Driveway Sealer and Natural Disasters

It has been an absolutely crazy week here, and it all started off with a simply little oil change on the 71 Chevelle. As you may or may not know, they have recently removed zinc from most engine oils because newer cars do not require it like my old small block Chevys do. So, I purchase a $20 bottle of special zinc oil additive, 5 qts of oil and get a K&N filter from the local parts store (at and amazing discount of only $2.43!) So, I'm feeling really great about getting a high-tech filter so cheap and getting my "special" oil and treating the Chevelle right.....and then the filter craps out and I get a 4 qt oil slick all over the driveway. I am so aggravated I throw the filter and dent the garage door.....what an idiot. I spent most of the day cleaning up the huge mess which looks like the Exxon Valdez ran up my driveway. You think a oil spot is bad, try 4 quarts. Not to mention that I needed to go and purchase more oil, another filter, and try to find more zinc additive because I still needed to do an oil change.

So, next day or two of cleaning the driveway, results in me filling all the cracks and re-sealing the driveway. I'm feeling good that it is starting to look good (I even get a neighbor asking me who re-did the driveway and if I could fix hers). You know how it always seems to rain just after you wash your car, and you figure that you're jinxed.....well no sooner do I seal the driveway and we have an earthquake. Seriously, an earthquake in New Jersey? No damage to the driveway though, and a few rain free days would be great to help it cure. Of course not, we have the hurricane Irene heading straight up the east coast this weekend, and know I know it's all because I spilled oil in the driveway. Gotta be a connection.

So far the 71 Chevelle is nice and dry inside, hurricane Irene is going to be my true test. I need to get back to work on Zach's 66 Chevelle.

Advanced Body and Color

I was just reading Hot Rod magazine, and saw a small article featuring a 66 Chevelle. Tony Grzealakowski's 66 is featured on the Advance Body and Color web site, and I thought I'd share the Flickr here.

71 Chevelle leak

The 71 Chevelle has been driven daily for the past year, and although I continue to work out the bugs, there was one that really annoyed me. The front carpet was wet. Now I know I sealed up the windshield well, and even the fresh air vents, but this was really driving me crazy. Ii crawled under dash, and it was not leaking from the windshield or body seams. The problem was the door sill plates were draining into the car, not out. Every time I tested for leaks in that area, I had the sill plates removed to see better, and once I tested with them in...WOW, here came the flood. I think it is a combination of weatherstripping angles that are making for my "perfect storm". I removed the new carpet and am drying it out in the sun, and will keep an eye on it over the next few rainy days. I also applied some dum-dum tape under the sill with a better drainage system that should keep the floor nice and dry. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Drag Strip Girl

My pal Tommy gave me this link for a classic "B" movie.... Drag Strip Girl. When hot rodding was viewed as a major public menace, it became the focal point of movies. Parents were scared as hell of the "hot rod problem" and would have rather seen their daughters locked in the basement as opposed to riding around with some greasy haired dude in a gow job. This movie plays on all those social fears and does it with some over acting, odd dialogue, and low budget fun.

Passenger's Side Metal Work

Most of last week was spent working the metal of the passenger's side of the '66 Chevelle. I built a few patch panels for the door and quarter panel, as well as filled up the whole in the fender where the antena once was. I even rebuilt the inner fender brace and preped up the patch panel for the lower fender....I just have to weld that on. I tried to clean and fill in any tiny areas on the inside and then applied some POR-15 before welding in the new metal. That should protect it for a while.