Casey Family Build Thread (coupe)

[xlr8or]

Julie ignore the idiots and keep building. Those are the same people make it necessary to have warning labels on bottles of drain cleaner saying that it should not be taken internally.

[QSL]

What?!? I didn't know I could not take drain cleaner internally... Damn, thanks for the tip! Going to stop taking it today!!! LOL.

[CraigS]

What xlr8or said!! Julie, keep the updates w/ pics coming. I have a roadster but check the coupe site once or twice per week JUST to look at your updates.

[MRSQSL]

Thanks guys!! I feel better. BUT...if you get hurt doing anything, it's NOT my fault!!!! Oh and if we get hurt doing something, I don't want to hear any "told you so" comments. You can think it, just don't say it.

[frankeeski]

Hey Julie, I told you so! At least you are now wearing boots when I am over helping you out now. That and some safety glasses are enough to satisfy me. Build On!

[Rodster]

Looking forward to seeing y'all at Huntington Beach!

[Colonist]

What the other guys said -- updates WITH PICS! Otherwise when you get to the parts I need to copy, I won't know what to do....

If it will make you feel better, I'll have gloves, boots, glasses, face masks, fire suits, Ironman armor, and roll cages photoshopped on to everybody before I look at the pictures.

[QSL]

what the other guys said -- updates with pics! Otherwise when you get to the parts i need to copy, i won't know what to do....

If it will make you feel better, i'll have gloves, boots, glasses, face masks, fire suits, ironman armor, and roll cages photoshopped on to everybody before i look at the pictures.


lol!!!!!!!!

[MRSQSL]

Week 8:

At this rate, the build is going to take 4 years instead of 2. It's not entirely my fault. "Entirely" is the key word there. I had every intention of spending the entire weekend slaving away on the car. Mr. Husband thought it would be funny to fly to DC on business and leave me all alone. While I was tempted to finish the side impact without him, I realized we have video cameras in the garage and he can access them remotely. I wouldn't want Mike to take a peek and find me pinned under the frame or racing through the garage with my hair aflame. So technically there is no update this week. When has that ever stopped me though?

My mom took the kids Saturday so I was actually totally alone from 9 Saturday morning until about 12:30 Sunday. I planned to do everything I normally want to do but don't have time. Turns out that stuff takes about an hour. I learned something about myself. When left alone, my default button is apparently set to cleaning. Im not intentionally making sexist remarks. Just happens to be the truth. Anyway, I think this is the first time I've had the house to myself for more than an hour in the last 17 years. I have plenty of hobbies but apparently they aren't fun unless you are sneaking time to do them. Who knew? So the kids are back but still no Mike. He needs to hurry up and get home. The dogs have gotten used to sleeping on his side of the bed.

Next week's update will be HB. I see a nice little caravan is forming. I'm pretty excited. There's a handful of people I'm anxious to finally meet, so y'all better show up!

[Pedalmasher]

Here's an easy solution to your "garage monitor camera" dilemma: Get a ladder, and take your camera/phone to the same level as the video camera. Take a photo of the garage (no people). Print it out, and paste it in front of the video camera - VOILA, it will look like no activity is happening in the garage!!

Just a helpful hint - - DV

[MRSQSL]

Nice idea about the picture, but my phone is not the "smart" variety so the pictures aren't very good and the printer is black and white. Mike would think I drained the paint from his car and fly home in a panic...hey, I like that.

Mike returned yesterday so all is right with the world again (except Tucker Dog is still at boot camp). I'm soooooo incredibly happy to have Mike back. I yelled at him to never leave again, but alas he has another trip next month. Jerk.

[Rodster]

Hmmmmm. Default set to cleaning . . . nice. Come over to my house in this default mode!

See ya tomorrow at the Pier. I will hide the Prius in an underground parking structure, far away from the pier.

-wayne

[MRSQSL]

Sorry, default mode is only activated when I'm completely alone.

I did most of my musing about HB on the FF roadster forum because the bulk of it was about the roadster. I did get many interesting Coupe ideas though. For the record, nothing was done on the car this weekend and Mike promises to get back to fabricating my bars this coming weekend. Of course, we get Tucker back Saturday morning, so I suspect the next hour or two will be spent hugging him.

Okay, lots of really nice Coupe examples could be found at HB. I had considered painting ours blue and white or satin black and white or gray and black. I saw a gray and black Coupe which I fell in love with. I was only able to ogle it briefly, so if anyone has pictures, please share. We spoke with the owners and asked a few questions. I am definitely stealing an idea or two (although I will give them credit...maybe).

While wandering through the roadsters, I embarked upon a purple one. It was an automatic. I know, right? AWESOME!!!!!!!!! His shifter was much nicer than anything I had seen previously and we began to ask about it. Unfortunately, this man didn't build the car so he wasn't positive where it came from. Mike continued to chat, but I turned around to smile at the car behind me. Holy Schnikes!!!!! It's another automatic!!!!! Ooooooh! This shifter is the one. It was singing to me. Love at first sight. I hope I wasn't rude, but I squealed and made Mike look at it. He claims it's the one he originally showed me. Nuh uh (can't spell that, but make it sound really obnoxious in your head when you read it). The one he showed me was long and twisty and would've stuck out over my head like those ape hanger motorcycle handlebars. Eye roll from Mike (and probably Derrick, but I wasn't looking at him so not sure). How was I supposed to know the bulk of the contraption would be beneath the tunnel? Mike looked it up when we got home to try to decipher which pieces and parts we'd need. He declared I'm expensive. Oops. Sorry. That doesn't mean I'm getting a different shifter. It just means he'll have to sell more RC stuff. Evil giggle.

I'm surprised more Coupes didn't come to the show. They sure are nice. The one from Glendora that drove with us made me realize that the money shot is from the right side. The back is okay, but the side is tough. I craned my neck each time we passed each other.

I have to go pick Steve up from school, so I'll cut this short. Just want to mention that I'm jealous I didn't think of having Karen and Dave Smith sign something for me like Wayne did. Good thinking Wayne!!

[68GT500MAN]

Julie, it was great meeting you and your husband Saturday. Tell him congratulations on the award for the roadster. Now back to the coupe. I am using an 8" shifter from Loker on an AOD in the 33 hot rod I am building. it would work great in a coupe, but they are not cheep. Keep up the good work and next year we will have your coupe on the plaza with Karen's.
Doug

[cobrajj]

Here's a couple of photos of the Grey and Black Coupe. Jim

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt201/jjcobra_01/201320Huntington20Beach20Cruise20In200341_zps30ad7 a53.jpg (http://s612.photobucket.com/user/jjcobra_01/media/201320Huntington20Beach20Cruise20In200341_zps30ad7 a53.jpg.html)

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt201/jjcobra_01/kh6wz-f5r-cruise-in-2013-0671_zps3f8375a5.jpg (http://s612.photobucket.com/user/jjcobra_01/media/kh6wz-f5r-cruise-in-2013-0671_zps3f8375a5.jpg.html)

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt201/jjcobra_01/201320Huntington20Beach20Cruise20In201201_zpscd8cb b69.jpg (http://s612.photobucket.com/user/jjcobra_01/media/201320Huntington20Beach20Cruise20In201201_zpscd8cb b69.jpg.html)

[MRSQSL]

Hey Doug! It was a pleasure meeting you. In fact, I was asking Mike when we got home if he knew what your screen name was. Nope. Good to put the two together now. That doesn't mean I'll remember the next time we meet, but we'll see.

Fresno, huh? Mike is in Bakersfield today. That's a long drive.

It sounds like it may be the same shifter. Do you have a picture (and some of your hot rod)?

I'm pretty sure Coupey is going to be staying home next year. The plan is a two year build, so not likely it'll be ready for a big drive. As much as I'd love to park on the plaza with Karen, Mike and Scoopy would have to be allowed up there too. AND I'd have to get there at about 2 in the morning to make sure I could back up without any obstacles. I'm terrified about the blind spot in the coupe even though I'll have some sort of backup camera. Reverse isn't my strongest gear. Actually, I nearly have a panic attack when I think about having to back up in it. I know it won't be nearly as bad as I'm envisioning, but the Challenger is somewhat of a challenge with its many amazingly large blind spots (and no reverse camera). I'll just have to practice a bunch first.

[MRSQSL]

Thanks for the pictures Jim!! That's the one. It's sooooooo pretty. Did you look down into the trunk with the "Daytona" plate? Gorgeous!! Hey and thanks for the pic of us with Dave Smith. I'm going to steal that (hope you don't mind). If one of us had been smart enough to bring a memory card for the camera, I'd have some pictures to share too. As always, it was great seeing you again. Thanks for waiting patiently for us to reach the offramp and for letting us cruise back and forth with you and Bill. Hope he made it home with no problems.

[cobrajj]

Julie, I got your picture off the forum, taken by someone else. There are a number of posts here and over on FFCARS.COM with tons of pictures from Huntington Beach, Racing Museum and the Autocross event.

[MRSQSL]

Sneaky, sneaky Jim. Actually, it's funny because I just discovered the pics on this forum but in the General Discussion section. I was like "that's weird, the angle on these pictures is exactly the same as the ones Jim posted". I sent a PM asking for high resolution ones. Thanks!

[frankeeski]

Julie, The Silver Coupe with the Black stripes is owed by Fernando and Denise Vivero. They live out in the San Fernando Valley and are really nice people. If you have more questions for Fernando let me know and I can put you in touch with him. The Lomonco run is coming up in a few weeks and you two should come. Fernando usually shows up for this run. We meet up at Super Car Sunday and wind up through the canyon out to the beach for lunch. I'll PM you the details.

[MRSQSL]

Thanks Frank! Definitely shoot me a pm with the details. It sounds like fun. Now that I have my lumbar support booster seat, riding in the car is much more fun. I can see out the window and I don't get a headache with all the bumps in the road.

[QSL]

This weeks pics! Not as much progress as I hoped, but still fun and we did get some done! Huge Kudos to Frank and Jim for all your hard work and it was great hanging out with you guys as usual! Julie will post her comments soon.

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[QSL]

last pics for this weekend. ROCK ON!!!!!!!!!!!

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[MRSQSL]

Week 10:

I think I forgot to put the number in last week. Too much excitement from HB.

Saturday morning we hopped in Scoopy and chugged over to Temecula for the Cars & Cosi (how do you pronounce that?) mini car show. We always have a good time and this was no exception. We were sad Bill didn't make it. Apparently he didn't take my duct tape advice. Instead, Ray and Scott came up from the San Diego area along with their wives. We didn't get to stay for the entire thing as we needed to get home to fondle Coupey. I was thrilled when Mike told me Jim agreed to come home with us too and help out. Yay!!!!!!!

The original plan was to do the door bars and then I was told it would be the rear x thing I want in the trunk and then it was back to the door bars. By the time we cleaned up for the evening, we had the start of a bumper and anything else which would require less than a foot of metal. Let's just say the old saying about measure twice, cut once should be amended. Measure 32 times, cut once, bend once, curse, repeat. I'm not positive what happened. I was off buying sandwiches (no, not in the kitchen making them where Mike will tell you I belong), so I missed one of the bending mishaps and nobody wanted to share what really happened. I think that piece will become my new rear bumper. Believe it or not, they bent the bar for the passenger side four times. Yes, four times. The first three had errors of some sort. I kept saying "the jig is just a suggestion", but I guess if one half of the bar is bent in one direction and the other half in a completely different direction, it should be set aside and a new one started. The final one that IS welded in, is not exactly like the jig, but it's close enough.

Frank hurt his back (no, not in our unsafe garage), so he was suffering. We really appreciate that he came out and endured so much torture. I imagine the worst part for him was watching me attempt to tack weld. Poor guy. I don't know why my welding performance was so incredibly horrendously terrible, but it was. At one point, Mike claims he just rested his arm delicately on the bar, but it snapped off and slammed onto the floorboard. I think he muscled it around and jumped angrily on it while I wasn't looking and then shoved it when I turned so it would crash down with the clang of embarrassment echoing through the garage. Needless to say, nobody handed me the welding torch again.

Jim is awesome. I was supposed to cut a piece of wood with a hand saw. He actually came out and did it for me. Thank you!!!!!!! He was even willing to let me have the credit, but I can't lie. The piece of wood was a template for one more support I needed to hole saw. Lets just say Frank thinks I'm more capable than I am. This I blame squarely on his Julie. She is super useful. Me, I'm more of the "two lines past the 5" on the measuring tape. He assumed I could figure out the proper measurement and chock it all up and make a usable part. Snicker, snicker. It was "a hair" too short and I had to start over. This time he did all the measuring and chocking and we ended up okay.

I'm just relieved that the end product looks great and seems sturdy. I fully intend to NOT test the side impact bars in a crash. I'm gonna trust that they are welded in firmly.

