DOTS and Dinner

Kinja'd!!! "Taylor Martin" (tjmartin)
09/26/2020 at 18:04 • Filed to: None

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Hey howdy hey everyone!

I had a fantastic night last night, and it all started with a trip to WalMart for some scallops. I’d never made scallops before, but I felt like having seafood mac and cheese, and scallops came to mind.

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On my drive to WalMart I spotted these two Buick Specials, the blue one being a 38 and the white one being a 39. Both were astonishingly pretty, both were automatics, and both were for sale. The white 39 is 11k, as it says on the poster, but the blue 38 is 25k obo. I don’t have 11k in my wallet, the scallops alone were really expensive, but are these good prices? Also, why is the 38 more valuable than the 39 by over 10k?

EDIT: It’s not a Buick, it’s a LaS a lle, which is a bit rarer than your typical Buick Special. On the for sale sign it read Special, but the 25k price tag does sound a bit more Laselle. Thank you Fintail for enlightening me in a way Google Images couldn’t.

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I like the look of the 38 better, with its coachbuilt flares, so I guess I have Fisher to thank for that. Thanks Fisher!

I arrived at WalMart and bought some scallops. They were 14 bucks, way more than I was expecting to pay, but oh well. I had all the ingredients at home, so it was worth it.

I decided to take the long route home and ended up at a stop light with a right hand drive, first gen Mazda Miata, a turbocharged Ford Focus RS, and a rusty early 2000s Pontiac Firebird with thick rims and thin tires. In short, I ended up in a street crew (not really, my car wasn’t modded or cool enough, nor did it smell of weed). I followed them for a few stop lights as they did some pulls. The Pontiac was fast off the line and then... not... I think I could’ve taken him on. But that Ford went from fast to really fast really fast!

I always like seeing cool cars on the road, but it’s also cool to see them in action, even if it’s irresponsible and unsafe. Anything goes in Florida.

I get home and get cooking, spending half an hour in the kitchen sauteeing mushrooms in butter, boiling water for pasta, sizzling oil and almost burning my hand on it, and making my world famous cheese sauce (and by world famous, I mean everyone knows that it’s the only thing I know how to make).

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Put it all together and voila, seafood mac! It was incredibly delicious, and will be for the next week because we have so much of it left. The scallops and shoorms turned out swell, and I’m quite proud.

In other, more interesting news though, it looks like I’m finally going back on campus. I don’t know why they’re allowing me back, I’m in a degree that works entirely online, and the school announced that I would be until the end of the year. But apparently I’m back. I can still decide to... well... not go. I have one lecture every week, and the school is very flexible with people remaining online if they choose (which I might. The whole point of going back to campus would be to see people and interact in person, but if that doesn’t happen then switching online may be a better bet). I have some decisions to make in the coming days I suppose.

What are you all making eating for dinner tonight? I think my roommates girlfriend’s mom is buying us chinese food to celebrate us moving a bunch of furniture from one apartment to another.


DISCUSSION (12)


Kinja'd!!! fintail > Taylor Martin
09/26/2020 at 18:13

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White car is indeed a 39 Buick, I believe the dark car is a 38 LaSalle.

Neither car would have an automatic from the factory, that not coming to GM(Olds) until MY 1940. Both might be good drivers, but are seriously overpriced IMO - fading market for cars of this era.

Macaroni resembles Beecher’s, which isn’t a bad thing.


Kinja'd!!! BaconSandwich is tasty. > Taylor Martin
09/26/2020 at 18:37

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I'm attempting to make French onion soup from scratch. Never made it before. I did make some small baguettes earlier today, which I will cut up and put on top.


Kinja'd!!! ranwhenparked > fintail
09/26/2020 at 18:43

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Definately a ‘38 LaSalle, which alone could explain the price difference, being a theoretically more prestigious brand, though, honestly, LaSalle and Buick were on a pretty even footing, the former just gave you whatever snob appeal might come with buying your car in a Cadillac showroom.

I guess there's a slim chance the Buick has the semi-auto Automatic Safety Transmission, but that is exceedingly unlikely. 


Kinja'd!!! Taylor Martin > fintail
09/26/2020 at 19:39

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Yeah, that definitely is a LaSalle. I missed the lines on the side. However, I noticed a distinct lack of a clutch pedal on each of them, so I’m taking an educated guess they were converted in some way shape or form. The price on both did seem real steep regardless. They looked to be in great condition, especially for over 90 years old, but maybe the conversion adds a few dollars to the price tag.


Kinja'd!!! Taylor Martin > BaconSandwich is tasty.
09/26/2020 at 19:41

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Ooooh that sounds good. Real good. I wish you the best of luck in your culinary endeavors.


Kinja'd!!! fintail > Taylor Martin
09/26/2020 at 19:52

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I’ve seen numerous resto-mod conversions on cars of this era. I suspect it is pretty easy to drop in a SBC or similar, with a TH350 or similar full automatic, and have the conversion effectively be invisible. It makes a lot of sense, especially on a car where having the original engine isn’t something many look at anyway.

I think the Buick is at least 25% too steep, the LaSalle probably like 40%. These cars had more value 25 years ago, I don’t know many und er 70 today who are jonesing for prewar cars like this.


Kinja'd!!! ranwhenparked > fintail
09/26/2020 at 20:19

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I keep waiting for ‘30s and ‘40s car prices to crash dramatically, but it hasn’t happened yet for anything that isn’t a total mess of a project car - some cooling off, maybe, but not a dramatic drop. Seems to be a combination of IknowhatIhave owners who don’t really need to sell that badly, combined with m ore active seniors who are still buying.

But, when I can get a clean straight six Chrysler with a Fluid Drive or maybe a bathtub Nash, for peanuts, I'll bite.


Kinja'd!!! fintail > ranwhenparked
09/26/2020 at 20:53

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I t’ll sound morbid, but we probably won’t have significant declines until these things start showing up more often in estate auctions. Still plenty of the me generation hanging on to them, and they won’t hang ‘em up for another decade or more . But even now, these things are worth less than they were 20-30 years ago, it is just beginning. Great for fans of vehicles of that era - just like (closed) Model Ts and As can be picked up for relatively little now.


Kinja'd!!! Taylor Martin > ranwhenparked
09/26/2020 at 21:51

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Yeah, you’d think a car over 80 years old would sell for a little less, but I guess not. I’d happily drive around in one of those big sedans (up close, the Buick and LeSalle trunks were as tall as my wagon , though likely not as deep) if I could easily afford one like I can something from the 2000s


Kinja'd!!! ranwhenparked > Taylor Martin
09/26/2020 at 22:04

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Somebody in my parent’s neighborhood bought a really mint looking ‘38 Buick in silver as a retirement present for himself, it lives outside due to his garage being converted to living space and he seems to use it a lot for groceries/errands etc. Beautiful car, serious presence. 107hp straight eight, not a speed demon, but bet it moves along just fine for around town and country roads.


Kinja'd!!! BaconSandwich is tasty. > Taylor Martin
09/26/2020 at 22:16

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It was tasty. A bit on the salty side because of the beef stock stuff I used. Definitely worth making again. It made enough I've got a few containers in the freezer for future meals.


Kinja'd!!! Taylor Martin > BaconSandwich is tasty.
09/27/2020 at 00:49

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Congrats on the successful meal and hooray for leftovers!