1952-59 Ford 55 Ford Fairlane Blogaroni

Not too long ago my son and I brought the hood back up from the ba*****t and re-installed it on the car. Needless to say I am looking forward to getting the entire front end back on the car. You can see the dilemma here:




Since the hinge on the p***enger side was at its highest point in the slots on the firewall and the hood needed to come up another 1/4" I decided to make some shims. Much of this was simply due to the fact that this hood is not in all that great of shape. It may look good on camera and in videos but when you take a good look at the rear edge next to the firewall you can see where it is "warped" as it were. I certainly have a lot of time in the hood and really did not want to s**** it and start over. I have seen worse of course. I also did not want to slot the firewall any more since I had done so much inside and out, and since I really did not want to remove the hinge. So, off to get some 1/4" plate from the guys at the print shop and shim the p***enger side up with full length plates that were slotted accordingly. The two bolts - the shorter one was original FOMOCO to the hood hinge. Since I added 1/4" I needed full thread so I used the one on the right to attach the plate/hinge to the hood. The heads are the same so this is unnoticeable. (not that it matters lol) The plates were coated with Rust Prevention Magic - I am beginning to be a firm believer in that stuff!

100_7824 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 1:59 PM

100_7826 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 1:59 PM

100_7828 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 1:59 PM

100_7830 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 1:59 PM

100_7831 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 1:59 PM

100_7837 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 1:59 PM

100_7846 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 1:59 PM

100_7847 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 1:59 PM

I am very happy with the results - I think this is as good as it gets with the hood I have, and shims are barely noticeable.

100_7840 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 1:59 PM

The videos are not perfect but they do help explain things. I do need to readjust the driver's side but after that it will be time to start attaching the fenders. I was happy with the hood alignment - looks like the gaps on either side of the hood where the inner fenders reside are near equal.

 

We will go ahead and make a double post today and show some more progress with the 55 Ford. As of December 31, 2017, this material in this post has not been put up on the hot rod reverend website. You can visit my site to see the extensive do***entation of this build and learn more about what I am doing here. www.hotrodreverend.com The weather out here in Ohio has not been nice to backyard mechanics and would-be restorers such as myself. As with a lot of us, we are dealing with temperatures in the teens or lower. I do have a garage heater but I decided to stay inside yesterday and get the door panels covered.

We set up shop on mama's dining room table!

100_7848 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 2:01 PM

Paper down on the table do protect from overspray, a few cans of 3M automotive interior adhesive (went through 4 cans - yikes!), quality scissors, tape, box cutter, and my EZ Cool insulation I purchased from a fellow HAMB'r. - thanks to you guys for the lead.

100_7849 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 2:01 PM

The insulation is lightweight that is for sure - good thing too - once I completely covered the door panel with insulation and vinyl it weighed in at a whopping 6 lbs 6 oz! Call me crazy but I decided to let the EZ Cool play double duty here - it would be the insulation for the door panels and the rear seat panel AND it would also take the place of the foam normally used behind the exterior material.

I laid out the panel on a trimmed sheet of EZ Cool:

100_7851 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 2:01 PM

Then both the panel and the EZ Cool were coated with adhesive and allowed to get tacky:

100_7853 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 2:01 PM

100_7854 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 2:01 PM

Back to the table to press the panel board down to the EZ Cool:

100_7855 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 2:01 PM

After about an hour, I trimmed the EZ Cool at the edge of each of the four boards:

100_7857 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 2:01 PM

Looks clean - maybe I should leave them like this?

100_7862 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 2:01 PM

Nope! onto the Marine Vinyl Red that I purchased from (cough) Joann Fabrics. I measured the door panel and trimmed a piece to give me at least three inches all the way around:

100_7863 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 2:04 PM

Then the EZ Cool was coated with adhesive and the back of the vinyl piece was coated as well. I waited a few minutes to let the glue set up a bit and then carefully laid the door panel, EZ Cool side down, to the vinyl. The vinyl was then gently stretched around the perimeter of the door panel to take up any slack and then the panel was seriously pressed together with the vinyl sheet. Next was to spray the edge of the door panel and the edge of the vinyl so that I could wrap the cover around and let it hold tight to the panel:

100_7864 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 2:04 PM

100_7865 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 2:04 PM

After a few minutes it was tacky and it was time to start t*******, cutting, stretching, and wrapping.

