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1972 Dodge Colt Wagon | |
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1969 Ford LTD 2 Door Hardtop |
Car
#2 :
a 1969 Ford LTD I bought for $250 in May of 1978. You can see the 'custom
body work' on the passenger side where it sideswiped a jeep on the freeway
(no, I didn't do it, I bought it that way). |
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1979 Mazda GLC Wagon | #3 : a
1979 Mazda GLC (stands for Great Little Car) I got brand new in April
of 1979. I learned to clear the snow off the roof before opening the
sunroof from this car, didn't like the lap full of slush I got at the
first stop. |
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1969 Dodge Coronet Wagon | #4 : 1969
Dodge Coronet I got in June of 1979. I fixed it up and sold it to Free
Wheeler Pizza for a Prep Vehicle. |
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1970 Ford LTD 2 Door Hardtop |
#5 : a 1970 Ford LTD I bought in January of 1980. This car marks the beginning
of my love affair with huge 70's Fords. With it's 429 CID Ford V8 it
could haul 7 people and a boat up Parley's Canyon at 80 MPH. (at 7 miles
per gallon, of course) |
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1973 Ford LTD Country Squire |
#6 : 1973
Ford LTD Country Squire that I bought in May of 1980 for parts for car
#5. After I had taken all the parts I could use my brothers and I had
a lot of fun with it and a sledgehammer. |
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1969 Chevrolet Chevelle | |
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1972 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser | #8 : 1972
Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser I bought in March of 1981. Sorry I don't have
a picture of it ( just picture the car on "That 70's Show"
). Picture is not the actual car I owned, just one of same make and
model. I bought it to pull the engine out of and put it in the next
car, the 442. But as I was driving it down to Dan Hopes house, the engine
froze up, which worked out since we were planning on rebuilding the
whole thing anyways |
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1968 Oldsmobile 442 |
#9 : 1968
Oldsmobile 442 a friend and I bought in May of 1981 to rebuild and sell
at a profit. Didn't make much money off it, but we did have a lot of
fun driving it.... |
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1968 Ford Mustang | |
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1978 Yamaha 250 Enduro | #11 : 1978
Yamaha 250 Enduro, June 1982. Spent 3 weeks in the Southern Utah Deserts
riding around on this thing. Sunburned my neck so bad I still have the
scar from it. But it was fun. |
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1972 Ford Pinto | #12 : 1972
Ford Pinto, July 1982. Old Navy vehicle, still had "Navy"
on the door in dirt, where they didn't bother to get off the glue from
the sticker. I bought it for $160, beat the crap out of it, (Rockford
"U" turns, dirt roads, brodies into snowbanks, etc..) for
over 2 years, did a total of $2.30 in repairs and then sold it for $150.
Financially, the best car I ever had. |
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1978 Buick Regal | #13 : 1978
Buick Regal, November 1982. One of the classiest cars I've ever owned,
power everything. Used the power door locks to lock myself out of it
with the radio, heater, wipers, defogger and lights on while it was
running, at 1 am in the middle of a snow storm. Spent an hour in the
cold waiting for my little brother to get there with the spare keys. |
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1974 Ford Mustang II | #14 : 1974 Ford Mustang, January 1983. Fun car, but really just a Pinto with
an Italian designed body on it. |
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1984 Mazda B2000 | #16 : 1984
Mazda B2000, November 1984. Great little truck. Sold it to a lawyer
and had to reposses it from him. That was fun. |
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1977 Ford LTD Brougham |
#17 : 1977
Ford LTD, April 1985. Ahhh, the big cars of the 70's, they don't make
them like it any more. I locked myself out of this one also, had to
smash in a window to get in. I chose the little window right behind
the passenger door, turned out it was more expensive than the windshield,
and more indestructible. |
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1976 Dodge Colt | #18 : 1976 Dodge Colt, October 1985. I learned to drive in this car, my mom
bought it new in 1976 (the year I got my license). Every one of the
males in my family got in a wreck in it while my mom owned it, she never
did. |
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1983 Ford Mustang Convertible | #19 : 1983 Mustang Convertible, April 1986. This is the car I regret selling
the most. I left it with a friend when I borrowed her truck to move,
she and her boss left work for a 10 minute errand that lasted 3 hours.
