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Pretty Please - add it to our Events forum(s) and add to the calendar! >> 
Last night was my father's surprise 70th Birthday Party. My mother rented out his favorite local food spot, where he often drives his '29 Franklin for breakfast on the weekend. We had about 30 of his friends there, and he was shocked.
Right before dinner, my brother and I got up to give a 5 minute toast -- actually a series of lymricks that roasted him. After the end of toast, we gave him a card with one final lymrick to read in front of everyone:
[ QUOTE ]
For all the love you've showed us and mom
Live your dreams before you notice they're gone
We hold the keys to your heart
And we just hope it starts....(open card)
Enjoy your '64 Lotus Elan!
[/ QUOTE ]
I then dropped the keys into his hand. Joe and I thought he was going to pass out.
Right before the toast, I snuck out and moved the car in front of the place, so we walked him out, and all the friends followed. He got into the car, and he was crying, (as were a bunch of his friends--evidently big showings of gratitude for being such a great parent isn't so common anymore.)
In a million years, he never expected something like this...he looked at our mom and asked if she knew anything about it, but she didn't (when we dropped the keys into his hands you could hear her blurt out "oh my god!"...Only my brother, his wife, my wife and I were a part of it...We even hid the car from the kids.)
So, enough of the story, as I'm sure you want specifics (AND YES I ATTACHED A PICTURE!)
It's a '64 Series One (built in Feb of '64) with only 48K miles on the clock. Original northwest car (Tacoma,) and we found it about ten miles from my brother's place. It has been repainted once (as I understand, the Series One red paint basically would oxidize in less than three years from new.) Original frame with not a spec of rust.
It has a 4.55ish rear (the shortest rear offered that year,) and what the local Lotus restorer, Randall Fehr (who has maintained the car off and on for 10 years) says is the holy grail of transmissions -- a close-ratio box original to the car. The interior was redone about 1000 miles ago, and we had the water pump replaced with a bunch of other things. (Yes, the engine came out.) Randall Fehr did about a month's worth of work (since the car really hadn't been driven in five years or so,) in just two weeks!
The car has been lowered by one coil, as well.
Man that thing is dang fun. It corners completely flat, and the handling is so tight. The engine roars and is just a blast.
I stayed the night up at my parent's place with my wife and daughters, and today we all drove in it (even my brother, who isn't so great at driving a stick.) This car has even turned my non-car-guy brother into a believer.
So that's the story!
Right before dinner, my brother and I got up to give a 5 minute toast -- actually a series of lymricks that roasted him. After the end of toast, we gave him a card with one final lymrick to read in front of everyone:
[ QUOTE ]
For all the love you've showed us and mom
Live your dreams before you notice they're gone
We hold the keys to your heart
And we just hope it starts....(open card)
Enjoy your '64 Lotus Elan!
[/ QUOTE ]
I then dropped the keys into his hand. Joe and I thought he was going to pass out.
Right before the toast, I snuck out and moved the car in front of the place, so we walked him out, and all the friends followed. He got into the car, and he was crying, (as were a bunch of his friends--evidently big showings of gratitude for being such a great parent isn't so common anymore.)
In a million years, he never expected something like this...he looked at our mom and asked if she knew anything about it, but she didn't (when we dropped the keys into his hands you could hear her blurt out "oh my god!"...Only my brother, his wife, my wife and I were a part of it...We even hid the car from the kids.)
So, enough of the story, as I'm sure you want specifics (AND YES I ATTACHED A PICTURE!)
It's a '64 Series One (built in Feb of '64) with only 48K miles on the clock. Original northwest car (Tacoma,) and we found it about ten miles from my brother's place. It has been repainted once (as I understand, the Series One red paint basically would oxidize in less than three years from new.) Original frame with not a spec of rust.
It has a 4.55ish rear (the shortest rear offered that year,) and what the local Lotus restorer, Randall Fehr (who has maintained the car off and on for 10 years) says is the holy grail of transmissions -- a close-ratio box original to the car. The interior was redone about 1000 miles ago, and we had the water pump replaced with a bunch of other things. (Yes, the engine came out.) Randall Fehr did about a month's worth of work (since the car really hadn't been driven in five years or so,) in just two weeks!
The car has been lowered by one coil, as well.
Man that thing is dang fun. It corners completely flat, and the handling is so tight. The engine roars and is just a blast.
I stayed the night up at my parent's place with my wife and daughters, and today we all drove in it (even my brother, who isn't so great at driving a stick.) This car has even turned my non-car-guy brother into a believer.
So that's the story!
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