  So we stayed home.  I spent most of the day finishing the cedar sofa table for our cabin...which I will take down there tomorrow.  It is still in need of several coats of finish.  (Photos soon to follow) 

In the last week I have completed several new items.  First, I located a small Lexus logo to complete the matched set of mesquite Toyota/Lexus clock blocks.

And speaking of fanatics, a couple years ago I met a fellow who is a Rambler-AMC fan.  I did a couple of commissions for him.  Recently I stumbled onto an eBay seller who had two vintage Rambler hub caps.  One does not encounter Rambler/AMC stuff frequently, so I made an offer that was accepted and I now have two early Rambler hubcap clocks.

Otherwise, I have been working on a backlog of ornaments in my shop, including several duplicates that I acquired at prices I just couldn't pass up.  Particularly a 1941 Buick hood ornament with five holes drilled in the top.  I already had  '41 Buick ornament with two holes in the top.  It was not unusual for people to obtain a fancy ornament (like a Packard cormorant) and bolt it to the top of the ornament that came on their Buick or Ford.  So that is what I did with this duplicate '41 Buick hood ornament.

I've been dividing my time between installing new cabinets in our cabin at Canyon Lake and completing new items for an outdoor car & craft show on the grounds of the Denton Historic Courthouse. in two days.  Unfortunately, right now there is an 80% chance of rain predicted.  But I will prepare my gear and inventory anyway.  There is no "rain cancellation" according to the show sponsors, but an all-day rain will pretty much kill the event.  I know I will not expose my unique and wonderful creations to wind and rain. 

Meanwhile, here are a few items that I have completed lately.  (Float your curser or click the photos to read the description)

This year I have been adding to my Automobilia page pretty much weekly.  I have backed off of purchasing new items so that I can focus on catching up on the backlog of unfinished ornaments accumulated in my shop.  One of the most recent items is a C1 Corvette headlamp bezel (door is the technical term) that I was able to obtain on eBay, so that I could fulfill my concept of placing tandem clock and thermometer in the headlight openings..  I hope a Corvette aficionado will find this attractive.

Another exciting (for me) addition to my collection is a 1956 Chevrolet hood ornament.  I had completed one previously, but I made the mistake of taking it to a craft fair and it sold.  I now know not to display something at a fair that I do not want to sell.  On the positive side, I like this display even better than the first.

I mounted this eagle/plane hood ornament on carved walnut.  There was a split in the walnut board, so I filled it with epoxy and turquois rock-chips.  The '55 and '56 Chevy hood ornaments were similar, but the '56 was larger with a shorter tail.

I had sold a Jaguar Leaping Cat hood ornament last fall, so when I came across another on eBay I bid and won it.  The previous one was from the 1960s; this one is from the new millennium, but still looks virtually identical.  We'll see how popular it is this fall at the craft shows.  Another recently completed hood ornament was an early '50s Studebaker torpedo style ornament.  I had acquired a similar Studebaker ornament without the ring a couple years ago.  This one completes that style Stude ornament.  (see my Automobilia section near the bottom of the left column under the Studebaker heading)

This spring at the Texas Motor Speedway's Good Guys Meet I had the opportunity to purchase several good condition vintage ornaments, including a British Morris Minor one.  Some weeks later I came across another type of Morris ornament on eBay and was able to grab it.  I have now mounted both of them.  I expect that some Morris fan will be thrilled to find them.

Sometime last year I obtained two vintage GMC truck emblems from the 1940s and '50s.  It took quite a while to decide how to mount them.  I recently completed them with a pen-holder attached to each.

I want to mention an old favorite of mine: A 1950 Ford ornament with a Lucite fin. (Lucite was a brand name for acrylic - a new product on the market following WWII.  It replaced the pre-war Bakelite in many products)  Ford used a clear Lucite fin on their 1949 & '50 cars. Although the fin was clear, it was not illuminated.  I have done several hood ornament mountings of these two years, but in previous cases I reproduced the fin in wood or petrified wood.  I was finally able to obtain one with an original, surviving Lucite fin so that I could provide illumination for it.  In the following gallery I show this recent ornament as I received it with corrosion and a painted fin, then cleaned and mounted and finally with LED illumination.

And finally, this spring at the TX Motor Speedway event I was able to acquire an early 1930s Chevrolet eagle radiator ornament.  The catch was that the beak was broken off.  I was able to re-sculpt it with metal-impregnated epoxy into a passable snout, just a little longer than the original.  It also lacked a radiator cap, so I turned a wood base to provide the general effect of a radiator cap.  This is a relatively rare and costly ornament, so I was very pleased to find a damaged one that I could restore.

There are more photos of these and other creations under the Automobilia tab above.  My car-related stuff is organized into three vertical columns: Hood Ornaments (left), Clocks (middle) and Emblems (right).  Within each column they are organized alphabetically by make from A to Z (top to bottom) and numerically by year within each make, starting with the earliest at the top.  You are welcome to browse as you have occasion.  Any comments you wish to leave on this website are welcome.  Thanks for looking.