Later she and her husband ran out the rest of a full tank of gas. They
were going to refill the tank and play dumb, but
I forgot to leave them the gas key. She named the car "Christine"
(Stephen King) because she 'just couldn't stop driving it'. |
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1980 Ford Mustang | |
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1974 Mercury Marquis | #21 : 1974 Mercury Marquis,
October 1987. Another huge 70's boat. Also, another car I don't have
a picture for. (Picture is not the actual car I owned, just one of same
make and model) |
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1980 Ford Mustang | #22 : 1980 Ford Mustang, January 1988. This one I used to rebuild 'Stang, (#20) to it's former
glory. It didn't even run, and I guess I didn't even have it long enough
to take a picture of it. (Picture is not the actual car I owned, just
one of same make and model) |
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1976 Dodge Colt | #23 : 1976 Dodge Colt,
March 1988. I got this car when a friend trashed my other Colt (#18),
which had a newly rebuilt engine. So, rather than waste a good engine,
I bought this with a bad engine and switched them. |
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1985 Nissan 200SX Turbo | #24 : 1985 Nissan 200 SX Turbo.
I inherited this car from my mom. She used to love racing punks in Camaros
who thought a grey haired grandma wouldn't have the guts to kick their
butt - most of the time she did. One time she raced me in my Mustang
convertible down 7th East, concerned how she would explain to the police
that she just couldn't let her son beat her. |
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1984 Honda Nighthawk 550 | |
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1972 Ford LTD Country Squire |
#26 : 1972 Ford LTD Country Squire,
October 1988. We called this one the "Klingon Battle Cruiser",
it was almost as big and the same ugly green. My brother's white 1977
one played the part of the Federation Ship. We were chasing each other
through mud puddles in a field when I didn't quite make it through 2
trees. Hit one at about 30, did more damage to the tree. |
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1972 Ford LTD Country Squire |
#27 : 1972 Ford LTD Country Squire,
March 1989. I loved the Battlecruiser so much I had to get another one
when it died. I had to poach the doors from the old one for this one
when all the windows got broken out. That'll teach it to break down
on me when I'm in a hurry. |
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1976 Ford Mustang | #28 : 1976 Ford Mustang,
March 1989. I bought this one, which didn't run, for the sole purpose
of seeing how it would look if I cut the top off. We couldn't cut into
the back corners, so once the rest of the roof was cut, we had to bend
the roof back and forth until the corners broke off, like that last
peice on the top of a can. |
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1980 Buick Skylark | #29 : 1980 Buick Skylark, March 1989. Busy month for me and cars. This came with a V-6 and an
automatic and was so gutless I replaced them with a 4 cylindar and 4
speed. Smaller engine, but was much faster. |
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1980 Toyota Corolla | #30 : 1980 Toyota Corolla, June 1989. I bought this from my little brother. This picture was taken
at midnight during a full moon, on the Bonneville Salt Flats. The salt
reflects the moonlight so well it gives it an eerie sense of daylight
out there. We went out there one time with no moon and it was so dark
we almost lost the car just walking 10 feet away. |
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1980 Chevy Citation | |
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1985 Jeep Wagoneer | #32 : 1985 Jeep Wagoneer,
August 13, 1991. The biggest financial disaster of my automotive career.
I bought it for around $8,000, put $2,000 into it and sold it for $3,000.
Net loss $7,000 (for 1 year of ownership). It had the same V6 as my
Skylark, the added weight made it even more gutless. 12 MPG and slow,
terrible combination. It was an excellent 4 wheeler. |
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1965 Ford Falcon | #33 : 1965 Ford Falcon,
July 15, 1992. This was a fun little car until the brakes went out on
me. It had a single well master cylindar, so I entered the road from
my driveway with no brakes at all. Good thing I wasn't getting off the
freeway at the time. |
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1984 Cadillac Cimarron | #34 : 1984 Cadillac Cimarron,
Aug 21, 1992. I got this car for free from my dad, it was basically
a Chevy Cavalier with power everything. |
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1985 Nissan 200 SX Trubo | |
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1984 Jeep Grand Wagoneer | #36 : 1984 Jeep Grand Wagoneer,
March 19, 1994. My second Jeep, another financial blunder, I spent $1,000
fixing an oil leak just to be told it needed another couple thousand
to fix the engine completely. Excellent 4 WD system, but I wasn't having
much luck with their engines. |
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1978 Mercury Grand Marquis |
#37 : 1978 Mercury Grand Marquis,
Jan 28, 1995. I paid $240 for it, and it came with a full tank of gas.
