John,
Thanks for posting the shot of my old Jeep that I named "Gypsy." I installed a Corvette engine, a Ford 9 inch Posi rear with Lincoln Continental disc brakes, and a 200 pound cast iron NV4500 transmission with an overdrive and underdrive. Lots of aircraft parts were also installed from when I worked at Grumman.
Realize that I built basically a Hum Vee before there was a Hum Vee. I considered my Jeep an armoured urban assault vehical. Not seen on the front bumper is the red, white and blue paint from cars that I hit.
The red paint is from a brand new Toyota Celica that I drove the drivers side door into the front fender when the driver opened his door into traffic by a Staples in LIC/Astoria. This young kid gets out of the car all hot with two of his friends and made a mistake of getting in my face. I gave him a stern warning to cool down or I'll have no choice but put him down. His friends stood off, understood that I was ready, and if required at least one of them would get taken out. Ends up the kid had no insurance, the car wasn't his, and it suspiciously had a temporary paper license plate because it was a brand new car that had not been fully registered yet.
The blue paint is from a Hun-Die 4-door that I T-boned right after a light turned green. The Hun-Die tried to make a left turn when I had the right of way. I wasn't going but maybe walking speed when I suddenly made a 4-door Hun-Die immediately into a 2-door Hun-Die. The roof caved in like someone dropped an I-beam on the roof, indicating that I bent the car into a banana. Then the driver decided to take off, and a chase began, as I pursued them untill they decided they were caught and stopped. Ends up it was a bunch of children, not kids, that were going for a joy-ride with the girl in the passenger seat's parents car. The oldest kid in the car was maybey 14-15 years old and the youngest maybe 6-7. I think I pretty miuch came close to totaling the Hun-Die, and what was so remarkable is the Hun-Die truely acted like my Jeep's air-bag.
So the first two accidents involved others breaking the law, but the white paint happened out in the Hamptons where there is a left hand merge to get onto the LIE at exit 70. This white car with California plates decides to cut in, and I decide that this guy is a entitled jerk, so I don't let him in. This esculates to where this entitled guy gives me the finger and then becomes determined to cut in. Anyways I kinda take out his drivers side quarter panel and stop when my bumper is inbedded into his door. He now is really pissed, but he can't get out. I take my seatbelt off getting ready for armed conflict. It is summer so the Jeep has no doors or top. When traffic moves the driver pulls up, un-pins his door and gets out to fight. He tries to throw a punch, but I block it smashing his fore arm against the roll bar, then I kinda kick him in the chest with the sole of my shoe, but in a manner that is really only a strong shove backwards, so I can get up to stand on my seat. One hand is on my rollbar, the other on my windshield frame, and my next move is a soccer kick into this guys face to end the conflict.
Meanwhile my biking buddy/friend who is built like a shorter version of Arn-old is already standing, and this Califirnian dude's girlfriend is asking my friend Mike, "Please don't beat up my boyfriend."
Somehow the California hot-head decided it was not worth getting his butt kicked in, and he got back into his car and drove off. I likely caused thousands of dollars worth of damage, but in the end as a conselation prize he eventually got infront of me and was able to cut-in front of perhaps a quarter mile of traffic waiting to make that left turn.
For those of you that are younger than me, understand that a lot of this is carryover culture from the 1970's. I grew up thinking I could get maimed or slaughtered in Vietnam, in the mid-seventies was that 1974 recession that had double digit unemployment, and double digit inflation, and NYC was almost like Detroit is today. Part of the culture at that time was that we had no future, street fighting was very common, and generally people didn't care.
Cal
