Author Topic: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!  (Read 129473 times)

elagache

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Dear WeatherCat fans of a certain rascally wagon,

I've been trying to update and spruce up the website for Biquette.  I managed to get it tentatively installed Tuesday afternoon.  I thought I had a few more days, but the story broke sooner than I expected.  It is online so everyone can read it for themselves:

https://theorindanews.com/2019/07/28/a-station-wagon-named-biquette-to-join-ranks-at-classic-car-show/

I managed to get my revised site installed Tuesday afternoon and have barely gone though it to hunt for typos.  Here is the new site:

http://www.canebas.org/Biquette/

Just in case you think I pulled a rabbit out of a hat, you'll notice that it bares more than a passing similarity to this WeatherCat template:

http://www.canebas.org/Weather/SeaMonkey/

Desperation can lead to some amazing "repurposing" of things!  [biggrin]

I sure would appreciate if folks could look around and see if there are more typos that need to be squashed before too many more visitors find the website.

I confess, the HTML is atrocious and obsolete.  However see comment about desperation above.  I have one problem perhaps somebody can figure out.  On the history section I cannot manage to get the text further away from the edge of the table.  I tried the obvious thing increasing the value of cellpadding - no dice.  I also tried the brute force method of creating another invisible table to force the text inside - that didn't work either.  Can anybody spot the issue?

Thanks for your support!  [tup]

Cheers, Edouard   [cheers1]

P.S.  For bonus points can anybody figure out what is the background image behind the titles above the navigation buttons?  ;D

xairbusdriver

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #256 on: August 01, 2019, 12:24:21 AM »
First, I think the background image is a '65 Chevrolet "wagon". I may be off on the year, however. Hard to tell the color, but I think it's some version of a light green.

As for styling tables, that's still a sometimes difficult task. Of course, the MS generated CSS doesn't make things any easier. My only suggestion on moving the text farther from the cell edges is "padding: 10px;" on any <td> as appropriate. W3C claims that should work at least in html5. You can get htnl5 simply by removing everything from the DOCTYPE line after "html". [runoff] If you tried to validate the page, of course, you'd probably get hundreds of errors and warnings...

Since there are already quite a number of "classes" in the html, why not actually create some declarations in a the <style type="text/css"> ... </style> section of the <head>? Just look through some of any page and you can see a lot of mentions of things like <p class="p1">, <p class="p2">, <p class="p3">, etc. just for paragraphs. There are similar undeclared/undefined classes for div's, td's, etc. In particular, if there actually is a class for a td somewhere, that could be why you are not able to affect the cell spacing. [computer] [banghead]
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And the United States = The Banana system


elagache

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Mobbed at the 2019 Orinda Classic Car show. (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #257 on: September 14, 2019, 10:07:53 PM »
Dear WeatherCat automotive enthusiasts,

Last Saturday was the 15th Orinda Classic Car show.  This year there was a special exhibit of station wagons, which would have a greater effect on my participation than I imagined.  They did have a decent number of station wagons, but most of the other owners had brought more than one car and didn't make much of an effort to describe the history of their wagon.  As a result, when people arrived at the station wagon exhibit, they invariably were drawn to Biquette and me!  I've never been so busy at a car show before!

As a result, I hardly had any time to take pictures of the other cars.  What pictures I did take can be found on this online gallery:

https://canebas.smugmug.com/ClassicandCustomAutomobiles/Car-Shows/2019-Orinda-Classic-Car-Show

SmugMug has a built-in slide show feature, so if you prefer to see the photos that way here's the link:

https://canebas.smugmug.com/frame/slideshow?key=6jrXgR&autoStart=1&captions=0&navigation=0&playButton=0&randomize=0&speed=3&transition=fade&transitionSpeed=2&clickable=1

It didn't help that the service bay were the wagons were displayed was relatively dark and we had a very unusually cool and cloudy day.  The only wagon that was showing up in the gloom was the one with an LED work light illuminating the engine bay:



Now do you see why I was so mobbed?   [biggrin]

Here are a few highlights.   They did have this nice pairing of 3 different 1971 Chevy A-body styles:



The white car is a Chevelle station wagon, in the middle is a Chevelle Malibu, and at the end is an El Camino.

