Be My Baby

I will make you happy baby just wait and see…

On the weekend I cleaned the garage, the poor 59 Cadillac was surrounded by boxes, tools, tires and the trunk had become an impromptu storage area of other projects. By the end of the weekend I had freed her from imprisonment but had not had time to get her started.

Tuesday afternoon I began the usually laborious process of bringing her back to life. Once the battery received a top up charge the huge gold twin snorkel air cleaner would be removed revealing the tri-power carburetor set up. My 59 has the optional Q engine option, the standard 390 being equipped with three two barrel carburettors. Similar to a 64 GTO but with a vacuum operated instead of progressive linkage.

If you leave her sitting for more than a week or two the fuel drains back from the carbs and the centre carb must be primed before starting. Using a small cup of high test, small amounts of gasoline are dribbled into the carb and then the car cranked until the fuel pump can deliver suck enough from the tank to fill the centre carbs bowl and fuel line.

She wanted to run and obliged by bursting into life almost immediately, within minutes she was backed out into the bright sunlight. The AM tube radio had quit working last season and I took a few minutes to examine the wiring under the dash. The goddess of vintage cars was smiling and it turned out to be just a fuse. Once a 9 Amp fuse was located and the tubes warmed up The Ronettes came blasting through the speakers, magical. I just sat there in the warm summer sunshine listening Ronnie's amazing voice making the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. 

Later the girls and I took her on cruise along the lakeshore and to a park to fly kites, a lovely evening. Later I met my friend (another Cadillac fan) for coffee. On the way home much too late with the top down in the cool night air, Bobby Darrin singing, Beyond the Sea I felt like I was in a scene from Mad Men,  Betty rather than Don of course.

Oh one more car story, five minutes into our maiden voyage, the Caddy starts to run rough and we can smell gas. I pull over into a side street shut her down and pop the hood (yes I do have a fire extinguisher in the trunk). No flames but the rear carb was wet  with fuel, most likely the float had stuck. No tools on hand I improvised and grabbed the hard plastic comb in my handbag, a few whacks on the fuel bowl and we were back on the road!

I will adore you for eternity…

well worn copy of the 59 shop manual

Yes the 59 is the car I am considering selling to fund FFS, a car I have owned since I was 16 and although I know it shouldn't be it is a hard decision. Car guys and gals will understand.

If You Want Anything Done...

My first article in a non automotive magazine has just been published. The latest issue of Frock has my review of the documentary I Am A Woman Now. It is a reworking of my blog on the same subject.

http://frockmagazine.com/frock016 

The magazine did a great job on the layout, see page 26. Lots of other great articles to enjoy.

You can download the magazine for free, make sure join their mailing list at http://bit.ly/gsfrock.

If you want anything done you have to do it yourself. 

No I don't mean SRS! I had completed the necessary cosmetic repairs on my 76 Electra and realized it was time for an oil change and a chassis lube. Both jobs are a rather dirty and messy affair. Perhaps time to leave such tasks to the guys….professional mechanics that is.

I dropped by a oil change/repair franchised shop that advertised a price less than supplies would cost me. I pulled up in the Seville as I exited I could hear the guys in the shop remarking on the "old" Caddy. A less friendly reception from the woman behind the counter.

Asked to confirm the price of oil,filter lube on an older V8 Buick she snapped, well what kind, year etc. Its a 455 I said , "well what model" was here terse reply, giving me a look that said stupid bitch….as if the model makes any difference.  

Its an Electra Limited Landau Custom Coupe. Anyway they wanted to charge me an extra 13 dollars for the extra litre of oil the 455 would need plus they would have to charge extra for my rare filter. I turned on my heel and left with a polite no thank you.

GM Goodwrench was much more friendly and had the filter in stock. Nevertheless I did the job myself. Emerged from under the car with all nails intact for a change and the satisfaction of knowing the job was done correctly.

Girls, learn how to change your own oil. Yes a dirty job but you will save money and a little time on your back….under your car will help you identify any potential future problems. 

Sunday was spent cleaning the garage and garden shed, more hot, dirty work. Had to stack some 20 inch rims and tires above my head, OMG I have definitely lost upper body strength.  Photo is me hot, sweaty and no makeup.

Hugs,

April

Red, Ready Amber

Perhaps I should have called this post smoke and mirrors...

Have to share a quick story. I am coming back from my mothers with my two youngest in the back seat of the Electra. At the stop light a large black Chevy Avalanche pulls up and a rather handsome African American man compliments my car and asks some questions about her.

To show off a little I hold the brake for a few seconds and manage to pull of a respectable and rather loud burn out (455 V8 has 510 ft pounds of torque, that is more than a Hemi). At the next light he leans over and says, "damn girl you are turning me on". LOL 

Put another check mark in the pass column.

No children were harmed in the making of this blog post.

The other evening got together with Genni to watch the three episodes of Hit & Miss, wow, episode 3 had me teary eyed but the conclusion provided the necessary catharsis moment. I won't spoil it for any of you if you have not seen it yet.

Thanks to all my readers, just surpassed 100 members….Thanks Everybody!!!

Hugs,

April

Not my Electra but you get the idea!

Is This Too Short?

Hope you didn’t mind the shorts and mini skirts, I know I am too old for the mini skirt, jury is out on the shorts. Never thought I would have the guts to wear shorts. I have worn them while working outside and while biking with the children.

Last two weeks my eyes have been driving me crazy, quite painfully so. I have had three different visits to optometrists and my doctor none revealed any problems. Starting to think it is stress related, not contacts, not air conditioning or allergies….hormones???.

