Summary
UPDATE : 8/17/2010 - Click Here!! Click on the images to enlarge them!
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This is how it all started!!! My older brother owned a 1959 British Racing
Green Triumph TR3a when I was in high school. It was fun but problematic! This is a picture of him, probably in about 1966, with his TR3A, we think in Valley Forge National Park, not too far from where we used to live outside of Philadelphia. Since, of course, all older brothers are cool, and I looked up to him, that car made a lasting impression. |
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We moved to Dallas in October of 1994. We moved into this house in
December of 1995. We had noticed a Triumph for many years, been driving by
a house which backs up to Web Chapel near where we live. It was sitting out,
uncovered and unprotected. The paint was peeling, the car was rusting, and there was no top. It was slowly disappearing. |
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On Saturday, January 6, 2001, my son Carlton and I happened to drive up
Web Chapel and saw the Triumph. I said to Carlton "Let's stop in and ask
them about it." Parking out front and noticing that the yard still had Halloween, Christmas and unknown decorations still up, we knocked on their door. A woman answered the door. We asked her about the car. She then went and got her husband, who told us that they had bought the car new for their son when he graduated from high school. |
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We went out and looked at the car. It was a mess! There was no cover so the seats and all the interior were not only exposed to rain, but the inside was full of dirt, beer cans, wrappers, etc. The dash was disintegrating. | |
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He said the car would be worth $40,000 restored; I told him that that was
wrong; it was worth $15,000 to $20,000 restored. He asked me what it was
worth in this condition. I told him between $1,000 and $2,000, and that I
would give him $1,000 cash for it right now. He said he would think about
it. We looked and talked a little more. He asked me for my phone number;
I tore off the corner of a deposit slip and handed it to him. Then we left. Years later I finally figured out he thought it was an Austin Healey; he would have been right on the money for that car. But it was a TR3!!!! |
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We did not hear from him for several days. That weekend there was an immaculate red TR3 for sale on eBay. We watched it all day. It sold for 14,100. We looked on eBay for other Triumph parts and on Hemmings for other Triumphs. | |
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I gave up thinking about Triumphs and decided to just forget it. When I
came home Tuesday (January 9th) night there was a message on the answering
machine. It was from him. He was willing to sell the car. I was excited
and terrified. Around 9:00 Sue came home with the kids. I told them that
there was something we needed to talk about. I started to play the messages
on the answering machine, deleted the first one, and the answering machine
erased all the messages on the machine. I had to explain to the kids what had happened, what the deal was, and we started to talk about the Triumph, and whether we wanted it. We talked about it being a lot of work and other things. The family decided not to buy it. I was sad, and returned to my study. |
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A little while later Carlton (my son) came into my study and said he wanted to work on the car with me; that he thought at first that he would have to work on every weekend and give up all his spare time to do it. Then Mother explained that that was not what we were going to do; that we would work on it as we got time. | |
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So then everyone gathered in the study, and talked about getting it. The next evening (Wednesday January 10) Carlton, Summerlin (my daughter), and I stopped by the house, talked to the woman, and said we wanted the car; that we would get it that Saturday, and then we went back to look at the car. Summerlin was horrified. She saw how dirty, incomplete, and rusty the car was. She did not want to touch it or have anything to do with it. |
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Then we took Summerlin to basketball practice. I mentioned to some of the
people that we had just agreed to buy the car. I found out one of the father's
had been trying to buy the car, but that they had wanted too much for
it ($7,500). On Thursday morning I called the house and left a message asking about the title, and offering to pay to have the title fed-exed. He called me back later that afternoon, said the title was in a safe deposit box in California, and his son did not have time to go get it. I said fine; we would come get the car anyway. |
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Later that afternoon he called back and told me he decided not to sell the
car; he wanted it to stay in the family. I told everyone that when I got home; we were all said. My wife Sue thought she could talk him into it. She began formulating a plan. |
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| We Get The Car | ||
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On Saturday, January 27th Carlton was in California snow boarding with his cousins. We stopped by the house, cover in hand, to see what we could do. He answered the door. It took him a minute to figure out who we were. He said "Oh, we would be happy to sell the car. My son just wants more money for it." | |
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Sue right away said OK. So we said we would be back in an hour with the money and a tow truck. I asked him if he wanted cash or check; he said cash. So we left; I called the tow truck guy, who was eating lunch. He agreed to meet us in an hour at the house. We went to my bank, picked up the cash, and then went back to the house. I left Sue and Summerlin there, and headed back to the Triumph. | |
