NosFEratu

[EffCee]

Hee hee 

"NosFEratu - creature of the night"

So named as it usually comes out after dusk, is always lurking in the background and is a beast to drive!   

Kathi 

Is that the car or the owner?:  :oYou have referred to your Husband John as Van Helsing, who is the hunter of the the Vampire or Creature of the Night.

 He doesn't chase you after dusk now, does he?

[NosFEratu]

Aaaah, now you've looked back over some earlier threads!   

NosFEratu - interchangeable for car and owner, but usually refers to car! 

Van Helsing - also interchangeable.  Bit of joke about having an FE Van and also about the way that John attempts to control both me and my car! 

Forgot to mention that NosFEratu is not only a beast to drive but you can be physically drained afterwards. FE = F'n Effort!

And as far as Van Helsing being the one who overpowers NosFEratu, well I literally drained the life from the Van back in January - it's now having an engine transplant!  Damn those early warning lights that come on after you pull over cos it "just didn't feel quite right"    Oh well, it happens! Story to come when I pull my finger out and post some shots of the van.

Glad you're enjoying your research project Keith!   You're definitely getting the drift of it all!   

Kathi 

[EffCee]

Kathi,

Have you been holding out on us...... Not having posted pics of your van and wanting weekly updates from Pedro and Smithy..... Maybe it is time to return the pressure and get you to post some photos...... Pedro......Smithy......

[NosFEratu]

OK OK Keith, but we haven't publicly declared a deadline! 

The usual, had/have to to do a few things around the house - you all know what that's like - before we can/could start finding both garages so we can do some more work on the van. 

Will get some shots up once we find the van again - it just ain't sitting real good without any weight in the front though! 

Kathi 

[pedro]

Somehow i missed those last few replys, didn't know you had a van too, what colour are you going to paint project 58 not beige i hope
                         Pedro F4

[NosFEratu]

Hi Pedro

Project '58 will be Mazda RX8 Yellow with white flash and a black leather interior!  I think it should look ok! 

Kathi 
F4 

[pedro]

You weren't wrong about being able to find it in the car park, it should definately stand out, at least it won't be boring and bland
                  Pedro F4

[ridgey_didge]

As the owner of a beige coloured car, Cuban Beige to be specific, nicely offset by Russett Brown, I hereby record I do not like the turn that this post is taking and could shortly become offended if I keep reading such nonsense as "boring and bland".  "Classy and era-appropriate" are descriptions that spring to mind IMHO.

Watching you all very carefully and ready to take offense,
Still clutchless and off the road,
David

[pedro]

Ridgey-didge, I wasn't trying to offend anybody with a light coloured car, just making a comment on Kathis taste in painting the car such a bright colour, as there are no smiley faces or anything in your reply i take it you are being serious, if you have been following our antics you will know we very rarely take things seriously and love to take the mickey out of each other and anyone else that wants to get involved( even moderators ) , as to your reply it's lucky you didn't make any spelling mistakes, that could have easily come out as " still crutchless and off the road"
                                                    Pedro F4

[ridgey_didge]

Gotcha

Seriously straight faced,
David

[NosFEratu]

Pedro, David

Now come on boys - let's play nice!    But don't forget to live life - it's far too short! 

But yes Pedro, Project 58 should stand out in a car park so I can find it when I do the grocery shopping! And I must admit it is a little different too!

And David, as I always say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  If we all had the   same taste the world would be boring!

Kathi 
F4 

[EffCee]

Kathi

The biggest problem with project 58 will be stopping people form drooling all over it. You will have to borrow Busta from Dean to look after it for you.

I haven't had a chance to jump on today and am just catching up with what is going on. 

Ridgey Didge, I have sent you a PM re your crutch clutch

Keith
F4

[NosFEratu]

Thanks Keith

It will be nice when it hits the road - it's been (and still is) a long wait. Popping up to see progress on it next weekend and try to hurry Trevor along! I keep reminding him I'm getting older and I don't want to risk scratching my zimmerframe down it's side until after its had some good miles on it!   

And Busta would definitely be made to wear booties even if the trim isn't "diet concious low fat" (light) cream! 

Anyway, I guess at some stage I should post some shots - but... will get some up of the little van first!      

Kathi 
F4 

[NosFEratu]

So, are you all ready for read? grab a bew of your choice and sit back cos I have little story to tell you all! And no, no pictures until the end post! 

December 1984 – fellow club member “thinks” he saw a windowless van down the side of house.  NosFEratu and I go hunting the next day and sure enough under a mass of rambling roses I spot a very sad and dejected little van.  I didn’t bother checking it over too much I just went straight to the door and asked if they would sell it but I only had $375 (OK I lied - I actually had $400 but knew I’d need $25 for a trailer!).   

It was her son’s car, it had been there for years and she was keen to get rid of it.  She rang him at work convinced him to take my offer and I quickly gave her a deposit before I raced home to mum and dad’s!  I never knew parents could be so happy that their youngest had bought a wreck!  Dad swung into action and in no time he had a car trailer hooked up to the back of his Hi-Ace and we were off. 

What a sight - me emptying the entire contents of a can of fly spray in cabin before I dared get climb in.  Dad backing the trailer and hooking up the winch and my mum, what a champion - cramped in between the driver’s side and the fence fighting off the rambling roses getting down and dirty using a foot pump to get air in the tyres so we could move it to it’s new home! 

