Topic: The Wheels of Tron or "Oozing Guilt out of Every Pore"

[W1RC]

We all know that The Timtron's vehicles are very unique and distinctive, to say the least.   Here are some photos of a few of the more memorable rides he has owned over the years.

The "Little Red Pinto", aka the "Pinto Valdez", so named because it left an oil slick wherever it went.

Then there's the famous "Cadaverlac", a 1972 Cadillac hearse he found while installing a shortwave transmitter in "Throw-upton", Kentucky.  Unfortunately these days the "Cadaverlac" is off the road due to mechanical issues.  It needs work.  Hopefully one day these matters will be attended to and you may see the Cadaverlac once again at Deerfield in all its glory.

This is the famous Chevy "No-Va".  Tim inherited it from his mother in 1995.  It's a South Carolina car so it had no rust on it when Tim got it.  It's still on the road almost twenty years after he got it. This picture was taken at Hosstraders at Hopkinton NH about ten years ago.



Another view of the "No-Va" at Boxborough MA August 2000.  Yes, that's Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, checking it out.

For many years Tim's vehicles were mechanically challenged and would not pass the Maine state safety inspection.  Tim became very adept at sticker transplant technology using what he was able to find on windshields on wrecks at Folsom's junk yard in Skowtown.  However one year he was unable to find one but by good fortune Timmy happened to spot a piece of cardboard the exact color for that year at Yallen's house.   The rest is history.

There's a wonderful story about this sticker and a good friend of mine who was a Maine State Trooper and worked at the Troop C barracks in Skowtown.  Keith is a badge collector buddy and also a short-wave listener and quite the fan of da Tron.  One time when I was visiting Tim he met me at a local restaurant for breakfast.  He seemed quite agitated.  "Errrrr, I nearly had a run-in with the State Police", he exclaimed.  "I was driving along the back road and out of nowhere there was a State Trooper right on my ass.  When I was stopped at the light he was right behind me and I was sure he was going to pull me over.  When the light finally changed I went straight and the Trooper turned left. Phew!"

Later I went over to the barracks to visit Keith who was the administrative trooper and pretty much always there and available for a visit.  "What kind of car does your friend Timmy drive?" he inquired.  When I told him it was a little red Pinto he laughed and said: "I was driving into work this morning and all of a sudden this red Pinto came out of a side road and cut right in front of me; darned near hit him.  It was obvious he didn't see me at first but when he did he slammed on his brakes and I nearly ran into him again.  He was oozing guilt out of every pore of his body.  I had my hand on the switch that turns on the flashing lights to pull him over. When I saw that big antenna on the roof I figured it must be Tim so I let him go".

Lucky he didn't because had he stopped Tim and seen the hand-drawn sticker it might not have been too good for the Tron.  Police discretion can just go so far........

Well I guess the statute of limitations on counterfeiting in Maine must have run out on this one so it's okay to tell the story now.

As a postscript to this tale I became reacquainted with Keith, the Maine State Trooper, in the winter of 2015 and invited him to come to the Lewiston (Maine) hamfest.  He did and it was great times him again.  Keith went up to Timmy and tapped Jim on the shoulder and said: "Mr Smith, I need to talk to you about that inspection sticker twenty years ago......."  We all had a great laugh over that.

Here he is singing "I'm a Piss-Weak Little Mobile".
http://forum.near-fest.com/mm/Multimedia/pissweak.mp3

Gotta love it.

73,

MrMike, W1RC