The unthinkable, unimaginable,

incomprehensible has happened ……

Danz has a new car ….

The only problem is some silly bugger has put the steering wheel on the wrong side.

Plus, due to the that fact attempting to start the Escort before the sun had warmed her bonnet was a trying experience (thank you 05:00am starts at the Abalone farm for making that apparent) shipping her to Canada was not an option as …

…car owner ship in Canada has it’s little

quirks

It’s an obvious downgrade as you can plainly see. And its time to say goodbye to character, goodbye having to open and close the hood to get the front right headlight to work, goodbye the feeling that when it stalls at the traffic lights will it start again (oh the joys of old 4 cylinder weber carburettor cars), goodbye the 17 different places to tap the dashboard in order to get a variety of different squeaks to stop, goodbye radio that chooses it’s own volume, goodbye blowing all your oil onto the road in one massive blast, goodbye having a car that requires patting the dash to encourage forward momentum/successful gear changes (towards the end)/the ability to idle, goodbye good good times.

But hello being able to run more than one electrical component of the car at once, hello not feeling anxious when you are not adjacent to a pull over lane should you require yet another ‘initiate hazard lights and phone roadside assistance’ moment, hello 4WDing with 4 wheels, hello starting first time and hello sun roof (more appropriately called ‘snow viewing window’ in Canada).

So let us remember the Escort, aka Green

Beast, aka Jelly Bean, aka Kermit Mobile

with some moments of her in her full glory:

** make sure you have sound on**

She was the adventurous type, always

looking for new places and seeing what

was over the horizon

… often the only non 4WD in the parking lot.

Moving Danz and all his worldly

possessions the 2971 km trip from

Adelaide – Lincoln – Perth was an

effortless undertaking

Along the way she was in her natural

habitat, surveying her kingdom while

maintaining 100% effective camouflage

Strike a pose

Final leg to Perth, look out WA.

And who could forget that whales are no longer measured in metres but in escort

lengths. eg. “Wow, that whale must be at least 7.3 escorts long”.

When the boat mast needed transportation

there was only car up to the challenge.

There was some excuse about mast-trailer

overhang and needing a low car but I

didn’t buy it for a second, raw power was

what was on order:

That’s a 12m long mast on a 10m long trailer, that’ll show dad’s big 4WD’s whose

the boss of the garage!!!!

If the Hulk made love with Herbie the Love Bug then the Escort is what their

children would be.

As well as masts, entire boats were towed around Yorke Peninsula and through

sandhills

…. plus other destinations

And who could forget the trip up to Port

Headland, and every where in between …

…. Where two Swedish ambassadors donned the aussie wife beater uniform for a 2 week

road trippin / swimming with whale sharks / sleeping on the beach / diving / no showering

extravaganza?!

… Hangover Bay 1km

What, cyclone flooded roads? No Problem!!! (Well 1 x problem but nothing some

bush mechanic Spinifex grass de-bogging training from a passing 4WD of locals

couldn't fix)

Whose a dirty girl?

Coffee Shop,

….. friend

Bar,

Ocean view table,

The spacious interior

Worst parallel park …. ever

The perfect wildlife hide

Campin’

When it was time for Danz to box up his life

and head to Canada the mechanic said

that she only had about 2000km left before

a complete top engine overhaul was

required …

So we took the train from Perth to Adelaide and then drove from Adelaide to Port

Lincoln

Where the

preparations

began

To create a structure worthy of holding the Green Beast

Testing the fit …

… tucking her in

The shed may have cost more in materials that the value of the car, but that is

only measured in monetary value ………..

…….. perhaps, see even Pope John Paul II had to get push

starts, click here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9864923

And now it is time for her to rest …

And dream of her next adventure

And for those familiar with the coolest car in

the Port Lincoln High School parking lot, a

special guest appearance by the Volvo:

… in her early days

and perhaps more suitable for Canadian living

Until she hits the road again

Green Beast

1978 - ???