Early 1990 and no progress on the van.  When I left my ex I wasn’t in a position to take it with me so reluctantly I had to leave it behind.    He sold it about six months down the track and the last I’d heard was that it had been on sold again to Brownie and it had gone up in flames in his shed fire along with my Norman Supercharger I’d sold him in 1992 so John and I could afford to get married (yes, he’s worth it!). 

Anyway, the financial situation got a little better over the years and John and I were always on the lookout for a van but we always seemed to miss out.  But we knew one day we’d get one!   

And it continues ......

[NosFEratu]

August 16 2007.  Usual drive to work but when we passed Collectable Classics we spotted a van that was not there the day before.  Not fair – I had a meeting all day and it was one of the most anxious days of my life!    I desperately wanted that van – I had to have it!  John went down at lunch time with strict instructions “as long as the back half is OK I don’t care about the rest of it!”.  He checked it wasn’t sold, walked quickly around it, asked how much and gave the guy a deposit!   August 18 2007 we picked it up and drove it home, “borrowed” the wheels from NosFEratu and had heaps of fun - it went like an absolute bomb! 

January 5 2008.  The ’58’s on the trailer to go to Monash for panel and paint, the van is loaded up with parts and off we go.  All is going well, I’m feeling on top of the world until I pass the street where I’d bought my van in ‘ 84 and I slowly start crying as I’m nearing my parent’s cemetery – all I could think about was how proud they would be to know that I finally got a van again! And I know my dad would have loved seeing the batmobile towing the ’58 with the little van bring up the rear! 

2 hours into the trip something doesn’t feel right, I spot shade, drop it down a gear and start pulling over.  Naturally that’s when the early warning lights come to life!  An extremely slow leak in the radiator had taken it’s toll – so slow we didn’t even realise it had a leak!  There was no way it was going any further – the temperature was now 43 but I wasn’t leaving the van behind. I sent John up to Monash to deliver the ’58 and when he got back 4 hours later we loaded up the van and went home.  I really hate hot weather but strangely it didn’t feel that hot and I had an extreme calmness over me the entire time – I knew I had to stay there and “protect” the car and parts.  I was not leaving it behind. 

As a result of this day's events, our plans to redo the van’s entire mechanicals got brought forward – we are now also giving the interior a mini-makeover at the same time.  I’ll post some shots of all of that in due course but needless to say the only things that will be left from how we bought it a year ago will be body, paint, dash and carpet.

Now for a nice little ending to the story.  We meet up with Brownie at “Cruise On Tanunda” in late January this year and he starts talking about NosFEratu and we mention that we’d finally got a van. He says if it was us that bought the one from Collectable Classics then we’d bought my old van back again!  He told us the entire history of what happened to it in between 1990 and 2007 and said he’d sold it just before the fire in his garage!  He couldn’t stop himself from grinning and I tell you, my whole face hurt for days afterwards!  Absolutely unbelievable – I still find it hard to believe I have my little van back after all these years!   

So, at very moment that I realised it was mine - what went through my mind?  Memories of the ex – no, none at all, he didn’t even rate.  The wonderful memories firmly entrenched in my head are of my very excited parents the day I bought it.  And my most favourite memory? My mum, pre the ravages of alzheimers, battling with rambling roses to pump up the tyres of an old wreck just to help her daughter realise a dream of owning a little van.     No wonder there was that gut feel something in me that made sure that I couldn’t leave it behind again!

Hope I haven’t bored you all!  Yes, I love my cars and yes, I can be a little emotional about them – but can’t we all? And do I care if the little van is not “perfect” in some people’s eyes?  No, not at all – the memories it evokes and the grin it makes on my face takes away any feelings of disappointment that I might ever have about it!   

Anyway here’s a side shot taken late last year. Shots of the interior mini-makeover and mechanical major makeover will come in a little while! 

Kathi 

[smithy]

very nice indeed kathi. cant wait till you get it done.

some things are just meant to be

the fly spray part remided me of a friend of a mate of mine pick up a V8 HZ which had just been left in a property, still in original condition. he drove it onto the trailer then dumped it in his backyard straight away. this is where we came in, all car doors and boot open him running around the yard jumping up and down on invisible things shouting and swearing, 3 empty cans of bagon on the grass and another 2 ready to go.

i have never in my life seen so many huntsman spiders. at times you could swear the ground was moving. you could even hear the big buggers falling from the car. and me being the hero i am i stood on the back porch and had a beer
i dont know how he even managed to get the thing onto a trailer, he said one run out but it didnt fase him.
his tone certainly changed after he started spraying


now back to you Kathi

[pedro]

Nice van Kathi, maybe you should turn it into an FC and give it some class
                                  Pedro

[Rabbitoh]

Pedro,
anyone who would make such a ludicrous suggestion as yours is either,
a) a fruit loop, or b) having a laugh.
I am giving you the benefit of the doubt and going with b)
R.

[Hewart]

Great yarn Kathi!!
Very nice looking van too!! I love the colour and wheel combo!
Lucky it wasn't destroyed in the fire!!
Good luck with the tidy up, and I can't wait to see more pics!!

Cheers

[FC427]

Looks pretty COOOOL Kathi the She Devil in you must be satisfied with this one .......FC427......