Your greatest milestones in your build?

pulling the tape and mask off of the paint and saying "Damn, that belongs to me? Sweet!"

 

Pulling the masking off after shooting the color and realizing that the sanding was all done.
Many others, including driving it back up the street from where I painted it, but I really hate sanding.

Flatman

 

HAHA.....after spending 6 years in the body shop always working on other people's nice cars.....I know what you mean!

 

Sometimes the greatest milestone is finding something you have been looking for (forever) Next I guess is painting, then firing the engine, and next, the first drive. Most of all for me is sitting back and looking at finished project and wondering to myself whats the next car my wife will let me do! LOL

 

My frame completed, or today seeing the motor and trans from the drivers seat. I cant wait to hear the motor for the first time. I bought my motor 12 years ago knowing that one day it would be in a bad*** hotrod. Well there it is.

 

So far for me is chopping the top and getting the ch***is done.

 

After weeks of sweating and silent prayers, my engine started. Everytime I start it since then, I think of that day and the friends who were with me.

 

Successfully hiding the credit card statements from my wife for 2 years after it was done, paid for it without getting caught.

 

1) I found out the scuzzy 302 that came sloppily shoehorned into my '27 actually ran, and ran good!

2) I got a nice rebuilt C-4 in the cl***ifieds for 80 bucks.

3) I bolted everything down for a quick mock up (it is always in "mock up" stage). Strapped a big Olds fullsize radiator on the front with wire and wood clamps, stuck a battery on a piece of 2X6 resting across trans housing and part of the floor, ratched-strapped it tight, bolted up my homemade steering column, ran a peice of tie wire from the throttle to my left hand and DROVE THE CAR!!! WOOOHOOOO! The little clunker moved under its own power! What a wonderful feeling! I drove it out of my dinky shop, across the lawn and down the street into a big church parking lot. It would barely move on the lawn in my yard, just kept spinning the tires and making a mess. Not too handy with feathering the throttle while pulling a wire with my left hand. Had to reach down and select the gears (no shifter yet!). At the church I blew a radiator hose off and ran into plenty of spark problems (everything was alligator-clipped!). BUT IT WAS FABULOUS! I was so happy! It was peppy, steered fine, rattled and banged...It drives! Now it's been blown back apart for the rest of the work- getting it safe, making a floor, mounts, more welding, etc...

 

It looks street rodderish, but it's clean, pretty and back in the frame since this pic.

 

Milestones
The day I started after finding body and saying I was gunna build
To the day I fired up the engine for the first time with Open Headers
To the first drive and show buddys drooling
Now begin search for new car to build for wife
While I drive mine
Ray