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I was ushered into the house, where I inquired if they had any pictures or other parts for the car. They managed to find three hubcaps. Over the kitchen table they told me that people were getting $7.000 for those cars in any condition. I said nothing. He signed the car over to me, and I went outside to await the tow truck. They pulled it up onto the flatbed, followed me to our house and down the alley. He was able to back into the driveway and we pushed the car off the truck, scraping the metal tow bar in front and the rusty old exhaust in back. Now it was ours. We put the cover on it and left it. | |
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The tub is the worst (of course), and there may be some problems in getting the small mouth area back to its correct shape. Other than that, there are some dents here and there which I think we can handle. | |
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The faces on all the gauges are faded, and one has lost its bezel and is undoubtedly worthless. The others may work! The transmission appears to be in reasonable shape, the suspension seems to work, the wheels and differential turn, and, all in all I think the car is very restorable, even for a family of rank amateurs. Our goal is to go all the way down to the frame, have the big stuff media blasted, do the little stuff ourselves, and rebuild the engine! We are looking forward to driving the car on a regular basis! This is the story of the restoration! | |
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But other than that, 9 out of 10 bolts came off (with a liberal application of PB and a little soaking). The gas tank is dry and we manually turned over the engine. The oil looked like honey on the dipstick before we changed it. There is no grill; the original steering wheel had been replaced by something from Pep Boys, and the clutch and brake assemblies are rusted solid. | |
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Having said all that, it is remarkable how well most of it is coming off. The doors were hard to get open, and the hinge bolts had to be drilled out. We now think the original color was white. | |
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The top coat is a hideous lime green, which we are certain is not original. But under that we have found powder blue, dark blue, BRG, and white, in various layers and locations. Two of the wheels appear to have been painted white, and the inside of the doors and some of the interior is white. But none of us like white cars, so I think we will stick with powder blue. | |
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The hoodsticks appear to be quite usable with a little media blasting, and most of the sheet metal is in good shape. | |
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We opened the hood; at least the engine had been protected from the elements. The car was sitting up on bricks, so there was some hope that the wheels, axles, and other mechanical parts underneath were not horribly mangled or rusted. There were no bumpers apparent. One of the four tail light lenses was still on. | |
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The most curious part was a large steel frame attached to the front of the car. Apparently this is what they used to flat tow the car to Dallas from Kansas. | |
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My little girl was mortified when she saw the car for the first time up close. It had been sitting outside with no top for over a decade and the inside was filled with rust, dirt, and trash. The (extremely rusty) license plate on the back of the car had a 1973 sticker on it. As far as we can tell, it was parked outside ever since. For some of that period, there was a blue tarp on it, the remains of which we found in every crevice of the car. | |
| The Work Begins | ||
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During February we worked on the car a little here and there. We cleaned out the inside, opened the trunk and found an inordinate amount of stuff, including another glass taillight. Meanwhile, I was cruising eBay on a regular basis finding parts. We also joined the Triumph club. | |
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3/5/01 We work on the car, with Blake helping. Blake really likes working on the Triumph. |
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But the boys and Summerlin get bored and start playing basketball. Summerlin goes to ? and I take the boys to a church function. In the afternoon, working alone, I get the driver's side door open. The latch mechanism is totally rusted together, probably a total loss. But it does come out completely. Some of the hinge bolts turn; others do not. I spray and wait. I also work on the wing bolts, of which some come out. | |
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3/10/01 Carlton and I work on the front of the car. Carlton is determined to get the passenger side door open, and he succeeds. We are unable, however, to get the hinges or the latch off. We do succeed, by grinding down a bolt head, in getting the driver side headlamp out. Carlton remarks that now the car looks like a "parts car." I had intended to try to get at the trafficator, but was unable to move any of the bolts on the front of the steering mechanism box. We did get a few bolts off the front in the cowl area, but nothing significant. Carlton really is enjoying spraying rest solvent! |
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3/17/01 Summerlin wakes me from my nap to work on the Triumph. We have fun pulling off nuts and bolts and discover the windshield motor! It is attached to the windshield wipers, which still are able to move. |
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3/18/01 I get the front apron off. Lots of bolts, lots of time. The front of the engine is finally exposed! I discover a metal bar on the front, which ostensibly protects the bottom of the radiator. I may keep this! |
