Baby update 3-4-05

[c5vetter]

hell, Barry I'm still chasing parts on Lady! Never ending battle, but eventually we will get BABY and LADY together this year!

 

[BarryK]

Hi Rick

long time no see!
hope everything is good.

What does LADY need now?

Do you know if Dennis ever got his car to Tony to work on?


Barry

 

[c5vetter]

still chasing front shocks - found a pair of F40's for the rears! they weren't cheap, but they are correct #'s - found out that the 1963 JG is incorrect AFAIK on the correct waterpump for 1963! I have found what I believe is the CORRECT water pump for LAdy and I am trying to work and get the JG changed, which is going to be an uphill battle!

tried to "dumb down" the door jambs, but they just didn't look right! so, I ended up stripping all the way down to bare glass and then "reshooting" the door jambs with black lacquer (of course illegally in MD!).

few other minor items I am still looking for

 

[BarryK]

geez Rick, ANOTHER water pump? Doesn't that make number 4 or 5 or so considering all the problems you had finding a working waterpump last August?

it's a shame you had to strip the doorjambs down, wasn't your paint all original?

Barry

 

[c5vetter]

yeah, but this one is the CORRECT one! don't plan on installing probably until sring of 2007, just before NCRS National at Boston - hopefully, by then I will have been successful in getting the 1963 JG changed to reflect the CORRECT waterpump!

yeah, PAINT was original, but they said it was too shiney! guess, I shouldn't have used all of the polish on those door jambs! they are definitely not shiney now - they have the "matte look"

 

[BarryK]

well, no doubt my doorjambs will be too shiney too since I went from lacquer to BC/CC for my paint on this job.
But maybe it won't be too bad since he won't be buffing out and polishing the doorjambs like he is the rest of the body. Of course, since I don't do the NCRS judging thing with Baby it really doesn't matter, but I was thinking of taking her to one competition when there is one somewhat close by and having her judged just once just to see how she would do. I'm wouldn't expect to do very well with her but it would be fun to do once and I'm curious to find out how she really stacks up against the JG.
I do have the JG but it's not quite the same with me going over it rather than a real judge.

Barry

 

[c5vetter]

Barry,

join a local NCRS club and at least the Chapter judging - you learn SO MUCH about your car, whether you do anthing beyond it! or better yet, get a bunch of us together say at Carlisle, bribe us with a few beers and we can judge BABY for you!

 

[BarryK]

Rick

I'm not a member of a local NCRS chapter but i am a member of NCRS national, plus a few guys in my local Vette club i'm a member of are heavy into NCRS and are judges for it. They could judge my car but it still wouldn't be the same as going to a competetion once. I'd end up with an actual scoring sheet to end up with and it could be fun to do once.
I do like the idea of bribing a few willing people with beers at Carlisle to look over Baby also
I'm still layed off work so I can't go overboard on the beer expenditure too much but i'm willing to accept volunters (sp) to look over Baby at Carlisle and give me tips on how to improve her further. I do have a short list of items myself I still want to redo on her that the budget didn't allow for this winter but I'm hoping to to next winter so it would be nice to know what else I need to add to that list to improve Baby further.
The items on my list are actually fairly minor (pull the intake manifold and valve covers and have them reskinned by Jerry MacNeish, have the leather on the seats repulled tighter, repair intermittent clock operation and rebuild radio) but i'm sure NCRS people could give me plenty of other items to work on to help Baby be better.
So..........Rick, JohnZ, Collin, any other NCRS people, who wants a beer and look over Baby at Carlisle this year for me??!!

 

[Sting Ray]

Barry,

If you have alot of beer, and you are parked in the registry area, I don't think you will have any problems getting you car judged, we can even get you some judging sheets.


Tom M

 

[BarryK]

Barry,

If you have alot of beer, and you are parked in the registry area, I don't think you will have any problems getting you car judged, we can even get you some judging sheets.


Tom M

Tom, I don't drink personally but I think you just convinced me to load up a good-sized cooler with beer and ice and haul her down with me. Luckily, Baby is a coupe so she can handle a fair sized load. I could easily fit a canopy cover, 2 chairs, overnight bags for Linda and I, and the cooler also.


Getting a copy of judging sheets would be great! i'd love to have one to look over Baby with. I have the JG but I really don't 100% understand how the points work - at least not well enough to judge Baby on my own.

I'll be in the '63-'67 registry area like I was last year.

Barry

 

[I'mAVettehead]

Post some pictures on the Vettehead.com site and have it Virtually judged by some of the best. Payment can be made at Carlisle site G110

Rick

I'm not a member of a local NCRS chapter but i am a member of NCRS national, plus a few guys in my local Vette club i'm a member of are heavy into NCRS and are judges for it. They could judge my car but it still wouldn't be the same as going to a competetion once. I'd end up with an actual scoring sheet to end up with and it could be fun to do once.
I do like the idea of bribing a few willing people with beers at Carlisle to look over Baby also
I'm still layed off work so I can't go overboard on the beer expenditure too much but i'm willing to accept volunters (sp) to look over Baby at Carlisle and give me tips on how to improve her further. I do have a short list of items myself I still want to redo on her that the budget didn't allow for this winter but I'm hoping to to next winter so it would be nice to know what else I need to add to that list to improve Baby further.
The items on my list are actually fairly minor (pull the intake manifold and valve covers and have them reskinned by Jerry MacNeish, have the leather on the seats repulled tighter, repair intermittent clock operation and rebuild radio) but i'm sure NCRS people could give me plenty of other items to work on to help Baby be better.
So..........Rick, JohnZ, Collin, any other NCRS people, who wants a beer and look over Baby at Carlisle this year for me??!!

