Grand Wagoneer Plaid Headliner

Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger are at a cocktail party right now bemoaning how their Hampton's or Nantucket beach vehicle lacks as much style as mine.

I could not be more pleased with how much this brightens up the interior of the Wagoneer. And when I pull into the pits this season, there will be some looks from the competition. They will think, 'if this guy has this much time and energy on hand to prep his tow vehicle, his race vehicle must be prepped beyond belief." That's right. Fabric can intimidate.

I want plaid headliners in all my vehicles now.

Headliner Restoration

The headliner of my Grand Wagoneer was as saggy as the cast of Cocoon. It was just a bit floppy in the back and I could abide by this. But when it started grazing against my head as I was perched on the delicious corduroy(the etymology for this word is cloth of kings) it got a bit bothersome. So, I decided to redo it.

First step was removing the two cardboardish panels. This was the work of five minutes and a phillips screwdriver to take down the visors and coat hooks.

Once out, before you put on any fabric, you need to clean off the old, deteriorating foam. This is an odd job. Some people suggest a wire wheel on a drill. I felt that was too aggressive. So, poking around the tool box I found the three-inch hand held floor scraper I last used when removing the old linoleum from my house. It did a peach of a job taking off the old foam but not damaging the fragile twenty year old cardboard.

The results? Well, I bought the fabric, the pattern will be a surprise, and was about to start the job when my wife stumbled upon me. She saw me throwing fabric and scissors around and suggested I pay a pro to do the job. I agreed. There was no way I was going to cover the 4 foot wide by 9 foot long roof without a wrinkle.

Ok. I pick up the pieces in a few days. All I can say is, yacht club on wheels.

My First Bring A Trailer Post.

So, after a two years of daily checking. And a least a dozen submissions, the first car I found and submitted to Bring a Trailer was featured.

This was quite a thrill. Despite the no pay, it brought as much joy as the first automotive writing article I ever placed with 911 & Porsche World. 

Good Fun. And I wish I had a spare $35k to pick up this racer.

Are Porsches Good Enough to Eat?

Don't ask me how I found this article, but I did. Anyway, it is a 997 covered in chocolate. Details of how at the jump to the UK Sun paper.

Go back to the chocolate biz card I featured a few months back and it seems there is a trend here. My neighbor owns a 78 SC in the color, 'Bitter Chocolate'. My SC has a 'chocolate brown' interior. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

The Things I Do So The Porsche Does Not Get Driven In Bad Weather

20 degrees. Dark. The heater blower motor went on the Jeep. It of course rolled over and went dead on a day in Denver when it was 8 below. No joke.

So, after waiting a couple of days for the part to get here I put it in. Of course, the wiring and squirrel cage alignment were not plug and play. But the end result of copious and silent heat was worth it. Frost bite on fingers is not permanent, right?