Oh and please note that my hair was tied back 95% of the time. Mike even wore safety glasses once or twice.

On a personal note, Tucker is home. I can't believe how much they taught him in just three weeks. He is a super smart boy and it's wonderful to have him back. We have to take him out and work on training a couple times a day, but we all enjoy it and the brush up definitely helps. I see him still eyeballing the Chihuahua occasionally, but not the death stare from before. Looking forward to seeing what the future holds.

Not sure when we will be working on Coupey again. I hope next weekend. I tried to pick out my gauges, but the stupid website was glitching and I wasn't able to put a custom logo in so I need to wait until tomorrow and then call them. Stinking Mike is going out of town again until Thursday. I'm sick of him leaving. We are going to do a couple of small car shows in the next few weeks, so that should be fun. We can't do anything else on the car until Mike buys more material. If the bar is like 5' long, we probably need to invest in at least 60' of metal just to be on the safe side.

[Rodster]

One useful thing I learned in furniture-making is this:

If you do not measure anything, you cannot make a measuring mistake.

I used to use this very accurate machinist's ruler (scale?) from one of my uncles. It was in 32nds and 64ths and other weird numbers. I measured everything, and re-measured a second and third time, and then made the cut. All good, except for one thing - when the parts were fitted, they always had a very small gap. The thing was just a smidge too short. As Julie said, just a hair.

Yeah, I used to use filler or putty to hide the gap, but that always bothered me.

But then I went to a workshop at some woodworking show many years ago, and some guy was teaching us in the audience to use a stick and a pencil - or story pole. No numbers, no measuring, no doing it twice.

Try this next time:
Take the piece of stock, and hold it against where it is supposed to go. Mark it with your pencil or Dykem and a scribe a tick mark where the cut needs to be - against the other part. Then make the cut. Make sure the saw blade is on the correct side of your mark.

This should make your cuts more accurate and the joints should be nice and tight.

See how that works? If you never measure, you never make a measuring mistake! :cool: :cool:

I gotta say that my engineer and machinist friends hate it when I tell them how I do stuff.

Give that a try and let us know how this works for you.

-wayne

[Dave Smith]

GREAT post! And it was really very nice to meet you guys and congrats on your win with the car!

Dave Smith

[Rodster]

last pics for this weekend. ROCK ON!!!!!!!!!!!

17501 17502 17503 17504



Good to see your progress. I may have missed something, but are all these chassis mods for track or race prep? I was thinking the chassis mods you need to do are / were needed for your engine/trans?

[Rodster]

GREAT post! And it was really very nice to meet you guys and congrats on your win with the car!

Dave Smith

Yay Dave ! Nice to see you visiting us out here!

-wayne

[QSL]

Good to see your progress. I may have missed something, but are all these chassis mods for track or race prep? I was thinking the chassis mods you need to do are / were needed for your engine/trans?

Yes they are. We are not going to race. But figured we would do the work while the frame is bare.

[MRSQSL]

GREAT post! And it was really very nice to meet you guys and congrats on your win with the car!

Dave Smith

Thank you!! We had a great time in HB and are looking forward to next year. Can't thank you enough for sending the notarized letter regarding the un-fake-ity of the MSO. Stupid DMV (grumble, grumble). If you hadn't done that, we'd have a giant (beautiful) paperweight in the garage. Hopefully I won't have to call you again in a couple years to do the same for the Coupe, but hang onto our paperwork just in case. :)

[jetsbaby]

I am also in building a comp coupe..My was or is a wrecked coupe (Gen 1) that I picked up at an auction. I have the fuel cell safety bar done and the added bars that go from the X -frame to the bulkhead..I also fixed the wrecked nose cone support and other things that were damaged. I am a little confused on the bends of the door bars since I want to do that to. If you don't mind I would love to borrow your jigs and will pay to and from shipping..It would save me a great deal of time. Dave

[MRSQSL]

I was waiting for Mike to answer and have to assume he was waiting for me. We have no problem with sending you the jigs except that they don't belong to us. We asked Karen if we could borrow them. Might want to shoot her a pm and see what she thinks. I'm not sure who actually owns them. Could be Hank. Could be Rick. Anyway, congrats on the Coupe!

[Hankl]

I have no problem with anyone using the jigs, all I ask, is that they be sent back to Rick when you are done with them. There is also a set on the East coast.

Hank :cool:

[QSL]

Yea, we will send them to wherever they are needed as long as its ok with the owners. They were a big help thanks a ton!

This weeks pics!!!!

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[QSL]

last batch of pics. Very exciting progress this weekend for me!

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[MRSQSL]

Week 11:

With 18' of unbent steel in the garage, it was time to get down to work and mess some of it up. Mike invited Frank to join us, but apparently he has a life outside of our garage. Who knew? Rather than wait for him to have a free weekend (which could be over a month), Mike and I decided there was no reason we couldn't bend and weld and mess things up on our own. Stage one involved moving cars around. I pulled our daily drivers out of the driveway and then sat in Scoopy while Mike dragged it out of the garage. We kept the roadster covered to keep it clean as well as to keep people from gawking. We've noticed that when people see a Cobra, they forgot to watch where they are going and have a tendency to drift towards anything parked along the curb.

The Coupey unit (frame on stand with wheels) was manuevered into the center of the garage, the fan positioned for optimum cooling angles, various tools extricated and work commenced. Initially, it was going very well. I was able to stand comfortably while Mike sat and we stared at the bars and jigs and measuring tape and Sharpies. The difficulty came when Mike needed my help. I had to hold the jig and not move at all. NOT AT ALL. Got it. Well, I hadn't eaten much the day before and it was pretty toasty outside and I hadn't eaten breakfast. The second I was supposed to hold completely rigid, I felt nauseous and weak and dizzy. Sadly, I must've twitched or spasmed and the bar came out of alignment. Mike gave me a sip of his cold drink and we tried again. I managed to hold it together until he tack welded a few spots before racing into the house and dropping onto the cold wood floor. I laid there for a minute and then got up and got some cold water and a small snack. I was fine the rest of the day as I made sure I drank plenty and ate at regular intervals. That has only happened to me once before which was a really, really hot morning going through the Panama Canal.

We were just about to start the bending process when Mike arrived. My Mike had told me another Mike may swing by to chat. He is from the Rancho Cucamonga area and is going to be ordering a kit shortly. We had met at HB. Poor guy ended up getting sucked into helping us the rest of the day. My Mike had been sick since he got back from Texas and we hadn't planned to spend more than a couple hours in the garage, but the work was progressing so well and New Mike was super easy to talk to. We ended up out there until 5 or 6. Thanks New Mike!!!!! You can come back anytime (especially once it's powder coated and I have to do all the work myself).

Both side impact bars are complete. We are done with the jigs. Yay!!!!! Thank you SOOOOOOO much for lending them to us. They were a huge, giant, magnificent, splendiferous help.

My Mike really wanted to get the body on to make sure we didn't have to remove all the hard work and start over. New Mike was a tremendous help as he hefted the rear while Mike carried the front. I got the fun job of pulling the driver's side away from the chassis during the application process. I'm terrified I'll rip the fiberglass apart and make Jeff's job nearly impossible, but then I remember that I can barely lift a screwdriver. Probably not much chance of suddenly morphing into the Incredible Hulk and wiping out an entire car half. Although I've been told by a special husband I can be quite monstrous at certain times of the month...

The body fit as well as could be expected and my Mike spent the next couple hours and a chunk of Sunday cutting a "hair" off of the same few sections over and over and over and over and over and over. You get the picture. He actually used a different word, but I can't figure out how to spell it. Scootch. No, not scotch (although I could use some). Long O like "Oh no!!!" Scootch. Whatever.

Mike accidentally broke my nose Sunday. Well, broken isn't really right. More like he knocked it off and it crashed loudly onto the ground scaring everyone in hearing range. We had basically rested the nose on the rest of the body, but only used a small tidbit of masking tape. With all the sawing and rubber malleting (and maybe a scootch of cursing), the vibration caused the tape to suddenly loose sticking ability and the poor Coupey nose fell on the ground. I don't see any damage, but Mike stood it up so I'm not tall enough to see the tippy tip top. He could potentially be hiding something. I suppose if Jeff shows up in the next few days, I'll know something's up.

Mike threw my seat in and helped heft me into the car. I must've sat there for 30 minutes. I like my car. Oh and I ordered my gauges. Sure hope they look good in person. Fingers quadruple crossed.

Now I have what Mike had (sick) and all I want to do is go take a nap. Maybe I'll crawl into the trunk of the Daytona. Nobody will think to look for me there.

[SoCalMike]

Hey Guys, Thanks for all the fun on saturday. Its been way too long since I've been out fabbin up stuff. Had a blast. Glad to hear you made even more progress after I left and on sunday. I would love to come down and play in the toy box again. Julie, don't worry about the nose, i'm sure it is fine. I hope you start feeling better soon. I didn't know mike had been sick, you guys never mentioned it. Hopefully after I get back from Oklahoma I can make down again. Keep up the great work. After looking at Scoupy, Coupey will be absolutely beautiful when done.
Talk to you guys soon, Mike

[frankeeski]

Great progress Casey family! I went through 18 feet of tubing just trying to finish the passenger side for you. The fact you did the drivers side in one piece is a testament to your patience. Julie and Mike, sorry I could not make it out to Corona to help mess up pipe this past weekend but if you check out my 2 threads in off topic you can see I did have a few projects to work on over the weekend. That, along with Mothers day ate up the entire weekend. Looking forward to seeing you guys this coming Saturday for the Car Show at the Cooper Museum.

[jkrueger]

The door bars look good. Great progress!

JC

[MRSQSL]

Mike, we didn't tell you about Mike being sick because he was on the recovery end and I didn't know I was getting it or I would've warned you. I figured he wasn't contagious. Hopefully you don't catch anything. If you do, it's just an annoying little cold that doesn't seem to last for more than a few days (knock on wood). I feel better today, just really tired. Fingers crossed you won't catch it.

Frank, you were on pain meds and were feeling like crap, so you get a pass for the first 18' of tubing. I just hope you're feeling better. Looking forward to seeing you (and Julie?) this weekend. I'll be sure to check out your off topic doings.

JC, thanks for the compliment on the door bars. Mike still needs to weld the driver's side. The bars are only tacked in at the moment. He is better at welding, so I'm pretty sure I could jump on them and those little weld splotches will hold (unlike when I tried it the week before).

[SoCalMike]

Julie, No worries about the cold, I feel fine, not even a sniffle. Just hope you guys are feeling better. Are you guys still planning on going to the car show this weekend in upland? That was Toys For Tots, Right? If so I will probably see you there.

[MRSQSL]

We are still going to the show. Mike may need to drag my cold, sniffly body around, but we'll be there. :) It is at the Cooper Museum. Hope you can make it.

[QSL]

I like beer.... :) lol.

[SoCalMike]

Hey Guys, Since your up in my neck of the woods you can come by after the show and have a beer here, oh and a kleenex...
We'll talk at the show.

[MRSQSL]

If you are only offering one kleenex, I'm gonna have to decline. I've probably gone through thirty so far today. I think my brain might be slowly disintegrating and oozing out of my nose.

[68GT500MAN]

Quick Julie, do not let any more brain to leave your head, there is still a lot of work to do on the coupe!

[MRSQSL]

Ha, ha. I'm catching it all in these tissues, so now I just need to figure out how to squish it back in.

I was going to make a comment about how Mike has been doing all this work on the coupe, so it clearly doesn't take brains to build one, but he hasn't angered me lately, so I'll save that one for the future. Love you Mike!!!! ;)

[jimgood]

I can't offer build help but that word you were look for is "skosh".
skosh
/skōSH/
Noun
A small amount; a little.

[MRSQSL]

Oooooh! Thank you!!!! Skosh. Makes sense.

[CraigS]

Mrs QSL, that sh-t eating grin you have while sitting in the seat in your coupe is priceless! I am again enjoying following a Casey family build thread. Thanks!

[Rodster]

Yes they are. We are not going to race. But figured we would do the work while the frame is bare.

Excellent planning ahead. I wish I thought of that. Oh well. Will do that on the next car.

Saw your latest progress posts - excellent!

[MRSQSL]

Week 12:

With the amount of work we are getting done, I'm thinking this might be a five year build. Sigh. If you are looking for an update on the coupe, stop reading now. Nothing has been done.

Saturday morning we drove out to Upland for a Toys for Tots car show. It was supposed to be for 80 cars, but I think the actual number ended up being closer to 100. It was an interesting variety of cars. Besides our four Cobras, some of my favorites were the pink Corvette, a GT40 (probably Ford GT) and some cars I didn't recognize, but looked really pretty. Anyway, Frank and Julie were excellent hosts. They even bought lunch. Thanks you two!!!! Karen's daughter brought a challenge car. I really, really like her (and the car)!! Bob had the unfortunate luck to be seated next to me the entire day. He did have some rather ground breaking modification suggestions for the Coupe. My favorite was the window mounted air conditioning unit. Snicker, snicker.