There had remained just a couple of details for me to declare that I have completed the restoration of my dad's last car.  For unknown reasons, Honda did not see fit to put an "Si" badge on the 1995 model Prelude.  The only sub-model designation they then deemed worthy of a badge was the Vtec.  Subsequent Preludes, Civics and Accords were  badged accordingly, but not in 1995.  Which seems odd, since it received a larger engine displacement, larger wheels and wider tires.  So, I obtained an Si emblem through eBay...probably from a Civic, and placed it on the rear of the trunk lid, to the left of the license plate.

And finally, after getting the repaint, the relatively unbroken sides of the car seemed too plain to me.  I was able to locate an outfit on-line that sells pinstripe kits to car dealers, complete with model names and logos.  I ordered the narrowest double-stripe tape with Honda logo and ran it along the break in the side sheet metal just above the door handle.  I positioned the Honda H at the front of the doors just forward of the side view mirrors.

Of course I've realized, after getting it repainted, what I've done to myself:  It is just like buying a new car and being paranoid about that first parking lot ding.  At least I have the benefit of being the possessor of a handicap card, so I can park in the extra wide handicap spots, affording a greater degree of protection.

After a week in the paint shop it took me another week to put the bolt-ons in place..  Most notably the bumper covers and all the light units, front and rear.  I had already installed new headlight units featuring a black background and halo DRLs. but all the markers, turn signals and taillights had to be put back in.  I had removed the passenger door panel so the door dent could be worked out, so it went back in, as well as the trunk interior panels.

I finished the reassembly yesterday afternoon.  Strangely, I still have a bucket of spare bolts left - ?  I guess I'll have to watch to see what falls off.

Last week the 1995 Honda Prelude Si that was my dad's  last car was in the paint shop all week..  I had stripped off the trim, bumper covers and  various side and tail lights.  I also pulled the passenger door trim panel to give the shop access to the inside of the right door where the worst body damage needed straightening.

When the car arrived here in north Texas from central Calif it went right to an independent Honda-Toyota mechanical shop.  It needed a new timing belt, serpentine belt, exhaust header, all four suspension struts, new electronic fuel/temp gauges and other misc. mechanical and electrical work. just to make it road worthy and pass the state inspection. 

​Following that I had a new radio head unit put in at Best Buy with navigation and rear-view camera..  I purchased five new speakers and a subwoofer amp, which I installed myself.  The factory retractable antenna was broken (which I learned is common for Preludes) so I purchased two aftermarket antennas that (1) attaches to the rear window glass and (2) mounts to the rear deck.  I connected them to the radio antenna lead with a Y-adaptor.  I had the quarter panel antenna hole filled before painting.

There were cracks, chips and a missing outer lens cover on the headlight, turn signal and side marker light units, so I purchased updated headlight units with modern high intensity beams and DRL rings, plus all-amber corner and turn signal lamp lenses.

 The tires on the car all had good tread, but were over seven years old - the "use-by" date specified by the tire industry.  Upon leaving MAACO. the car went down the street to the Wal-Mart tire shop for four new tires and the addition of an aftermarket TPMS system..  Factory spec tires are 205/55R15, but these are exactly as wide as the wheels, providing no cushion against curb rash.  I wanted slightly wider tires to better protect the alloy rims.  Surprisingly, only Wal-Mart had what I wanted in the form of Kuhmo 225/50R15's.  Since TPMS was not a feature of this '95 model, I found an aftermarket set that uses the cig lighter for the tire display, eliminating the need to mount an unsightly mini-screen somewhere on the dashboard.

Now all I need to do is reinstall all the bolt-ons and I will be ready to go!

I don't make any claim to being a gardener.  I have always been intrigued by bonsai plantings.  But they reputedly take much care and attention.  My life has always seemed too hectic to consider becoming responsible for a plant that has been confined to a small container and needs constant trimming, pruning, watering and feeding.  But a couple years ago (shortly after I retired) I got the bug to give Bonsai care a try.  I mail ordered a cedar from a nursery in Dallas, TX (just down the road).  It was reputed to require the least care of bonsai species.   It  arrived in the early part of the year.  It came with a planter, instructions  and food.  I created a place for it on the bathroom vanity top where I would see it every morning and remember to mist it and talk to it while I prepared for my day.

Well, I attended to it faithfully.for several weeks.  I even did some very minor trimming and a little shaping with the wires that were already entwined around the major branches.  I  fed and watered and misted, but it seemed to get more and more peaked.  Summer was approaching.  Suzanne said that it needed more sunlight.  I expressed my concern for it outside in the Texas summer heat, outside of my direct sight - I was afraid that I would not remember to care for it daily..  Suzanne said that she would look after it, since she has a number of potted plants that she has to water frequently.

Not to drag  this out any longer, it did not survive.  It dried up.  The photos above are of it when it was moved from the bathroom counter onto the deck.  It was started out in a classic waterfall shape.  I regret that it failed.  Or that I failed it.

