Finally my UK car magazine debut with an article in Classic American, what you were expecting Top Gear. As they say On News Stands Now!
The article is on a very obscure custom car built in the late forties, early fifties called the Fitzpatrick. I was lucky enough to meet the builder when as part of the TV show I produced, we reunited him with his long lost creation, which I might add until the cameras rolled he never saw finished.
It is a great story of a car and a man. The owner, builder was Phil Lacey, a fighter pilot who started flying Mustangs in WWII, Korea, cold war nuclear armed B-57's (USAF version of the British Canberra)and finally part of the famous Doom Pussy (no I didn't make that up) squadron in Vietnam.
Mr. Lacey as a Cadet with Stearman
The car has appeared in print a few times but has been clouded in mystery. This is the first article to get the true story. I was also given access to his original drawings and photographs.
Only down side is that I wrote the article almost two years ago and it is published under my old name.
I am sure I will be sent to Coventry for the title of this post, but Lucas Prince of Darkness made me do it.
My 1972 Lincoln Mark IV is gone and in her place a green sand (hideous colour but it grows on one) 1977 Jaguar XJ-S. My new kitty is a very early model XJ-S with the non HE heads, no wood veneer interior and no chrome bumpers. I actually prefer the look of the prehistoric (pre H.E.) cars, especially with the Kent alloys which will go on the car next spring. The prior owner switched to the eighties style starfish rims.
Long term readers will remember I had an 89 Corvette powered XJS. I guess once they get into your blood…. I swore I would not buy another but this car is the most original unmolested Jaguar I gave ever seen. My father has a couple of XJ 12s and XK8s and my grandfather had an Austin 1300 in this exact colour, so it is only natural I guess.
In praise of the XJ-S. The V12 powered coupe appeared in 19751/2 and was produced through to 1996, a twenty year production run! The XJ-S is comparable to a Ferrari Daytona, a V-12 four seater capable of 140-150 mph top speeds. A girl could get in trouble with this car, heck I am counting on it.
Pictures are taken at the old Canadian head quarters of British Leyland at 4455 Fairview Street in Burlington. So far the town council has ignored my demands for a historic plaque.
In Ontario we are allowed our choice of eight letters on extra cost vanity plates, I wonder if I could get away with APLSPUSY?
carpet is moss green and leather dark cinnamon
Blaupunkt radio with electronic tuning and recording ability, in order to dictate complaints to BL?
On Sunday I bolted up the set of 20 inch KMC SS rims I used to have on my Lincoln Mark IV. Think they look pretty good but I have to revert to a regular all season 235/75R 15s once the snow begins to fly. As they were already mounted and balanced it cost me nothing but an hours labor. I have an old set of Zenith knock off wire wheels that I would like to use as a daily driver set instead of the standard steel rims and hubcaps. See photo. Problem is they need inner tubes, it seems radial inner tube are hard to come by and the few tire "experts" I have spoken to seem to know less than me.
Sorry stole the title of the blog from this way cool site: http://www.wheelsareeverything.com/ Like the photos? not retouched, love the contrast between the metallic brown T-Bird and the lemon lime leaves...psychedelic man!
The T-Bird came with a lot of spares including a new under hood pad, which I installed yesterday. Still a few problems to identify and solve but has been running well. I find the car's front end anthropomorphic, a friendly smile. Stopped by my local coffee shop last night to meet a girlfriend. Staff were taking a break outside as I cruised up in my latest ride, "wow you really love your old cars, when are you bring the white convertible out again" (59 Cadillac). I guess that makes me a regular.
Who is kidding who, hormones are truly better living through chemistry but if I want to have guys stare at my chest I am going to have to buy a pair.
Can't do anything now but I would gladly trade a Caddy or a Lincoln for a proper chest. The one on the right is a Coupe DeVille and the left is a Continental. Talk about an ice breaker ;)
Here are two new favourites, to show I just don't listen to vintage rockabilly:
I don't know if I mentioned that I traded my 78 Oldsmobile Tornado for another "old" car, yes the long awaited T-Bird has finally appeared on the driveway. Having had the 85 Cadillac Seville as my daily driver for a month exclusively I forgot how big these cars were. She rides on the same frame as my 76 Mark IV and shares the same 460 cubic inch power plant.
Despite a mysterious oil leak the T-Bird runs great and goes like a scaled cat. A nice throaty rumble from the stainless steel duals follows in her wake. Now I swear I would never own a brown car but then I have done a lot of things I swore I would never do.
The Thunderbird is metallic brown with a gold vinyl top and gold Medici velour interior. The paint needs a good buff and some detailing but the body is pretty solid for being a local car its whole life....a long closed Ford dealer in Stratford, ON.
When I can afford it in the future I hope to have her lowered like my Lincoln. Before winter sets I may fit a set of mag wheels I have set aside just to see how they will look on her. More pictures when I get her waxed up.
