Bactrack to the Sunday before Thanksgiving. We had had yet another light snowfall the night before. It was light enough to not cause any major headaches like drifts or slick snowpack. However, it was just enough accumulation to conceal that bane of winter driving - "black ice."
I was on my way to Mass, be-bopping down the various county roads leading to my destination. I wasn't concerned in the least about the snow, as it was barely enough to dust the roads. I did briefly entertain the thought of dropping TR into 4WD just in case, but the notion passed as quickly as it had come to me. About a mile shy of The Carmel, as I was climbing a short but steep grade, I hit that demon-spawn of Jack Frost doing just under 45 mph.
In an instant, TR was launched into a nifty 540-degree {a 360 + 180} spin that ended rather abruptly when he struck the embankment square on his right front corner. The seatbelt and airbags did their jobs; I walked away with a few cracked ribs, and some soft tissue bruising all on my right side. TR was DOA, however - the impact blew out the radiator and both passenger-side tires, bent the frame, and shoved the motor back a good four inches, breaking the motor mounts in the process.
Needless to say, I knew TR wouldn't recover from his wounds, 'cos the cost of repairs would surely be a great deal more than his Kelly Bluebook value, even if the frame and motor mounts could have been repaired. The only expedient thing to do was write him off immediately, then concentrate on finding his successor. Keep in mind that this happened in late November - I was VERY concerned that my Christmas shopping could be in jeopardy, but at that point I had no other options.
Enter Buford.
Three weeks after the crash, my dear SIL stumbled across a prospect on Craigslist - a 1998 Buick LeSabre Custom whose replacement motor only had 77,000 ticks on the clock. And a dirt-cheap asking price, to boot. Thus, I quickly arranged an inspection and test-drive for that very afternoon. My earlier acquisition of TR himself four years back had taught me how to pounce on a good deal with alacrity, and pounce I did with Buford. His inspection revealed minimal rust {all of it surface}, a clean and tidy interior, and the appealing good looks of a 90's-era GM H-body platform.
Buford next passed his road test with flying colors - I'd forgotten how stout the H-bodies were ever since I sold my "Old Blue Mk.II" Pontiac Bonneville a decade ago. Buford's reminder was a pleasant one, indeed. LSS, the deal was closed in short order, and also gave me a double-coupon of enough leftover cash after the taxes, title, and insurance issues were duly taken care of, to put my Christmas shopping right back on the rails at the 11th hour.
With the stress now gone, I was able to thoroughly enjoy Christmas with my clan, whilst also making friends with my new wheels. My evaluation of Buford so far almost has me convinced to turn him into my first "hobby car." The only thing holding me back is deciding which of three hot-rodding options would be the most prudent course of action. There's absolutely no rush on this either - when it happens, it will happen only after thorough research and window-shopping. I want to have some fun with Buford, but in the most practical of ways.
As always, I'll post progress reports here when relevant; y'all won't miss a thing, rest assured.
In the meantime, you lot know the drill - groove-riding and Colortini-imbibing, dig?
More shortly.........