The rear end gave out in Wellington, on the way back from Lake Powell.
Since it would have cost me over $200 to tow it back to Salt Lake City,
I just packed up all my stuff into my brothers Suburban and left it
there. (Picture is not the actual car I owned, just one of same make
and model) |
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1990 Chrysler LeBaron Convertible | #38 : 1990 Chrysler LeBaron Convertible;
Jan 22, 1995. This was my recapture of #19, my Mustang Convertible,
and every bit as fun. I called it my Ervil Edition LeBaron (after the
polygamist Ervil Lebaron). The mess in the background was my garage,
which fell on the car right after I got the it repainted. |
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1985 Chevy Caprice Wagon |
#39 : 1985 Chevy Caprice Wagon,
March 9, 1996. What can I say about other than it was big, real big.
And great for camping. |
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1966 Jeep Wagoneer | |
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1990 Plymouth Sundance | #41 : 1990 Plymouth Sundance,
June 9, 1997. Another great little car that got me around, until I decided
I needed a different car. |
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1985 Ford F250 |
#42 : 1985 Ford F250,
Nov 1, 1998. It looks like hell but runs great. It has a 460 CID V8,
heavy duty suspension and tow bar, 4 speed manual transmission and 4
wheel drive. Yeah, it has alot of rust on the bed, but it has almost
300,000 miles on it and burns no oil. Don't have it any more, I sold
it to my nephew-in-law. |
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1970 Ford LTD Convertible |
#43 :
1970 Ford LTD Convertible,
Jan 5, 1999. Classic, convertible, bright red naugahyde interior and
huge. How I love this car. It sloshes over bumps and corners like
a shopping cart, but it gets the looks when I cruise around in it
with the top down. I still have it, and plan on keeping it for a while. |
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1999 Ford Mustang | #44 : 1999 Ford Mustang,
July 19, 1999. I would have bought the convertible version escept for
2 things; I already have a convertible and I couldn't afford the extra
7 or 8 thousand dollars. There were only 3 Mustangs with a 6 cylindar
and manual transmission in all of Utah, all of them red. Had to have
a clutch, couldn't afford the GT, so I had to take red. I like it. A
lot. |
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1985 Plymouth Voyager | #45 : 1985 Plymouth Voyager.
[as most of you know by now, this one turned out to be a big disaster.
The tranny was messed up, and even worse, the frame was bent. Yes, it
is now just a planter in my yard, although I'll probably donate it to
the National Kidney Foundation for the tax write off.][ Even the kidney
foundation wouldn't take it, I had to put an ad in the paper "Haul
it away and it's yours, no charge". You wouldn't beleive the number
of people who called, say free and they'll take anything. ] Yes, a minivan.
Well, I needed something to commute to Brockbank in (don't want so many
miles on the Mustang) and a more economical way to get to the land.
And, well, um, yeah, the fact that Capt. Janeway of Star Trek Voyager
is my hero did have someting to do with me choosing a minivan, the Voyager
in particular. I did pay only $275 for it and it runs pretty good and
other than the color (Gold) it looks pretty good. I will have to put
about $300 or $400 into it to get it legal (windshield, tailight lens,
wiper motor) but for a total of $800 it's going to be a great deal.