I actually remembered to bring a memory card for the camera, so there will be a couple pictures for Mike to post. In the end, it was a great day and we hope to go to that show again next year. Scoopy was honored with "Best Ford" and I particularly like the picture with the trophy in front of Scoopy. The car looks like it is shocked and excited to see the award. Hee, hee.

I don't know if Mike will post a pic, but we finally broke down and bought a swamp cooler. Okay, I had nothing to do with it other than tagging along and looking busy just at the moment it was time to heft the monster into the truck bed. We haven't had much of a chance to play with it, but let's just say Mike has found a new way to force me out of his man cave. That thing gets sooooooo cold. I had to put a sweater on and then I still went inside. Shiver.

Sunday morning we took the new Jeep tires to Big O to have them mounted on the rims. We will be installing a lift kit on the Jeep in the coming days. I followed Mike over and as we exited the freeway, I noticed a Honda next to me. There was a Honda behind him and one in front as well. Hmmmm...Hondas. We sat through a couple lights as the intersection was stuffed. The car next to me started reving its engine. It sounded like a sewing machine on crack. I'm not picking on the 2 Fast 2 Furious crowd, but I'm not impressed by the sound of the engine with those little "fart pipes" (as Mike calls them). So the guy revs and then a few others rev. I was tempted to rev the truck, but I refrained. We finally got off the ramp and onto the road and found we were engulfed by Hondas. The were everywhere and coming from every direction. These aren't your high end cars like in the 2 Fast movies. These are held together with duct tape and the bass is rumbling. One of the guys cut me off when the light changed. He didn't have any side marker lights, just wires sticking out. We finally turned and were able to get away from the influx (or so I thought). As I angled into the driveway of Big O, I looked up to see an entire field of cars. It turns out Eibach Springs hosts a Honda only meet each year. This year they did it in Lake Elsinore because they outgrew their last location. Literally thousands of these little Honda cars were crowding into the area. I watched some videos posted on You Tube, but I couldn't get into it. Like Mike said "It looks like walking through a parking lot". I'm not trying to be rude. I mean, to each his own. I had NO idea there was such a huge following for Hondas.

That's about it for the weekend. My sister came by (visiting from Virginia) so we spent the afternoon and evening with her and her boyfriend as well as my mom. It was a nice weekend with lots of nice people. Yay! Hopefully next week we can do some work on my car, but I suspect the Jeep will be hogging the attention.

[narkosys]

Hide the tires until some work on coupy gets done :cool:

P

[MRSQSL]

Hide the tires until some work on coupy gets done :cool:

P

Darn, why didn't I think of that???? The tires are already on the Jeep and he has removed the fenders in preparation for new ones (and buffing out the paint). I could try hiding the lift kit, but it's a little heavy. Maybe I should just hide the Jeep.

Mike refuses to post pictures on here because he says this thread is for the coupe, not the Scoopy. Let's see if I can find the memory card and post them myself. There is one with Mike and a hose. I only added it because I thought it was neat how he must've just pushed the trigger at about the same time I pushed the button on the camera since the water isn't fully out.

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[Timb]

Depending on the lift kit and whether you have a light bar on the jeep make sure you can get it out of the garage again......don't ask me how I know :)

[MRSQSL]

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing with you. Excellent tip.

[SoCalMike]

Wow, 2 shows, 2 awards. This could be a sign of things to come. You may want Mike to take his time with coupey as it will end up as an overall show winner at this rate.

[MRSQSL]

I'm gonna kick Mikes butt. Wait, I still need his help. There is no chance of my car being better than his (except my gauges came and he's jealous). I'm sure I'm not mentally shrieking "neener, neener".

[SoCalMike]

Lovin that swamp cooler, will be great when I'm down there again in the heat of summer helping work on coupey again after we get back from Oklahoma. Was very blessed with that horrible tragedy back there. My family is about 30 or so miles away from Moore Ok. and thank the good Lord their all safe.

[QSL]

Yea, we decided we needed to have that cooler. It will move 4000 cubic feet of air per minute. It really cools down the garage. I think it will give us back the 3 months we lost last year due to the heat.

Glad to hear that mike. That's really scary. They are very lucky!

[Ray]

17909This saved our butt's several times in the Central Valley. It gets tough to work with temp exceeding 110.

[MRSQSL]

Week 13:

Guess which poor little car didn't get touched again this weekend. Coupey is getting depressed.

We did take Scoopy out, so I will post a short update on that build thread after this. In the meantime, I'll regale you with a tale of putting the lift kit on the Jeep. Mike handled all the dirty, heavy parts while I tackled the fenders. He told me that it should only take me an hour to do them. Ummmm...by my calculations, that means it'll take between 4 and 6 hours. In reality, we worked from 9am until 8pm. Stop laughing. A few hours of that we were entertaining some friends. Oh and I should say that Mike still needs to put the rear shocks on and something about brackets. Okay, so I only got one fender on and still have three more to go. Let me defend myself slightly. The fenders are not one piece. Well, they are. The things the fenders go over are in pieces. I started Saturday morning by making myself a cup of coffee, nibbling on some rolls and perusing the instructions. Step one was confusing. Step two was even more confusing, but the next 20 steps looked okay. I got lost again for a bit after that, but picked up the main idea around step 35. I ended up having to ask Mike for clarification on step one, but then I quickly set to work. I had to put this strip of rubber on the edge of all four fenders. I got through one (which took a long time because the stupid rounded corners kept causing problems) but I was working on the top of the swamp cooler which was poking out of the garage and the sun was hot. I had my hair in a braid and was wearing a long sleeved black shirt. I decided to go in the house and change. I came back down with hair in a pony tail and wearing a white T shirt. Odd look from Mike and back to my fender work. I got through another and decided I was going to get burned. Back in the house to swim in sunscreen and a decision to put my hair in two braids. I went back into the garage. Odd look from Mike. I got through two more fenders and then went back into the house for some water and more sunscreen and a change of shoes. Do you see why it takes me so long to do things?

I was able to do the hardware stuff on the under fender pieces, but the speed clips caused issues. I don't know why they are called speed clips. All I know is I couldn't get them on so I took them to Mike. He basically shoved one on with a ton of force and then went back to his shocks. Okay. I tried pliers and not pliers and eventually discovered it just takes a glove to lessen the fear factor (didn't want to break off all my nails) and an insane amount of force. I was able to get them all on for the fronts, but the rears had thicker plastic and it was impossible. Had to get Mike to do those.

To shorten this epic tale, some of the "factory mounted nuts" were missing and I discovered you can tighten and loosen stainless steel bolts/nuts too quickly and seize them which takes a massive amount of force to break off. Obviously I didn't exert the force, hero Mike did. I also learned that the Jeep is filled with dust underneath and it's hard to screw in the necessary hardware in certain spots (not because of the dirt but because of the wheel well insert things). I was terrified to cut the side marker lights, but Mike assured me it was okay. So far so good, but we haven't hooked up the new ones so no promises. Fingers crossed they'll work. The Jeep is only a few inches higher, but it takes an extreme amount of stretching before entrance or you may pull a muscle. Very high compared to before. I hope I don't fall out. Eep!

I received my gauges for the coupe so one of us will take a picture and post. They glow blue at night which I like. I'm anxious to see them installed. We are going to a shooting thing next weekend, but my plan is to force Mike to work on Coupey when we aren't aiming guns at targets. It has already been over 3 months with SO little process. Ugh.

[MRSQSL]

I didn't use my fancy camera, so forgive the quality of these pictures, but here are my gauges. I am anxious to see them installed (hint, hint Mike). :)

1798017981

[cobrajj]

Julie, Very nice gauge set! Hadn't seen those before. BTW, Think you'll be making Cosi this Sat? Jim

[MRSQSL]

Thanks Jim. I would love to go to Cosi Saturday. I'll have to talk to Mike. We are shooting this weekend, but I don't know which day or what time.

[68GT500MAN]

Those look awesome, a great addition to your coupe.

[MRSQSL]

Julie, Very nice gauge set! Hadn't seen those before. BTW, Think you'll be making Cosi this Sat? Jim

Yay!!!!! Mike said we aren't busy Saturday morning so we should be there. Woohoo!!

[SoCalMike]

Julie, What is Cosi?

[QSL]

its a small car show in Temecula. Its pretty cool. If your around, come down. I can give you a ride in the cobra if you like? either Julie could ride with your wife on the way back home or you could follow us home for a ride?

[cobrajj]

SoCalMike, Here's the link to the first Sat of each month gathering. 8 to 10 am. http://www.tvme.info/

Never know what cars might show up. Jim

[loeffler1]

Shooting who or what? Around here when you go shooting it's either deer or moose.

[QSL]

LOL, actually this is going to blow everyones mind! Believe it or not, yes here in California. There is actually a fair once a year where all the gun manufacturers come out and display their guns. You can talk to them, buy guns and even shoot all their guns for about $1.00 per 5-10 rounds. Its actually pretty fun. They welcome kids too. Living in this leftwing state, I cant believe we have such a thing!

[Ray]

Mike,

You have a link or some other info on this gun show?

Ray

[QSL]

Yea, here you go. Its a ton of fun.

18066 18067

[SoCalMike]

Man, that would be a blast. Too bad Mary and I have family coming from out of town this weekend or we would definately be there.
Now Im bummed. Great big pouty lip!

[QSL]

Mike, just tell them you have a hot lead on some property and you need to go check it out. LOL

[SoCalMike]

Hmmm, I'm thinking, I'm thinking. LOL

[MRSQSL]

Week 14:

I'm trying to remain patient, but it's tough. Coupey went untouched again this weekend. I understand that Mike's back hurt from a ton of lifting on Friday and the last thing I wanted was for him to further injure himself. I'll admit it was also nice to relax a little. I don't know how much more I can take of NOT working on the car though. It's easy for me to say this since I'm not the one required to do the work. Mike promised me last night that we would try to go out there during the evenings this week. Yay! If he doesn't do something soon, I'm going to go out there and weld it all myself and we all know what would happen then. Poor car.

We did take Scoopy out Saturday, so I guess I can post about that on the other build thread since I know Mike won't put any pictures here if it involves the roadster. I don't think I have a story for this week. Uh oh! Think, think... We went shooting yesterday. Imagine my surprise when Mike shot all five skeet with a shotgun that he was told wasn't for skeet shooting so not to expect to hit anything. The guy has never ever shot a moving target zooming across the sky and yet he hit every single one. I don't mean he nicked them either, he shattered them!!!!! I was mightily impressed. We took Aly's boyfriend to the shooting thing as well. He had never shot a gun before. Guess who loved it!!!! Yay! Anyway, Aly tried shooting skeet as well, but with a 20 gauge rather than a 12. It looked like the recoil was 100% manageable and she hit all but one. Wow! I really, really wanted to try, but I don't like long guns. I can't hold them easily and in such a public place...best not to try until later when she gets her own shotgun and lets me borrow it. :) I suspect skeet massacre-ing is going to be a new pastime in the not so distant future. Well, maybe a slightly distant future. Need to find the funds, but even more difficult-ily find ammo and guns. As far as I know, the gun stores are still wiped out. I think I convinced everyone they need custom earplugs like mine, so that'll mean a trip to a gun show where hopefully we can also find some ammo.

So the next update had better have some coupe progress or I'm going to scream (possibly not nice words).

[68GT500MAN]

Hang in there Julie, good things come to those who wait patiently. Up here guns and ammo are starting to show up in stores again.
Doug

[MRSQSL]

But I don't waaaaaaaaaaant to be patient!!!!! (said in an extremely whiny voice)

Have the prices gone down at all? Around here, the guns on "sale" are nearly double what they used to be at regular price. Aly shot a 400A action (Beretta) and really, really liked it. She says that's the one she wants. Since we didn't look at those before, I'm not sure what the pre-Obama price was. Uh oh. That might be political. Not meant that way (okay, maybe a little).

[CraigS]

Around Md there has never been a problem getting shotgun ammo. I was just in Bass Pro last week and they had a ton. Especially the bird hunting stuff. Sorry for you that Aly likes a Beretta shotgun, they may not be the most expensive, but in the world of reasonably regular shotguns they are certainly in the top tier. Actually I am just glad that you guys can do ANY shooting. Cali is usually compared to Md, NY, Ma etc as one of the worst gun states.

