Projects Mid Life Crisis 62 Vette

Travel a lot on the old bikes , I will not smell a beer bottle cap when riding on one of them . Tough life to deal with when my Buds are all about ****in suds ! Congrats Squirrel and Moriarity , strong men to quit and stand tall on your decision.

 

Interesting tangent of discussion.. 30 years ago as my 40th birthday approached , I quit drinking alcohol. It was the correct decision.

 

Well then, I best join this mid life turn around of admittance also.“All together now”

 

One of the reasons my Ford is a manual, it dissuades me from popping a beer while I am driving. I don't drink while working on the car unless I'm doing something like cleaning or rearranging my hoard in the garage.

 

Regarding the drinking thing ... I literally just got home from moving my brother in law from his house, into a tiny apartment at an ***isted living building. He just turned 50. He drank so much and so often that he now has alcoholic dementia. He lost his job and, until today, lived in an absolute ****-hole of a house (his own) that is such a wreck, our real estate agent (family friend) said he's been selling for 35 years and has never seen a house in such bad condition. After losing his job, he lied to the bank and got a $100,000 line of credit that he blew through. He also crashed his truck with no insurance coverage on it. He basically has nothing of value to show for his many years of employment and the line of credit. We will be listing the house soon ... I don't care what it sells for, I just hope it sells. Oh yeah, he has lost control of his bodily functions ... again, 50 years old and wearing diapers. Hell, he doesn't even know when he's wet himself. The funny thing is, apparently it's not the alcohol that does the damage (in his case), it's the lack of nutrition due to not eating well ... I mean, who has room for a steak and taters after drinking 24 beers every day?

That being said, my wife demanded I hit the beer store on the way home (which I happily did). We both drink but we are well aware of the dangers, having seen (and are presently dealing with) the aftermath of alcoholism, so we don't get carried away with it. Drinking can be relaxing and it can be fun too ... just be smart about it. Unfortunately for us, her brother ... let's call him Schmuckles McPhucklington, let it get the better of him and he has now completely destroyed his life.

And now back to our regularly scheduled program ....

 

That breaks my heart. I didn’t know there was such an illness as alcoholic dementia. My Dad p***ed away last October from regular dementia at 75. I can’t imagine it at 50. My heart and prayers go out to you and your family.

 

I got a few parts in the mail, so I'm going to be installing a new hood release cable (which hopefully will unlatch both sides with one pull, imagine that), and a gas tank filler neck and cap. I also got the new convertible top and weatherstrip, so I'll be installing the windows, and probably remove the old covering and see if I can get the frame to fit everything like it should. Then see what other parts I need to buy or make to recover the top, such as tack strips, pads, straps, fasteners, etc.

I guess I should go out cruising tonight and see what kind of trouble I can get into.

 

Sounds like fun.

 

Damn Jim, you get real serious about getting everything done! I wish I could get out and work like you do, but that hasn't been the case for a long time now.

 

Just be careful you don't get an ice cream buzz or a brain-freeze!

 

Enjoy the Holiday weekend.

 

I saw it at a local cruise night. I was busy looking and talking - forgot to take pictures...

 

Hi Russ...

Anyways, I aligned headlights, replaced the hood release cable, rebuilt an old lathe, replaced the gas filler neck and cap, added a boot to the shifter, and now I'm playing with the convertible top. I still have to install the door gl***, though.

here's how it looks with the front header latched in place. When I push down on the back, it still has 4 inches to go before it would touch the deck.

 

I had a vinyl tonneau cover on my truck that shrunk so bad you couldn't stretch it enough to reach the snaps unless it was hot. Had to park it in the sun on a hot day or put a salamander heater on the tailgate aimed into the box to warm it up. I know you have no shortage of heat in AZ. If you park it out in the sun does that give it any more stretch? I always used Armor All, then learned that was not effective for the application. I have been told that 303 is a good product, but only as a preventive measure. I never found anything that would let the vinyl stretch back out to its original size other than heat.

 

I have heard of people that latch the back hang weights on the front and park in the sun to stretch it out.

 

I have a new top sitting in a box, which will eliminate the problem of needing to stretch the old one.

Got the driver side door gl*** in, this picture is when it wasn't quite in the rear channel...I had to re move the channel and glue the end of the new felt in better, then it was able to drop down in place.

 

I went for a couple more drives, back to Bisbee, and up to Tucson at night on July 4th. Saw fireworks in the sky, that was fun. It was also hot out, the car ran 200-220 most of the time, but it made it there and back, and didn't boil over. Seems to be getting around 15 mph on the road, it will do 75 just fine, about 3300 rpm.

Today I did a wheel swap, I found some skinny Fenton Gyros for the front of Plan II, and put the generic 4.5" slots on the Corvette. I need to find some five screw center caps that will fit over the huge hubs. Hmmm....

Might be able to convince wife to take it to a get together with her local SCCA friends tonight. Should be entertaining. I'll pretend I'm **** Thompson.

 

You're amazing Jim. Enuff said.

 

Getting cooler all the time. Really liking how this car came together not worrying about it being too nice like so many early vettes. To me, it’s just about right the way it is.

 

thanks. We went to the get together, it was fun, folks liked the Vette. It sure drives nice on little excursions like that. Starts up, got it to keep idling OK now, shifts good, lights work, wife doesn't mind riding, it's a great car!

Now for the top, interior, and I'm going to tinker with the brakes. They aren't quite right, I suspect it has to do with worn out drums. I ordered a set of new ones, the old ones measure about 1/16" oversize, the new shoes don't make full contact. I'll see if they help.

 

Man, you are an inspiration when it comes to gettin' it done. Beginning to think that there may be some super power
involved.

 

Nice!!!

 

Same thing only different!

 

That was fast and she’s looking great !!!!!

 

Cleaning the paint up made it look like it is a different color. Remember, red cars get more speeding tickets so don't be speeding. But that doesn't even need to be said. I know you never push a car to go faster than it should!

 

strange about that, I seem to always drive the car right around the speed limit....without trying....

 

If you drive the speed limit around here you'll get ran over.

 

I hear that all the time, but I've driven old cars all over the country and usually drive the speed limit, some times quite a bit slower...I've never been run over. Seems like another old wives tale to me.

 

"Seems like another old wives tale to me."
Where do all those old wives come from anyways?

 

Hey @squirrel
First of all, the car is looking great, and it appears that its performance so far hasn't been disappointing.
Just curious what the plans are for the primered splotch area ?
Just leave as it is ? Or some new magic trick ?