Thriller

I drove the Reatta about 6 km today after the transmission pan gasket was replaced to deal with the leak. Not much, but it counts. It's supposed to be nice here Sunday and Monday so I may retire it for the season after a wash and fill.

Had to be a hardtop or convertible to finish the tour it would appear.

Just a bit of wear. Wow.

Yes, I've seen a number of different variations, which is how this got to be a bit of a design exercise in the first place. I will consult with She Who Must Be Obeyed. As I'm not too far into this overall, it is certainly easier to change the design now than if I were already done a few of them. I don't foresee getting the car judged so I'm not too hot and bothered about absolute correctness. That said, if I go with my design, at least one wheel will have two visible shapes when one looks closely at the wheel.

Now I have a decision to make. The second wheel I grabbed to work on (perhaps a spare that wasn't used or worn less) shows the outline of the prior, presumably original, pinstripe on many of the spokes. I could work on removing the pain on the one wheel done so far, creating a new template from this wheel, and painting. Alternatively I could ignore this finding and continue with the stencils I've already made. This outline is closer to the hub and wider than what I've done. It does look closer to the advertising piece. If nothing else it can provide a record for others. I wish I'd have grabbed this wheel to work on first.

I drove the Reatta this morning to the mechanic to look after the pink drool condition that has developed.

John - they just got more scenery than bargained for ?

I'm no artist, but wanted to share what I did this evening. A while ago, I dusted off my university drafting kit and used some of the tools to work on a template for the pinstripes on the wheels. We have a stack of heavier paper in the house, but couldn't locate it so Suzanne got some card stock today and I made a few copies of my stencil. I got out the paint pen and got to work. I've looked at a marketing picture on wheels, and photos of three or four artillery wheels and no two are the same, so I figured that whatever I did would be fine. I used a paint pen. There is a bit of cleaning up to be done, but it turned out ok considering the wood isn't as nice and smooth as I'd have expected they were originally. I know the hub is supposed to be green and the outer ring silver, but I felt it would be easiest to get the wheel shop to do black. At least they will match the fenders reasonably. If I elect to change them, I will have it done at the same time as the body so we can use the same paint. The stripes need a bit of cleaning up and I will ultimately put another coat of spar over top to protect the stripes. Only five more wheels to go. Please dont attempt to compare this work to Gary's on his 1937...this pales in comparison.

Ken McGee - http://www.kenmcgeeautobooks.com/ - is a possibility for a manual as well. Good luck.

Joseph showed the ad for the Skyhawk we bought to someone at Brookfield and got a response about it being overpriced. First thing to keep in mind is that it was priced in Canadian dollars so was just under 80% dollars what most Americans would think. We negotiated down from the asking price. Here's the thing though - we still paid on the high end for this model. Suzanne wanted it, so there's a reason to get it. It really is a nice, low mileage original car. Being unique with an unusual colour (for your average car show), it attracts a lot of positive attention. It's a fun little car and we like it. That's enough for me to justify the price paid. If we do like Bernie and keep it for the long term, then the premium we paid on it becomes less relevant all the time. Good luck with the sale Matt. It certainly looks to be a great car. It's nice to see you are passionate about it and that you aren't doing this just to turn a quick buck. The hobby needs more dealers that will do what you've done. I hope it finds a great home with someone who will appreciate it.

When I've had significant work done, I checked in regularly. There was no payment up front (an estimate and a schedule of instalments with payments upon milestones if I remember correctly). I don't quite understand the mentality in this case. I've also gotten opinions from other car guys before working with someone new. There's a a lot of buyer beware when dealing with thousands of dollars of work.

Welcome. Thanks for the generous offer. I hope someone who really appreciates the book will get it. You can't be all that far from Volo and the museum I'd imagine.

This year's National had an incredible assortment of the big 70s Electras. There's a member here on the forum who recently purchased a very nice 1975 for $10k. I agree with other assessments that $20k is probably not going to come easily. It certainly looks like an Incredible car and your assessment sounds good. An incredibly nice nice looking car but I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a buyer at $20k, especially if you are looking at the general public, not just Buick lovers.

Also known as a lineman's splice (I got there after following the link). That's a more generic name. As far as I know we didn't have Western Union north of the border, so that name would be somewhat foreign up here (until more recently with money transfer anyway).

For future reference, there is also solder wick, which is an inexpensive option. It looks a bit like a miniature copper ground strap.

Points was one of the issues with the Wildcat this year for us too. There weren't that many miles, but 12 years since rebuilding I have to expect some of those tuneup items to be out of sorts.

Steering is stiff on some of the "new" power steering systems. The lightest power steering I have is the '66 Wildcat. I haven't driven the 1941 for a while, but the big steering wheel creates more of a moment on the steering column so less force is required than if the wheel were smaller.

Any young friends?

I don't know about Denver. The timing is bad, potentially conflicting with Joseph's high school grad - that will be confirmed soon. An inability to get a room at the host hotel is also a deterrent. Luke and Teresa are talking about going themselves regardless of grad.

That came in handy this summer when we had issues with the driver's door lock on the Electra and couldn't open the door. Of course it cropped up just before the National.

Was that a Rebel Machine in that lot of tuners? It was hard to tell since it wasn't "featured".

While still labour intensive, when the crud is soft, a pipe cleaner of appropriate size might help.

Come on Terry...-30 F is just a bit brisk, hardly problem causing. Of course I tend not to work on anything in an unheated shop in January up here. Remember that manufacturer claims also tend to need to stand the test of lawyers. A truck can haul more than it's rated for, but they aren't liable (or less so) if you are overloaded and something fails.

The local cruise in is often a pain. While they may have their place in "the hobby", buying a new car and taking it to a car show as special interest or similar is just goofy. Actually, I'm not sure what hobby they are in if they bring out their new daily driver to a car show. The last one I attended a few weeks ago was fun though. The feature club for the evening was the British car club so there was some neat stuff and the Skyhawk got a lot of positive attention. Its s not that I dislike the new cars or their owners, it just isn't what I expect from a car show. Now, when our local club puts on a show, it is 25 years and older, so we expect a different crowd and environment.

I've done all the options given. I don't see one as being "higher" or better than the others, just different. They all have their moments and can be quite enjoyable with the right attitude.