Decided I had enough time cooped up in an MGB with the top up. So I went topless this morning and drove to work. It’s been down all day. I wasn’t bad, only my ears were cool on the ride to work. 

But I got some serious looks. And I don’t think it was because I lack a grill, have overspray on my radiator, and have no bumpers. I overheard a couple folks comment “look at that nut”. Yes we can hear everything without a top and rolled up windows.

Too many people buy convertibles for the idea. I know some folks who hardly ever ride with the top down. That goes for a lot of things, though. I know a lot of people who buy huge homes and don’t need 1/3 of the space, then have to live with bigger mortgage payments, utilities, etc. Some buy cars that have 450 horsepower and go 0 to 60 in 4 seconds, but they never race the car or drive it like a dervish on a race track.

Then there’s people like me who drive a 49 year old car with top down with temperatures in the 30’s, I guess some might lump me in the same group. Oh well.

Now I’ve got to ride home with top down in running shorts.

Ciao,

Kirk

So get this:

Lawsuit Filed Over Smell of Corpse in SUV

A Michigan woman is suing a local Ford dealership, claiming that the company failed to inform her that the vehicle she purchased had been stolen multiple times and once contained a dead body. According to the suit, the dealership told the plaintiff the bad smell was from a dead animal, but a hazardous materials company found it was a “human odor.” WELL, IT WAS TECHNICALLY A ‘DEAD ANIMAL’ OF THE KINGDOM MAMMAL. The general sales manager at the dealership claims the smell was not there when they sold the car and that they “would love to get to the bottom of it.”  Boston Globe, Boston Globe  12/06/2011

Read Article: Boston Globe  HEY, YOU BOUGHT A CAR WITH A BAD SMELL & YOU KNEW SOMETHING DEAD WAS IN IT. LIVE WITH IT.

Here are a couple of personal property items the Forsyth County Sheriff will be selling this month:

1- 12/21/11 at Noon at 1202 Fairchild in Winston-Salem– 2007 Bobcatt T300 track loader. VIN 532015904 (Colonial Pacific v. Mario Flores 10 CVS 4649)

2- 12/07/11 at Noon at 1202 Fairchild in Winston-Salem- 1992 Ford Super Wagon (Colonial Pacific v. Mario Flores 10 CVS 4649)

Remember: got to bring cash or cashier checques or some mix of the two. You can’t leave and go to the bank and return.

Caveat: you are purchasing items at Sheriff’s sales subject to any liens (bank loans, taxes, etc.). A lot of people make the mistake thinking they automatically are getting clear title. Do your own due diligence or buy it at a ridiculous price that you can walk away from.

Sometimes you can get a good deal. Be savvy.

I appear at these sales for out-of-county or out-of-county collection attorneys or collection creditors and bid.

www.kirksanderslaw.com

Always make sure your tree man is insured and bonded. You’ll have serious homeowner insurance issues otherwise if a tree or branch falls on a building or house.

Also, get it quoted in writing before the cutting begins.

This is a tree man I use a lot for house and rental properties- James Redmon 336-749-5197 (Tree Cutter). His price is incredible. *Note: I recommend him but you are responsible for your own due diligence. Ask tree cutters for referrals. RULE: Don’t pay until the job is done unless you work an arrangement to pay as certain portions of jobs are completed.

He cleared a ton of brush and small trees from my yard this Fall. This picture is one of 3 piles hauled away & the picture is taken at an angle. It was a huge pile that was 5 feet tall. The City Brush Removal Service loved us.

If the tree or brush is along a property line, talk to your neighbor in advance. Trees that have trunks on both sides of the line are jointly owned.

Never cut down a neighbor’s tree without permission. There’s a statute that awards treble damages for the value of the tree.

Ok. So when I bought it it had all its panels attached. Nonetheless, it doesn’t look it, but I heard it run today for the first time. I’m working on the restoration plan. I don’t plan to make this a “perfect” trailer queen. I want a car I can drive the snot out of. Believe me, a 3000 has the guns to kick tail riding down the road.

