I parted ways with my good friend Ben F. over this car. Ben was a very smart man, and he didn't seem to mind being traded off for a running 1989 Ford Escort LX 4 DR 5sp.

Sure it had a big mess on the right rear fender. Sure, some parts were loose, falling off, or broken.

Ben didn't mind, it's a great deal. Looks aren't everything, and this old beater goes to show it.

Here is a shot of the repairs I did to that corner to pass the MVI.

In the running for a name was Smurf Mobile Mk. II in deference to the old 1991 Plymouth Sundance I used to have. It was just a fun little blue econo-box, with a 2.5L EFI motor... That sucker started life as a rental went through about 6 owners and 160k mi before throwing a rod due to a bit of overzealous use of octane booster and a lead-footed trip on the highway to see if that knocking was just pre-ignition. It wasn't. Heh. Not my car when that happened, but anyway. SM Mk. II, Smurfy 2, Return of the Smurf Mobile, etc.

Fast forward several months to my birthday in early January of 2006. I was heading home from work and was approaching the intersection of Cleveland and Gregory. I was eastbound in the inner lane on Gregory and a car was turning left in front of me. A cop going the opposite way was waiting to turn and as the car in front of me turned so did the cop. She didn't have time to clear my path and I slammed the brakes & turned the wheel but I didn't have time to avoid it so I T-boned the cop right on the front passenger wheel.

Radiator was shot, as it leaked all over at the scene. The tranny was shot, as I found a few gear parts in the grass after it was hauled to Pink-N-Pull. It was most surely not worth even having an estimate to fix it up. I had a total of about $650 in the car when it was wrecked. The KCMO PD settled with me for an even $1k. I actually came out ahead on that car. Maybe I'll see it sometime when I go to Pick-N-Pull for parts on the new Escort.