Sunday, December 29, 2013

past due update

I've been trying to get the panel driveable and do some panel patching on the fordor. The panel needed a trans redo, third gear was gone. Second gear at 60 MPH will twist the tach to about 4000 rpms!! The trans is all fixed and now it will shift into third but the rpms are still about 2800. I found a replacement rear section (55-61 chev) with 3.02 gears....I decided to have Fat Joe install it for me....good thing because it needed new bearings and had some rust on the pinon....he took care of all of that for me. Now at 60 it tachs out about 2300. But now it is too cold and snowy to drive it!! I added a rear view camera so I can see who is behind me......new gauges and a new panel was installed....new floor and my special made heel pad. The plan for the winter is to get some body work done......just a skim coat of bondo and a semi gloss black finish I have welded in several small patches into the lower rear of the fordor body and wheel wells. I still have a few to go. I found, (actually it found me !) a right rear door. It is in so much better shape. I got a facebook message from a friend in Colorado telling me he had a door, not sure how he knew I needed one but hey, it worked out,we made the deal and Fedex delivered it to me. I have been wondering how I was going to fix that old door....now I know...just hang it on the wall!! Christmas holidays and all slowed down the shop progress, I hope to make a little progress the next couple of days and then take off a week again. We will be going to the GNRS in late Jan, that will be fun, but no shop progress....good thin g I'm not on a crunch deadline with this car!! I figure spring of 2015 will work just fine.