Winter sucks! We had an abnormally dry summer/fall here, so the opportunities to work outside on the car were many. Then, reality and the new job set in and the opportunities were limited to the weekends.
Now, winter with its freezing temperatures, cold rain (no appreciable snow...yet) and early sunset have lead to serious limitations. The new job is good and I'm enjoying it, but building submarines is time consuming and tiring. When I get home, there isn't much else I want to do other than eat dinner, spend some quality time with the wife and kids and hit the sack (5am comes too early anymore).
I've taken to try and get things done for an hour or two in the evening between dinner and when it's time to get the kids ready for bed. This has taken some effort on my part because, when I start something, I want to be able to contribute enough time to it where I eventually give up vice having to say "it's time for me to be done." With practice, I've been able to get used to doing it differently and am accomplishing little things here and there.
Take, for example, this seat. Not pretty. The foam is a mixture between old and crusty and surprisingly soft and supple. However, none of it is good. I pulled the old hog rings and was able to remove the vinyl and padding without damage, really, to any of it.
The thin framing seems to be in pretty good shape if not quite rusty. I'll try some naval jelly or something to clean that up. I still have to take the back of the seat apart, but I expect similar results. The driver's seat (as it's bolted into the car, anyway) is broken a some point where the seat transitions from the horizontal to the vertical. I am hoping that I can just tack-weld it (when I get a welder, of course) as a fix.
All in all, I have decided on a course ahead pending deviations due to lack of significant parts, misunderstandings or other road blocks (or recommendations from you fine folks):
The black car, the '64, will be my base for the tub, body color (black) and interior (red).
The red car, the '66, will be my base for the frame, but will be painted black.
The engine (a '62, probably, based on it's number) and tranny (don't have that # yet) will be the basis for my motive force.
The black or red car's suspension, differential, and other frame-mounted items will be used based on which is in better shape or more easily restored.
I intend to stay as original as possible to a Mk1 because that's what the tub is, that's the motor I have and that's what I intend to title/register the car as. As I've said before (I think), I now have a Mk1 radiator (no radiator cap on the actual radiator as it has a reservoir bolted to the intake manifold...so cool). With luck and some NOS parts, I can return the Mk1 motor that I have to its original glory!
Now, winter with its freezing temperatures, cold rain (no appreciable snow...yet) and early sunset have lead to serious limitations. The new job is good and I'm enjoying it, but building submarines is time consuming and tiring. When I get home, there isn't much else I want to do other than eat dinner, spend some quality time with the wife and kids and hit the sack (5am comes too early anymore).
I've taken to try and get things done for an hour or two in the evening between dinner and when it's time to get the kids ready for bed. This has taken some effort on my part because, when I start something, I want to be able to contribute enough time to it where I eventually give up vice having to say "it's time for me to be done." With practice, I've been able to get used to doing it differently and am accomplishing little things here and there.
Take, for example, this seat. Not pretty. The foam is a mixture between old and crusty and surprisingly soft and supple. However, none of it is good. I pulled the old hog rings and was able to remove the vinyl and padding without damage, really, to any of it.
 |
| 45 yr old foam...not good! |
All in all, I have decided on a course ahead pending deviations due to lack of significant parts, misunderstandings or other road blocks (or recommendations from you fine folks):
The black car, the '64, will be my base for the tub, body color (black) and interior (red).
The red car, the '66, will be my base for the frame, but will be painted black.
The engine (a '62, probably, based on it's number) and tranny (don't have that # yet) will be the basis for my motive force.
The black or red car's suspension, differential, and other frame-mounted items will be used based on which is in better shape or more easily restored.
I intend to stay as original as possible to a Mk1 because that's what the tub is, that's the motor I have and that's what I intend to title/register the car as. As I've said before (I think), I now have a Mk1 radiator (no radiator cap on the actual radiator as it has a reservoir bolted to the intake manifold...so cool). With luck and some NOS parts, I can return the Mk1 motor that I have to its original glory!
No comments:
Post a Comment