I hope. |
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2000 Chevy Metro LSi | #46 : 2000 Chevy Metro LSi (which stands for 'not a whole hell of a lot of extras' ). I know, a
Chevy. But for $7,500 for a 2000 with 17,500 miles, Ford didn't have
an option as good. It's small. Way small. It is in really good shape
and it will get me from home to Brockbank and back every day without
the stress I had when trucks threw rocks at the Mustang. And since it
is front wheel drive, It'll do much better than the Mustang would. It
will do everything the Voyager was supposed to do, and it even still
has 2 years on the factory warranty, plus a 30 bumper-to-bumper from
the dealership. Brand new
tires (still has the little hair thingies new tires come with), air
conditioning, 5 speed and a HUGE 1.3L fuel injected 4 cylindar. No power
windows, no power locks. AM/FM Stereo (no, I didn't forget to mention
the cassette or CD) And I can even get it, the Mustang, the motorcycle
and the LTD in the garage. |
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1989 Ford Ranger | #47 : 1989 Ford Ranger 4x4. Update :
Well this one has now been owned by all the older Rossi brothers. I
just sold it to Alex (in order to get the F250), so Danny has owned
it, I've owned it, and now Alex owns it. Keeping it all in the family. You may say, "Hmmmm, looks familiar." Well, there's
a reason for that, you've probably seen it in some of the Ranch pictures.
That's because I bought it from Danny. Needs some work, but it runs
pretty good, and I got it for a good price. So, I guess the
Wrangler is going to have to wait a while. But at least this way I won't
have to shovel the snow off the driveway, just stick it in 4WD and I'm
home. |
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1986 Ford F250 |
#
48 - 1986 Ford F250 4x4.
Well, I sold the Ranger to Alex and bought me another truck. 460 CID
and a 4 speed. Sound like anything else I've owned? #42 - 85 F250, same engine, same tranny. Could pull a house up Parley's
Summit at 50 MPH (and 4 MPG). One of my old students came by a month
or so ago and said he was selling his truck, we had already discussed
how similar it was to my old one. The price was right and Alex wanted
the Ranger, so I decided to get it. Very unlike me, eh? (NO!). Anyways,
Alex & his Ranger, Danny & his Jimmy and me and the new F250
go up Lambs Canyon to play in the snow. Had a blast, only got 'almost'
stuck - that means it took a bit to get it out. Well, the truck performed
perfect, except I really could use some better off road tires. So, I
get up the next morning and try to start the thing up, and nothing.
Nada, zip. Not even a whirh, click or the buzzing of an almost dead
battery. Son-of-a-%#&($. Just bought the damn thing and already
it's busticated. So, I try jumping it. I try putting the LTD's battery
in it. I try wiggling the wires to the starter button (oh, did I mention
that the ignition switch is messed, so they installed a starter button?).
I try messing with the clutch cutoff switch. Nothing. And it's blocking
most of the driveway. Scream, yell, kick things. Still doesn't want
to work (no, I didn't put any new dents in it or break anything else!).
Damn! So, squeegee the Mustang out of the garage and around the truck
and take it to work. In the snow. Still fuming at the truck. Even more
on the way home when the roads are ugly. I get home, try to start it
- still silence. Hmmm, maybe I should call Kirk and see if there is
a little quirk that I should know about. Duh. Guess what? Yup, one little
thing - sometimes the wires to the starter button come loose and need
to be tightened down. So, while I have him on the cell, I go out to
the trudck, tighten the wires and try again. Suprise, suprise, it starts
cranking! Yeah! Moral of the story - what may seem like a big problem
sometimes turns out to be nothing - just call the guy you bought it
from. |
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1989 Nissan Hardbody | #49 : 1989 Nissan Pickup.Ok,
so the idea of having a 4WD to drive on a regular basis, especially
in the winter, was a great idea. But at 7.5 MPG, the F250 was a little
expensive to drive. So, when the Aide to the Special Ed teacher right
next door offered me the pickup that has been sitting in her driveway
for 9 months for only $300, yup, you guessed it, I jumped at it. I've
had it about 2 weeks now,it's legal and it runs. Good deal. It still
needs a little work here and there (new slave cylindar for the hydraulic
clutch, new main bearing in the transmission) but for now it's getting
me around at a lot more than 8 MPG. |
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1968 Ford F250 |
#50 : 1968 Ford F-250 (2WD). Picked this one up from a friend for $1,500. I told him it was a classic, even looked
it up it's value, but he only let me talk him up $500 from his original
offer. He's got a 70-something Chevy 4X4 and just picked up an 98 (I