Here is a 1966 GTO for you GM muscle car fans:



Those of you from the other side of "da' Pond" might enjoy this 1951 MG TD convertible:



There was one other wagon that was really historic, a 1938 International Station Wagon Moller.



Here is the description of the car:

One of seven.  Three door body by Moller of Hagerstown, Maryland.  Built for the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite to deliver guests to and from the railroad station.  Pebble Beach Winner.

That's all I've got.  Enjoy!

Cheers, Edouard   [cheers1]

xairbusdriver

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #258 on: September 14, 2019, 10:30:58 PM »
Ah yes... real white walls!!! [cheer] They don't make them like that anymore!! [rolleyes2]

With all the attention Biquette got, perhaps the club will make room under the California Sun next time! ThU32:-)
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COUNTRIES
Those that use metric = #1 Measurement system
And the United States = The Banana system


elagache

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There is a white wall specialist! (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #259 on: September 16, 2019, 10:26:10 PM »
Dear X-Air and WeatherCat users who stroll down memory lane,

Ah yes... real white walls!!! [cheer] They don't make them like that anymore!! [rolleyes2]

Well yes, you can't get mass produced tires like that anymore.  However, like so much of the classic car industry, there is a cottage outfit that can make white walls for you.  It is called Diamond Back tires:

https://dbtires.com/

Biquette dates from the 1960s and should have 1" white walls.  Her previous set of tires were only 3/4" white walls.  It is a subtle different but noticeable.  Here is Biquette on her 2010 tires with the 3/4" white walls:



Here is a photo taken last fall on Biquette's very own Diamond Back III tires:



The extra width of white wall definitely looks more period correct and luxurious.

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

xairbusdriver

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #260 on: September 16, 2019, 10:37:03 PM »
I think the ride is always better with white walls, too! [tup] [rockon] [lol]
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COUNTRIES
Those that use metric = #1 Measurement system
And the United States = The Banana system


Blicj11

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #261 on: September 20, 2019, 07:02:56 PM »
Thanks for the report and the photos, Edouard. The Biquette story really intrigues me.

Are those tires the Cadillac Specialty Wall or something else?

Thanks for sharing.
Blick


elagache

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Sometimes I can't believe it myself!! (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #262 on: September 20, 2019, 11:44:27 PM »
Dear Blick and WeatherCat automotive enthusiasts,

Thanks for the report and the photos, Edouard. The Biquette story really intrigues me.

Honestly, when I go over all the things that have happened to this car, I'm left suspecting a touch of divine intervention is involved.  For a car to have survived after working all those years is really amazing!  Most cars Biquette's age have survived only because they are stored away or otherwise abandoned.

Are those tires the Cadillac Specialty Wall or something else?

Actually, Biquette has Diamond Back III tires which are white walls made from the famous B.F. Goodrich Radial T/A tires:

https://dbtires.com/product/diamond-back-iii/

Those tires have an excellent reputation for gripping the road for a muscle car.  I took a series of "make-up" pictures this afternoon to capture what Biquette would have looked like at the show had we had some decent sunshine.  Even with a single 1" white wall, these tires look really nice with a "wet looking" tire dressing:



Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

xairbusdriver

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #263 on: September 21, 2019, 12:20:51 AM »
I like my "dressing" with turkey (and giblet gravy)... I hope that has no implications for your wagon! :o  [coffee]
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COUNTRIES
Those that use metric = #1 Measurement system
And the United States = The Banana system


elagache

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The backgrounds to be found around here. (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #264 on: October 31, 2019, 11:11:35 PM »
Dear WeatherCat fans of a certain rascally wagon,

Some of the classic Buick owners in the more northern parts of the US have already started to put their cars away for a long winter's hibernation.  So to keep their taste for classic Buicks current I took this photo to post on the 65GS.com forum:



Certainly as clear an example as is necessary to demonstrate that the wildfire season isn't going to end any time soon in California.

