Update...................finally.

I have been very lax on blogging. I will try to to recap the high lights of the past few weeks. After leaving Wendover on Saturday, Barry and I drove to Salt Lake City to visit some friends. First it was Dick Rodwell, the maker of the cool windshields that we both run on our roadsters. Dick is cool old hot rodder....he has done it all. Has a killer roadster, a bonneville roadster and a 34. He makes the windshields in his basement shop....a one man show. Pretty amazing. Next is was off to see Stanley Wanlas, he is an artist and specializes in bronze sculptures of cars and people. He designed the windshield that Dick now makes. Stan also makes some awesome bronzes of 32 Ford hot rods. Google his name and find his web and checkout his art. Joy, his wife and him had a great lunch all waiting for us...what a nice thing. We ate, talked, checked out his art gallery and his garage....always a fun time there. Sunday morning it was on the road again, Barry headed north to Idaho and then Yellowstone, I headed east to Cheyenne for the night and then on towards home. I spent Monday night in Pierre SD. Tuesday I left early on Rte 14. About 40 miles out I decided to stop and take of my coat, as I pushed on the clutch it slapped to the floor....oh oh.....that's not right. I pulled to the side of the rod in this little tow, don't remember the name...I felt under the car and could feel the slave cylinder hanging in two pieces. There was a repair shop about two blocks back, so I started the car in first and drove there. It was a nice, clean spacious shop, two lifts and both were empty. I went in and told the guy my problem. I drove the car in and we put it on the lift. Raised it up, I screwed the slave back together, we had to rebleed and adjust it and it all worked. I had no brake lights in Salt Lake, changed the switch and still no lights except for a flicker, we tried to bleed the brakes in the hotel lot but could not get a wrench on the bleeder....so I said heck with it. Since it was on the lift I could reach the bleeder. So I asked the guy to help me bleed the brakes as long as it was in the air...he did and the lights worked....fixed two things in one stop. I was back on the road and headed for home. ****************************************************************************** At home we had the "Topless Tour Completion Celebration" at my house........just a big party...lots of people, something like 180 showed up, had hot rods parked all over the neighborhood....a fun day. ******************************************************************************* Just a few days after the party, I got a lead on a real nice deuce tudor body in Missouri....long story short, I bought it and did a quick road trip to pick it up. Real nice, no rust, decent paint, complete interior....80 years old but complete...all glass, garnishes, dash, good top insert...plans are to order a new Cornhusker chassis, sbc, 5 speed, pop the body on that, add steel fenders that I have and drive it! ****************************************************************************** A few weeks later we went to The Race of Gentlemen in Wildwood NJ. On the way we stopped at Steadfast hot rod shop in Ohio, then the big swap meet in Carlise, PA, the Hot Rod Garage in Denton MD then finally the race. It is a race, 1/8th mile drags on the beach, right by the Atlantic ocean....and only three classes....motocycles, flatheads and fourbangers....thats it. It was a GREAT time!! I think I need to get that flathead running, put it in the Modified lakester and go racing next year...that's the plan anyway. **************************************************************************************************** On the drive home Greg and I heard about an auction in Ohio coming up in a few weeks. We got a pickup with a topped and turned back around and headed for the auction. Its a good thing we did not take a bigger truck,( we did discuss that,) because the truck we brought was FULL, that sort of held us in control!! I brought home firewalls, gas tank, grille, tires and a bunch of small parts.We had a great time...meant some new friends too. **************************************************************************************************** I have been working on the phaeton, got the body on, fitted the floor boards, shifter, fenders and going to start the wiring in a day or so. Oh yes, made steering column bracket, and orderd a ton of more parts, like wheels,steering parts and so on. THis next two weeks should really get it close to being done. The fordor will be next, unless I get side tracked on the new tudor....or finish the paint on the panel,,,,or put the fttie in the lakester.....all I know is that I will be busy in the shop!!