[MRSQSL]

Unfortunately, a gun that is going to fit our daughter isn't going to fit Mike, so this will require two shotgun purchases. We have a Mossberg, but it is the "tactical" type, so that won't do. Maybe I'll offer to throw cheap breakable things in the air and they can toss rocks to shatter them. Hmmmmm...probably isn't going to happen. Yeah, Cali is not a gun friendly state at ALL. It isn't as bad as NY from what I hear. I think things are going to get a whole lot worse here as I understand someone somewhere is trying to push through a bill that would require guns in Cali to microstamp each casing as it passes through the gun. I can't even start to imagine what kind of money they would be talking to retool factories for that. I also heard someone is pushing to have a 5 cent tax added to each round. Yes, each round. Ammo prices would more than double in some cases. Hopefully all of that is just a nasty little rumor that isn't really true. In the meantime, we'll enjoy shooting when we can (and drive Scoopy and build Coupey).

[loeffler1]

I thought this was a Daytona Coupe site ??????????

[MRSQSL]

Sorry Bill. I'll try to stay on topic in the future. :( It should be easier once we get back to working on the car.

[psych]

I'm only responding so you can see my avatar.

[MRSQSL]

Week 15:

I wasn't going to post since we didn't work on the car, but then Russ Thompson came to the rescue and now I have a reason to type again. Wooohooooo!!!! A couple of packages arrived yesterday. I had to seriously distract myself to keep from opening the boxes before Mike got home. Best. Christmas. Ever. Wait, it's June. Each item was a thrill to open (especially since Mike did the ordering and I had forgotten which goodies I had requested). I think my favorite was the sill plate (only bought one) I wanted to hold it up next to my gauges to see if the script was the same, but that would've involved more effort than I was willing to exert at that moment. My brain tells me they are the same. I have to say everything was packed extremely well. Russ even took the time to wrap the packet of rivets in newspaper. He's awesome!!!!! I didn't look over the instructions for any of the components because I didn't want to make myself sick with fear nausea or giddy with an uncontrollable urge to start attaching pieces and parts. I figured it was best to calmly glance at the papers and hand them in a Mike-wardly direction. What goodies did I get? Well...the sill plate thing and the pontoon covers (sooooooo pretty). We also fondled the 1/4 windows as well as the "wind wings" (as Mike calls them, but I prefer pillars). The brackets for those are highly impressive and I ogled them for a bit. Nice and sturdy and smooth and oddly shaped. I told Mike I could probably crochet with one of them, but I think the humor was lost on him. Ummmmm...what else? Oh, the turn signal arrived. Looks like it'll be fun to play with. I think I'll use the little button on the end as a horn. That's what Mike did with Scoopy's. I feel like I'm forgetting something. Oh yeah! The radiator shroud thing. Talk about pretty. Wow! I'm not sure why we didn't get the pedal, but I'm sure there was a reason. Let me clarify, I don't know why we didn't ORDER the pedal. Mike took some pictures, but I haven't seen them. I imagine he'll post them later. The best news is that he told me he's thinking about taking some of his rarely ever used vacation time and spending a couple days working on my car. I may have appeared calm on the outside, but I was internally doing back flips of happiness. I hope it works out!!

Psych, I like your avatar. That's a very nice looking safe in the back (the gun is nice too, but the safe caught my eye). Thanks for sharing.

[psych]

A quick story about the safe. I go into the Farm Store where the safes are on Sale. While looking at the safe the clerk comes over and says " nice safe, we have one just like it upstairs where we keep the store's receipts". (he no longer works there) Next day I go back to buy the safe and tell a different clerk that I want to buy the safe and I'm tax exempt. (we grew Concord Grapes for wine). The clerk snaps back " do you own a gun store". I said, "no, we grow grapes and while I will use it for guns, I will also use it , like the one you have upstairs, for receipts." Dead silence, a quick trip to the manager's office, and I buy the safe- tax free.

[QSL]

Russ Thompson pedal ordered! :)

[xlr8or]

Russ Thompson pedal ordered! :)

Good choice.

[QSL]

Sorry everyone I have been so slow posting pics. Real busy at work so I can pay for julies toy here :) LOL

Anyway, here we go!!!

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[xlr8or]

Looks like someone got a box full of Russ Thompson coupe goodness. :D

[QSL]

Here are some pics of this weeks progress!!! Julie to comment soon...

[QSL]

some more!

[QSL]

a few more.... LOL

[QSL]

AND... Last batch!!

[jkrueger]

Progress looks good.

Jc

[MRSQSL]

Week 17 (skipped 16):

I guess it's true. Good things come to those who wait. We FINALLY did some work on the car. Mike assured me I'd be able to do 80% of the work and he'd just be there for consults and heavy lifting, etc. I'm gonna venture a guess at 70/30 and Mike is on the 70 side of that. Let's begin with Saturday. We didn't do any actual work on Coupey, but we had our amazing metal guy come by to begin designing a dash. My exceptionally clear and helpful directions were "I don't like squares. I want something round. I like round. I don't want it to look like an airplane cockpit. I don't want to see the AC controls. It can't look too modern or too old. You need to make something I like. Just make something I like." (Repeat the last sentence until you want to stab your eye out with a sharp (or blunt) object.) In order for him to abide by my crystal clear demands, he said he'd need to know where the shifter will fit and the steering wheel. The plan is to take the frame over to his place next weekend so he can begin. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little scared. I mean, he has to make something I'll like when I don't even know what I'll like. I have a lot of faith though. He has a good eye and a ton of talent.

Sunday morning we headed out to the garage to tackle the two little tiny projects Mike said we should easily be able to accomplish. All we have to do, he says, is attach the engine and the trans and put them in the car. Oh and we will need to lower the steering. Really, I exclaim. This will be easy. We'll be done by noon. That's just a couple little old tasks. How long could it possibly take?! 9 hours. That's how long it could possibly take. 9 stinking hours.

The first step was to move everything within a twelve mile radius. I moved the truck out of the driveway. Mike moved his Challenger out of the driveway. We rolled Scoopy out into the driveway (my favorite since I get to sit in the driver's seat, put it in neutral, push on the brakes and steer). I started pushing the coupe around and ended up spinning it 180 degrees so the welder could reach the front. Also we had to move all the items in the garage that were in the way. Because the engine would require a hoist, we had to create enough space to get that in and near the engine stand. This required taking many of the boxes out to the side yard for temporary storage while working for the day. I'm going to guesstimate it took about an hour to do all the moving.

Before I get into the actual work, let me remind you that I have a new rule. I will plan to put in every single part 4 times. If I have to do it a fifth time, I'll freak out and throw a tantrum. I set the number at 4 thinking it was high enough that I could avoid those unladylike episodes. With the Cobra, I had the completely unrealistic expectation that everything would fit the first time and nothing would ever have to be removed to be redone. Stop laughing.

Okay, so I had to dig through boxes and find the pillow block and the steering shafts and the steering wheel. I had previously installed all those when we were doing the front bar replacement so this was the second time. Got it all in and discovered the steering wheel is still too high. Those magical car genies didn't fix it behind my back. Mike had me sit in the car and hold the wheel right where I wanted it while he marked stuff. I plopped back out, removed everything and he began cutting and welding and smushing and grinding. I love how it came out. The wheel is much lower. In fact, I can almost see over it now. Yay. Of course, to test that, I had to reinstall all the steering components. That's three.

The next step was engine/trans mating. The nose had to be moved so the hoist could come in through the big garage door and the stand holding the engine could be moved to the general vicinity of the hoist. The bulk of the rest of the story is being told through fingers blocking the eyes and clenched teeth. I am not a fan of heavy metallic items dangling precariously in the air. We attached the engine leveler to the heads. I unbolted the hardware smushing the engine onto the stand so now it's all dangling from the hoist. Mike lowered it close to the ground and then we moved the trans closer. Aly lifted the tail while Mike hefted the other end and I quickly jammed and twisted the bolts while they both screamed "hurry up". It wasn't long before they were able to let go and I rapidly installed the rest of the bolts that united the trans and the engine. Keep in mind there is no torque converter yet, so this is only a temporary attachment (that's 1).

Mike raised the engine/trans while I was instructed to keep it from swinging. Ummmmm...yeah, sure. Mike and Aly moved the hoist to try to line it up with the engine compartment while the engine and I danced around the garage swinging to and fro. Let me shorten the rest of this story. The engine and trans didn't fit the first time. The engine mounts (oh I installed engine and tranny mounts earlier in the day) didn't want to fit correctly and the leveler was tall and kept hitting the body and the jacks wouldn't allow the hoist to slide forward enough so we had to reposition the jack stands. Wow, I completely failed to mention the part where we raised the car off the dolly thing and onto jack stands. That was terrifying. Absolutely terrifying. So much so that I don't want to relive it by retelling it. In the end, the starter housing thing was hitting a frame bar and Mike had to completely cut out the frame bar above the bellhousing thing (which he will weld back in later - slightly higher position). There is something on the driver's side hitting and that will either have to be ground or the frame bar notched. The engine is in there right now, but I'm not looking forward to taking it out or putting it back in. We will at least be able to figure out the important stuff as far as location of the shifter. Unfortunately, the shifter I want is completely out of stock everywhere. I've called a billion speed shops with no luck. It is a special order item, so nobody stocks it. Sad face.

Oh, super important advice that must be heeded. Do not ever buy a reciprocating saw (Sawzall thingy) from Harbor Freight. First time out of the box and it worked for approximately 5 seconds. Unfixable. Angry face.

The last hour or so was spent moving boxes back in from outside and rearranging the box area. It looks sooooooo much better. I still don't think I'll be able to get to the box I want easily, but mucho bettero.

[MRSQSL]

Oh and I learned two important transmission tidbits over the weekend. (I can already hear the laughter.)

1) If it is manual, there is a clutch. If it is automatic, there is a torque converter. I mean, I knew about the clutch, but assumed a torque converter was necessary in everything. I can't wait until we get one so I can see what it looks like.

2) I kept insinuating that Mike was a little slow because he wanted to install the engine and trans rather than just measuring them both and estimating where the shifter would be. He explained multiple times that it doesn't work that way. Mentally, I was patting myself on the back for my superior intellect. The aha moment came when he realized I thought the shifter would mount on the top in that little box thing just like it did on the TKO600. I had NO idea the AOD can be operated by a cable so the shifter itself can be mounted anywhere. Aly suggested we be unique and install it on the roof...

[kevin12973]

Great to see you getting some Coupy time in finally!! You know this thread could be a best seller novel for gear heads. Good times, and keep it up.

[Rodster]

You got that engine in there! Looks great! More pictures and **videos** are needed!

[MRSQSL]

Thanks!

Since this was just a quick install basically to discover if things would fit and how, we didn't document it very well. Once we are installing "for reals", we will have to make sure to do a more thorough job. Plus, we definitely want to do a detailed thread on the transmission. I can't possibly be the only one with aspirations of using an automatic trans...right? (crickets)

[Ray]

No Julie you're not. Once the garage is finished, we've got a 1958 Porsche project for Jodi in the planning stages. I'll need to put an automatic in for her.

Ray

[aks801]

@MRSQSL: your terms for parts infinitum reminds me of my mother-in-laws term for any gizmo or gadget that she can't instantly name. She calls it a "dooma-flotchy".

@both: I'm reading your build thread at a time I'm considering switching from my long-held plan to build a roadster, to building the coupe. Your route of doing both is of course the best solution. I probably won't make a final decision until I am on the phone with The Factory and then flip a coin. Seriously. Keep on building/fabbing and posting!

[QSL]

This weeks pics!!!! Julie to post soon!

[QSL]

last batch

[68GT500MAN]

The excitement on your faces is contagious (not), it must have been hot down South too - only 109 yesterday. What is the plate above the transmission for? I used a Lokar shifter on my AOD but it had a bracket to mount right to the transmission.
Doug

[QSL]

We are using the cable operated Lokar shifter. The plate is so we can position it in the exact location that's comfortable for Julie.

[MRSQSL]

Week 18:

I am genuinely thankful that our build is not being video taped. This was not a weekend of my finest moments. Let's travel back to Monday. Mike was enduring some minor back pain from the weekend, but headed off to work as usual. By the time he came home, he was in agony. The testing rig he's building required some gut wrenching wrenching and he must've pulled a muscle. He ended up going to the doctor and getting some muscle relaxants and ibuprofen. Nothing really helped and he is actually at urgent care as I type this. Anyway, Mike was clearly not going to be working on my car. He couldn't even put his own socks and shoes on. Poor thing.