100_7866 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 2:04 PM

100_7867 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 2:04 PM

100_7869 by danman55 posted Dec 31, 2017 at 2:04 PM

I will need to trim a few of the holes back out from the rear, and there may be a few pieces that can be removed from the back of the panel but I was happy with how it all looked and believe that this may be a better idea than putting insulation up insider the door itself. Maybe you guys have other ideas, not sure. The thickness of the EZ Cool is spot on in my opinion. I guess we will truly know when these are finally installed in the car.

For the record, I do have about $35 into each panel for all of the materials I had to purchase. The glue was over the top - it was about $14 alone per panel when I did the math. Does anyone have any better ideas for next time? The panels do look plain but this is going to be a driver and will go through quite a bit of abuse. Marine Vinyl should hold up well and once the trim is on and the other pieces are attached these should look just fine in the car. The red does match the Hot Rod Pinup Red I sprayed on the body.

 

Rev,
you may want to install the cowl seal before finalizing the hood fitment. Looking great!

 

Duh, never mind, I see the seal is on.

 

no problem Brodie - yes, you are right it was much easier to install that seal before re-attaching the hood. I left that part out obviously. Good reminder though.

 

Looking good Daniel, I just think the the vinyl is overlaping too much. Ya might get in trouble when trying to apply the retaining clips and actually mounting the panels. Maybe next time leave less vinyl and staple it?

 

Rui - getting closer to install all the time. I will certainly let you know how it goes.

 

With the car body completely painted and the headliner glued to the front and rear of the body ceiling, it was now time to begin installing the large gl*** panels - the rear gl*** and the windshield. This post concerns the rear gl*** although the windshield installation is going to be extremely similar. I have actually installed a number of windshields on a 55/56 Ford p***enger car and one 56 Ford F100 and have always good success but the rear gl*** seemed like a little bit of a concern for me - maybe it was because of the way the headliner has to wrap around the flange, the stainless steel trim having to match up well to that area where essentially 3 pieces come together, or maybe because I just have never done a rear gl***.

Back many posts ago we recorded the effort to remove the large pieces of gl*** from the car. The rear gl*** was especially frustrating since the old seal was not soft and was hard to cut/remove and since Ford had mysteriously hid one small screw underneath a piece of stainless trim. (This is not shown in any manual I have seen - none of the diagrams I referred to displayed either the hole or screw and certainly no instructions were given in the shop manual.) The first order of business was to clean the gl*** as well as possible, removing the old sealer and making sure the surface was clean enough to be resealed with fresh urethane. I used a razor blade on all of the leading edges and a good gl*** cleaner. Once the inside and outside surface of the rear gl*** was completely clean, I made note of the upper most corner on either side. These are just about 90 degrees as you can see. This helped to orient the seal correctly.

100_8208 by danman55 posted Feb 12, 2018 at 8:04 PM

100_8207 by danman55 posted Feb 12, 2018 at 8:04 PM

The seal was installed around the entire cir***ference and tape was used to hold the seal to the gl*** for a few days to give it a little "memory" before the day we actually installed the gl***. At times when things got tight I used a plastic pry bar that is really for interior trim removal.

100_8209 by danman55 posted Feb 12, 2018 at 8:04 PM

100_8210 by danman55 posted Feb 12, 2018 at 8:04 PM

100_8211 by danman55 posted Feb 12, 2018 at 8:04 PM

After the weekend I came back on Monday evening and started to prepare. The work went in this order:

1. Prepare the sheet metal flange on the body (this actually retains the seal) with 3M strip caulk. I only put this material where it was located when I removed the rear gl*** a long time before repaint.

2. Locate each piece of stainless steel trim - there are 6. One long piece across the top, two curved pieces at the bottom with a small clip to hide the joint, and two uprights on either side had to be laid out and double-checked for fitment.

3. Move a scissor body stand into position next to the car to make it easier to simply move the gl*** from the stand to the car.