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3/21/01 Today I removed the driver side door and the driver side front wing. I had to grind off or drill out several bolts. I may have damaged the hinges, but I really had no choice. I also get the door latch off and remove the circular plate under the drivers seat. I destroy it in the process. This is a good candidate to be replaced by a hard piece of plastic! It was a beautiful day, and I enjoyed it! |
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| 4/13/01 Easter Weekend; Good Friday. I work about half the day, and spend the afternoon with the family, who then decide to all go to church. Although tired, I need some positive reinforcement. I go to work on the Triumph. This is noticeably easier now because last weekend Carlton and I moved the toolbox onto a rolling platform, which also has room for the drills. |
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I discover a new tool: combine a 3/8th inch wrench with a large screwdriver! I get six of eight bolts out of the door hinges, and only have to drill two. The passenger door comes off. This is an evening of great creativity; I figure out how to roll the cover and hold it up using bungee cords. So I clean out under the car and behind it as well. I also jack the rear end up one more jack stand notch. Not a bad evening's work! | |
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4/14/01 Spent about 5 hours out there today. Carlton and I get the front passenger side wing (fender) off, and the radiator as well. There is still anti-freeze in the radiator. Don't know if that is good or bad. There did not seem to be any in the engine. I also vacuumed and cleaned out the interior, including the passenger side, plus removing the passenger seat. There is very little left of the metal in the passenger compartment; it is worse than the driver's side. I also attempt to jack up the front higher, and in doing so the car slides off the jack and falls on a concrete block. The only damage is some slight indentation to the oil pan, a broken concrete block, and one scissors jack is completely ruined. I put the car back on a concrete block (now it is somewhat closer to the fence) and jack back down the rear end to where it was before. Time to get another set of jack stands, and another scissors jack! |
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7/15/01 A few months later! Have removed all four wings (fenders) and the bolts that hold the body to the frame. The frame is loose and almost ready to go. Am still working on getting the dashboard out - am held up by the temperature gauge, which is held in by a bolt in the engine compartment, which I am having trouble removing. Can't tell exactly what size it is, but I do not seem to have the right wrench. Am also cleaning up the engine compartment, especially the title plaque. Once we get the carbs off, the body should be ready to go. |
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In the following months, the dashboard, all the gauges, and the heater have been removed. Then the carburetors. The car is ready for the body to come off. I removed the thermostat housing, which is attached to the temperature sensor, which feeds the temperature gauge. Despite soaking for several weeks, the sensor is stuck. Since I think I have located another thermostat housing, and the gauge itself is faded and probably not worth saving, I will probably cut the cable, which will render the gauge completely worthless - they are not repairable. | |
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12/31/02 Then, it's the carbs. Seriously in need of rebuilding, I set them aside and dream of the day when I can do that. Also all the extraneous connections to the car from the engine. |
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2/1/02 Planning and hoping - need to get that body off. |
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I set a date, call my friends, and it's all arranged. We are going to pull the body!! I've got plenty of beer, and after a few false starts, we realize that the wheel/tires need to be removed. It comes right off!!!! | |
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So now I've got a body, and a rolling chassis. | |
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In February I start to take apart the rear suspension. Anyone want a pair of lever shock cores? | |
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I start cleaning a very dirty rear end (tons of caked on grease!) | |
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We picked up a spare carburetor, which we are messing around with. That's Carlton and Summerlin; she's a budding mechanic! | |
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3/23/2002 These parts came off today. The brake hose, two lever shocks, and the driver side spring clamp. |
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This is what it looks like now. I'm close to getting the rear end off!!!! | |
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3/30/2002 This is the rear end, loose. That thing's heavy!!! And there is my son, cleaning it! |
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This is what it looks like now! And the pieces that came off in the last week or so. | |
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May 9, 2002 - took off the wheel and the disc brake on the passenger side. They actually came off very easily. Look at all the grease on the wheel spindle - that's a good thing!Looked at how to get the rest of the suspension off, and even loosened some bolts. After researching which bolts do what in my manuals, I'm ready to take it off. Look out! | |
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Here is the Girling disk brake - these are obviously designed to very quickly and easily replace the brake pads! | |
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And this is where we are now. There is the passenger side suspension and steering conglomeration, ready to be taken off. The question now is: which bolts??? | |
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5/19/02 - Had a lot of fun yesterday! Check out the pictures! Don't miss the broken hammer! Had to do a lot of pounding to get those wishbones off. These are the suspension and steering from both sides of the car. | |
