The Good, The Bad, and Life in General

Crazy times these days man. Let’s start with the good. I finally found a solid job I’ll be starting in one week. Same thing I’m doing now, the atmosphere seems pretty relaxed and for the first time I’ll have health benefits. No more working for a spoiled little backstabbing brat (looking at YOU Patrick, you fucktard little douchebag bitch I know you keep tabs on me here). For a going away present my friends at work treated me to a surprise weekend getaway at a cabin down in Hocking Hills, how cool are they? Friends like that are priceless and make life worth living. Sitting in a hot tub in the middle of nowhere was just what the doctor ordered.

In more good news Aaron was nice enough to get in touch with me and send along some latest pix of his chopped xB that has been racking up the trophies in the In Progress categories. I always love hearing from folks I’ve met through the blog and seeing the amazing things they come up with.

Epic box Aaron!

But, as is so often is the case in life, it ain’t all good. Most people would probably be excited about a new job, but truth is I’m a nervous wreck, I was at my previous job 15 years, it was my life, I’m leaving more than a job, I’m leaving my family, a life style, and those great friends I spoke of earlier. It will always break my heart the way it all went to hell these past 6 months. And being the new guy at my next job, I’ve got my dues to pay, starting with the shifts nobody else wants, etc.

Aaron had some bad news too, after all the work that went into his chopped xB it took a pretty good hit on his way home one night.

Now THAT is a kick in the nuts, I can’t imagine what Aaron is feeling, hell I’m on the verge of tears. But he is one hell of a fabricator, if anyone can come back stronger than ever it’s Aaron, but it still has to be one powerful blow to the morale.

And in even more bad news, for the second month in a row we’ve lost a metal god, Ronnie James Dio passed away due to complications from stomach cancer, he was 67. I only had a chance to meet him briefly one time, but he was the nicest, most approachable and polite musician I’ve ever had the pleasure of talking to.

Coolest Thing Ever

I was looking through some recent event coverage at JSJ Brothers and spotted an xB out in the wild with a Melissa sticker on it, I couldn’t believe it! Thank you so much!

Aaron’s Back Too

Aaron’s chop top/panel van/50’s Kustom inspired xB was out rolling around as it nears completion and he was cool enough to send some pix. I can’t say enough about how in love I am with that hood ornament, and the new seats look as comfy as grandma’s couch, they definately have a kind of 70’s Cadillac swagger to me.

Visibility shouldn’t be an issue with count em 5 outboard cameras

I’m Feelin It

I’d like to get a good look at this xB without the HDR set to warp 9

Someone Build This

February xB Special

EDIT UPDATE FEB 5: Paypal has frozen my account because a raffle is considered “illegal gambling”, as of right now please DO NOT send money as it will violate an affadavit I had to e-sign. I know, it’s bull shit, I’m working on other solutions and will update when I come up with something.

EDIT UPDATE FEB 7: I spoke to nice phone rep at Paypal named Molly who was very sympathetic to the situation. THERE ARE NO MORE RAFFLES. But I am still allowed to sell the xB and bB stickers. 100% of the money from the stickers, not just the profits, go to helping with Melissa’s medical bills. As a special Thank You for buying a sticker or two and helping out, each month I will randomly select one person who purchased a sticker to receive a free gift for thier support. For February it’s a set of Scion Pro stainless window moldings for 1st gen xBs. Here’s how you can help out and order;
1. Log into Paypal and select “send money”
2. Send payment to stickerdonations@yahoo.com
3. Send $5 for 1 sticker or $9 for 2 stickers, that includes free shipping anywhere.
4. In the “notes” section of your payment please indicate if you’d like the xB or bB sticker, or one of each, whatever the case may be
5. Hold your head high knowing you helped someone get the medical attention they desperately need, 100% of it goes to paying for Melissa’s treatment

Now dig on Dennis’ box rocking the sticker

Don’t forget we have plenty of Honda stickers still available as well

BBSzero

This one belongs to Cliff, and I really can’t say enough about what a remarkable guy he is. Besides being a life long car guy, having owned 60 vehicles in the last 20 years he has been a true blessing to The Melissa Project, donating $5 from each sale of his wheel spacers and camber shims (well deserved plug, hit him up!) and donating last month’s raffle prize, Cliff has been down since day one. Cliff’s dad is an old school hot rodder and was Cliff’s first introduction to hot rods, kustoms, and rat rods but oddly enough Cliff’s dad was the first in the family to buy an xB, and that’s when the xB bug bit Cliff hard. He bought one for himself and started out the way most of us do, bolt ons, lowering, wheels, clean aero and he turned out a great car.

But he still wasn’t happy, he wanted to go all in and, drawing inspiration from his hot rod and rat rod roots, make it truly his car. First up was a coat of blue

topped with a coat of chalk board paint

then the top coat was sanded through to reveal blue and white flames and patina giving it a great three dimensional, textural quality that just adding more paint on top would not achieve

his latest touch is a checker board panel to pay tribute to the original european rat rodders who brought the whole rat look style to newer cars and cemented it’s place in the community

Cliff would like to thank GothBox, Black Box, and ShortBus8 for the inspiration for his build, out of all those 60 cars this is the one he says he’ll be keeping in his stable for a very long time. I’d like to thank Cliff for being an inspiration to us all.

Aaron’s Black Box

It’s really starting to come together and is drivable now, for a car to ooze this much attitude before it’s even close to being completed is nothing short of epic. As far as I know this is the only chopped xB around and it’s cars like this that keep me excited about the whole car game, the blending of traditional hot rodding and kustomizing with newer cars, blurring the lines betweeen street rod and tuner. An amazing amount of skill and fabrication goes into something like this, even though it may seem as easy as cutting a couple inches out of the pillars, even on a car as upright and boxy as an xB it takes a huge amount of work and artistry to section and reform the roof contours. Not to mention the commitment and balls to just saw the whole roof off your car! That great hood ornament sells the whole theme so perfectly and the dual round headlights do such a good job of giving it an overall more retro feel, thanks for letting me share this one Aaron!

Lil Jay

Rocking Melissa’s heart, thanks dude!

Sittin and Hittin HARD

Dennis’ xB never disappoints, aside from being a long time enthusiast and top notch car builder I can’t say enough about how supportive and generous he has been with Hatch Life and The Melissa Project. His taste and attention to detail drips out of every inch of his current Box and he truly is a role model for kids coming up and getting interested in cars about how this isn’t just some trendy scene, it’s a real community that comes correct and takes care of it’s own, and while your personal tastes may change over the years, there’s no substitute for quality. Once modding and tuning are in your blood it’s a life long love affair.