think) police cruiser (for only $1,000) so he wanted to get it out of
the garage, and figured I'd give it a good home, and give him visitation
rights. It's in great shape, he put some work into the carb, new radiator
and some new body parts so it has no dents or rust. Anyways, I wanted
something that could make it up to the land with a little less work
than the Nissan takes going up those hills, and the blast of cold air
coming in the rot hole in the door was getting a little old. Plus, now
Fords out number other brands in my driveway, and I have a couple classics. |
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2004 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport |
#51 :
2004 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport. So, 7 miles to the gallon and no rear end traction just wasn't as
much fun as an everyday driver as I had thought. Plus the fact that
i couldn't lock the thing, so I ended up carrying my stuff with me
everywhere I went. Yeah, decided to get something more economical
and four wheel drive. I'd been thinking about getting a Subaru for
a few months, finally decided to just do it. Went down to Mark Miller
(not Larry H., because I know that guy), and said I was looking for
a 4 door
sedan with a manual transmission. As we were looking and not finding
any he asked if a manual was necessary, to which I responded nothing
but the manual was required. So he said he had a little Impreza wagon
with a manual, and the rest is history. |
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1976 BMW 2002 |
#52 : 1976 BMW 2002. I was all depressed because I think the transmission on the truck (#50) decided to go blooie on me. Haven't had the chance to look into it, but it's not shifting, unless you do it manually. Anyway, I'm at the Chevron when Barry, the old graveyard guy who is renting the house right next door to me, comes in with his brand new Scion. We're there talking about it and he says something about how now that he has a new car he's going to give his Jaguar to one of his roommates, Dustin. So I sez "that mean I get the BMW?" and he says "yes". I still can't believe it, even though I have the car and the keys in my posession, but I won't really beleive it until I get the title, which I don't have yet. |
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1969 Ford LTD 4 Door Hardtop |
#53 If all works out right, October 13, 2007 this beauty will be mine. I found it online and have talked to the owner a couple of times, agreed to buy it for $2,000. One problem though - it's in So. California, near Burbank. So, on the 13th, Danny, Alex and I are flying down to Burbank, picking it up, getting it new tires and driving it back to Salt Lake. Hopefully, if all goes right. It's got a rebuilt engine, new paint and other than tires and a ripped headliner. You all, of course, will get to read the story and see the pictures.... |
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#54 I first saw this car about 3 years ago in the Shopko parking lot. I fell in love with it then, but it wasn't for sale. so what could I do. Nothing, except admire it from afar. Six months ago little bro' sees it in the K-Mart parking lot and gets to talking with the owner. Tells him about my LTD addiction and gives him my cell number in case he ever wants to sell it. Well, the guy held onto the phone number for the six months, because 3 days ago he calls me and tells me that some guy gave him my number and said I like old LTDs. We talk, I go look at it, we settle on a price and I get the money. $2,000. It's a 1972 Ford LTD Country Squire with a 429 CID Police Interceptor engine in it. The guy babied it, oil changes every 2,500 miles, ran only premium in it, and it looks and runs like he was telling the truth, plus according to the title he's owned the car since October of 1979. Dual exaust, the interior is excellent, not a single tear in the cloth apolstery and the carpet is even clean, like that could be it's original color clean. The original AM/FM radio still works, although I don't have any 8-Track tapes to see if the player works. Looks like I'm going to have to take a trip to the D.I. It's beginning to show some rust in a few places, but just surface. He already told me that I'm going to need to replace the ball joints, which are relatively easy on these older cars. The only other problem I can see is getting the back door to work properly, the one that swings out and folds down too. Well, it used to swing out, but the window didn't go down, so Danny and I tear into it, get the window to go down and then try to fold it down tailgate-wise. Big mistake, it kinds got stuck between swing out and fold down. It's closed, so I can drive the car, but the tailgate won't open either way. Overall, though, another good deal.... |
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| Click here to see my plans |