4. Locate the pesky sheet metal screw that retained the p***enger side SS trim at the top and double check that the new one I had purchased some time ago was an exact match.

5. Warm up a tube of Dow U-428 windshield/gl*** sealer in a bucket of very hot water (this stuff is thick!).

100_8218 by danman55 posted Feb 12, 2018 at 8:06 PM

Once the gl*** and taped seal was placed on the body stand it was time to break out a tube of the U-428 sealer. Even though I had heated it up the material might as well have been concrete! It was thick. For the most part my son and I kept the seal on the gl*** and just ran the entire length with a good bead of this sealer in the channel. Later on after the gl*** is installed we will go back and put another bead just inside the lip just to make sure we have no leaks.

100_8225 by danman55 posted Feb 12, 2018 at 8:06 PM

Once the sealer was applied we installed the stainless steel trim into the lip of the seal. I did mark the center of the gl*** (and I suggest you do as well) to make sure that the stainless would line up on the car body once installed. I did not take a photo of this while working with the stainless but I did get a picture after installation:

100_8237 by danman55 posted Feb 12, 2018 at 8:09 PM

The SS on either side along the bottom will stick out as shown here in this photo:

100_8227 by danman55 posted Feb 12, 2018 at 8:06 PM

Note as well that the tape was kept in position after the stainless was installed - it only helped to keep both the seal and the trim in place before it was put back onto the car. Once I was satisfied with the trim I fetched my draw cord out of the tool box and used it to line the INSIDE lip of the seal so that I could follow the instructions.

100_8229 by danman55 posted Feb 12, 2018 at 8:06 PM

The Ford shop manual shows these instructions in detail but suffice to say, the draw cord idea to pull the seal lip around the sheet metal flange is pretty much an industry wide thing from the era. While many will use soap and water to lubricate the cord in the seal, I like using a waxy cord instead of the mess. I have used this method on a number of windshields without issue. Once the cord was completely installed, we re-taped the seal, stainless, and now the cord (just in case it fell out of the lip in places), and criss-crossed at the bottom of edge of the gl***. The extra cord was taped to the INSIDE of the gl***.

My son and I then lifted the gl*** into position against the sheet metal flange. Be careful of the lower stainless pieces as they enter that "fork" area where the 4 pieces meet up on the rear deck. (4 if you include the small upright piece) I suggest you loosen or completely remove the rear deck stainless if need be. Also, it is wise to loosen the retaining stud by accessing this hole shown here:

100_8251 by danman55 posted Feb 12, 2018 at 8:08 PM

Here is a picture of the stainless steel trim that you have to make sure fits into that fork area. Until the seal is installed in the flange, this small area will need to be adjusted as you move along. I got lazy and did not remove the spears on top of the rear deck, I just loosened them up a lot.

100_8246 by danman55 posted Feb 12, 2018 at 8:08 PM

I used a plastic pry bar commonly sold in kits for interior trim and parts. This kept me from scratching paint or other pieces but still allowed me to put things into position. Next, I went inside the car and began pulling the draw cord - as we went along the seal pulled up and over the sheet metal flange tightly. While this was going on from the inside, my son was slapping the gl*** surface on the outside (just like the FoMoCo shop manual). We would have taken pictures but it happened so quickly and went so well I forgot. I did snap a photo afterwards just for reference - note the wedding ring! That is a big no-no for gl*** obviously.

100_8232 by danman55 posted Feb 12, 2018 at 8:06 PM

The top corners were extremely tight but this was a good thing in my opinion. Once the seal lip was in position we both slapped the exterior of the gl*** and the whole piece settled into the seal and ultimately into position like it should. We were pretty happy.

100_8233 by danman55 posted Feb 12, 2018 at 8:06 PM

100_8240 by danman55 posted Feb 12, 2018 at 8:09 PM

The top trim lined up perfectly with the hole for that small sheet metal retaining screw.

100_8238 by danman55 posted Feb 12, 2018 at 8:09 PM

The interior seal looked very good.

100_8241 by danman55 posted Feb 12, 2018 at 8:09 PM

100_8244 by danman55 posted Feb 12, 2018 at 8:08 PM

And so did the exterior.

