Seet belt length

[Arnold Hite]

Mike,

When I installed my seat belts I made sure to order some that were
more than long enough. Then I cut them down so that the buckles hung
about 4 inches over the front edge of the seat. That's the way they
were on my dad's 67 Oldsmobile. In those days I use to stretch the
belts out and hang them over the front of the bench seat. That way my
girlfriend could slide over without being impeded by the buckles. This
arrangement still works today.

Arnold Hite
Johns Island, SC

Message: 7
Date: Thu, 01 May 2003 10:53:54 -0000
From: "vaircrazy" <bayman@ctcn.net>
Subject: Andover seat belts

Does anyone know the correct length of seat belt to order for the
front and rear seat belt arrangement. I believe the style looks like
the aviator style with eye bolt mounts. They offer a 60" and 72".
What is standard?
Thanks
Mike Bayman



__________________________________________________________

 

[nelson625@aol.com]

Arnold - I understand that with the buckles hanging over the front of the
seat, they don't impede your girlfriend from sliding over and that this still
works today, but what does Sharon think of your girlfriend taking advantage
of this facility? (I'm trying to develop a sense of humor!) Nice seeing
you both in Mount Dora
Victor "Splash" Nelson


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[Bill Connelly]

Victor:

I was wondering if you've already come across a book by Tony Horwitz called
_Blue Latitudes : Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before_ (New York
: Henry Holt & Co., 2002). I'm about halfway through it, and recalling the
circumnavigation you yourself made on the Yankee, mentioned in your Amphicar
Club Members Profile at http://www.amphicar.com/oldspotlights.htm#nelson , I
just have a hunch you might enjoy it. If you haven't already got it, I'd be
happy to give you mine.

Apart from being an "Amphinaut," maybe you didn't know that I once pulled a
stint as a rigger's apprentice on the Balclutha (see
http://www.techprose.com/Samples/SFMaritime/balclutha_lev_2.htm ) back when
it was still on Pier 43 of San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf back in the
late 70s. I may not have gone to Tahiti in it, but I could still slide
upside down from the Royal's shrouds to lunch at the Eagle Cafe, and once
considered pine tar a "hair care product". I did sail its dockside
companion, the 1914 paddlewheeled river tug Eppleton Hall though. As you
may have guessed, I'm a happy tinkerer, and at the time I might might have
been the only guy who could haul those grasshopper-legged steam engine drive
legs into synch (by swinging on them 10 feet up from the bilge like a
monkey). I also sailed the Golden Hinde II replica (
http://www.goldenhinde.co.uk/ ) as the Spritzel watch...again, requiring
that monkey-like agility that's only a memory now in my 40s.

Anyhow, If you want the book, just tell me.

~Bilgey~

 

[Bill Connelly]

Sorry folks...That long message posted to the List about that book and all
for Victor was meant to be "off-list"...

Zigging when I should have Zagged,

~Bilgey~

 

[a_colo_native]

Bilgy,

You never cease to surprise and amaze me! That must have been a
large time in your life.

Anyone who has not spent a couple of hours (or more) with Bilgy
has truely missed the boat! (umm, so to speak) Not only does he have
a firm command of the "Art of communication", he has a really great
sense of humor! Somehow at Celina it always ends up Bilgy, my nephew
Daryl(ict) and I outside @ 4AM laughing.

John

 

[Bill Connelly]

Re: Re: Seet belt length

Well, now I'm REALLY embarrassed for sending that message to the whole List
instead of just Victor. But I guess that at least now I can sing my "I'm
just a wanderin' seaman, lookin' for somethin' holey" shanty at Celina
without the other Amphicar folks shielding their wives and daughters.

~Bilgey~

----- Original Message -----
From: a_colo_native
To: amphicar-lovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, March 27, 2004 12:05 AM
Subject: [amphicar-lovers] Re: Seet belt length

Bilgy,

You never cease to surprise and amaze me! That must have been a
large time in your life.

Anyone who has not spent a couple of hours (or more) with Bilgy
has truely missed the boat! (umm, so to speak) Not only does he have
a firm command of the "Art of communication", he has a really great
sense of humor! Somehow at Celina it always ends up Bilgy, my nephew
Daryl(ict) and I outside @ 4AM laughing.

