Scott et al,
Today I motored over to Marion, NY, in search of that 78 Spit - "a steal
at $950." Somebody must have already stolen it, because I never found
either the car or the owner. Nobody answered the door, even though someone
was apparently inside; saw only a rusty pickup in the back & a minivan in
the side yard, and was hesitant to nose around any further. Called the
phone number and was informed by Bell Atlantic the phone had been
disconnected. Ironically, on a side-street coming into town, I spotted an
Inca Yellow '76 (1976 according to the registration sticker, but it didn't
have the slotted wheels). Figuring that (1) maybe the seller had a
misprint on the year and had also moved, or (2) it was a different Spit in
which case the owner would surely know or know of the '78 "steal at $950"
(how many small villages in upstate NY would have 2 resident Spits?), I
banged on that door also. No answer also. The yellow Spit was a bit
ragged, so I gave up the chase and left town, figuring that (1) by then the
local residents had probably classified me as a "suspicious vehicle" (my
TSV - an unrusted GMC Sonoma with Maryland tags, tooling back and forth
along Main Street, its white-haired driver stopping occasionally and banging
on doors - just didn't quite fit into the local scene), and (2) the "steal"
may have been anything but, if judged by the apparent socio-economic status
of its supposed locale. The second Spit, the yellow 76, was rather tatty
and somewhat rusted; besides, I already have a tatty yellow one, and I hate
Inca Yellow (but at least I have O/D and a factory H/T, which this one
didn't).
Bottom line - I struck out big-time. Had a nice ride though; too bad it
wasn't in my Spit which is over 400 miles away in MD. But, as you
suggested, the chase is half the fun.
Ree Gurley (always looking, rarely touching) in Silver Spring, MD / Mexico,
NY - 78 Spit FM73070U O
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