When you need a classic car restoration attorney, call me. I’ve had two not so great restoration projects. I intend this one to be correct and within my intended budget. Get a contract with your restoration mechanic.

Good day long course on collecting against judgment debtors. Learned some good methods. Supplemental proceeds, chose in action. Oh yeah. Debtors beware. I love collecting on some jack-legger that fails to live up to his or her word to pay, whether it’s a promissory note or for services or materials. 

Kirk Sanders, Collection Attorney, Shylock (legally & ethically of course)

Drove MGB from Winston-Salem to Cary to Zebulon to Cary and back today. Went to CLE in Cary and took a side trip to visit the Austin Healey in Zebulon. It was good to hear it run. 

I think I only passed two sets of cars one being a line of school buses. The other a pickup carrying oversized load. 301miles in one day. In a 1962 convertible. It only has 4 gears. No radio (that’s the way I like them).

I swear that if everyone had to drive cars that aren’t so finessed as modern cars, no one would commute. Imagine no cruise control, road noise so loud you can’t hear people on your cell phone, the occasional whiff of gasoline. 

Interestingly, I find that I drive with the window down even in cold weather and it’s nice. It would be uncomfortable in the family van or other modern car. 

On my work website I’ve discussed the trials and woes of restoring a classic car (see below for link). Lo & behold I’m back in the game myself. I’d sworn off buying restorations because they tend to cost more than a completed car. In addition, they carry anxiety and unknown issues. However, as I am a card carrying car addict, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to buy the car I’ve wanted for more than a decade.

The 1967 Austin Healey 3000 BJ8 I purchased was abandoned mid restoration. I got a deal I couldn’t pass up (at least that’s what I think so far). Because it was in the limbo period it didn’t run, however the mechanic I took with me to give it a look-see knows the car. He’s worked on it for a decade. He knows its mechanical history and it is solid.

The main reason the restoration stopped was that after the sandblasting of the paint, it was discovered the aluminum shroud (the body in between the front fenders) had about 20 lb of bondo. My mechanic, who knows a little about bondo himself, said the guy who originally sculpted that much bondo was “Michelangelo”. My mechanic and others, including the driver, had no idea there was that much on the shroud. 

My first order of business was locking down a shroud from a guy named Yule in Toronto at the www.autofarm.com . Now I have to figure out how to transport this huge part down to NC.

Meantime, today I received good news from the mechanic, Don Ross. The car runs! He drained the bad gas and charged up the battery. Tweaked a few things. The Healey will require tuning of the carbs, of which Ross is a master. If you need British cars worked on by a guy who worked on them in Scotland & Africa, call him at 919-934-1915. He’s real good. By example, years back I rode on a rallye with the president of the German Austin Healey club. Heinz was driving my friends early Mark III that Donald maintained for the driver. Heinz kept repeating “this is the best driving Healey ever”.

Well, at least I own a Healey that runs. Now I need to come up with the game plan so I get it looking right without going over budget. I advise getting contracts to do the body and paint work.

Kirk Sanders, 

Classic Car Attorney

Google “classic car restoration attorney” for more on my work website or click:

http://www.kirksanderslaw.com/blog/classic-car-restoration-can-be-painful-get-written-agreement-attorney-nc-sanders-mgb

#1– For the last 20 years I’ve questioned the excessive pay of Large Corporation executives. When these executives make short term strategies to boost their returns and their bonus packages they are not looking out for the long term viability of the corporation and thus its shareholders, which are you and me. Their pay is exponentially out of whack with what they should earn. Now I have no problem with a corporate executive who created and built a company into a profitable enterprise from reaping vast rewards. However, most of the corporate raiders/executives are nothing but corporatocrats who “manage” the existing corporation. Half the time their actions drive the corporations into bankruptcy or the take-ver fodder. Then there is the issue that most (99.99%) lack no proper checks and balances between the executive/CEO & the board that’s supposed to oversee the CEO. *NOTE: As a result of making a statement like this I seriously doubt I’ll ever be chosen to be on a publicly traded board.