What Happened!!!

March 22, 2013

OK - I forgot some more stuff - I need to take the "California Special" and "Mustang" scripts as well as the rear quarter reflectors.  The original script is in really great condition and will polish up very well.  It turns out the hinges for the car are worn and the rear of the hood wants to pop up, so they need better hoods.  Despite all the parts I have, I don't have extra hinges.  So I had to order some from NPD.  I ordered the Dynacorn Premium (read "extra thick") hinges, two tone blue vinyl dyes, Ford tooling rear reflectors, rear quarter extension (original is beyond repair from previous collision), and a bunch of other stuff I can't remember now - day was too long.  

I also found a reproduction blue steering wheel on someone's shelf - probably the last one out there.  The car came with a Deluxe steering wheel originally, but finding a blue one is tough enough, let alone a DELUXE blue wheel...so I got this as back up, or maybe conversion to dlx.

I went up to C3 Restorations and what the?!?!  Where did all the green primer go?  As ugly as the green was, I think this is uglier. :-D

OK - not that ugly...it is getting really straight and they are working lightning fast!  The real story here though is the trunk lid.  This trunk lid was damaged from a rear end collision and the top lip was hurt pretty bad.  I tried to pick up a set that was for sale, but missed out to a bloke in Australia...doh!!!  BUT with that said, Brad has done a FANTASTIC job fixing it.  He removed all the original wood from the lip and then inserted bendable aluminum tubing to build the edge back up and make it better than original.  Here are some photos Brad sent me on his remake:

How is that for perfection!  I am impressed!  Thanks Brad!

No Time Wasting!

MARCH 15 - I got a call from Perks Auto.  The car is ready!!!  I am stoked!  I went a picked it up!  The front right rail droops no more and the seams - especially the right fender really fit well now.

Look at that nice straight seam!  Makes me feel like it was the best $400 I have ever spent on a car.  Perks was so great to work with, I can't thank them enough!  (Don't you love the antenna hole in fender - someone must have really wanted that antenna pretty bad!)

With the help of one of the Perks guys, we managed the independent steering and loaded it onto the tow dolly and off we went.  About a half hour later, we arrived and unloaded the car and moved it to it's home for the next month or so.

We unloaded a boat load of parts and misc brackets for fitting and painting.  Brad and Jessie of C3 Restorations are ready to get started!

March 19, 2013

OK, so I got a call from Brad at C3 Restorations - I forgot to bring up the hood hinges, so I need to run them out to him and needed to bring these up as well as a few items to have re-chromed - Rear bumper and Wing Windows.  They have wasted no time!  The ugly antenna hole is GONE!  

And they have began to prep all the factory seams for filling.

 March 20, 2013

I can't let Brad and Jessie have all the fun, so I have been sorting parts and beginning to prep parts for resurfacing or painting.  Today, I am working on the overhead console that I will be installing in this car.  Although it did not come with one originally, I like the look and feel it adds a great custom look to the interior.  I have only tried to buy original, unpainted parts, so that I don't have to worry about any paint flaking issues due to poor prep.  The console has several storage dents in the vinyl and foam. 

"Before"

I had already started to massage the dent out of this one before I took photos.  It improved a lot by the time of this photo, but is now hardly noticeable. 

The back side of this original 68 console is pretty clean.  All of the vinyl edges are in great shape too, we just need to revive the foam and vinyl a little bit... ...so, I just pulled out my heat gun and warmed the vinyl and foam and work and massage the shape back into the console.

My next step was to remove the buttons, aluminum insert and lights.  I plan on putting some POR15 on the back of the panel and then painting argent to seal the metal and prevent any more rusting.  Maybe I will get to that this Saturday.

To the Shop - A moment of truth

Well, I am a little late getting this post in.  The honey do list has kept me busy - so to catch up.  I took the Cal Special to Perks Auto Body and Customs in Clearfield.  They have a frame rack and were genuinely interested in seeing this classic get back on the road.  

I was in Vegas the past weekend and so I had to send my son to get the tires mounted as I had to steel my rollers off of this car to get my S-code GT Cougar to my house - more on this later!  He did a good job and made dad proud that he handled overseeing the process and getting my truck alignment done at Les Schwab in Layton.  They were super reasonable and charged only $4 to mount each tire.  I found out it was a good thing that I had tires for this - more on this later!  

So I dropped the car off at Perks and spoke with Chris, the owner, and with the upcoming storms, he promised to keep the car indoors and covered.  Gotta love those old SS wheels

After dropping off the GT/CS, I went over to pick up the Cougar.  We had tried to pull it with my F-150 the previous week, but it was a no-go.  We were pulling the car down to a low spot and the ground was really soft - not to mention the snow.  We almost got my truck stuck - I finally just mud bogged my way out with pedal to the metal - once the posi kicked in, we got moving.  So this time I called a buddy with a tractor to help get it out.  Even with 4WD, he still gave us a good mud flingin' show.  We hooked up the Cougar and I started home.  

On the way, I wanted to spray it off at the car wash.  When I got there the Cougar was bouncing funny - one of the rear tires died.  Not sure when or how, but it was FLAT.  I was close to Big-O so I drove over - no luck with any used 14" tires.  He told me that cars don't even come stock with 14" tires.  Really?!?!  He tried to sell me a new one for $70 - no thanks.  I called Les Schwab and they didn't have any used 14" either - what the @#$#@^?!?!  So I gave up, called my wife, went home, stole a roller from my 68 convertible, went back and put it on and came right home.  I will pressure wash at home.  So now I can start working on tearing down the Cougar and parting it out.  Kind of sad though - 68 S-code 390 4v GT XR-7 - but the interior has been removed, a lot of the engine compartment is missing and the rear passenger qtr was hit by a drunk in 1984 and has been parked since.  I originally bought it as a drive train donor car for my 68 convertible, but have decided to go another direction, so I am parting it out.

   

This has got to be one of the cooler license plates out there.  Too bad that the front plate is missing to make a pair.  The tag shows 84 as the last expiration date.

 This is the qtr where the car was hit by a drunk while parked on the street in Bakersfield, CA.

An interior shot - lots missing.

Anyway, I digress - my first car was a 68 Cougar...

So the moment of truth.  I got a call from Chris at Perk's today and they said that the frame is pretty much good to go.  The right rail is a little low, but it can be straightened and brought into spec!!  Best $350 I have ever spent.  Now that I know it is good to go, the fun will begin next week when I get it back and all is well.  Now to go looking for a rotisserie!!!