100_8252 by danman55 posted Feb 12, 2018 at 8:08 PM

100_8253 by danman55 posted Feb 12, 2018 at 8:08 PM

We tightened down all of the studs that retained the stainless trim (starting with that FoMoCo specific clip that has the stud going through the body wall to the interior as shown) and once things were cinched down the trim came together nicely. The true test will be the first time the car is out in a heavy rain.

 

Thank you once again Sir Jessup, I'm sure anyone instaling theyr gl*** will find this very helpful.

 

Believe me I am no royalty - lol you should have seen the "behind the scene" antics for this install. The funniest part was when my son and I are in the middle of placing the gl*** on the sheet metal flange and the garage door opens up - it was the missus with a boat load of groceries (and much of it frozen- so we had a damsel in distress here ) that had to be hauled in to the house at that time. Nothing like pausing in the middle of this process where you tend to want to move along at a good pace.

 

I know what you meen, but once in a while those are heaven-sent. One gets back to work just to realize a mistake was about to be made.
Keep it up and keep us posted.

 

Windshield and Stainless Steel Trim installed!!

100_8260 by danman55 posted Feb 20, 2018 at 7:55 PM

100_8261 by danman55 posted Feb 20, 2018 at 7:55 PM

100_8270 by danman55 posted Feb 20, 2018 at 7:55 PM

Something to note would be measuring and marking where the holes are located and specifically where the stainless should go. The seals are made to put on the gl*** and install the stainless while the gl*** is off the car. Then all three parts (gl***, seal, stainless) are installed to the sheet metal flange that holds the inner lip of the seal.

These uprights on either side can be pretty pesky.

100_8281 by danman55 posted Feb 20, 2018 at 7:55 PM

100_8286 by danman55 posted Feb 20, 2018 at 7:55 PM

I am pretty happy with it though.

100_8294 by danman55 posted Feb 20, 2018 at 7:55 PM

100_8293 by danman55 posted Feb 20, 2018 at 7:55 PM

I also installed an electric wiper motor and new blades/wipers/bezels. It was a rather long ordeal and I will refer to it in a separate post.

Visit https://www.hotrodreverend.com/in-progress to find out more and to view videos.

 

Seems like eons since my last post. At any rate, here are some shots of the floor insulation - finished this up over the weekend. I brushed contact cement on the floor boards after t******* sheets of the insulation some of you guys recommended from a guy named "lobuc". Pretty easy stuff to work with.

100_8388 by danman55 posted Mar 31, 2018 at 7:00 PM

100_8389 by danman55 posted Mar 31, 2018 at 7:00 PM

100_8387 by danman55 posted Mar 31, 2018 at 7:00 PM

100_8390 by danman55 posted Mar 31, 2018 at 7:00 PM

100_8391 by danman55 posted Mar 31, 2018 at 7:00 PM

100_8392 by danman55 posted Mar 31, 2018 at 7:00 PM

100_8393 by danman55 posted Mar 31, 2018 at 7:00 PM

Looks like I layered it up with aluminum foil!

Question: I do have carpet and jute from a good carpet company that some of you also recommended. But, how many of you guys put the jute under the carpet in addition to aftermarket insulation like installed?

 

I have not.

 

Looking good.Where did you get the carpet Dan? And be sure to let us know about whether or not you use the jute.

 

Automotive Interiors.

I do plan to use the jute and install the carpet soon. I like the quality from what I could tell - there was special attention to cutouts, etc specifically for a 55. Planning to do a full post for the process and then give a review.

 

I have not been posting much lately on the "blog" here but I have been putting a lot up at hotrodreverend.com. I hope you can visit sometime.

The next thing to tackle was wiring up all of the safety lights (headlights, parking lights, tail lights, turn signals, brake lights). The wiring harness was pretty simplistic so it was just a matter of deciphering Ford's original diagram for switches and the wires that went to them from the factory. I did have a handy printout to look at.

100_8399 by danman55 posted Apr 11, 2018 at 6:20 AM

100_8407 by danman55 posted Apr 11, 2018 at 6:20 AM

100_8409 by danman55 posted Apr 11, 2018 at 6:20 AM

The challenge was the turn signals and brake lights. I ended up finding out that the turn signal mechanism a friend had given me had a broken ear.