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This is where we are now!!! A true milestone! Everything is off except a few brake lines and the engine/tranny. As soon as I get a hoist in here, they'll go! Then I take the frame in to be dipped, get the hole and the bolt things fixed, and we are into ASSEMBLY!!! | |
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5/26/02 Got really busy today! This is the engine hoist!!! Very kewl!! |
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This was such fun! A little scary, actually, because I was working on a slope, and the hoist would roll down into the car instead of away! It gets heavy with an engine on it! | |
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Yeah! This is an engine! Sitting on the ground! Waiting for it's chance to be rebuilt. Are you listening, Mark (heheh)? | |
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The engine is now out, as are the brake lines, gas lines, and everything else. I actually cut those out with a grinder! It's time to take this sucker to be dipped!!!! Note how light these frames are! | |
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Yessir, a job well done! Another father/son success story! The frame is in the van, and ready to go to get the bolts drilled and tapped, as well as fixing a small tear (no kidding) in the frame where a bolt or something pulled loose. At the shop they noticed two metal pieces welded in the back - looks like a trailer hitch mount!!! Is there no end to the indignity this car suffered??? | |
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This is part of the great garage reorganization, undertaken Christmas week. The body will sit in the back of the garage, above the engine and tranny. The Buick should slide in on the right underneath. I'm almost done, now, and just have to finish organizing the parts. For anyone who is contemplating this, when you take the parts off, photograph, photograph, photograph, label, label, label, and organize, organize, organize! I am spending three whole days organizing parts and getting ready for the reassembly! A little time spent up front would have prevented this. I am very excited, and can't wait to start! First up - the differential. Then I will bring the frame into the garage, clean it up, and paint it. I am going to do a little sandblasting around where it's needed, then use POR 15. It's the stuff of legend! I love their description - it basically says whatever you get it on, it will never come off! My kind of paint! | |
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This is obviously the rear axle, which I am beginning to take apart. Got the hubs off just fine, well, sort of! They are held in by the two screws. I did not know that, and used my hub (aka gear) puller to remove one, until it cracked. Whoops! So I am getting another used one . . . | |
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Here is the hub coming off | |
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The axle coming out. | |
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This is the basic rear end. All by it's lonesome! | |
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10/3/03 - Highlighting the events of the past couple of months! Here is one of the outside wheels? Is that what you call it? A hub? or rim? Anyway, its off, cleaned, and ready for reassembly. | |
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This is a rear wheel coming off. The hard way! | |
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What happens when you don't pull the screws out! Yes, these pictures and descriptions are a bit out of order. The story of this restoration. Do what I say, not what I do . . . . | |
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Cleaning up the differential. Use a plastic brush on a drill. Go for it! Every bit of grease that ever fell off that car is caked onto the diffy. | |
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See what I mean? Don't be gentle! | |
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Here is the inside! Lookin' good! Almost appetizing, huh? | |
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parts tagged and ready to go to get dipped! I sent it all to Metal Rehab here in Fort Worth. Highly recommended! | |
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The front vent cover. Yes, I left the best for last! This was unbelieveably hard to get out without destroying it! | |
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And this is the front. Stuff yet to be taken off. Does it ever end? Note to self: NO! |
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Note: This is what it is supposed to look like. Someday. This is strictly a motivational picture! | |
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Take a good look at these colors! They will be very gone very soon! Yeah! | |
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Here it is - body and frame, loaded up and off to the stripper man! Note -
the frame had already gone to:
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Just another shot of it on its way out via tow truck! | |
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Lets talk about leaf springs. This one had already been dipped, and had come back. Did I forget to mention that the rear bushes come in a metal sleeve, that irretrievably bonds to the spring? You cannot bang, push, or otherwise remove it with violence. You must use your intellect! Yes, you have to actually use a metal saw, and, with your 14 year old's help, actually saw it out. Like, cut it in two pieces!!! What moronic engineer thought this one up? To put the bush back in, get a bolt, a nut, some washers of different sizes so you don't damage the rubber, and use this method to pull/push it back in. Slow and easy; it works. Definitely moronic! | |
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What is this picture doing here? This frame is no longer even in my garage!!! | |
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Here it is: the frame with all its assorted parts is off to the shop!