John

 

[nelson625@aol.com]

Bill -
I was both surprised and happy to hear of your extensive sailing
experiences and to verify that other Amphicarites are also real sailors too.
Regarding Tony Horowitz's tome about Captain Cook's voyages, in December we were
in
Kittyhawk for the Centennial celebration of the Wright Brother's original
flight. Though the final day may have been a bust when the craft didn't stand a
chance of flying, the week long event was fantastic. (Our Kitty Hawk trip was
the
reason the Mount Dora flyer didn't get sent to Tommy of Tampa until December
19th, and then on to the president, because we left for Kittty Hawk right after
the Mt. Dora organizational meeting as had been planned and of which Tommy
and Lynne were aware. Though I knew of the 15th deadline for ads and articles, I
didn't know it applied to insert flyers, since they required no typesetting
etc. in the club newsletter. Any rate, I was duly castigated and given more
than the appropriate lashes with the Cat's tail as you'll recall, especially for
intentionally ( ! ) mispelling some members' names in the Flyer.)
Anyway, In Kitty Hawk, a couple of my YANKEE shipmates spent some time
with us, as we had room in our RV, and one of them gave me a copy of Horowitz's
book. It doesn't surprise me that you are only half was through its lengthy
pages, but I likewise found it fascinating. The most impressive item to me
(among so many interesting items) was that Cook was the very first European or
"foreigner" of any persuasion to visit Australia and encounter the Aborigines.
That had to be overwhelming. Nearby New Zealand had already been encountered by
Polynesians, at least, and some degree of language interchange could be
accompolished, but in Australia, there was zero language in common. It reminded
me
very much of our experience in New Guinea when in the highlands (Wahgi Valley).
8 of us "of European descent" which included 7 YANKEES and an Australian
Patrol Officer (while on a 100 mile overland hike in semi-controlled territory
where actual headhunting was still going on,) encountered natives who had NEVER
seen so many "white people" before and had to have been surprised that there
were so many in the world. Previously, they had seen 1 or 2 Patrol officers at
a time. These half million natives had only been discovered 24 years earlier
living literally in the stone age and actually using stone axes.
Unforgettable.
On the subject of Kitty Hawk, though the press played up the fiasco of
the "non-flight" on the 17th (which in my opinion was an inexcusable exercise in
futility and poor judgement) there were many worthwhile things to do and see
in the week leading up to the 17th. The fact of the matter is that the actual
replica (as with the original,) was only marginally flyable and absolutely
required a minimum of 15-20 knots of wind in order to stand a chance. The
forcast
from Friday December 12th on was for rain on the Sunday the 14th and
Wednesday, the 17th which came to pass exactly as predicted. However, the
"powers that
be" in their infinite wisdon (and unquestionably they knew the flying
requirements and situation better than I ) elected not to fly on Friday or
Saturday
or Monday or Tuesday when there were feasible wind conditions that made a
flight possible, but waited for Wednesday at 10:35 am when there was no wind
and
an absolute drenching downpour.They finally tried at noon when the rain abated
with prdeicatble and embarrassing results.
Just the same, I and many others listened to the likes of Bob Morgan, who
was the Captain of the famous "Memphis Belle" B-17 who is now in his 80's but
his tales were fascinating along with numberous other aviation dignitaries
and fantastic displays. Entrance to the event required individual daily tickets
and the 35,000 (increased from an original 30,000 !) tickets for the Wednesday
December 17th date were apparently purchased in large numbers by
corporations, etc., because they were all gone by October 15th and of course
that day
turned out to be a loss. The tickets originally only cost $10 a day, but on
e-Bay I saw them offered for as high as $500 a pair !
The only connection of this note to Amphicars is that it involves
watercraft, but I know that many of our fellow club members have wide ranging
interests and will likely find some of this information interesting. We just
returned
from our 7th Annual Mount Dora Swim-In and for the 7th time in a row, had
superb weather in the low 80s and a record number of Amphicars as we also had a
record number of "Woodie cars." In both instances, both with the Amphicars and
the "Woodies," this is annually the largest assemblage in the southeastern
United States and of course, the Mount Dora setting and combination of bots,
Amphicars and wolodies makes for a sensational show. As always, the Amphicars
were the real crowd pleasers and people just couldn't get enough of them. Our
banquet overflowed and Hugh and others regaled us with spellbinding anecdotes.
Vic "Splash" Nelson


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