100_8441 by danman55 posted Apr 11, 2018 at 6:20 AM

100_8447 by danman55 posted Apr 11, 2018 at 6:20 AM

100_8456 by danman55 posted Apr 11, 2018 at 6:20 AM

100_8462 by danman55 posted Apr 11, 2018 at 6:20 AM

100_8464 by danman55 posted Apr 11, 2018 at 6:21 AM

As you can probably see, it was all dis***embled, cleaned, and the ear was welded back on correctly. Then it was lubed with white lithium grease and a new switch harness installed.

100_8448 by danman55 posted Apr 11, 2018 at 6:20 AM

100_8457 by danman55 posted Apr 11, 2018 at 6:20 AM

100_8458 by danman55 posted Apr 11, 2018 at 6:20 AM

100_8468 by danman55 posted Apr 11, 2018 at 6:21 AM

100_8482 by danman55 posted Apr 11, 2018 at 6:21 AM

Here is a handy video to see what I mean:


Then I tested the cancelling action of the steering wheel and the mechanism and we were good to go. The issue with the brake lights - I had followed Ford's original diagram and their wiring had the brake light switch getting power from the headlight lead. This messed me up for a while until I caught it after 15 minutes and wired up things appropriately with the Rebelwire harness and a mechanical switch I had put onto the brake pedal arm.

but, it works!


Can anyone help with this?

100_8490 by danman55 posted Apr 11, 2018 at 6:21 AM

I put a 56 column in a 55 dash and the rails for the turn signal switch wiring need to be modified. If anyone has done this before what did you do? I have some ideas, but just wanted to see what others had done.

There is much more over at hotrodreverend.com!

 

Impressive attention to detail.

 

Thanks, it is a labor of love.

You should have seen all that I lost on this giant thread back when photobucket went bananas. I had to store all the photos on this site and so now I am like 5th or 6th on the H.A.M.B. for the amount of photos in an album...well over 1500. Crazy.

 

Success!!!!



The backup lights are now working. The car did not have them originally, but of course they were an option in 1955. Since I had installed a Hurst shifter in the floor I needed the right bracket and switch to operate the lights. It took some adjustments - that's for sure - but things came together quite well. My 15-year-old son helped me wire the pigtails, run the lead to the switch, and test everything out.

100_8565 by danman55 posted Apr 18, 2018 at 8:50 PM

100_8561 by danman55 posted Apr 18, 2018 at 8:50 PM

100_8562 by danman55 posted Apr 18, 2018 at 8:50 PM

100_8564 by danman55 posted Apr 18, 2018 at 8:50 PM

My work to set up hazard lights was not so successful. I have to order a toggle that has enough pins to keep the right/left, front/rear separate so that the turn signal will work correctly. There is already a wire from the harness marked "hazard" and it is live from the battery. The folks at Rebelwire have been extremely helpful. More on all of that later when I have a chance.

I did make my own clips for the small stainless strips on the dash wings. For some reason I only had two correct clips. I ground down and squared off the heads of small machine screws as you can see and they slid in the channel perfectly. No one will ever know and they hold like a charm.

100_8525 by danman55 posted Apr 18, 2018 at 8:42 PM

I got around to finishing out the vinyl door windlace and the headliner.

100_8509 by danman55 posted Apr 18, 2018 at 8:42 PM

100_8506 by danman55 posted Apr 18, 2018 at 8:42 PM

100_8512 by danman55 posted Apr 18, 2018 at 8:42 PM

100_8513 by danman55 posted Apr 18, 2018 at 8:42 PM

The kick panel strips installed pretty easily. I used those original, pesky clips and the sheet metal tabs stamped out at the factory. The retainers are holding nicely.

100_8516 by danman55 posted Apr 18, 2018 at 8:42 PM

100_8517 by danman55 posted Apr 18, 2018 at 8:42 PM

100_8519 by danman55 posted Apr 18, 2018 at 8:42 PM

 

Moving along here...

 

And more on the war I am raging for the interior!