So I went to the local nursery and bought some other plants that do not require a lot of sunlight.  I planted them in clay pots and put them on my vanity counter.  I fed and watered them faithfully.  Pffffffttt.  Gone!  Faded away like a weed in Round-Up.

Last November my old buddy, Alan, from Salem came down to Denton for a visit.  We happened to pass a road-side Bonsai vendor and I stopped to inspect her wares.  They were mostly those indestructible cedar trees that I had already tried.  I passed on making a purchase,.  Following Alan's return to Salem he sent me a bonsaied plant of Hawaiian origin.  It came with a planter, decorative pebbles, an evaporative tray, food and instructions. 

The left-most trunk did not thrive.  After just a few months, its leaves and outer stalks began to wither and fall off.  In spite of my daily misting and regularly scheduled feedings, it just withered away.  I finally cut it off at the ground - I was afraid to pull it up because it appeared that the root systems of the three trees were too deeply intertwined.  Since this loss, Suzanne visited SE Asia where she tells me there are Bonsai plants/trees everywhere.  Frequently they include a figurine as a part of the setting of the potted flora.  So Suzanne recruited a clay duck that had been my mother's and placed it where the 3rd trunk had stood.  This is how it looks today.  Arthur and the duck.

I did not think to mention in yesterday's post that I added some script to the rear trunk lid.  Aficionados of the Prelude are well aware that over the years from 1978 to 2001 there were five iterations of Prelude.  The 1995 my dad bought was late in the fourth generation which ran from 1992-1996.  Fans of the 'Lude generally refer to gen-1, gen-2, etc.  

​I wanted to recognize the version of Prelude dad's  car was from, so I searched eBay and found a chrome script from a Ford LTD and mounted it below the Prelude name plate.  A bit classier than Gen-4. I think.

I case you would like to be able to impress your friends with the depth of your knowledge of Preludes, here is a handy reference for each of the five generations.

Personally, I think that the third and fourth are the best looking.  The third gen Prelude coincided with the last iteration of the classic Civic CRX and shared some performance options with it.  But, the CRX aside, the best looking Prelude is gen-4, hands down.  I find that many others share this view.

My dad always liked automobiles.  The first car he bought new was a 1941 Buick Special.  If my memory serves me,  he traveled back to Flint, MI and picked it up at the factory, thus saving the shipping charges across the Rockies.  With gas around $0.20 per gallon, he actually saved money.  This was within a year of WWII - presumably summer of 1941.  When he enlisted, he put the car up on blocks in a neighbor's garage for the duration of the war.  

​Automobile production ceased after 3-4 months of 1942 model production and did not resume until the 1946 model year.  Fortunately for the Buick and for me, he survived the war, serving in the South Pacific.  He spent most of his time defending New Guinea from Japanese invasion..  I must point out that N.G. was never captured by the Japanese.   (Watch the movie South Pacific to see what the war was like for those who served there)

I would give a substantial amount to own this car, but that is not going to happen.  However, I have managed to hang onto my dad's LAST car.  Mom died in 1992.  In 1995 dad decided he wanted a new car.  He had studied Consumer Reports and was impressed with the fourth generation of the Honda Prelude.  He told me of his ambition and said that mom had told him he was too old to drive a stick shift.  I suggested that he test drive both and get whichever one he was comfortable with.  Next thing I heard, he had bought a red Prelude Si with 5-speed manual.  He recognized that it was very likely his last car and said to me, anticipating that I would inherit it, "You're really going to like this car!'  Sadly, it never occurred to me to take a picture of him with this car.

I did indeed inherit the Honda.  I drove it from Spring 1996 until Fall 2003 when I bought a 2004 Mazda RX-8 - the first year of the RX-8.  (Dad had once owned an RX-7)  I passed the Prelude on to my son, David.  I drove it from East Texas to Northern California for him.  He had it until early this year, when he had relocated to Southern California and was driving another vehicle.  The Prelude was parked in his step-dad's back yard in Santa Rosa, CA.  I did not want to see it just rust away, so I asked for it back and had it shipped back to Texas.  It had not been driven a lot during the fifteen years David had it, but given that it is now twenty-three years old, it was in need of some updating.  

​I've had the Prelude back about six weeks now and all the pressing mechanical/electrical work is completed.  New timing belt, exhaust header, shocks/struts, new radio with nav and back-up camera.  I elected to replace the stock headlights with more modern ones with DRL feature and to replace the US-spec front corner & turn signal lights with JDM all amber units.  Here are pics of a stock front and dad's updated Si.

In the above two, right-side photos you will note that I have also lowered the license plate to below the bumper face (why would Honda put the plate right in the center of the bumper where it will surely get bent?)  In the top (right) photo the DRL halos are on.  In the bottom (right) photo the high and low beams are both on.  This blog will not host a video (I'd have to pay for that privilege), but what is interesting about the turn signal is that the two lenses in the lower corner of the bumper alternate back and forth,