Saturday morning we all went out to the garage, although I kept saying his back was more important than making progress on the car. We had told the guy doing the dash (Martin) that he could have Coupey this weekend and Mike didn't want to cause him problems. Aly was told she was goign to have to buff the Jeep, so she set to work putting out the easy up (which is not easy). I began moving all the extremely heavy things in the garage so that we would be able to pull the engine and trans back out and put in a plate for the shifter. Sounds easy, right? It was 109 degrees, everything was massively heavy and Mike speaks in riddles. He thinks that telling me to measure the metal so I'll know how thick to cut some cardboard makes sense. What? Which part needs to be measured? Which direction? What is the number that's 2-1/2 plus three thingies? Or another example would be when he tells me to get the stuff ready so we can pull the engine. What stuff? The hoist is here and the stand is here. What else do we need? Bolts? Bolts for what? Do I need nuts? How does the chain fit through the leveler? So many unanswered questions in the statement "get the stuff ready". Did I mention I get REALLY grumpy when it's hot? I am not slightly irritated, I'm insanely shrieking grumpy.

Remember last week when Mike said I'd be doing 80% of the work? I think he must've been confused and meant THIS weekend I'd be doing 80%. In fact, I'd say it was closer to 99.9%. Okay, maybe not quite that much. I fetched things. I measured. I fetched. I looked confused. You should've seen the look on my face when Mike announced I'd be plasma cutting. Then again, you should've seen the look on his face when I put on two layers of gloves, borrowed Steve's hiking boots, put on two layers of protective glasses and then asked if I needed a welding helmet. Clearly I wasn't feeling comfortable with the idea of slicing through metal with whatever "plasma" is. My mind immediately reverted back to the 80's and Ghostbusters. Of course, they might have used the term "ectoplasm", but it sounds enough like "plasma" to my brain. As it turns out, plasma cutting is fun. It's scary and I hid behind the ladder while I sliced through the steel, but it was a thrill and I definitely would do it again.

Nothing really went smoothly and Mike truly couldn't do much more than sit in a chair and watch. He did use the grinder on the edge of the plate I cut and he tack welded in the plate. I appreciate that a ton since I know he was miserable and my not so cheery disposition wasn't helping matters.

The real low point came when we were removing the engine. It was hot. I mean it was scorching hot this weekend. Aly and I got the leveler on, she and Steve pulled out the hoist and we thought we were ready. Mike reminded me I needed to pull out the engine mounts first. @#$#%$#^! I couldn't find the right wrench and then I did, but the oil filter was in the way along with every bracket and bar on the front of the car. The wrench kept sliding off and I couldn't reach and I was hot and grumpy and extremely annoyed that everyone wanted me to hurry up so we could go to dinner (hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was rapidly approaching 5:00). I mustered up all the patience I had, but when the wrench slipped off (already had to ask which way was lefty loosey because the bolt was upside down and my brain can't translate something so freaking complicated in that heat while it's grumpy and hungry and fatigued from lifting and sore from bending) I lost it. I sat on the garage floor, stared at the bolt, scream/grumbled and shook the wrench while flailing my other arm. Silence. Everyone stared. I didn't throw anything. I didn't cry. I wanted to walk away, but time was ticking and everyone was waiting on me. I regrouped and managed to get the bolts off and the mounts free. Success (which kind of felt more like failure when I look back and feel idiotic for behaving like that).

At the end of the day, we had the plate mounted, the engine and trans out, the garage cleaned up, the Jeep buffed and were still speaking to each other. For the record, the trans and the engine apparently formed a love bond so strong, it took a hammer to separate them. Don't understand how that happened, but I can only assume it was love at first touch (that or it was so hot in the garage they melted together).

Sunday morning was the day I had to temporarily say goodbye to my beloved Coupey. I petted it and talked to it and explained the separation was only temporary. Because of the heat, Martin wanted to be there before 7 am. Sigh. Okay. I was in the garage at 6:30 where I once again moved every heavy object. It was still hot. I wasn't grumpy because it wasn't horrid hot. It was bleck hot. Sure enough, Martin pulled up just before 7 and he and Russ (trailer owner who was kind enough to come all the way over to fetch the car and take it to the shop) helped to load up the car and strap it down. Good thing since Mike was still in a gobsmacking amount of pain. I'm not sure how long he will have Coupey, but looking forward to seeing what he comes up with. Fingers crossed I love it as much as I hope I will.

Since the car is taking a mini vacation, I won't be updating until it comes back. I love you Coupey!!

[68GT500MAN]

Enjoy your time out of the garage, the weather is forecasted to be 106 plus for the next two weeks up here, so I believe that it will continue to be hot in your part of the state.
Doug

[BFFofMRSQSL]

Jules, that was the funniest post EVER!

[Big Blocker]

Julie,

Been following your "Coupey" adventure from the git-go . . . that last blog was a real side spliter for sure . . . hang in there girl, it only gets better from here. Things are always going to get tough when you're building something as complicated as a car, just keep the finished product in your head and you'll do fine. Remember Mike's [and your] Roadster . . . your Coupe will be even better. After all, you have one [award winning] build under your belt, you already know what is ahead and how you worked it out the first time. Rely on your past experience, it will get you thru the tough times.

Sorry I can't give you any advice about the heat, it's 116° in Vegas so be glad you live in a cooler climate. The swamp cooler will help, but you need to watch for surface rust on un-protected metal. Ask me how I know that . . .

Doc

[Dave Dellinger]

Great thread, you should really write this as a novel. I want a copy! Now
I need to go read the roadster build.

[QSL]

A sneak peak of the dash I just received today!

[MRSQSL]

Just to clarify, Mike got the picture, not the dash today. I guess this can be considered the update for week 19. The car isn't home yet and I miss it. We took my mom on our annual Sequoia camping trip this last week. Just got home this evening. If there are any good pictures, I'll post a few. I'd ask Mike to do it, but he has already declared he won't unless it is Coupe related. Whatever. Anyway, thanks for the support after my last update. Ugh. I hope it's never that hot again. Oh and I had a moment of arm flailing very similar to my engine mount episode while camping. The kids find it extremely amusing. Why aren't they scared of me? They aren't supposed to laugh. Humph!

[SoCalMike]

Julie, you are too funny. You are great for my daily laugh. That dash is going to be awesome when finished, I love the design concept that I see him going for.
I'll talk to you guys soon.
Mike

[Rodster]

The dash is going to look really nice. I have been doing non-car projects over the last few weeks. Gotta get back to it, but life and work gets in the way ....

[MRSQSL]

Don't yell at me for posting off topic pictures here. I know. I just can't behave. Sorry. Here are a few pictures from our trip to Sequoia.

19647196481964919650196511965219653

[68GT500MAN]

Looks like all had a great time. Might as well do this now because when Coupey come home it will be full speed ahead to completion!:rolleyes:
Doug

[MRSQSL]

Speaking of Coupey and completion and returning home and all that...Martin came by on Monday and discussed the dash some more. He also picked up a few things he needed like a couple panels and the toggle switches. Anyway, he plans to have the dash done by the end of next week. Hopefully we can grab Coupey that same weekend and get the last few things done to the frame and then go to powdercoat the next week. I'm really excited. I was originally planning to do a bright silver powder coat, but then someone suggested a metallic charcoal and now I'm not sure. Why are color decisions so hard to make?????? No matter what color I do the frame, I'm still completely unsure of the panel color. ARGH!!!!! That reminds me, I was supposed to order samples of powder coat. Ugh. Where did I put that web address...

[QSL]

Here is a picture of the dash I just received yesterday on my phone. We are going to his shop today to look at it in person.

[QSL]

Just got back from seeing the dash in person. Its too bad these pics don't do it justice... but here you go. Its still basically in mockup stage, but it will hopefully be done next week!

[QSL]

last couple!

[QSL]

sorry pics came out weird. these should be better...

[QSL]

last ones

[loeffler1]

Doesn't do a thing for me. I am an original fan.

[QSL]

we just could not bring ourselves to mounting that 90deg bent piece of aluminum in there. So far, we are very pleased!!

[QSL]

I just realized I forgot to mention. The bottom part of the dash will have a hidden door to hide the vintage air controls and windshield wiper switch. The key ignition and light switch will be mounted on that lower radius also with some round stand offs. The remaining four gauges will aim toward the driver. They will actually be inset into the dash and then extend outward. All the dash edges will meet to the body so we don't have funky gaps there. More to come as we get to see more progress!

[Erik W. Treves]

Doesn't do a thing for me. I am an original fan.

nicely put...?? I like to see outside the box thinking..considering it will be one of the areas of the car you see the most it is important you like it! The stock dash is kinda boring IMO. The rest of the car has curves all over it and the dash is squared off..probably more function than form at the time..keep it up!

[Barrel]

In more than 380 posts and countless images on this thread loeffler1 is the first to express a different opinion on a matter of aesthetics and gets jumped on for "offering up negativity". Is this what I can expect if I agree with him?

[68GT500MAN]

Julie, the dash looks great and your smile in the last photo shows that YOU like it too! Do not let any distractions get in they way of making a great coupe.
Doug

[Erik W. Treves]

Not at all...I think it is the way in which he presents his agruement/opinion...obviously a LOT of work went into that dash, granted the internet is very "disconnected" since you can't see the person and the emotion or state of mind as they post... but look at in this way...as i read it.... they post something that they are proud of and are welcoming everyone to enjoy and see their progress and have done so with this build and their roadster... A lot of time even went into taking the pictures and stopping long enough to post them and put the narrative in..... the answer for all of that, they got...

"Doesn't do a thing for me. I am an original fan."

For me it was just in the delivery and choice of wording or the lack there of ... I don't much care for the original and often thought if I did a coupe I would do something different...maybe not what they did...but good for them...

Not trying to speak for them, but bring all the comments and opinions you want.The forum only gets better and the cars get even more refined and complete. This doesn't mean we need to forget to be respectful to the people who put countless hours of work into creating these fine machines.

with respect.

Erik

[Hankl]

Building a Coupe is a very personal thing, everyone is entitled to their opinion, about their car! If you don't have something good to say, try following your mothers advise and don't say anything!

Hank :cool:

[MRSQSL]

I've spent some time trying to figure out how to say what I want to say (Erik pretty much said the bulk of what I was thinking). While I babble a lot, I'm not always good at expressing my thoughts. For the record, my feelings were not hurt by Bill's comment on this thread. It did bring my happiness level down a notch or two, but I understand that he really, really likes the original and probably sees it as somewhat offensive that we are making changes. What got my panties in a bunch was actually a comment on the other forum. There is a person who posted drawings of his plans for his dash which turned out to be almost identical to the driver's side of ours. Bill's response to him was "You asked for an opinion. Well, here it is. Looks like c---. What's wrong with the original. If you want a modern dash, buy a Corvette." As Erik said, it's in the delivery. I have zero issue with other people having an opinion that differs from mine. When we built Scoopy, many people did not like the gauge layout on our dash. Was I ever offended? Not at all. Folks would say they were concerned about Mike being able to see the tach or the speedometer or other equally valid points. Mike and I discussed (at length) each and every concern raised and decided we still wanted to do it our way. The issues were presented in a friendly manner. The point of this forum is not just to show what you did, but to show what you did and have hundreds of other eyes take a look to see if you are doing something that is dangerous or will cause some sort of problem. We care about each other here and that's one of the things I love so much about these forums and these cars. I sincerely hope that everyone feels free to voice their opinion (good or bad) on this thread. Just please be respectful when you do. To those of you that spoke up and said something here in our defense, I really, truly appreciate it. I don't expect anyone else to like the dash, but at least understand that I love it. It fits what I had in mind for the car and if it comes out in real life like it did in my brain, I'm going to spend a lot of time staring at it with love bubbles in my eyes.

[MRSQSL]

Week 20:

There really isn't a whole lot to update since I don't have the car at the house. Plus, Mike was out of town all week on business (he took Aly so she had a taste of real work). Martin was kind enough to interrupt his Saturday so we could go visit Coupey. The first thing I did was hug the body. I miss that little car. The dash is coming along really nicely. At first, I wasn't sure if I liked how flat the passenger side was, but he has begun putting rolled edges on the top and bottom and it makes a big difference. I always liked the inset gauge cluster and how he listened to me about "round". I like curves. Round is good. Imagine my excitement when he told me he was going to be insetting two of the other gauges and outsetting (I made that word up) the other two. I didn't understand what he said until he drew a picture. Ooooooooh!!!!!!! LOVE IT!!!!!! I had originally suggested the entire center of the dash angle slightly towards the driver so the gauges would be easier to read. I was concerned how it would look from the passenger side. This is the best of both worlds. The gauge cluster will be raised and lowered rather than the entire center section. Brilliant! It was hard for me to leave. I could've stayed all day and stared. Martin thinks he may be able to get it done by the end of this week, but we told him not to rush. I am hopeful it'll be done soon, but I can be patient for an extra week. The guy is wonderful. He keeps telling me not to worry and I keep telling him I'm not worried at all. He is the kind of fabricator that doesn't cut corners and takes pride in his work. He has a great eye and I know I'll love the finished product (or he will keep fiddling with it until I do). Anyway, it was a great visit and I'm looking forward to seeing the completed product. Yay!

