Vacation Break

So, we decided to take a break and hit the west coast for vacation, and of course we had to stop by a few hot rod museums and shops. We saw hundreds of awesome exotic cars while in LA, especially up the Pacific Coast Highway, but the Peterson Museum had some cool displays of old California hot rods.

By far the best part was the trip to the So-Cal Speed Shop in Pomona. There we we able to check out the entire shop, and meet Jimmy Shine, star of the new TLC show "Hard Shine". He was great, and took time to show us the cars from the show. Thanks also to Gill who gave us the tour!

Grill

I made a temporary grill out of oval perforated sheet aluminum, which is just sitting in place now. I will make another and paint it black, and see which one I like best. I also spent a few hours installing the radiator (thanks Nancy for the hand), fuel pump, and hoses. All I really need is the heater box installed when I get the back-ordered gaskets, and the wiring harness.


The clutch was also finished up, every piece new or refurbished, even new cotter pins. Feels tight, I can't wait to drop it in gear!

I also installed new felt channels on the vent windows, and as soon as the other felts come in I will continue the rest of the door restoration. They were a pain to install by myself, thanks again to Nancy for the helping hand.

Oil and Gaskets

I had a dream that I was driving the Stingray already, jammin' the gears down the highway, and then I realized that I forgot to put the oil in the motor! I'm so glad it was just a dream. First thing today I did was get some oil and an oil filter installed. I also put the exhaust gaskets on the headers, installed the new Demon carb, and the fuel line. Jimmy stopped by the other night and we installed the harmonic balancer, lower pulley and water pump. Before that, I adjusted the transmission mount so that the shifter was centered in the body. The cross bracing on the radiator mount was welded in tonight too. This entire entry is practically out of sequence/backwards, so I'll keep up with it. I started today by installing the headlights, although I can't turn them on without the harness.

I did get all the parts out of the house and into the garage this past week, and that has definitely helped move me along. I ordered all my parts, except for the wiring harness. Now I need to work on the dash soon.