Just finished another car article to be published, this one on the Bucciali Tav 32 and a modern kustom tribute. Also have an upcoming article in Frock magazine and my story n the Green Hornet's Black Beauty Imperial is as they say now on news stands.

Oddball Kustom's Bucciali tribute "The Bootch"

A shout out to the TV show Hit & Miss. The first episode was on You Tube and the series seems worth watching. Finally a positive transsexual role model, a single parent and assassin. I found Chloe Sevigny's portrayal pretty realistic (well of course she passes) as she exudes the doubt and fear we all feel plus a strength of character that we all need to survive transition. I will admit a guilty pleasure at seeing her beat up the village bully.

My good friend Genni ordered a copy of season one from the UK and I am looking forward to the viewing party.

The Electra is back on the road consuming huge quantities of crushed dinosaur juice, makes me appreciate the slightly smaller dimensions and fuel economy of the 1985 Cadillac Seville.

Hugs  April

Falling Ambulances and Oscar Wilde

A trip to Toronto on holiday Monday to see an old friend who was seriously injured in a freak classic car accident.  A vintage Cadillac ambulance, a dream car he had waited years to buy, fell on him when a careless driver swerved off the road and hit the car while he was working under it. A miracle he survived and it was great to see him up and about.

As he occasionally forgets my new name when on the phone I made sure I wore a dress not jeans and a t shirt and brought flowers for his wife….to reinforce the correct visual impression.

On the train to the city I ended up in an hour long conversation with a nice woman traveling to see her friends for a day out. It was most gratifying to past for a prolonged “interview” . How did I know I passed? Well the question about my husband was a good start. I also felt the conversation was subtly different from those with women or men who know my background. The pleasant 60 mins on the commuter train put me in a great mood for most of the rest of the day.

“J” read my post entitled Coward, where I wrote that I would like to go stealth if I can pull it off.

This caused some consternation and conflict I did not anticipate. She took going stealth as meaning that I was usurping her role as mother and denying my past fatherhood. I had meant I simply want to pass as a woman , to be recognized as such and not be branded transgender or transsexual for the rest of my life. Think Charles Manson with a T instead of a swastika carved on his forehead.

The transition to full time has been harder for “J” than she imagined and the cause of much stress. The sooner I land a job the better, which seems more and more the impossible dream but the only strategy is to preserve. I recently removed my profile from a trans forum as I didn’t want it popping up in a Google search of my name and secondly because I rarely visit anymore. 

My oldest’s birthday over the Canada Day weekend, which was spent with “J’s” family and of course I was not invited. Apparently I have ceased to exist for them (except her sister), neither condemned or mentioned. I can’t pretend that doesn’t hurt as I feel pruned from the extended family tree.

As Oscar Wilde said, "There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about".


However I prefer,


The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast.


Today's musical pick to click is Little Richard storming through Johnny Cash's Get Rhythm:

Going Without

Makeup that is. In the very recent past I would have never dared leave the house without a full complement of foundation, eye liner etc. 

The temperature has been in the nineties here and very humid too. I had to run to the auto parts store to get some more paint and 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper as I am repairing the dent in the Electra's passenger side fender. As soon as I got home I would be getting right back to work and getting sweaty so doing my face just for a 15 min trip seemed like a waste of time.

Even took pictures to record this "herstoric" event. I assume it means that I am more comfortable with myself and my ability to pass and not that I am lazy, well you be the judge dear reader.

No I was not driving while in some sort of Cadillac induced revelry, just windy                                                           

I am still a big believer that as a woman I should make my best effort to look good. I had to go grocery shopping later in the day and yes I did my makeup before I left.

The  white  on the old Buick was very hard to match, you can't imagine how many shades of white there are until you try and paint a white car. I went with a GM arctic white (more bone really) and its not bad but the eagle eyed will see that the fender has been painted. Better than a big ugly dent though. 

My new favourite song in the whole world:

Coward?

Coward?

Pride week is upon us in Toronto, there is even a trans march, will I be going. No, too many responsibilities at home. However I am torn, there is clearly a need to educate the public at large but neither do I want to appear on the evening news as as a transgendered activist when everyday I attempt to blend into the gender binary as much as possible.


Right now I am open about being transsexual if someone asks but after surgery I would prefer to go stealth if I can pull it off.

I cannot help feeling a little of the coward. 

Basic Black

I think pull off a good Amanda Lear in the first photo. A good role model, well I certainly hope I can look as good as her at whatever her current age is? Of course she has never admitted to her past....

Sorry have been away from the blog for while. Gearing up for the children getting out of school for summer holidays and I thought I was busy now!

Besides looking for a job and writing car articles I have been biking on a regular basis to keep my weight down, picked up a new "muscle bike" a 1970's CCM Cheetah 3 speed, the Cheetah is the girls version of the boys Mustang by Canada's leading bicycle manufacturer. Photos tomorrow.

Also working on repairing my Buick Electras fender (dent was from original 80 year old owner NOT me). Pulled out the dent using a plunger and straightened pot metal ventiports, now it is the tedious process of body filler and sanding.

Really have to get my 59 Cadillac convertible out but not until I have the Buick is ship shape….that is not supposed to be a joke about her being a boat.

My review of the the film I Am A Woman Now  will be published in an upcoming issue of Frock magazine.

Due to my absence Dear Constant Reader here are three tunes to make it up to you:


Amanda Lear, I Just Wanna Dance:

Sylvie Vartan, Love is Blue:

Ike and Tina, Shake:

Ike's guitar makes this performance.


Hugs,


April