Aug 23, 2003

The car arrived.  It's not much to look at (pix are coming), but there's more right with it than wrong.  The drivetrain seems strong, with a built 289 that doesn't smoke or tap.  The cam has a nice lope to it.  After all my big-block cars, this 289 is gonna be fun to work on... LOTS of room in the engine compartment!

Lower quarters have just been replaced, as have the floorboards.  The seats look excellent - no fading or rips.  The interior is blue - kind of limits my painting options.  I'm thinking maybe white with a blue top and GT stripe.

September

Got Cragar S/S's mounted and balanced, a bigger pain than it sounds like.
(no rear bumper on the car - that means no bumper jack - its a long story)

Obtained a new fuel tank that had been in a drag car.. seems fairly clean.

Pulled the old fuel tank.

Started remaining body work.  I need to hand-sand it smooth.

October

Replaced fuel tank, but I used the wrong gasket on the sending unit.  It leaked bad.  I DID drive it to the gas station though :)

Scored a clean pair of 289 fender emblems cheap...

Obtained correct gasket, discovered a leak in the line as well.   Fixed both problems.  2 more leaks to go - Power Steering and Heater Core.

November

Can't find the PS leak... arrrgh.  Putting it on hold.

Did more body work... hand-sanding is boring, but rewarding.

Using a new glass back-up lens I got at Carlisle, I installed the '67 tailights.  Had to do some re-wiring,
but they work now. (I have clean '66 tails as well... just like the '67s better -- this month, anyway :)

Got bumpers.

Got a very cool and unusual hood -- looks like a Cyclone hood, fiberglass.  Installed it - it looks hot.

December

Installed front bumper.  Flawless chrome rocks.

Driver's side of car is pretty straight, and all primed.

Scored a blue console in good shape out of my buddy's "field car"!  Thanx Billy!!

Bought an under-dash FM stereo / 8 track player on Ebay.  It was $32.00... I think i paid more for them in the 70's   lol

Wired up the 8-track.  It works.  W00T!

Dug out my dad's old 8-track recorder... hope IT still works.

Tightened up the bumper and front fenders... tried to install the headlights - SNAFU!
Turns out the headlight assemblies I scavenged off a '67 are COMPLETELY different.  argh.

Found some '66 headlight assemblies for a good price... waiting on them.

Okay, now I'm pretty sure I'm gonna paint it a dark blue...  not sure about the top color... or the stripe...
thinkin' i might go with the '66 chrome trim...  decisions, decisions...  plenty of time for these tho...

January

Lucked into a 50-degree day and took advantage of it.  Put on the rear bumper.  As usual, every step was a pain in the butt, but that's to be expected when working with 38-year-old parts.  The Ebay bumper brackets were pretty badly bent, so a little modification was in order, and the same was true of the flip-down tag bracket that I got from my buddy Billy's field car.  Eventually it all worked, and it looks great. (see the "more pics" page) Drove the car to the local general store.  It feels tight.  In fact, the brakes are really good.  The highway gears really have to go though.