"Joe" <howl@themoon.net> wrote in message
news:Xns9B0970475A0ACnospamforme@216.77.188.18...
> "dwight" <dwight@XtfrogX.com> wrote in
> news:VrmdnZLdNMP6MivVnZ2dnUVZ_rbinZ2d@comcast.com:
>
>> August 10th was TFrog's 15th birthday.
>>
>> There are loose panels in the interior. The power door lock doesn't
>> work on the driver's side. It still has the original Ford Premium
>> Sound System with AM/FM Cassette. The center caps are peeling on all
>> four wheels. And the black paint gets harder and harder to work with
>> every passing year. I dream of the day when all exterior molding is
>> replaced and the car gets a new blacker-than-black paint job...
>>
>> Still, 213000 miles have passed on that clock and TFrog got that
>> second coat of wax yesterday and looks fantastic.
>> http://www.tfrog.com/tfrog/tfrog.htm
>>
>> Today, we're going for a romp for a belated birthday celebration. The
>> first half of vacation week was spent getting the Frogs ready - the
>> second half is all about enjoying the hell out of 'em.
>>
>> dwight
>> (still stuck in 1993)
>
> dwight, kudos to you! Both frogs (T and C) look awesome. Now if you
> were my neighbor, I might not have sold my LX...
....and if you were mine, I'd probably spend more time on keeping them in
better shape! I'm a competitive son of a bitch, but there's no one around
here to compete with.
> The headlights look pretty clear - are they originals or replacements?
TFrog's were replaced about 4 years ago. CFrog is overdue.
> Also, you could take the caps off and give them a shot of silver - would
> look tons better than the scarred black. Or just remove them
> altogether. You can probably find caps on the Internet somewhere.
Take 'em off... That never occurred to me. I'd have that dragstrip look.
http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/...0%201&comp=LRS
There are several choices for center caps, but this is a knockoff of the
originals.
> You might consider a resto at some point, as I believe you are correct -
> these cars will continue to cost more with each passing year. If it's
> not yet time for the resto, maybe retirement to the garage is in order
> until resto time arrives.
Which one gets the garage, is the question. I like the convertible for
commuting, since it has auto, but the LX is better in bad weather -
especially snow. No, I trade off between the two all through the year, so
neither one is going to be a garage queen at this point.
The eventual plan is still to have TFrog undergo a complete restoration
project at some point. I'll let the pros handle it, everything from engine
and drivetrain to interior and exterior refresh. I'll keep the stock look
and have a much-better-than-new LX for less than the price of a new car.
Planning on this for it's 20 year celebration, at which point, yes, TFrog
becomes a garage queen. All of which assumes, of course, that there'll still
be gasoline available...
> Best of luck with them!
Thanks, Joe. Hard to believe it's been 15 years. Jeez, that's way back when
I had little kids...
dwight