November activity 6 - On the road

Well, both Theresa and I managed to drive the car around the lake next to where Will lives.  Neither the lack of windscreen or doors and front bonnet deterred us or the lack of passenger seat for Steve to sit on.  You couldn't get awat with this in the UK and even the passing police patrol cars took no notice..... which was lucky.  A fantastic experience and the car drove beautifully and Theresa thought it was dead easy to drive which is great news.  Here is a photo of Theresa in the car and also a video clip of us each driving it.

 

November activity 5 - Trim

The rear jump seat is ready to be fitted and has the correct brackets etc waiting. For the front seats I have ordered some new pieces to replace broken elements of the chromed seat side adjusters and the plastic centre plugs from Chromeshraub in Germany. Theresa cleaned up the original sun visors and we will see what they look like when fitted to the car before deciding it they need recolouring - definately too good to replace. I fitted the rear retainers for the hard top in place and also for the hood cable retainers.  I have aso taken the plunge and asked Will to order anew 7 piece rubber matting kit for the car from K&K.  Additionally I am going to investigate ordering a cocoa mat carpet set for the front of the car from Cocoamat.co as I have these in other early 60s German cars and really like them.

November activity 4 - Lights and front grill

The front grill was rechromed locally in Dallas and unfortunately the finish was not as good as we hoped.  I opted to buy a new 2 piece surround and wings in Stainless steel from Harringtons who produce them out in Vietnam. The grill fits well and looks much better than the original - I will keep it and see eventually if I can get a better job done in the UK or sell on. The barrel for the star has yet to be finished with the correct blue translucent hue.  I had shipped a pair of European spec headlights across to Will for fitting, the car has always had US spec ones fitted and whilst I got them to fit much better there may be some remedial work to do on the locting hooks for light unit and trim ring to get a better end result.  The amber indicator lenses were swapped back to clear ones with amber bulbs to help in ensuring that the electrics comply to UK regulations.

November activity 3 - Convertible top

We have agreed on a black convertible top as was originally fitted to the car.  The one on the frame at present is excellent, except for where the mice chewed a large hole through the rear whilst the hood was stored folded down with the hard top fitted before I bought it. Theresa concentrated on cleaning up the hood frame and removing all the aged lacquer which combined with cigarette smoke left it looking a brown colour.  It was tackled with fine wire wool and paint thinners to remove the laquer and get it back to its original un anodised aluminium finish.  Will advised that a new coat of laquer will be needed to stop any marking of the new hood happening as a result of contact with the frame. So next up will be fitting of the new top and all rubber seals etc.

November activity 2 - doors

An area of focus for me was the reassembly of the doors. The insides were cleaned out to reveal the nice original paint inside them; this was however covered up with Dynamat to give some additional sound insulation. The small interior chrome lock latch was replaced with a new one as one of the locating tabs had broken off. The window winder regulator was degreased and then lubed up before re-installation. New rubber gromets etc. were used to connect the regulator to the glass. The check strap, external door handle and locking mechanism were installed before the regulator\glass were fitted and finally the two external shoulder trims were fitted along with new felt and clips.

November activity 1 - Engine

Myself and Theresa had another trip out to see Will and the car in Dallas in November with the hope that it would be nearing completion or at least driveable. Whilst the final body work and trim has not been completed the car was driveable and there were also still things that I was able to do on the car myself.
Here is a shot of the installed engine just awaiting the air cleaner, transfers and choke cable to be fitted, it runs very smoothly and is a joy when driving the car.