In Which Your Local Blogger Fails

the space and a job i would buy i go and buy it right and put up with my wifes bitching later....

The Brian Ellerbee signature should be worth the asking price alone!

Man, I would have a hard time not going to grab that thing if I lived within a reasonable distance. I mean, there has probably never been a better tailgating machine in the history of ever.

Simply gotta have it.

for something. What exactly, I am not sure, or perhaps too frightened to ponder

That thing ought to be worth more than $2,500 to a sport memorbilia dealer.

Still you should buy it Brian. It would be the Mystery Machine of MGoBlog.

I can see Joe Pa right now.....we would have won that game in 09 if not for those meddling kids and their blog.

At least they could remove the sheet metal and save it/sell it. You may not have room for the entire van, but maybe you could hang the hood in your basement? A fender here or there can't hurt right?

Yeah, why not just take the hood, or the parts with the autographs on it?

For the love of God, there's a Mike Gittleson signature!

It still smells like pizza.

"Beveled Guilt" to rescue her?

Be nice to see her parked on Saturdays under the noses of those making the new tailgating rules at the golf course........hmmm, hmmmm, hmmmmmm?!

I agree with taking the sheet metal or body of the van and keep that. Otherwise, that things is a piece of crap and should be destroyed.

Yes, you are right. We DO have the technology!

would it be to drive that thing around Columbus for a day.

Ever seen the show Overhaulin? If someone with some some clout that runs the best Michigan blog in the world contacted the show and said he wanted to put this thing back together to give back to his readers as a place to gather to tailgate it might strike a chord. It is currently their offseason but might be work filing away for later.

http://www.chipfoose.com/

look at the windshild pic

its eitehr 248 or 313 area code

when the van still had wheels. over at UMGoBlog.com they say its in a detroit junk yard so i did a little looking here are the possible locations:

Parts Galore LLC
(313) 245-2944

Sheridan Auto Parts
(586) 772-1720

Charity Auto Auctions
(313) 526-6001

unless brian can shed some light on exact location of the junk yard where this van is at, these are 3 junk yards that are in the 8 mile/hoover area.

personally i would be racing to that junkyard and buying the hood alone for $200 if i lived in michigan and/or had a proxy.

Makes me sick to look at the before and after photos.

How could somebody let this happen?

We must restore her honor!!!!!

someone should just take the sheet metal and then do a cash for clunkers with the rest of the van. get yourself something brand new and then pimp that ride with the autographed sheet metal. i'm pretty sure xzibit could find the time in his busy schedule to help out

This ice cream truck is a thing of beauty. An item like this belongs in a Michigan Museum or in a bar or area place on campus. Maybe at the stadium enclose away from the elements. It should be revered like The Rock or Burton Tower. It should be fixed, coated with some kind of protective wax and displayed. If I could afford it I'd display it properly. It is from my era and it is a piece of Michigan History. I hope someone could save it from the junkyard. I can't believe I'm getting emotional about a BombpopMobile!!!

My only question is why would someone get rid of something like that? Clearly there was a lot of time and effort put into acquiring all those autographs. If I was the one that owned it, then there would be a deep personal connection to it. Even if there were financial implications, scrapping it seems like the easy/cheap way out. Come on, we have one of the largest alumni and fan bases in the country and there must be one person who would want to preserve it, even if it is a POS.

The hood and fender in the picture look OK, but the door is pretty much trashed. I don't think it could ever be straightened without messing up the autographs. The driver side door might be fine, though.

Another van could be found to put the donor parts on, but I don't know how great the old, weathered paint would match up with new paint. It would probably look like crap.

They would be best served hanging in a basement or bar. It's a crying shame that the van wasn't better taken care of.

Just looking at the photo...

I don't know what "Brewcityitalian" is on but I just called the number and the van has been donated to charity already

I spy a Chris Chelios signature.

Ladies and Gentleman
She's dead.

Looking at the picture, it looks like the hood is gone. I hope not as there were a ton of signatures on it.

I agree, the pieces should be sold.

She's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.

like it needs a new coat of varnish or lacquer or whatever they use

Tragic as this is, I am inspired by the Mgoblogmmunity's rallying around this worthy cause

Because this has the makings of a quintessential This American Life piece.

Ira Glass: We've reached act two of our program, Act Two: the Bluest ice cream truck in town, and the man who made it blue. We begin the act with Sports-Blogger extraordinaire Brian Cook, and will be joined presently by Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers.

This is why things like this are unbelievably stupid. Get your autographs in a book, so you can hold onto them forever... putting them on a van that you may have to one day sell is very, very stupid.

that fucking van was $2,500? i'd pay $23.50 max. that thing blows chips.

bevo or uga. And I think the helmet stripes need to be retrofitted to match the van. Pregame song is oblious...van halen's ice cream man.

I was out of town.

8 mile & Hoover is 3 miles from my house.
I couldn't have towed it, but I could have cut off anything maize & Blue.