Congrats, I'm sure it was a great feeling showing your family and friends it really is a car (a mighty fine one too) and getting bugs in your face.
Very nice rake and finish, when it was all said and done, did you end up putting more leaves back in the front spring pack? What spring count did you end up with? Both, front and rear?
I settled with what I had. The rear bottoms out against the frame on hard dips but I have not yet mounted rear shocks... I’m hoping that will help as I am quite happy with the ride height. I’ll post a final leaf spring count, front and rear, when I get into the shop again.
Its been awhile since my last post, and I thought I’d share my recent progress. The Santa Barbara Drags are fast approaching and I wanted to step the car up for the occasion.
First order of business was to 86 the blue minivan cloth seat cover. A free curb-couch recently caught my attention, and the price was within budget. I figured the worn leather would compliment the patina’d roadster body. A local upholstery shop helped me re-cover the bench with enough material left over to make some matching door panels. He left them purposely stretched and wrinkled.
Next on the list was to address the tall windshield. I removed 2.5” from the frame to match the new glass.
I love the upholstery job - that came out nice. I see old leather sofas offered for free on Craigslist all the time, and I'm thinking of going this route when I do our 29 A.
What did you use for the bench frame? Turned out really well. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I participated in The Santa Barbara Drags presented by TROG this past weekend and had an incredible time racing along the beautiful Pacific Ocean. Enjoy the photos
What an amazing weekend, right? Thanks for bringing the car out. Glad you got to be a part of it. May not happen again!
So, in the process of having fun last week at the Santa Barbara drags, I managed to shatter first gear, launching off that clutch pedal a little too quickly. I figured this was as good a time as any to remove the body and tidy up the chassis a bit while I repaired the damaged gear. I’ll be welding in the upper bungs to finally install the matching rear shocks, replacing the motor with a smooth running 59 a motor, and selling the car to fund a new project I’d like to complete for the upcoming Trog race in Wildwood. It was a tough decision to make but I had an amazing time building it, racing it, and meeting some good people along the way.
I restore antique bicycles, and often opt to preserve 100 year old paint and patina while still performing necessary repairs such as welding and fabricating. I’ve developed a couple methods to help blend new paint to old, and sometimes taking completely restored projects and adding some age to the finish. Here is a link to one such project I posted on a vintage bicycle site: https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/1936-elgin-bluebird-progress.92645/page-7 The dash piece was kind of a quickie job and was completed with 3 different colors of Rustoleum and steel wool, with no actual patina solution or rust. I’ll often blend actual oxidized iron in and on top of paint and dry-brush for hours until it looks convincing to me. Here is a sequence of photos that shows a battery door being matched and blended over several layers...
The Jalopy Journal