That would be the shop of my mechanic, who will be finishing the car.
I think a word is in order here. There are two reasons why I decided to
have a professional finish "my" restoration. First - I'm a techie, and I've
seen tons of installations done by amateurs. I think it is important to know
your own limitations, and to know when something should be done by a pro. I
had a great time taking this thing apart, and besides the fact that putting it
back together scares me, it would take me the rest of my life and it wouldn't be
right. The thought of driving a sports car which was put together by an amateur
is not appealing to me! Second - my son turns 15 in July. The only time he will get to drive it is while he has a learner's permit because the insurance prohibits anyone under the age of 15 driving it. I may be stretching it a little, but I believe that the licensed driver is responsible so technically he can drive it then. |
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Here the car is, with the paint and rust stripped off, in the shop, waiting to go! | |
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That is a new floor, waiting to go in. Kewl! | |
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Hmmm. This engine sure is pretty, but what color is that??? Could it be??? Yes - its Ford blue!!! You see, what happened is that the DPO had repainted it this color, which, I admit, looked really good on my 69 F250 engine . . . I guess i was not really thinking - Ed asked me if I wanted it repainted in that color. I had forgotten (after all that reading and research I've done . . .) that Triumph engines are black. Officially I think flat black, but some like gloss black. I think those are your choices. So, anyway, after discussing it with my friend and advisor Mark Pelham (remember him?), I came to the sad conclusion that I was going to ask Ed to redo it. Plus - my family really hated that color (except, of course, on the truck). Can you just image this engine in a light blue car???? Then see the frame? Looks good - ready for the engine and tranny to be put in. | |
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Here is the fender, farther along than the other body work. Lookin' good! Can't wait until these other pieces start to come together! You can see the work beginning in the next series of pictures. | |
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12/21/03 More time in the body shop; the work continues!!! |
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Here are the chrome wire wheels and accessories. Take a look at them now while they are clean!!! | |
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The engine and tranny are finally linked; see the nice overdrive unit??? | |
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Nice detailed shot of a nice detailed hub assembly! | |
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And, more progress on the body work! | |
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1/22/2004 The work on the body continues. I keep dropping by, and David tolerates this on a regular basis. He is approaching the end of the project, here, as he finishes the scuttle and the spare tire cover plate. Both were far worse than anyone realized. But if you take a close look at these pictures, then look at the first pictures, you will realize that they have done wonders with this car! My only comment is that the DPO truly deserves purgatory for this sin! |
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Finally!!! Paint!!! Can you believe it??? The man in the photo below is the body shop guy. | |
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OK. Here I am, making VROOM VROOM sounds, pretending to drive my car. Its the closest I've been in years to this thing being done and imagining what it will be like! | |
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The car finally, after about 4 months, made it out of the body shop. Not a pleasant memory for me as the guy just took forever! Its in Ed's shop now, getting put together. | |
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Here is the raw interior, with the body mounted and the mechanicals slowly taking shape. We went with the classic look battery, etc. Doesn't it look nice? Check out the TR4 overdrive tranny (J Type)! Sweet! | |
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These are those small, little parts, getting ready to be installed. All painted up and ready to go. We even decided to go with body color hoodsticks - they just look so pretty I had to do that. | |
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I love the way the red tail lights look against the powder blue body. The car is really starting to come together! I'm excited! | |
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Here we go - this is a spare steering wheel. The car is slowly getting there. Every day a little more, a little farther along. | |
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The engine compartment - all those pieces, all the electricals, etc, everything going in, looking more complete, getting ready to burst out of the garage and onto the highway! | |
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Classic top battery! It cost a little more, and probably won't last as long, but the look is there. It just needs its Lucas sticker on the front to make it complete! | |
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Another day - this was taken the end of March. Closer, closer. | |
| 4/1/04 |
