a _little_ car news
12 Apr 2000
Called the DMV to talk to them about tags and plates for the car. As usual, I waited until all DMVs in California were closed except one which was forever long ways away from our home, but what does that matter for the phone stuff?
I called them up, and asked what I needed to do to get tags and a title. The helpful lady asked if it already had a California title. It does not. She said that I had to bring it over to the DMV so they could look at it. I mentioned that it didn't run. She asked me how I got it to my house, and when I told her that I had had it towed on a flatbed, she said that I could have it towed down to the DMV. Hrmm... _That_'s probably not going to happen, so I asked her for alternatives. She told me that a Highway Patrolman could verify the car for me, but that would cost money. But it would probably be less than a two way tow job. argh.
However, the fellow who teaches my Sunday School class used to be a cop in Santa Cruz (just accepted a job with Santa Maria PD) and his brother-in-law has some sort of law enforcement ties. I think I will ask around church tomorrow and see if either of them are able to do this mystery verification for me.
14 Apr 2000
I opened the driver's door, sat in the car. Brian climbed in the back after I opened the door for him. I found a key holder with two keys on it. I tried them both in the trunk with no success. I now have two of each of the keys, which is good. I also found some more documentation.
There was a 1970 Chiltons. In case you don't know, Chilton's is _the_ book for working on automobiles. Trust me. Walk into any shop and say, "Do you have a Chilton's on `name the year and model of your car` that I can look at?" I was kind of dismayed that it was for 1970, and the page which had a marker in it was for a Buick, but when I looked closer, this Chilton's was not just for one make or model over a few years. It was for a lot of cars from 1963 - 1970. Yes, the Lincoln Continental was there from '63 - '70. This is good, very good. I now have detailed instructions on how to take things out and put them back. This is very good, especially since I tend to have a few parts left over when I put things together.
There was also some more interesting documentation. There was a warranty card and a card which they used for the new buyers when they picked up their cars. I now know the name and address of the lady who orignally bought the car. I am kinda bummed that the warranty coupon for 24,000 miles on up was in there. Owell.
That was all that I did yesterday, not a whole lot.