Drove her over to meet a fellow seventies luxury car enthusiast last night, we cruised around a little and talked too long over coffee. The ride back on an empty freeway with the cruise control on was sublime, just as I was getting close to home Ricky Nelson comes on the AM/FM 8-track, how appropriate:
Regarding my last post, one commenter asked, if the wait is so intolerable why don't I just go elsewhere and pay for SRS myself. My funds if any are tied up in non-liquid assets but if necessary I will pay for surgery wherever I can get it. Here in Ontario we are lucky to have government funded health care but approval for SRS is dependent upon meeting CAMH's requirements and working with their timetable.
Of course we pay higher taxes than our American cousins for the privilege.
Also I was hoping to save some money from the sale of my cars to get FFS.
It has been a year full time, WOW… time flies like an arrow but fruit flies like bananas
Thanks to all who commented on my prior post or took the time to send me a private message. It made a world of difference and picked up my spirits considerably.
I wanted to post earlier but I had a couple of magazine article deadlines to meet. They pay thank god but almost as important was the delight in being busy and productive.
I had this post ready to go a week ago but things changed and my positive attitude took a vacation. I had my one year meeting with CAMH and although it went well for the most part I was very discouraged to learn that it would be a year before surgery, assuming I am judged eligible.
I should have expected such a delay but I had foolishly gotten my hopes up . It was all I could do not to cry during the meeting. Tears of frustration flowed freely on my drive out of the city. The faithful Seville found its own way home.
I know a year is not a life sentence but I am feeling very trapped in this limbo. A year full time has intensified the desire to transition fully. The flames of desire fanned to an inferno. Hormones have made a great difference but I cannot look at my body and feel whole.
I am climbing back out of my funk but it has taken a few days. Now back to regularly scheduled programming.
A few random thoughts on transitioning a year in:
Unfailingly identify with female protagonist in novels, movies and television.
No fear out in public, I expect to pass wherever I am
Ability to laugh off accidentally outing myself or when my children do it but NO tolerance when others do it.
I have largely avoided discussions of sexuality on this blog, readers maybe able to read between the lines though. I would consider myself a heterosexual female, this year has cemented those feelings.
Some of the old fighting spirit coming back. At first I felt that to pass as female meant being as unobtrusive and neutral as possible. As I have become more comfortable passing I have felt freer to speak my mind….well as much as a polite Canadian can possibly speak their mind.
Guys think it is cool when a woman knows about cars. Best quote from a show where I had my Caddy on display, “a woman like you is every guys dream”. LOL
Pictures of myself are not as important as they were, it is who I am all the time now.
So what else has been going on in my corner of the Dominion, children are back at school and already getting their first colds of the season, sold my 72 Lincoln Mark IV, more like traded with some cash in my favour. More about the Continental’s replacement next week, all I will say is that it has four more cylinders and hails from Coventry. The Thunderbird I swapped for my Toronado for has also arrived at long last.
I have been reading an excellent history of female SOE agents dropped into occupied France. A Life in Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWIIby Sarah Helm. Most engaging book I have read in a decade. Highly recommended. Not only an amazing history but a detective story to find the "true" story.
Those unlucky enough to be betrayed met their fate in the notorious Ravensbrück or Dachau concentration camps.
I am humbled by the bravery of these women when it was not expected of them at that time. We who aspire to the title of woman would dishonor their memory by living timid lives in an era of relative peace.
I have been putting off this post as I hoped that something would happen to change things or I happened to get a Jimmy Stewart, Its a Wonderful Life style attitude adjustment.
But sadly no, if I waited any longer this bog would be as dated as my taste in music, movies and cars.
If you have continued to drop by to check if I am still alive thanks for your persistence. It has not been an easy couple of weeks.
Unemployment benefits ended unexpectedly with no new job in sight and personal finances in disarray.
Depression returned and with it thoughts of suicide. Sunday's headline in the Drudge Report, mentioned that more Americans now die by suicide than car accidents. Given the state of the economy on both sides of the 49th parallel that is not such a great surprise. Add being transsexual to being unemployed and it is a little like playing Russian roulette with all the chambers filled.
I have bounced back an forth between depression, hope and gallows humour. It is not any easier for "J" as the financial well being of the family is on her shoulders. I feel less than useless.
Looking back at the interviews I have had I am sure I didn't get one job because of being transsexual while the most recent I am confident I passed. As my one year full time anniversary approaches do I consider transition a mistake, no but success has eluded me so far.
The need to be there for three children also limits jobs that don't pay enough to cover child care. I need a new career position but those seem difficult to come by despite years of high level experience.
I have sold surplus hot rod and vintage car parts to strengthen the family budget and have had to consider selling some cars too. Finding buyers for big gas guzzling seventies luxo barges is not so easy with the price of crushed dinosaur juice so high.
There are some more flexible opportunities on the horizon but they will have to be pursued in tandem to provide anything like a living wage. I continue to write professionally but the amount paid to freelancers by magazines has also been cut.
So sorry no happy ending or light at the end of the tunnel just a confusing jumble of emotions. For the moment I remain upright and sniffin' air...
cant find any pathetic sad faced photos, image at top is me in a Austin FX4 taxi, kinda rare over here
I was going to post something sad and sweet by the Ravonettes but perhaps a musical selection that always bring a smile when I hear it. Ladies and gentlemen, George Formby:..... and yes he is before by time you smart ass