This is not an April Fools, unless I've become the fool. Apparently there are some issues fitting the body together. One of the doors doesn't close, etc. This is the ultimate disaster. It will likely delay completion for months. | |
| 7/11/04 - Here is where we are: supposedly all the bodywork except the hood is now done. Since I had a few extra hoods, we looked around and found one that seemed to fit pretty well. But it has to be dipped and stripped. I will be taking it in tomorrow (Monday, July 12th), and we will see how long it will take Metal Rehab to do it! Then, in theory, we can move forward. Oh, yes. The grill, which I sent to a "highly recommended" firm in Baytown, Texas, is MIA. A friend who lives in Houston is trying to get it back for me. Although they claim they took it apart and cleaned it, I am guessing that they have not touched it, they spent my $200, and I will be lucky just to get it back. | ||
| 8/8/2004 | Here is what we ended up doing. We looked at the trunk (ah, that would be the boot lid), and the hood (ah, that would be the bonnet), and decided that they would not do. So I checked my inventory (I had a few spares), and picked a better hood and the original trunk lid, and took them in to get stripped. I will pick them up tomorrow. I am now projecting a completion date of mid September. I also still do not have the grill. It disappeared; in other words, I sent it to a shop, and they have refused to return my calls or my grill. | |
| 10/31/2004 Happy Halloween! |
The car body has been taken to a new body shop, where the work will get done
properly! The other guy really botched a lot of things and didn't care.
Including leaving the car out in the rain! So, the body is back off the
chassis (which now has some blue overspray on it), and we are doing some
renovation to an as-of-yet unrestored car! I am also going to Jet Hot
the exhaust manifold, since I now have plenty of time - expected body
completion date is January 2005. Expected "On the Road" date is April, 2005. Also - we did retrieve the grill - it was dissassembled and partially polished. I did not retrieve my $200. |
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Here is what it looks like, finally, after all this time. These are the body panels, doors, wings, etc. | |
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Here is the tub. Finally getting close to being done. Another month??? | |
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And the tub from the other side. | |
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It looks nice from the front. note how nice and clean it is. then see below!!!! | |
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Here it is, finally back from the dip, primed. Mounted on the trailer, off to the next body shop. | |
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It's on the rolling chassis, engine and all, headed out to be done. Projected completion date, who knows. It's likely that we will paint it dark blue. | |
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5/26/2006 - been at the body shop for almost a year. Its finally starting to come back together. This is the tail section he is trying so hard to save. | |
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He's got the driver side done well, and is working on the passenger side. Says he's going to rip that weld open and do it right so the trunk lid sits correctly. | |
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This is what it looks like from the inside. | |
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compare this to the pristine pictures above. it's almost enough to make one cry. it absolutely, positively convinces me to do the body work first, fitting it to the fully loaded frame, then set it aside and do the chassis and engine. but hey, its your car; do what you want. | |
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detail shots for the inclined. sorry if its too many. | |
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someday this car will actually be roaring down the road!!!!! | |
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Why look! it's done. that quick! Actually, i'm thinking about painting it this color. it would look identical to this car; that's the interior I have. It's Salvador Blue. | |
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Progress!!! He's got the paint, and here's what the tunnel looks like. He *says* he's going to finish up the tail and paint the interior (trunk, spare tire area, etc). We'll see! | |
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How about this??? He's making progress!!!! This is about to finally get done. | |
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And then it will go into here. Can't wait!!!! | |
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Here is the spare tire compartment, primed and ready for installation!!!! I can't believe it - we're actually making progress!!!!! | |
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Well, now he's discovered that the repairs to the side panel were not done correctly. I guess its good he realized that, but that means, yes, he's got to take that apart, too. | |
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Here it is, looking a lot like a patient at the dentist! | |
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It should be back together any day now. Stay tuned!!!!! | |
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Here it is clamped into position for welding. | |
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Working on the interior sides, putting a bit of bondo to get it smooth. | |
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Showing the work from the rear. | |
