Pimpin' My Ride...

This is the $500 Saturn I picked up in June with front-end damage. Pete found me a hood and I replaced the passenger headlight. 'Red' seemed to be the theme of used parts, in that the only fender and bumper I found were red, too.

I did 'cripple it out' to my mechanic's, but something was 'acting weird' and I ended up letting Triple-A tow it for me. Shane thought it was potentially something serious in the wheels, but turned out to be.... mud in the wheels, caked up like concrete! Once it was cleaned out, it runs straight and tight at 70 mph! Current engine has 100,000 on it, and it's 5-speed stick, 4-cylinder.
Begging for paint, it was... Sure, Shane said he could match the tan, but $ wasn't lying around in great quantities. I optimistically thought I'd do a quick sanding and spray paint on it... Ha!! I couldn't find a used driver-side panel, either, so decided to patch up the old one. In hindsight, I probably could have patched the other panel and bumper, too.

Considering I've never bond-o'd anything or taken a bumper off intentionally... And of course the painting grew "because I didn't want it to be boring". I wasn't trying to make it look like new, it is 15 years old - just happy. :)

Right. It started out as a 'three day project', when will I ever learn? $10 of acrylic paints to add some color, figured I'd just sponge on some scenery... Friend Joe said, "Go for it, let the car tell you what it wants."

I wanted to portray what I see when I'm out on back roads driving census - swamps and lakes and trees and flowers and grass; cattails and sumac and goldenrod, birch and pine trees. The roof became clouds only because I tarped it from rain overnight and the paint got textured. Rather than try to smooth it out, I figured I'd cloud it.

I didn't try to add animals. I haven't attempted 'artistic painting' since about grade school, which is the last time I recall any sort of art class. I really thought "I can't paint" but I didn't let it stop me. Sera refused to participate.

The butterfly represents transformation. Life always is, and with 2012 around the corner and "things getting weirder" all the time... That, and it covers the hail-damaged dimples on the hood pretty well.

The final project, after tightening the bumper up and stuff like that. I started it August 13, and it's pretty much done! I won't mention the time crawling around it in the dirt with dabs of paint and mosquitoes; I won't mention working under the trees with debris falling (why I chose spray paint, fast drying) or leaping in and out with rain or painting over the back-up lights - oops, forgot they were there... But they cleaned up okay with nail polish remover.

What worries me now is that Car-lita is jealous. My old Acura wants me to replace parts on it (the black one in the background is the donor car) and seems to have ideas on what kind of design it wants - yoiks!! I've already discarded my "major to-do list" for the last 2 weeks on home repairs; took on the offer to paint at Pete's to finance car repairs and dog neutering (fewer nuts around here?), so it's been busy. Whenever I could, I got back to painting this one...

NOW - I don't yet have a name picked out for this ride. Blue? Evermore? (There's a song, isn't there?) Eve? I'll have to listen and see what it prefers, Eve may be suitable, as in "eve of transformation" or something... Sirius? (The planet our supposed alien ancestors came from, and suitable as in, "Are you serious?") since it's a Saturn.

Well, yes, I do talk to my cars!