Thursday, March 17, 2011

Body Shop Visit

A few days ago, I stopped by the shop to take a look at my car. As I walked up, I could see my Bodyman with his hands actually on the car, so I took this as a good sign.

After the greetings, he walked me around the car, explaining what he was doing. The car had a few rust bubbles here and there, so that was the main reason why I am having this work done. He did a little bit of grinding on the spots and found previous patch work which had not been done using best practices. Therefore the rust had spread. Compared to some 46 year old cars, my car has precious little rust and I am thankful for that. Credit that to spending half of its life in San Diego.

He cut out a saucer sized section of the passenger front fender and welded in new metal. I saw it after it had been primed and was quite impressed with his work. It has taken FOREVER to get to this point, but after the walk-around, I am certain I'll be happy with the car once he is done.

The old antenna hole has been patched, and the work continues. Both splash guards in the rear of the front fenders are in bad shape, so those will be replaced too. I am having him fill the holes in the windshield frame that the chrome convertible top mount screws in to. These hole have become wallowed out over the years and the mounts would rattle. Now I can drill new holes and mount the mounts securely.

I also provided a pair of subframe connectors to him which he will use to help align the new rear quarters. As the car is hoisted on the lift, the gap between the door and the quarters open about 3/16 of an inch. He wants to use that flex to get a perfect fit between the old door and the new quarter. With the car on the ground, the gap between the old quarter and old door is even, at 1/8 inch. I had planned to install the connectors after the body work was complete, but now I don't have to fool with that.

The estimated time of completion is now middle to late April. Can't wait!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Short Update

I received word today that my body man is working on the car. I can only hope this is true. Word is he is close to being done.

The main purpose of this post is to update you on my stereo system. I had previously posted that I plan to use an iPod as my sole source of music and that I was going to run a patch cord from the amp in the trunk to the iPod. Well.......that worked but is was sort of a kludge. I have purchased a Bluetooth receiver and an inline volume controller for the amp. My plan now is to have the iPod push music to the amp via Bluetooth instead of a wire. This way, not only can I remove the iPod each time I leave the car, I can also be 'un-tethered' for a much cleaner installation.

I am going to mount the volume controller out of sight at the right front corner of my seat.

I am really excited about this clean solution to my audio dilemma.

Once I get the car back, I expect to only need a day to put the interior back in. Once that is done, the only remaining project is to replace the top. The current top has a couple small holes and the rear window has started to fog, but it is not terrible.

Hopefully, the car will be ready in time for spring.