My husband HATES my 1977 Honda CVCC five-speed "classic" car. Prior to its present incarnation as the TikiMobile, the color could best be described as "oceanside rust." It is in his opinion, an eyesore, even as the Tikimobile.
I got the car for free from a friend the early 90's. He bought it for $300 from some folks who lived in San Francisco (thus the clutch and rust issues..) and gave it to me so I would have an alternative to my ELITE scooter when the rains came. He never thought that nearly fourteen years later I would still have it!
I grew to love this tiny vehicle, with its funky manual choke and interior so small that my head almost touches the roof. About six months after I got it, it blew a head gasket on the way to work. I was devasted.
But Paul, the friend who gave it to me, worked for a Honda dealership and was able though a series of fortunate events, to find a new engine. Not one of those 30,000 mile rebuilds, but a brand new Honda engine still in the crate!
I borrowed some money from my future husband, installed the new engine and have been driving it ever since. Many of the factory-installed parts are just now beginning to wear out at 202,000 miles. Honda makes a helluva car!
This little rattletrap has been driven as far as Mexico, up to Yosemite, and to LA a couple of times with no problems and over 40 mpg.
Anyway, my three-year-old and I decided to make it an ART car in the fashion of those found in Berkeley and Houston and other strange places. We didn't have the money to do it up like some of those folks or the raw artistic talent- we just had a theme, a DOLLAR TREE store nearby, and enthusiasm. If you want to see what real artists can do with a junker take a peek at
http://www.artcarmuseum.com/Cars/Cars.htm. Those cars are incredible!
The car was hand spray-painted with outdoor industrial spray paint- the kind they put on air conditioners and such. I was fortunate to have found it in ocean blue. There is "sand" sprayed on the top to look like a beach, a pair of sandals, several cocktail glasses, a Tiki torch, various crabs, fish, and their ilk. Of course there is a Red Stripe bottle and a piece of driftwood to give it that Tiki Lounge touch.
On the back are three hula dancers. I am surprised they are still attached since they must endure extreme wind and speeds of up to 80 MPH. After much experimentation- I can tell you that Goop RV Adhesive is the best for this sort of project.
Well, that is it in a nutshell. I had a vision to put a real beach INSIDE the car- but I think I am going to have to sell it instead.
More photos to follow...
TikiTam
1 comment:
If I were you, I would never sell the car.
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