 

[BarryK]

Post some pictures on the Vettehead.com site and have it Virtually judged by some of the best. Payment can be made at Carlisle site G110

I've only been on that site once before so I just went back to look at it again when I read your post and saw the virtual judging forum.
Wow, if there is something to be found incorrect on a car it will be found!

 

[BarryK]

well, I just got off the phone with the shop this morning before running down there to check on the progress this week. The PPG paint supply shop we are getting the paint from has been running into troubles getting the tint just right and the amount of metallic in the paint. The last 2 batches they dropped off were still wrong - tint off slightly and too much metallic in it.
luckily though they found an original '65 Milano Maroon paint chip sample so they are trying again to get it right and are supposed to be dropping off another batch of paint today. IF it's right this time then we should see some color on Baby by the end of this week. I'll stop by on Fri to check on her and hopefully will have good news to report. The last coats of primer are already sanded down so we are just waiting on the paint........

JohnZ, Rick, & Collin, you will be happy to hear that while I was talking to my guy this morning I told him that since we have had these delays because of the paint mixing for the last week or so that our goal date of next wed seems to be more than a little rushed and not to worry about trying to get her done by than. After these 7 months it would be a shame to rush the actually painting steps needed to get a top-notch job done so we wiped next weeks goal off the board. He was glad to hear that and said an extra week or so will make a huge difference at this point.
i'm still hoping to get the car back by the end of the month which I don't think is unreasonable, but at this point, it's been there long enough so an extra week or two isn't going to make much of a difference and this way we know it won't be rushed and the quality will be just as good as all the other hard work he has put into the car.
It's hard to stay patient when it's so close to being finished after all this time!

 

[I'mAVettehead]

Be careful when you do get it back as the paint will be soft for some time. Good Luck.

 

[BarryK]

well, with the weather we have been having that won't be a problem. It's still cold and snowy and icy outside so chances are when I get her back she will still be sitting in my garage for a few weeks till I can actually take her out on the road

 

[Z28Canuck]

Patience Barry! You've hung in there all this time for the perfect job so wise move not to give in and push the dates with your painter. From all your posts about how thorough and meticulous he is it seems pretty obvious your painter has too much pride in his work to push dates or take any shortcuts for anybody. He WON'T be pushed. Perfect choice for the results you want! Tough as it is on the home stretch don't rush it with the finishing so close at hand. It will be worth it for both of you after all the effort. Looking forward to the final pics before it leaves the shop. What better way to start your Spring!
Cheers to both of you Barry
Doug

 

[BarryK]

Thanks Doug

yep, he will finish her when the time is right and not beforehand!

But at least it helps knowing how good she will look

 

[ThomC]

Reminds me of that great old movie 'The Agony and the Ecstasy' (which was released in 1965... coincidence??) where Pope Julius is getting fed up with how long its taking Michelangelo (Charlton Heston) to finish the ceiling of the Sistine chapel. He keeps yelling at him "When will you make an end?!", and Michelangelo always answers "When I'm finished". We all know how that story ends - once it was finished it was worth all the pain. Barry, you've got your own modern version of this story going on. It'll all be worth it.

Thom

 

[1KULC7]

Now if I could only get my wife to listen to me as attentively as you....oh the challenges we go through.

Good choice...takes the pressure off, all of these projects run longer and more expensive then first estimated.

Hey here is some news, two of the former owners sent me PHOTOGRAPHS of my 63 of what it looked like when they owned it. The earliest of the owner shoots me a photo of the car around 1978 when it had HUDGE flairs on the back and front with these Cheetha Slick or those Mickey Thomson tires with large slotted wheels. Also some Lake Pipes on the side. The color looks silver on the picture but I was told the actual color is a light blue, with a blue suede interior.

The second photo, the next owner too the car and slammed it. Lowered the car almost to ground level, replaced the clip, and painted the car very DARK blue, and changed the entire interior to saddle. Got a photo of the interior.

He did enclose a couple of photos of what the car looked like when he bought it from the previous owner, along with a detailed letter of the condition of the car and what he did.

Man I will tell you this car has gone through more remakes the the "War of the Worlds".... I am hoping still for more photographs.

Well keep all of you informed and Barry don't me to steal your post, but thought you would be interested.

 

[BarryK]

Reminds me of that great old movie 'The Agony and the Ecstasy' (which was released in 1965... coincidence??)Thom

I never heard of the movie but the title is very appropriate for how I'm feeling!