Cats, Cars and Caskets at the Atlantic Nationals

Although it comes as no surprise to people that our family is a little "Goth", some of my newer fans might be impressed by a naked cat that is into cars.

Here is our family vehicle, a 1991 Cadillac Brougham Hearse pictured outside the old Havelock Cement Plant, a fitting place for a photo shoot.

Since neither my people nor I have the necessary skills, time or funds to invest in a car we had to settle for mostly DIY modifications.

Although we did put in a back seat and belts so it could seat 6 live humans safely.



 We yearn for an intricate paint job one day but for now, these decals are pretty cool!

 "Carpe Noctem" means "Seize the Night" for those of you not into Latin.

We purchased these incredibly durable decals from "Pillbox Designs" on Etsy.  They do custom orders and are very accommodating.

We also found some snazzy "Lucky 13" panels for the inside of the back doors.

Our Raven hood ornament is another diy job.

You may recognise our "Nevermore" license plates from old Hearse featured in my "Twilight Premiere" blog.  Yes, it is a reference to Poe's "The Raven".

Every Goth family must have Zombie Family stickers for the back window! It only came with 4 zombie cats so someone had to be left out, but no one knows who.

Car loving cats must not be that unusual.  The Reversing Falls in St.John, New Brunswick has special cat parking!  Worried you missed my blog about the falls? You did not.  The parking lot got 5 meows and the rest was unblogworthy.  The smell alone caused me to contemplate the need for a wider, minus-meow scale of rating. If you feel the urge to visit, wait for it to pass.

In fact a visit to the Home Depot was far more entertaining than the Reversing Falls of St.John.

Mostly because of their Nascar carts! Yes Count, we are driving Tony Stewart's #20 Home Depot car.  I brought Count with me so he could train for the Atlantic Nationals Car Show.

The Atlantic Nationals take place in Moncton, New Brunswick every JulyI It is the largest  car show in Canada. This year they had nearly 2000 entries. There are lots of prizes including a turnkey 1932 Hot Rod. 

Here is our car set up at the show.  We have 3/4 of a casket in it to hold the groceries. (A full casket will not fit combined with a back seat.)

Since I was a little crabulated that weekend, Count offered to pose for photographs. He is becoming a handy apprentice! Here he is with a custom 1934 Roadster made from a variety of parts including a hand formed plexi glass bubble top.  To open it you must pull on the antenna.  

and this is him with a Corvette Sting Ray! Yes Count, a 1963, thank you.  This model was popular because it is the only year they produced the split rear window. It was intended to form a visual connection with the central raised section on the hood, but was discontinued due to visibility issues.

Count says this Plymouth Coupe P3 is a 1937. Thank you, Count. We really like the little swirl detail in the black paint and it even has the original hood ornament!

A close up of a '37 Plymouth Coupe hood ornament. Art Deco heaven!

The spider web grill on this custom Ford Closed Cab Pickup is fabulous! Yes Count, clearly a 1931, Thank you!

One of our favorites for the last two years has been this custom sled.  Count was unable to ascertain the year of it though. These look like Full Moon hubcaps, popular in the 1950's.

 Perhaps he was too distracted by the details! Who is that handsome cat in the mirror? This would look good on our Hearse.

 Oooh! and so would the demon faced tail light!

Here is Count with a 1931 "Henry's Lady"! The very first Ford Model A was given to Thomas Edison!  Count says 4,849,340 were produced in the USA only for 4 model years: 1928-1932. Then, they were made in Russia until 1936 as the "Gaz". Thank you, Count.



We are not sure what this monstrosity is...

 

But the cat in the back is pretty neat!

 

Our other choice car every year is the 1967 Pontiac Bonneville High-Headroom Ambulance.  It won best special interest car!

It should not be mistaken for "Ecto 1", the Ghostbusters Car, which was a 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor.

 Count got to take a ride in it and he did not even have to fake an illness!

This ambulance was in service for 20 years at the nuclear power station in Chalk River, Ontario.

 

In the photo below, the rear seat on the right side folds directly into the floor allowing room to carry 2 gurneys side by side.

This combined with straps from the ceiling creates space for 2 additional stretchers that sit like bunk beds, bringing the total capacity to 4 patients! How efficient!

 

Peekaboo Count!

After all those photos Count is exhausted.  The plush interior side sill of our Hearse is perfect for cat lounging.

 It even lights up for nighttime ambiance! 

Here are the prizes we won at the car show! I received cat size wrenches to work on the Hearse and Count got a laser light toy for his key chain.

 Is it time to go?

Count and I give the 2012 Atlantic Nationals 5 meows out of 5!  Come check us out at next years show.

Do not forget to check out ALL my other blog reviews! Just choose a date under the "More of my Adventures" heading in the upper right column.

© 2012 Aislynne