Projects Building My First Roadster in San Francisco

Holy Moly...closing in on 100 pages

 

It feels like just yesterday that we were on Page 1. We're just getting started.

Great ideas. I'll investigate further next time I'm at the shop.

I can see why they implemented that. Genius. Day by day, I'm getting this pan a little bit cleaner.

Hell yeah, couldn't agree more!

 

Thank you, Nobey! I feel like we were just on page 1 yesterday. Amazing how the time flies. The best part is, we're making progress and having fun.

Tim nailed it. The engine will be white. With any luck, it'll wear in nicely like an old pair of shoes.

 

Back on the home front, I have a few homework assignments. The first of which is cleaning that pan. It's getting close.

While I was scrubbing in my respirator and rubber gloves, my neighbor asked what I was up to. "Oh, just cleaning out decades worth of gunk from this oil pan," I said. "Why is that? Is it because it's combustable?" I laughed. "Not exactly, but that could be a reason too!"

The next day, I took one of my favorite routes to the Presidio. The sun was setting as I approached the bridge, and it was dark by the time I reached Sports Basement. Leaving the store, I saw my car sitting there under the glow of the streetlamps. I'm always happy to see it, but after being out of town for the past week, it was an extra treat.

Oh, and I've been slowly trying to sand off the race paint. A word of warning: tempera paint doesn't work well on primer!

 

Two impressive mills. I good call with the chrome acorns on one and the blue header on the other!

Well, most of the time...

 

As I've mentioned before, things have been super busy. After Palm Springs, I spent the weekend in Scottsdale covering Barrett-Jackson. I'll have the report on my favorite car in attendance, the "Trojan T," in tomorrow's Jalopy Journal column.

As I write this, I'm preparing for my next trip. This time around, I'll be heading to the Northeast with my girlfriend, Gen. We'll kick things off in Boston, then we're off to New York City—a place I've never been. I'm excited to see what it's all about!

Things keep moving, but I'm doing everything in my power to keep the ball rolling on Version 2.0. Ever since day one, I've been excited about making progress, big or small.

Today, between writing assignments, I painted my water pumps. Getting some color on them (or lack thereof) got me fired up to paint my engine when I'm back in town.

 

If I recall correctly, this is the first year since 2016 that I won't be at the Grand National Roadster Show. I love GNRS, and I always enjoy the feeling of walking around the Fairplex after the sun goes down. Every year, it becomes a bigger and bigger gathering of friends. So, for those of you who will be there, have a great time and take lots of photos.

I just flipped through my coverage from last year, for old time's sake. @Nick32vic and I had a riot wandering the grounds, checking out the machines and enjoying a beverage at the Idle Hour.
Who knows, maybe 2.0 will be ready for the Suede Palace in a year or two?

 

After a quick trip to the East Coast, I'm feeling refreshed in inspired. Boston was fun (but cold), and New York was incredible.
I spent three very full days exploring the city for the first time. From the pizza to the subway system, West Village to Brooklyn, it couldn't have been better.

I especially loved the Guggenheim, which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and finished in 1959.

I also enjoyed the creative buildings of Brooklyn. The one below was almost perfect—except I would have kept one half as a garage. Th skylights were a nice touch.
And, if you can believe it, I managed to find what might be the only street-parked Model A in New York City. (It's actually an AA, but you get the idea.)

All in all, a great weekend.

Less than 24 hours after returning to San Francisco, I jumped on a plane and flew to Southern California. As you read this, I'm just outside Yucca Valley in the middle of my coverage of King of the Hammers—a brutal off-road race—that wraps up tomorrow. It's O/T for the H.A.M.B., but pretty damn impressive. Won't be long and I'll be back home wrenching on 2.0.

 

Sidebar 100: Approaching Page 100

I know I've talked about it before, but I remember starting this thread one night at my parents' house in Michigan. At the time, I didn't think too much of it. I just wanted a place where I could document my progress and look back one day and say, "Wow, I really didn't know what I was doing."

A lot has changed since then. Different job, different apartment, new relationship, the works. But, through it all, this car has remained a constant—and the build thread has too. As we approach Page 100, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for your help. I'm so lucky to have all of you on my side, and I'm even luckier to have met so many of you in person along the way.

At one point, we were stressing the T.R.O.G. deadline for this car. Since we ended up racing Version 1.5 at Flabob, folks have been asking what my next big deadline is. The answer? There isn't one. David and I are going to work to make this car the best it can possibly be, whether it takes a month or if it takes another year. We're determined, and we will make this happen.

On that same topic, I've been waiting to share this but couldn't really find the right time. Last year, The Rodder's Journal asked me to write a short piece about my car for issue #85. It's a story you know all too well, but it's exciting to see my roadster in the pages of my favorite magazine.

Here's to more learning, more laughs and, above all, more fun Building My First Roadster in San Francisco.

 

And for those of you who missed it the first time around, here's a fun mini-doc about where it all began.