Cheers, Edouard 

Blicj11

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #265 on: November 05, 2019, 12:19:26 AM »
Good looking car. Not so much the tree.
Blick


elagache

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Seed and compliments (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #266 on: November 19, 2019, 12:22:11 AM »
Dear WeatherCat fans of a certain rascally wagon,

S-S-S-S-Sufferin' Succotash!  Out of seed again!???   >:(

I purchase large quantities of seed infrequently to save time.  Today was the day to restock and my trusty wagon got the call:



80 pounds of bird seed lasts 6-8 weeks and is definitely wagon work.

Amazingly, a couple who had their SUV parked next to Biquette were fascinated.  It turns out the woman's mother had a wagon like Biquette.  So Biquette got her dose of compliments for the outing.  I hadn't planned on it, but I used my phone to take this photo:



Biquette wasn't by herself either.  On the way home I was able to exchange waves with 1960s Thunderbird and Mustang.  California is in a drought and PG&E is going to cut off our electricity on Wednesday through Thursday at least.  Still, when the weather is nice, and there isn't any other impending calamity, California classics can manage to get a bit of exercise!   [sun2]

Cheers, Edouard   [cheers1]

Blicj11

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #267 on: November 21, 2019, 07:07:27 PM »
That's a lot of bird seed. Ever sample it yourself?
Blick


elagache

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PLENTY of satisfied customers! (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #268 on: November 21, 2019, 11:44:22 PM »
Dear Blick and WeatherCat friends of feathered creatures, . . . .

That's a lot of bird seed. Ever sample it yourself?

Well no, but judging from the avian crowd at our feeders, the customers are most definitely satisfied!  Not only that, they keep coming back for more!

Of course it doesn't take that long before this enthusiasm becomes more of a burden than gratification!! 

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

elagache

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A Christmas card with a tale! (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #269 on: December 24, 2019, 11:30:46 PM »
Dear WeatherCatters who like to get into the spirit of the holidays,

'Tis the season for Christmas cards and I seem to have gotten myself into a tradition that is getting a bit hard to top.

I sure don't remember why I started doing this, but I've been making photo Christmas cards featuring my trusty wagon since 2011.  Last year was something of a coup, but the usual problem arises: "what do you do for an encore?"  Well, I decided not to even try.  This year, I was simply going to take some photos around the local Christmas tree lots and make a card from that.  Alas, circumstances conspired against me.  Thanksgiving was late this year and the Christmas tree lots didn't open before then.  The day before Thanksgiving, the rains started and never really dried out.  Was I going to take Biquette out in the rain to try to take a photo for Christmas?  It was time for a "Plan-B."

Back on November 22nd, Biquette and I were doing a grocery run when I spotted a 1955-56 Chevy pickup truck in the parking lot.  Opportunities like this don't happen every often so I parked Biquette next to it and tried to take some photos.  Unfortunately, both vehicles has been parked to get some shade and that made photography very difficult.  To avoid the shade, I walked in front of the trees into an adjacent parking lot.  From there I took this photo that ultimately intrigued me:



When I got back to my computer do download the photos, this last image reminded me of two children peering over some bushes wondering what was on the other side.  That gave me an idea.  I put my various graphics software to work.  First I made an horizontal mirror image to make for a story that would read from "left to right."  I then dug up an image of our Christmas tree.  Finally, I modified an image I had downloaded from an eBay ad.  This is the result:



It wasn't what the card I expected to create, but in my life, it is always a good idea to have a "Plan-B" handy!

Wishing all WeatherCatters and their families a Blessed Christmas and a happy new year!

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]