A CUP OF CHRISTMAS EGGBLOG

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Hey kids! Yeah, it's me, the Grinch. I'm not usually a big holiday guy, but something's different this year. Maybe it's the Christmas cards. I don't get many, but when I do, they mean a lot to me. (That's just between us. Got it?)


Friends of SGE tend to be an artful lot, and their Christmas greetings are just too cool to hoard, so in the spirit of the season, here they are, from all of them to all of you.

From the Medleys

From the Trosleys

From the Norwells

From Steve Scott

From the Workmans

From the Allisons

From the Smiths

From the Moyers

From the Millars

From the Sorchiks

From the Ervins

From the Conders

From the Oscar Mayer Hot Dog Association

And even from the American Open Sleigh Enthusiast Federation! Merry Christmas everyone!

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UPDATE

With the family off to Grandma's, the Gossons celebrate accordingly. My brother Rocky took advantage of the opportunity to fix a few little glitches on his '34 Ford project.

Rocky glitch number one: "My Speedway wishbone mounts are waaay too low on the frame rails. About one inch of ground clearance - gasp! And it tilts my front axle back 13 degrees!"

"So I cut 'em down..."

"... and used a hole saw to put a hole in the side rail for the tie rod end to pass through and into the Speedway tapered mount, now welded to the inside of the rail. Clean and safe."

"Now the axle is tilted back seven degrees, and my '33 split bones hit the frame about an inch up the rail. This is totally perfect! No unsightly mounts hanging down to bang on the ground."

"I still need to grind, polish, and generally make it pretty, which is what I'll do this winter. The only other change I need to make is to remove the rear spring perches and make up another set that offset the spring eyes a half-inch closer to the backing plates and will place the spring an inch higher on the axle housing. Plus, I gotta add another leaf to the spring pack. On both front and back, I have to flip the spring u-bolts, so their nuts don't hang down and contact the axles on spring compression (Yeouch!). The front spring is too close to the bottom of the frame rails, so I need to cut and box-in a couple of little tunnels for it. And I'll have to whip up panhard bars and mounts, both front and rear. Oh, and box the frame rails in front of and behind the X-member (the 'X' is strong enough to handle frame flex in the middle of the rails). But before I box the rails, I need to weld some nice beefy 3/8ths square nuts inside for my body mount bolts. And weld in steering box mounts. Oh, and I almost forgot - my pedal mount is only tacked in one place! I gotta cut it loose and either replace it, or modify the existing mount plate to move my pedals two inches closer to the center of the car. I scored a killer pair of Armstrong lever shocks off some guy's Morris [ahem], but am undecided on mounting them horizontally or vertically. They look cool mounted horizontally, but will they work right? All these decisions can make a feller nuts..." [Edited for brevity] (Photos courtesy of Rocky Gosson)

Rocky's son Jerm was 15 years old when he bought this '50 Ford coupe from the widow of Spalding, Nebraska's town dentist for $300. It's been through a few changes over the years (most notably a Pro Street version with a hot 400 sbc). But life kept getting in the way...

...like Jerm's roadrace/landspeed Corvette, which has delivered 180 MPH grins from Nebraska to Texas and back.

Jerm's farmtown coupe today sports an all new tricked-out hand-fabbed chassis, a twin turbo 427" LS engine, and a Richmond 6-speed. I blame genetics for this. And I can't wait for a ride. Viva Jerm Gosson!(Photos courtesy of Rocky Gosson)
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SQUIRREL AND TOOLBOX

For all you know, there's a pile of crusty SnapOns under this squirrel, deeming this a rare two-in-one Squirrel and Toolbox combo shot. How do we keep outdoing ourselves like this? Clean livin' and fancy footwork.

GRIN

The presents are under the tree and the SGE offices are prepped for another knockdown dragout Christmas party. Here's hoping the cops don't show up at your holiday blowout this year. And try to leave a little something in the tank for New Years!

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