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The Winner is ....................................... JIM (FB71) with his car "Uncle Fester"
Congratulations!!
His submission:
Congratulations!!
His submission:
Originally posted by FB71
The Long Way Home OR The Ballad Of Uncle Fester
Okey Dokey, here’s the story of Uncle Fester. Before UF, I did have a ’94 Aspire (Stimpy) that I had bought new and drove for three years, before I foolishly sold him. Later, I had bought a spotless silver ’88 LX, which I drove for three days before it was totaled. After that, I had a number of Thunderbirds and Mustangs, but always missed having a Festiva.
By this time, I was a Service Training Instructor for Ford Motor Company, working out of the Philadelphia Training Center, and living in Maryland. I was contemplating looking for another Festy for the fuel economy. This was the fall of 2004. I had seen one sitting for quite some time by my house, but it was gone by the time I decided I wanted another. Well, one day during break from class, I happened to mention to Terry, a friend of mine attending training, that I wouldn’t mind finding another Festiva. His response was, “you want a what?” I repeated that I wanted a Festiva. He told me to hold on, pulled out his cell phone, made a brief call, then hung up. He looked at me and said, “my sister-in-law has one. If you want it, pick it up by Sunday.” I asked how much she wanted for it, and he said “if you want it, go get it. It’s going to the scrap yard on Sunday if you don’t.” Well, that’s all the motivation I needed! Luckily, it was only about five miles from my dad’s shop. So me and the old man tossed a rope in his van and went down the road. When I saw it, I mentioned how much it looked like the one that had been down the street from for years, just sitting under an oak tree. Terry’s sister-in-law exclaimed that this was the car! She had just moved here, and didn’t have room to keep it! The poor thing had no brakes, the battery was dead, and it was covered with green and brown moss and tree funk. So we drug the little guy back to dad’s shop, where I resurrected him. The car’s dirty, worn white paint and mildew smell instantly brought to mind the character of Uncle Fester from the Addam’s Family, hence his name.
Well, Uncle Fester and I had many great adventures in the years to follow. One of the best was the first OhioStiva. Four years of sitting dormant, on top of obvious neglect by the previous owner, left Uncle Fester smoking like a freight train. The sunsequent cloud of smoke that followed Uncle Fester around made for very interesting conversation in the parking lot of Summit. We went to a nearby Wendy’s for lunch that time, and no one would follow me within a dozen car lengths! Uncle Fester proved his mettle many times after that, too. He’s hauled 1200lbs of top soil and mulch, and towed another Festiva on a dolly. He more than earned the engine rebuild he received shortly afterwards.
By early 2007, I had gone to teach at the Community College of Baltimore County, and was preparing to sell my house in Elkton (Delaware border) to move closer to Baltimore. My collection of old Fords had grown by one ’69 Falcon SportsCoupe, added to my ’64 ½ Mustang, as well as my 2004 Mustang coupe. Thinking I would no longer need Uncle Fester, I sold him to ‘MechanicalDJ’ here on ff.com. In July of ’07, my ’04 Mustang was totaled by a careless driver. I looked, in vain, for another newer vehicle to drive daily. Additionally, I couldn’t dismiss my longing for another Festiva. About that time, ‘qaking’ from ff.com offered me his ’90 L Plus, which I accepted. But that empty space left by Uncle Fester just wasn’t filled.
In the fall, ‘MechanicalDJ’ advertised here that the ubiquitous Uncle Fester was for sale, as he could not keep him any longer, due to space constraints. Mech resold Uncle Fester to me for what he had paid months before, $200. He now sits in a locked paddock at work, awaiting new tags, which he will receive shortly.
Uncle Fester is home again.
Submitted by Jim DeAngelis, ‘FB71’
OhioStiva 1
Okey Dokey, here’s the story of Uncle Fester. Before UF, I did have a ’94 Aspire (Stimpy) that I had bought new and drove for three years, before I foolishly sold him. Later, I had bought a spotless silver ’88 LX, which I drove for three days before it was totaled. After that, I had a number of Thunderbirds and Mustangs, but always missed having a Festiva.
By this time, I was a Service Training Instructor for Ford Motor Company, working out of the Philadelphia Training Center, and living in Maryland. I was contemplating looking for another Festy for the fuel economy. This was the fall of 2004. I had seen one sitting for quite some time by my house, but it was gone by the time I decided I wanted another. Well, one day during break from class, I happened to mention to Terry, a friend of mine attending training, that I wouldn’t mind finding another Festiva. His response was, “you want a what?” I repeated that I wanted a Festiva. He told me to hold on, pulled out his cell phone, made a brief call, then hung up. He looked at me and said, “my sister-in-law has one. If you want it, pick it up by Sunday.” I asked how much she wanted for it, and he said “if you want it, go get it. It’s going to the scrap yard on Sunday if you don’t.” Well, that’s all the motivation I needed! Luckily, it was only about five miles from my dad’s shop. So me and the old man tossed a rope in his van and went down the road. When I saw it, I mentioned how much it looked like the one that had been down the street from for years, just sitting under an oak tree. Terry’s sister-in-law exclaimed that this was the car! She had just moved here, and didn’t have room to keep it! The poor thing had no brakes, the battery was dead, and it was covered with green and brown moss and tree funk. So we drug the little guy back to dad’s shop, where I resurrected him. The car’s dirty, worn white paint and mildew smell instantly brought to mind the character of Uncle Fester from the Addam’s Family, hence his name.
Well, Uncle Fester and I had many great adventures in the years to follow. One of the best was the first OhioStiva. Four years of sitting dormant, on top of obvious neglect by the previous owner, left Uncle Fester smoking like a freight train. The sunsequent cloud of smoke that followed Uncle Fester around made for very interesting conversation in the parking lot of Summit. We went to a nearby Wendy’s for lunch that time, and no one would follow me within a dozen car lengths! Uncle Fester proved his mettle many times after that, too. He’s hauled 1200lbs of top soil and mulch, and towed another Festiva on a dolly. He more than earned the engine rebuild he received shortly afterwards.
By early 2007, I had gone to teach at the Community College of Baltimore County, and was preparing to sell my house in Elkton (Delaware border) to move closer to Baltimore. My collection of old Fords had grown by one ’69 Falcon SportsCoupe, added to my ’64 ½ Mustang, as well as my 2004 Mustang coupe. Thinking I would no longer need Uncle Fester, I sold him to ‘MechanicalDJ’ here on ff.com. In July of ’07, my ’04 Mustang was totaled by a careless driver. I looked, in vain, for another newer vehicle to drive daily. Additionally, I couldn’t dismiss my longing for another Festiva. About that time, ‘qaking’ from ff.com offered me his ’90 L Plus, which I accepted. But that empty space left by Uncle Fester just wasn’t filled.
In the fall, ‘MechanicalDJ’ advertised here that the ubiquitous Uncle Fester was for sale, as he could not keep him any longer, due to space constraints. Mech resold Uncle Fester to me for what he had paid months before, $200. He now sits in a locked paddock at work, awaiting new tags, which he will receive shortly.
Uncle Fester is home again.
Submitted by Jim DeAngelis, ‘FB71’
OhioStiva 1
but im lookin
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