[Big Blocker]

Julie & Mike,

I just want to remind you that everyone has an opinion . . . it's their opinion and doesn't mean that they will go out and retrofit their own car to look like yours, or expect you to tear out what you've done already to conform to what is original.

You go girl . . . give em hell! You and Mike built an award winning roadster ( I know, I was there for the HBCI ceremony ) that you should be proud of. Many, many hard hours went into the roadster and the effort was rightly rewarded. Kinda makes you think that maybe some of your ideas on how things should look aren't all that bad at all . . . obviously, the F5 group that attended HB this year thought along those lines.

Just my 2¢ . . . IMHO

Doc

[cobrajj]

Julie, I like your dash idea. Kind of reminds me of this 62 Ferrari GTO dash. Here's a couple of pictures of another non traditional Coupe dash layout. These self-built cars don't all have to be exact copies of the originals. You go girl! Jim

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt201/jjcobra_01/phoca_thumb_l_25020steering2020wheel1_zps345167fe. jpg (http://s612.photobucket.com/user/jjcobra_01/media/phoca_thumb_l_25020steering2020wheel1_zps345167fe. jpg.html)

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt201/jjcobra_01/int1_zps80934adf.jpg (http://s612.photobucket.com/user/jjcobra_01/media/int1_zps80934adf.jpg.html)

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt201/jjcobra_01/int3_zps21b8dae6.jpg (http://s612.photobucket.com/user/jjcobra_01/media/int3_zps21b8dae6.jpg.html)

[xlr8or]

Julie your dash looks great. Mike's pictures kinda sucked. :D

[MRSQSL]

Wow, Jim that coupe has a very unusual dash. It sure makes the interior look finished - not like an uncomfortable race car. I have a lot of respect for people that can visualize something in their heads and then create it in real life. That dash must've been a ton of work.

I would agree that Mike's pictures do not show it off well. That's why I was so anxious to see it in person and am thrilled with the progress. Woohoo!! We've begun the discussion about how to finish it off (paint, leather, powder coat, etc). That's a decision I'm not looking forward to making. I'm going to take it easy and not stress until the metal work is completed and the car is back home. Well, that's my plan anyway.

[tirod]

The dash looks fine to me, it's using a lot of details I prefer. The original? It wasn't a dash, it was a panel to hold gauges in a race car. If the original had one fault, it's that it doesn't have any style at all, like the dash of a HMMV or tank. No taste or class.

Which could be said about some of the negative comments. All function, no art.

It's obvious that is something your finished Coupe won't lack - taste, class, and art. Anybody can copy a photo, it takes talent to paint the same picture and make it even better. That scares some people, they just want you to copy, so that their efforts don't get eclipsed by someone else's vision of what the Coupe could be.

If you choose to make it more like what it could have been, with real production engineering and style, I look forward to it. It will inspire others to have the courage to do the same. Ignore the naysayers and pursue your dream.

[frankeeski]

Julie, As an active participant in your coupe build team, I know just how hard you and the whole family work to create your dream. There are always going to be those that offer an opinion, even when you haven't asked for one. Keep on the path you have set and don't let others bring down your elation on a job well done.To the dash; I like the way the main dash pod is set behind the wheel, I have seen others do something similar. But you guys are taking this to an entirely different level with the rest of the dash. Any ideas on how or with what you will be covering it with? Is it going to get body work and end up painted? Are you going to have air conditioning registers in the dash as well? Maybe defrosters in the top near the windshield? Man, I have so many questions that I may just have to come down for a visit this weekend. Great Job Casey Family!

[Barrel]

In more than 380 posts and countless images on this thread loeffler1 is the first to express a different opinion on a matter of aesthetics and gets jumped on for "offering up negativity". Is this what I can expect if I agree with him?

I asked this question yesterday and today the answer is pretty clear. Those who state a different opinion will forever be deemed "naysayers, distracters and attackers". I thought this was a Forum. Members who have a different opinion but aren't invited to post it are not welcome, but those who agree can say so whether invited or not.

[MRSQSL]

I asked this question yesterday and today the answer is pretty clear. Those who state a different opinion will forever be deemed "naysayers, distracters and attackers". I thought this was a Forum. Members who have a different opinion but aren't invited to post it are not welcome, but those who agree can say so whether invited or not.

Barrel, I thought I was pretty clear about inviting any and all opinions good or bad. If you don't like my dash, tell me. It's okay. I know a lot of people won't like it. The design isn't for everyone. Please tell me, though, what you don't like about it (specifically). Perhaps you have noticed something we haven't thought of. If you just want to say you hate it for the sake of being able to say that, I think that's rude. I don't go to car shows and tell people the things I don't like about their cars. I keep those thoughts to myself and point out all the things I DO like. Why would I want to hurt their feelings after all the work they did? It really doesn't matter if I like it or not. It matters if they do. Do you see where I'm coming from? So, please tell me honestly what you don't like about my dash.

Frank, you are more than welcome to come over anytime you want. Don't know if Coupey will be home yet, but that doesn't mean you aren't welcome.

As for the covering, we are leaning towards paint, but Martin pointed out it shouldn't be black because all the curves would get lost. He suggested an anthracite gray, but I figure I need to pick a frame powder coat color before I can even consider a dash color. So many tough decisions. Still not sure about panel color either. The only thing I'm pretty set on is a dark blue paint with white for the outside. Oh and I think I picked my number for the meatballs as well. Beyond that, I'm pretty much undecided.

[QSL]

Martin said when he is done it will be perfect and there would be no reason to hide it by covering it up with something.

[David Hodgkins]

In more than 380 posts and countless images on this thread loeffler1 is the first to express a different opinion on a matter of aesthetics and gets jumped on for "offering up negativity". Is this what I can expect if I agree with him?



I asked this question yesterday and today the answer is pretty clear. Those who state a different opinion will forever be deemed "naysayers, distracters and attackers". I thought this was a Forum. Members who have a different opinion but aren't invited to post it are not welcome, but those who agree can say so whether invited or not.


Barrel,

Taken for this stickied thread in the 818 forum:

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?3543-PLEASE-READ-Community-and-the-818-forum



I took this from Wikipedia, which surprisingly, is quite accurate as it relates to our forum:

------------

Community:

a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household. The word can also refer to the national community or international community

The word "community" is derived from the Old French communité which is derived from the Latin communitas (cum, "with/together" + munus, "gift"), a broad term for fellowship or organized society.
------------

We are a group that is dispersed throughout the world. Some of us are experts at mechanics and design, some of us are complete novices, most of us are in between. But we all have at least one thing in common: A shared interest in Factory Five and their products.

In coming up with the charter for this site, there were a few key words that drove our thinking. Community, and respect. At TheFactoryFiveForum.com, one cannot exist without the other. We cannot act condescending toward those of us who are less experienced, at the same time, we must respect the fact that there are those here with more experience than ourselves. If the experts don't respect the newbies for their desire to learn something new, they are no better than those who lash out because they feel belittled. It's the same if you are new to the world of mechanics and design; you have to realize that your questions can be quite basic, and every once in a while someone gets tired of basic questions. However, that is not an excuse for not treating each other with MUTUAL respect. We cannot grow as a community if MUTUAL respect isn't one of the pillars the community is based on. We have to understand that mentor-ship is not the same thing as patronizing, and that as a community, the teachers cannot survive without the students, and vice-versa.

We must INSIST that you treat each other with respect. The 818 forum has been lacking in this since it's inception, and it MUST change. In the interest of promoting community and mutual respect, we will dole out infractions as needed going forward, and if we feel that the community is better served without certain members due to either passive aggressive or condescending attitudes, we will make the hard decisions in the interest of the community and move forward.

Thanks for reading,

TheFactoryFiveForum.com moderators


I added emphasis to part of the above, to note that the tone of the 818 forum has changed dramatically since that post was written almost a year ago. I can't recall anyone getting banned from this site due to simply having a bad attitude since then.

Everyone with an opinion is entitled to state it. The way that opinion is stated matters to this forum community. And it's something that we all need reminding of from time to time.

Now, back to the build.

:)

[Presto51]

"The only thing I'm pretty set on is a dark blue paint with white for the outside. Oh and I think I picked my number for the meatballs as well. Beyond that, I'm pretty much undecided."

Oooh, Oooh, Can I guess what that number is?

Ron

[skullandbones]

Who gave the input for the dash design? I just came back to this thread after being away for a while. I scanned thru but did not see how it got started. This is a long thread. Since it's MRSQSLs, I would bet she had most to say about it. Just as a side bar: even if I didn't like it, I would still appreciate the heck out of it based on the time and effort you and your fabricator have put in it. Most of us roadster guys don't have the latitude in our cars to customize the dashes like that (limited space). Anyway, I can't wait to see the project with all the gauges and other goodies installed. I agree with your reticence in choosing a dash color and the frame. Remember Karen's comp coupe. That white frame really made the project pop! Love the coupe. Good luck. WEK.

[MRSQSL]

ooh, Oooh, Can I guess what that number is? Ron

I would be honored if you'd guess (although you probably won't be correct). I'm assuming you are going to pick the number Mike wanted, but he loses. MY car...MY number. Hee, hee.


Who gave the input for the dash design? .

The dash design and fabrication is all from Martin Lange. He is a local hot rod guy (originally from Germany) and is extremely talented. I told him very little about what I wanted. "Round, round" and that's what he came up with.

[CraigS]

I like it Julie. I might not do it on my car but that's fine. Last Thanksgiving there was a car cruise called the Pie Run that has built over the last 10 years or so. Apparently started by three hotrodders who came up w/ the idea that their contribution to Thanksgiving dinner was to go make a run to pick up the pie. Anyway, I was walking by a pretty standard looking 30s 4 door ford. Didn't do much for me, but the interior caught the corner of my eye and I doubled back. It wasn't wild, it wasn't crazy, it was just a slightly modernized redo of the original. But the quality of the work, the color choices, and the material choices, were beyond stunning. It went from a car I was going to ignore, to my favorite out of maybe 200 cars. I suspect yours will be similar!

[MRSQSL]

I like it Julie. I might not do it on my car but that's fine. Last Thanksgiving there was a car cruise called the Pie Run that has built over the last 10 years or so. Apparently started by three hotrodders who came up w/ the idea that their contribution to Thanksgiving dinner was to go make a run to pick up the pie. Anyway, I was walking by a pretty standard looking 30s 4 door ford. Didn't do much for me, but the interior caught the corner of my eye and I doubled back. It wasn't wild, it wasn't crazy, it was just a slightly modernized redo of the original. But the quality of the work, the color choices, and the material choices, were beyond stunning. It went from a car I was going to ignore, to my favorite out of maybe 200 cars. I suspect yours will be similar!

No pictures, didn't happen. :)

[Barrel]

Julie. It seems that we have a misunderstanding when it comes to your dash.I have never said that I dislike it and I certainly don't hate it. I read loeffler1's post and thought it was curt but not outright rude. Perhaps if he had written "it doesn't do a thing for me BECAUSE I'm an original fan" no one would have been upset.
I posted as a reaction to the inane suggestion that if he wanted original he should go out and buy one and those that said "Amen" to that. Bill was being ridiculed for having a different opinion and that's all. I now see that five of those posts that prompted my response have been removed from the page which will surely confuse readers when they come across mine!
I hope that your dash will be just what you wanted. But I, like some others, would prefer to stick as close to the original as possible when building a replica. Older men (64 +) I think, are made that way. Having said that I built a Roaring Forties GT40 and made some subtle changes that most people don't even notice and I encouraged my teenage children to choose the colour scheme. Thus we all liked the result!
If I can say so I would have to make one change to your dash and steering wheel and that is to move them to the right hand side where the driver sits in Australia.

Neil.

[frankeeski]

Must resist posting!

[MRSQSL]

I'm relieved we got this all straightened out. Thank you Barrel for clarifying. I'm not a 64+ man so I'm hoping I can be forgiven for my desire to stray from the original. It'll be a lot of work to change it if I become one though. Hee, hee. I know the right hand drive thing has been done before but when picking a frame color overloads my brain, I'm fairly certain I'm ill equipped to take on such a monstrous task. Alas, mine will remain on the US side. :) It would make parallel parking easier though...

[QSL]

Now that I am back in town from a week and half of hell work I can properly comment on this.

I agree! These cars are kick *** the way you get them out of the box. I am not a huge fan of major deviation. Besides, there is something that attracted us to these cars in the first place and that's the way they look out of the box! So why mess with that...too much anyway.