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Slow progress. | |
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This was taken December 11th, 2006. I asked him if I would be driving the car this spring. He said "Oh, yeah!" I am obviously skeptical, but I guess I'll see. He certainly is spending more time on it and is making progress. He said he was going to weld in the spare tire compartment this week and do some paint. As in RED paint!!!!! Friday. We'll see. | |
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this is from the side - you can see the paper he's got set up for painting. | |
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this is the base of the trunk ready to be painted | |
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2/20/07the base of the trunk, painted!! | |
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This red paint looks pretty good! | |
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A closer shot here - wow. its starting to look like a car! How exciting. Just wish he could keep it up! Its moving way too slowly! | |
| VERY SAD NEWS | 10/20/07The following pictures show just how badly things have gone. I had to bring the car home because the guy just quit working on it. He kept saying he was going to work on it tomorrow; spend all next week on it, but after three months of no activity, I knew it was over. Weird thing is, he didn't charge me a nickel. Go figure. | |
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btw - throughout this trauma the driver's side door has disappeared. Oh, well, another thing to hunt down. | |
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Well, we made an executive decision. This car has had more colors than the local hairdresser! We've decided to go with Salvador Blue, which is an authentic sidescreen color. This car could have been ordered with this color. We like it; we're going with it!!!!! | |
| The car went to a body shop about a month ago. They are supposedly working on it and making progress. I'll report as soon as I know anything. My mechanic is taking charge this time; I put too much time and energy into it before! | ||
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They have made a lot of progress on the car! | |
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It's starting to look like its ready for paint! | |
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I think it looked this good once before, but that was an apparition! | |
| I have had to just try to ignore this car of late. It seems that the body shop, once again, has decided to just store the car for me. Nothing has happened in months. Not sure why, but at this point I'm getting to where I don't really care anymore. It just seems fated that this car will never be completed. | ||
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11/17/09 We went to see the car last night. They've painted a sample piece, and we love it. |
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Here is the car up on a lift. You can see the frame I built to roll it around on. Works pretty well, and was easy and cheap! | |
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Fortunately we did this - there are a couple of really horrible slap dash patches in the transmission tunnel in the back of the passenger compartment that the first idiot put in. He was SO BAD!!!!!!!!! We are going to fix those! | |
| Trip to Philadelphia 11/13/2009 to 11/16/2009 | click here | |
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Went to the paint shop today. Good news!!!! Look at this baby!!!1 | |
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We're into paint!!!! Salvador blue looks very different under different lights. There is a lot of gray in it. But we are on the way. Don't be confused - the primer is gray and quite similar in color. But those parts aren't done yet. | |
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At last, the paint is just about done. | |
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Next step is to put the body back on the chassis, put in the shims, balance it all out, and bolt it down, once and for all!!!!! | |
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YES!!!!! | |
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The body IS back on the chassis!!!!! | |
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Can driving it be far behind?????? | |
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sorry - too many pictures | |
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I can't help it - i'm just so excited!!!!! | |
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Little by little the car is coming together. I really like those tripod headlights! | |
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The interior is starting to take shape. Notice the refurbished steering wheel! | |
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Even the engine compartment looks pretty, and yes, the engine needs to be dusted! | |
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Here are the boxes of stuff waiting to be put on the car. | |
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1/3/2012 Here is the car, very slowly coming together. |
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If you scroll back up, you will see this particular item! | |
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This doesn't really look like an interior yet . . . | |
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Look at the cute little red light! | |
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