There are a lot more photos and videos over on hotrodreverend.com. You can subscribe by visiting here: https://www.hotrodreverend.com/blog-subscribe

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/AUTOWRAP-C...ash=item33cdc45a45:g:k9MAAOSwjL5ZB5HZ&vxp=mtr
CRASHWRAP = SELF ADHESIVE, CUT TO FIT- STICKS LIKE GORILLA SNOT, REMOVE RE-APPLY 3-4 TIMES,NO TAPE 3 MIL THICK

 

Thanks for the lead!

 

Dan, you asked if anyone installed the jute over the initial layer of insulation. I did. The jute I used had the aluminum facing as well. It was 3/8 thick, and very difficult to conform to the floorboard shape until I discovered if the aluminum was peeled off the jute it conformed extremely well and easy. I used contact cement as well, but thinned and sprayed on. After the jute was stuck down, I spray glued the aluminum cover sheet. All my pics are in my old computer I need to start up still. At least on the stuff I had, the aluminum peeled away from the jute quite easily, in fact maybe too easy if your also doing a carpet glue-down as I did. I may be able to find some pics on the 57 forum build thread I did.

 

Yes, I decided to do that as well. And I also glued down the jute and used some good double sided carpet tape under the carpet as well. Once the seats and other items went in, I discovered that stuff is not going anywhere.

100_8663 by danman55 posted May 7, 2018 at 1:21 PM

100_8670 by danman55 posted May 7, 2018 at 1:24 PM

100_8676 by danman55 posted May 7, 2018 at 1:24 PM

100_8677 by danman55 posted May 7, 2018 at 1:24 PM

100_8679 by danman55 posted May 7, 2018 at 1:24 PM

100_8681 by danman55 posted May 7, 2018 at 1:24 PM

100_8713 by danman55 posted May 7, 2018 at 1:24 PM

The trickiest items were the shift lever and the pesky AC drain hose but I am satisfied with the results. On my website I have a photo of where the drain hose actually goes when it comes through the firewall - immediately clearing the bellhousing by the starter. I think that will work pretty good.

I did have fun cleaning my seat covers...

100_8752 by danman55 posted May 7, 2018 at 1:25 PM

100_8751 by danman55 posted May 7, 2018 at 1:25 PM

YUCK!

But the results were fantastic!

100_8761 by danman55 posted May 7, 2018 at 1:25 PM

and... my 15 year old son, Ethan, is right in the mix to help me through all of this stuff.

100_8904 by danman55 posted May 7, 2018 at 1:27 PM

100_8897 by danman55 posted May 7, 2018 at 1:27 PM

Great times!

 

It's official - the car is legal to drive on the road! Just need to get it insured.

100_9015 by danman55 posted May 16, 2018 at 9:18 PM

100_9033 by danman55 posted May 16, 2018 at 9:18 PM

My son helped me mount the rear bumper, bumper guards, and the gravel seal.

100_9000 by danman55 posted May 16, 2018 at 9:15 PM

100_9009 by danman55 posted May 16, 2018 at 9:15 PM

I started removing the old vinyl covers on the armrests and began work on "rebuilding" those ***emblies... after the work on the front seat, this is child's play.

100_9034 by danman55 posted May 16, 2018 at 9:18 PM

100_9035 by danman55 posted May 16, 2018 at 9:18 PM

100_9043 by danman55 posted May 16, 2018 at 9:18 PM

100_9041 by danman55 posted May 16, 2018 at 9:18 PM

Still have lots to do such as finish the door panels, arm rests, mount headlight hoods, mirrors, etc, etc, etc. The kids and the wife are going crazy trying to urge me to take it out on the road. Maybe this weekend, who knows? From my estimation on time spent, I have 185 different days of working on the car and those days average out to about 5 hours a day. So that is... what? 925 hours? holy cow

 

Time well spent. I would have guessed many times that. Everything looking great, Dan.
I have to ask though, when you started working on the car a few years back, I thought you said something about you were building this car for your father-in-law, or other relative. Am I remembering that correctly? Is that still the case, or did something change along the way that I missed?

 

Texas57, that was the case originally but I got it back from him. He is going through double eye surgery for cornea transplants.

 

Thats tuff man, hope all goes well.
Anyway, gee Daniel, awsome work, you should make a book outta this!