That's why our build style is to try and keep it mostly original but with some small mods or subtle touches that we don't feel are over the top or too customized. It was a great recipe for our roadster and I am really think its a great one for the coupe. Our vision for the coupe is to have a car that looks like a RACE car, side bars, additionally bars, meatballs, race stickers etc... BUT its also a show car. So another words, nice paint, slightly different colors and of course a nicer dash. Our intentions as well as Martins are to make a dash that looks like it belongs in the car. Not a hotrod dash and not a bent piece of aluminum. But somewhere in between. I think when we finally get pictures of it finished, people will then clearly see what we are going for.

Besides the dash, the interior is going to have kirkey high back seats, carpet, rear view camera (but with the monitor in the mirror so it does not make the inside look too modern) and we are even playing with the idea of putting in a window net. :)

Again, we want a car that looks like a race car and has no business being on the street. But when you get closer, you realize its a nice driver show car.

[QSL]

Martin just texted me these pics. The pics are really bad, but I think they give you the flavor. :) We are not using the on/off lables with the switches. Those will be removed.

[68GT500MAN]

That dash looks great, it will fit your description above perfectly.
Doug

[narkosys]

the pictures may not be the best but DAYUM! is that not a great looking dash. Martin does some excellent work.

P

[QSL]

thanks guys. will have better pics tonight I hope. He is good with metal, less good with computers. LOL.

[David Hodgkins]

That dash looks amazing! Beautiful craftsmanship!

:)

[QSL]

higher res pics!!!!!

[jkrueger]

Wow! That looks nice. How are you going to finish it?

JC

[QSL]

right now the plan is to paint it. Possibly 2 tone. A quality paint job, not spray bomb. We really hope Jeff (batman) will come into play here. I am sure he will give us the guidance we need. He has a great eye for this stuff!!

[QSL]

we also have a russ Thompson turn signal that goes with this that should set it off!!!!

[loeffler1]

David Hodgkins I do not have a BAD ATTITUDE. My remark was neither rude nor disrespectful. Short - Guilty. To the point - Guilty. It was an opinion, and I do believe this forum allows opinions. One doesn't have to agree or disagree. I certainly meant no disrespect to the hard work that someone has performed.
The Daytona Coupe was a racecar from the sixties - loud, uncomfortable, smelly. It was designed for a purpose. To win races. someone mentioned curves - yes - purposeful, to slip through the air faster than the competition. True the dash was a slab of aluminum, to hang gauges on, aerodynamics were not required here.
Perhaps I should have worded my remark differently, "Don't make the gauche mistake of redesigning the dash that doesn't match the car's era". Or maybe I should have said "One mistake some insensitive types make is to redesign the dash".
If one looks at "Brock Racing Enterprises" website, both of these remarks appear in a slightly different context in reference to the coupes wheels. They appear in a section entitled "Getting It Right" subtitled "Picking the right color scheme for a classic shape". and sub subtitled "Wheel color".
I don't believe anyone has taken Mr Brock to task for his "insensitive" comments or "opinions" on this subject.
End result - this is your car - do what you want to it - add wheelie bars, pinstripe it, flame paint the front clip openings. But do expect opinions - some bad - some good!!!!
I do believe I've used up my nickel.

[Garry Bopp]

The dash is looking great! From personal experience, I can tell you that being able to read the tach and speedo easily will be much appreciated when you are on the road/track. When I do track days with my traditional dash layout, I find it very difficult to read my tach at speed, instead relying on engine sound. I'm thinking of a remote dash-mounted tach for track days that is easily removable when not on the track. Your very elegant dash not only looks great but is very functional.

Keep up the good work and I love following your build thread!

Garry

[David Hodgkins]

David Hodgkins .../... I do believe I've used up my nickel.

Yes. You most certainly have.

[loeffler1]

david hodgkins

Sounds like you don't believe in opinions. Rather narrow minded for an administrator!!

[Mike N]

He is good with metal,

Slight understatement there....... :rolleyes:

[David Hodgkins]

loeffler is banned until 07-20-2013 07:43 AM to take time to adjust his attitude.

:)

[jkrueger]

loeffler is banned until 07-20-2013 07:43 AM to take time to adjust his attitude.

:)

Thank you!

[David Hodgkins]

Thank you!

Your welcome.

Guys, it's not hard. Express your opinion. Just do so respectfully, whether you are "for" or "against". It's common decency.

Now, again, let's get back to the build, and that (IMHO) KILLER dash! Does anyone want to take a stab at photo-shopping some color onto it?

:)

[68GT500MAN]

Now we can get back to the build and the great dialog from Julie (I really like the way you describe things). I have said it before, but I think that the dash will look great. The rolled top and bottom with recessed gages give it a classy look. I just wish that I lived closer so that I could see it in person (HB 2014).
Doug

[MRSQSL]

Doug, if you ever find yourself in the area, please stop by. That goes for pretty much everybody out there. Our garage is open to FF guys anytime (assuming we are home, otherwise the police will be escorting you away and it may take them awhile to pry sharp, strong dog jaws off your body). I absolutely love the idea of someone photoshopping color on there. It would help me immensely. Please, please. As much as I like black, Martin is right that it will take away from the curves. Any other color is good. Okay, not ANY other color. No lime green or bright orange or anything. I was online last night trying to look at powder coat samples to get ideas for the frame. Had no idea there were THAT many shades of metallic gray and silver!!!!!!!!! I am thinking about trying to bribe Mike to go with me to a powder coat place this weekend to look at actual real life samples. Is it bad that I'm getting desperate enough to trust the opinion of my color blind spouse? Hee, hee. Love you Mike. You have excellent taste (especially in wives).

[Rodster]

Been away for a while. Thanks for the update - I can't wait to see how the dash comes out - especially the plain, flat, blank passenger side. I don't have the budget or the skills to do some of the radical changes to the ugly but functional dash. But I will have something custom done to the cockpit and controls. But that is a long ways away, so I will continue to collect ideas for my setup.

Keep the stories coming, this is great reading material.

When's the movie coming out?

[MRSQSL]

When's the movie coming out?

Yikes! All I know is it would be labeled as a horror flick. Oh my. If only you all could see what I put Mike through each time we go in the garage. Poor, poor man.

Wayne, it's about time you showed up on the forum again. You need to work on your car and post some updates on your blog!!!!!! :)

[Cobradavid]

higher res pics!!!!!

Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful!

David

[Hankl]

Just one suggestion, since there is a great amount of flowing curvature to the dash, you might look at contouring the radius at ends to the switches
to follow the overall fluidity of the rest of the curves. I think it would add to the overall presentation.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=19773&d=1374112709

Hank :cool:

[JJ'snakepit]

Wow Mike and Julie

I wish I had that dudes skill. Your Dash looks amazing..... When I first saw it I was thinking wood insert, then I read about paint. I have seen some pretty amazing 50's cars painted. Keep up the good work. JJ

[QSL]

thanks hank, that's a good suggestion. We will need to play with that some.

JJ, when we saw your dash, we knew we had to step it up. Unfortunately, we had to pay someone to compete with you. LOL.

Just got these in today. Kinda gimmicky but at the same time, I just love them. They are billet aluminum too. I think they will look great with the gauges. We are going to martins tomorrow. He wants to do a trans cover too, so we need to mount the shifter. More pics tomorrow!!

[tcoon]

Amazing work! For what it's worth I would do the top in a black non reflective material, such as leather or vinyl (mine is painted with truck bed liner and looks surprisingly good); the center flat parts a contrasting color such as your paint or a complimentary hue, then the inserts with engine turning...I like a little brightwork to liven things up, and engine turning is era appropriate. Need to keep the top dark to avoid reflections in the windscreen, that can be a huge distraction. I had my lap timer up there on a plain aluminum bracket and it looked like a light in my eyes. Had to paint it black.

[exwestracer]

Just got these in today. Kinda gimmicky but at the same time, I just love them. They are billet aluminum too. I think they will look great with the gauges. We are going to martins tomorrow. He wants to do a trans cover too, so we need to mount the shifter. More pics tomorrow!!

Haha, you should build a linkage to synchronize all of those! Yes, I'm kidding... Where did you source the vents, Mike? (looks like Vintage Air on the package???)

[QSL]

tcoon... Shhhhhh. Julie hates engine turning. I don't know why. I think because she is a girl. Those are all great suggestions that we have not thought of yet. Well, we did think of the leather top. But Martin really thought it should not be covered to hide the work. But really its just going to depend on what ever Julie wants. I do know for sure a lot of thought will go into this before we pull the trigger because we want it right. This type of feedback helps with the gears moving in our heads. Thanks!

Exwestracer, yea, vintage air! I saw them online on their site and then I found summit sold them. Not cheap. about $60 something each. Seems a little ridiculous for a air vent, but then again, I can resist, cool looking little doo dads. :)

[QSL]

man, the more I look at it the more I like the idea of engine turning on those gauge panel areas. Maybe one day I can send Julie in to make a sandwich and I can crank that mod out. LOL.

[Ray]

...I just wish that I lived closer so that I could see it in person (HB 2014).
Doug

Doug,

If you came down to visit, we could make the hour drive up to Mike and Julie's....

Just a thought.

Ray

[QSL]

here are some pics from todays visit. Dash should be done this week. He plans to deliver the car back by the weekend!

[QSL]

last batch

[SoCalMike]

Hey Guys, I LOVE that dash! It is amazing what he has done. Can't wait to see it in person. Also love those a/c vents, that will set it all off.
Mike, did you get my PM? I'll talk to you guys soon.
Mike

[cobrajj]

Very nice! I like how the dash curve mirrors the steering wheel shape. Well thought out. Jim

[68GT500MAN]

The last photo says it all...Julie is very happy! It all flows together so well and the switch modification Hank mentions would be perfect. Mike, I like the idea of a little ET surface.
Doug

[NukeMMC]

I like the engine-turned faces of the gauge panels also. Maybe carbon fiber veneer over the rest? Hmmm. So many possibilities!

[John Dol]

So when is he becoming a forum vendor?????
That is kick A.... wait family forum. It's very nice.
:D

John

[trichardson]

I wish I had the skills to build a dash like that. That's the coolest dash I've seen yet!

Tom

[QSL]

Hell, I wish I had the skills to make something like that. I have a ton of respect for guys that can pull that off. I am intrigued by it.

[JJ'snakepit]

Hi Mike and Julie...... I liked the idea the one fellow had about rounding off the edges of the Toggle Switches. I love your build thread. I like seeing the progress. Like the vents as well. Keep it up...JJ

[QSL]

Yea, JJ. We have been thinking about that. Right now, they are just in there so he could drill holes. We don't even know if they are the right switches. We really wont know until the dash is painted and more details are done. But that mod is certainly on the list if it fits the bill!

[QSL]

just realized... maybe we need a welcome home coupey 2 party!!

[CraigS]

I love the dash. It makes me think of a production sports car in the same time frame as the coupes. The coupes were race cars so something flat and quick and easy to fab was all it got. But think about a production car the same time. They would want something that looks nice, has some style, and of course room for things like radio and heater controls. But OTOH, they were still making them out of metal and hadn't gotten to things like the molded plastic stuff we have today. So, I think a production Shelby coupe would have ended up looking much like yours. Beautiful.

[MRSQSL]

Week 21:

It rained Saturday!!!! It doesn't rain here in the summer (unless we are taking a car to Jeff's for paint and there is no cover to be found anywhere). The hour or so we spent with Coupey Saturday was accompanied by the sound of raindrops. First stop, though, was to a powder coat shop that morning. I gave up on trying to pick colors online and called a local place Friday. They weren't open Saturday, but the owner lived a few miles away and offered to open the shop just for us!! Yay!!!!! I felt a little bad about that, but he assured me repeatedly it wouldn't be a problem. We arrived right on time and bounded into the place. I was hoping for lots and lots of color samples, but they didn't have many. Turns out it didn't matter because I found a couple colors I liked. I truly want something a smidge lighter, but only a smidge. Assuming I didn't lose my picture posting abilities, somewhere down below you should see a couple powder coated pipes. The black one is a matte color and it would be for the panels. The anthracite-ish one is for the frame. I'm not saying these are the final colors. Simply expressing that this is the current mental image I have stored in my brain. I was originally planning to do the frame in a bright silver, but then I started looking around and I think maybe I might possibly want a slightly darker color. Plus, I may want to use that color on the dash (paint, not powder coat). What if the gauge cluster areas were black (probably not the matte one though) and the face of the dash was anthracite? I'm not sure about the top and bottom, but maybe black as well? Man, it's so hard for me to visualize this stuff and I have no skill with photoshop. I try not to get stressed out and tell myself one color choice at a time then build on that. Anyway, the quote for the powder was much higher than expected, so we drove to another shop that a friend of ours uses. They were closed. Sad face. I called today and it sounds like that may be the place for us. We really can't do anything other than bring him the car. I offered to send pictures, but he said that wouldn't help and he needs to see it in person.

After the trip to look at colors, we went to see Martin. It's so nice of him to meet us there on the weekend. I'm sure it's not his favorite place to be. Anyway, you have seen the pictures. There isn't much to say. We took the seat so I could sit in the car. He is going to do some work on the trans tunnel and wanted to know exactly where the shifter would sit. We brought that along as well and mapped out the best spot where Mike and I could both reach it, but would be optimized for me. I can't even start to tell you what he's doing to the tunnel because he hasn't told us. I'm sure whatever it is will look amazing.

That evening, we did something very special. We met up with the amazing, talented and very friendly Russ Thompson (and incredibly sweet wife). Dinner was enjoyable with lots of great conversation. What truly wonderful people. I had not seen the build thread on his coupe until that morning. I didn't even know one existed. Holy cannoli! His car is amazing. Unfortunately, that now means I have to do a lot more work on mine than I had originally planned. Just look at the details!!!!!!!!

As for the rest of the weekend, we didn't do anything car related. We finally had a chance to go shooting last night though. Yay! It's been way too long. I tried out the new 12ga shotgun. Not for me. Even with light loads, I don't like the recoil. Never fear though. Steve has a circuit judge which he had brought along. It shoots little .410 shotgun shells. I hefted that up and took aim. "Pull" I was able to hit 3 out of probably 10 clays. I know that sounds like a terrible day shooting, but I had never ever tried to shoot skeet or even fired a shotgun before. Plus, there was a giant tarantula walking around somewhere to my left and I was trying really, really hard not to imagine it crawling up my leg.

[QSL]

Dinner with Russ was Kick A**. Great guy and great company. Dinner went by too fast... well for me with all my questions. Probably went on WAY too long for him! LOL

[QSL]

This is a bit funny, but with the talk about the dash not being original and looking wrong... I decided to email Peter and get his opinion on it, really just for funnies. I was really getting curious. Anyway, here is the reply...

Michael…..Jeez, my man…you’re embarrassing me! You are doing a fantastic job! Waaaay better than anything we had time to do in the original six racers. Really, all we did was 90 degree bend from top to front with all the instruments mounted flat in the face. Finish was black crackle or flat black, whatever was handy! You are doing some beautiful work. I look forward to seeing your finished car. Peter Brock

[Jacob McCrea]

^I believe that is enough to resolve the issue once and for all.

[68GT500MAN]

I cant wait to see the console. Russ set the bar quite high (and has lots of results to prove it), but you guy's just might become the new standard for all coupes to be judged against. Keep up the great work.
Doug

[QSL]

thanks for the very kind comment, but I just hope ours can be a fraction as good as Russ's car. Not only is his attention to detail outstanding... he was the first to do a lot of those trick things. Nobody will ever be able to take that away from him. All we can do is our best and have fun doing it!!! ROCK ON!

[QSL]

Here are a few pics I just received from martin. Take a look at the key and headlight switch. Very trick!!! Also those interested... here is his website... http://www.langemartin.com/index.html

[CraigS]

I just looked and can't find a Russ Thompson coupe build thread. Is it current or old? BTW, the console looks great!

[rj35pj]

Here are a few pics I just received from martin. Take a look at the key and headlight switch. Very trick!!! Also those interested... here is his website... http://www.langemartin.com/index.html
Just one word....WOW!
And then a few more....very nice!

[turbonut48]

He may find the key switch location to be annoying. I mounted my key switch low, like that, and the keys were constantly poking me in the leg. I shortened all the keys and that helped a little. I wish I had mounted mine at least an inch higher.

The Nut

[MRSQSL]

I just looked and can't find a Russ Thompson coupe build thread. Is it current or old? BTW, the console looks great!

I didn't know Russ Thompson had a build site until Mike discovered it the other day. His car is gorgeous! Here's the link:
http://www.winkflash.com/photo/public.aspx?u=daytonacp

[MRSQSL]

He may find the key switch location to be annoying. I mounted my key switch low, like that, and the keys were constantly poking me in the leg. I shortened all the keys and that helped a little. I wish I had mounted mine at least an inch higher.

The Nut

Thanks for pointing that out. Since the car is for me and I'm pretty small, I'm hoping it won't be an issue. I won't get to see and sit in Coupey until he finishes which may or may not be this weekend. Could be early next week. Hopefully it won't be a problem. I really like the look of where it is currently.

[QSL]

that is something I did not think about. One thing though. We don't put other keys on our roadster key chain either. Its just the key. So Julie should not have anything hanging, but if she wanted a key chain or something? Will for sure check it out though. Thanks!

[Daytona Dan]

How about push button start with a hidden kill switch?

[Garry Bopp]

Looks like an old Ford flathead V8 block sitting in the background of picture #1. I learned how to drive in a '49 Ford pickup truck with a flathead and my first car was a '51 Ford with flathead V8. Ok, enough nostalgia. The dash is a winner!!

Garry

[QSL]

Yea it is. You will also see a truck in the background. Thats his personal project.

[CDXXVII]

That's one heck of a fabricator you guys found. Nice job on the dash. I can't wait to see it finished.

Hey, how about that Coupe aluminum body on his sight? Is that for you guys as well? :cool: It's only money.

Funny, just realized that it is your aluminum Coupe. Just the little version. :p



Here are a few pics I just received from martin. Take a look at the key and headlight switch. Very trick!!! Also those interested... here is his website... http://www.langemartin.com/index.html

[QSL]

yea, he made us a quarterscale version. I just actually sent it out to another friend for him to finish. He is going to make a stack injection for it on a mini running v8 I have in it. He is also going to put on hydraulic disc brakes and machine the wheels for it. Should be killer!

[NukeMMC]

Really impressed with the perfectly rolled edges. The way he blended the eyebrow of the speedo/tach panel back in the dash is first rate! That console is going to be taking the whole interior over the top. You have another award winner in that car, for sure!

[NukeMMC]

You know, I just figured out that the way the speedo/tach panel is kind of reminds me of a late 50s Corvette, but the rest of it is like a 1962 Jag XKE. This is going to be one very sweet cockpit.

[QSL]

Just got word that the coupe will be back by Thursday. Maybe weds night if we are lucky!

[David Hodgkins]

Looks really, really good Mike. I can't wait to see it!

:)

[MRSQSL]

Week 22:

Very little to report. I didn't get to visit Coupey this last weekend, but Mike finally got out in the garage and rearranged a little. I suspect he shaved about 6 months off my build time by moving the giant fan from in front of the tool box. I had to squish, duck, and/or lunge around the thing before. YAY!!!!!!

The only thing I can think to say is that Mike found some great tow hooks and ordered them. I originally wanted to have red ones, but the red they had was more of a burgundy anodized sort of look. I want fire engine red ones. The plan was to sand and powder coat, but then they arrived and are black and are really pretty and I'm not sure if I want to change them. I was supposed to take a picture and post it, but when I went out to grab them, I discovered someone removed them from the low area where I placed them and lifted them to a spot waaaaaaay above my head. Considering Steve is shorter than I am and Aly is about the same height, my money is on Mike. Grrrrrrr... I will try to have him get them to a lower position tonight so I can snap a shot and post it tomorrow.

I think that's it for the update. Awfully short. I understand from reading the above post (which I knew nothing about until I read it), Coupey may be returning home Wed or Thurs. That's exciting news. Of course that also means we have to pay for the dash. Eeeeeeeeeep!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sure there will be lots of pictures of me smiling in the next few days and then probably a couple of me crying as I hand over money and then back to me smiling when I get to hug the car and visit it whenever I want. We won't be able to work on it much (if at all) this weekend since we are taking Scoopy to a car show Saturday morning and then off to watch Karen run in Fontana. Stay tuned.

[QSL]

got Julie a ladder and put it on wood blocks so she could reach her tow hooks.

Here they are!

[Russ Thompson]

Hey guys, sorry it's taken so long for me to reply, been busy making parts! :-)

Lin and I had a great time meeting the whole Casey family, it's great seeing a family doing so much together! The dash is looking fantastic! I've seen two basic groups of folks building coupes, people like me grew up with the original and longed to build one that honered that memory, the second group is not so restricted! :-), this build falls in that category! It's certainly going to be a sweet and unique build, very cool. Keep up the great work and I hope we can get together again down the road and park the cars side by side.

[68GT500MAN]

Those tow hooks look great, but I am partial to the bright red to make them more visible if they are ever needed. See you guys Saturday at Auto Club Speedway.
Doug

[QSL]

I agree, I think we need to go red. We want the outside of the car to scream "RACE CAR". Want to have people wondering why the hell that thing is on the street :)

See you then! Sounds like there will be a cool size group!

[QSL]

almost done. Should be home tomorrow morning!

[68GT500MAN]

I must ask, what is the large pipe in the second photo for?
Doug

[Timb]

If you look at the first photo it looks like it feeds an AC vent under the dash

[QSL]

Yea it is. There is a second one for the passenger side that's not installed yet.

[Russ Thompson]

Mike, that guy has serious skills! I really like his work. I bet you both will be happy to have it home again.:-)

[QSL]

its back!!!!!

[Pedalmasher]

NICE - Is that your center console exhaust? :}

[QSL]

lol, its just a part sitting there. it needs to be mounted on the passenger side under the dash. But since the body was on, he could not get a drill in there very well. So that's our homework... to install it. :)

[MRSQSL]

NICE - Is that your center console exhaust? :}

Hee, hee. I knew I should've moved it before I took the picture. I was too excited. In fact, I was so thrilled when I saw the trailer pull up, I raced outside and forgot to put my shoes on. D'oh!

[QSL]

came home excited to see coupie again!! Also Julie got a surprise in UPS. Ohhhh yea!!

Oh and a nice shot of stock dash VS new dash...

[jetsbaby]

Very nice. Can't wait to see that dash when it is all done..Going to wrap it in leather? So If you are not going to use the stock dash I know a certain person that would be interested in it and maybe some other coupe parts that you won't be using during your build..Wink..wink.. hint ..hint..Dave.

P.S I got the jigs and today cut the stock bars out in prep for the SIB bars.. I could only work for an hour since it was only 108 today! :(

[QSL]

we are not sure the finish yet. Right now we are thinking a satin black textured powdercoat on the top and a charchoal grey lower that would be the same color as the frame. But we are still a long way away.

The old dash is certainly up for grabs as we wont need it :)

Glad the jigs made it. They really make the job a LOT easier. The hard part for us was getting the angle right on the backs where they meet the rectangle tubing. Thats at a few different angles. Took a long time to get that fit just right!

good luck!

[QSL]

yesterday was a real cool day for us. We did a small car show with a friend in the morning and then went to California speedway to watch Karen and Tom race! Got some nice inspiration. First time we saw toms car in person and WOW, its a really amazing machine with a lot of trick goodies on it! With all the sun and excitement, I was tuckered out at 5 :) By the time we got home, I had a couple slices of pizza and a few beers and fell asleep on the sofa.

[montyals]

You've taken coupe building to a whole other standard of excellence. Your dash is the best I've seen! Love the raw metal look. If you could finish it off like that that would look pretty nice. Love the Ferrari, European look! The side curtains...a great touch! That's what the originals should have looked like.

[jkrueger]

yesterday was a real cool day for us. We did a small car show with a friend in the morning and then went to California speedway to watch Karen and Tom race! Got some nice inspiration. First time we saw toms car in person and WOW, its a really amazing machine with a lot of trick goodies on it! With all the sun and excitement, I was tuckered out at 5 :) By the time we got home, I had a couple slices of pizza and a few beers and fell asleep on the sofa.

That last picture is awesome!

JC

[Rworthy]

I, too, think that dash is an excellent improvement to your coupe.

Looks like there was definitely some track fun this weekend.

Ron

[68GT500MAN]

It was great getting to spend some time talking to Mike and Julie at the track Saturday. You were fed and asleep before I got to Bakersfield!
Doug

[QSL]

lol, Yea, your a maniac!!! Glad you could make it down and we could meet, even though it was just briefly.

[MRSQSL]

Week 23:

I laid on the floor. I sat in a chair. I sat on the sofa. I laid on the sofa. I sat in the Coupe. I read the entire build manual from beginning to end. I stood on a ladder. I climbed back down. I laid on the floor. I sat in a chair with my feet propped on the Coupe. I laid on the floor. This was my Sunday in the garage. Honestly, it's probably not much different than any other garage day for me except that I was alone most of the time. Unfortunately, we were having wifi issues again or still (not sure which). The plan was to work on Coupey and we started out full speed ahead, but then Mike got side tracked by the wifi and the garage was open, so I had to babysit the garage. Yawn.

The only accomplishments were small. Still, I'm proud because at least we did SOMETHING. Mike welded in tabs for my window net. I'm a little afraid the net is going to block too much of my vision and I won't be able to see to change lanes. I guess we'll have to wait and see. If that's the case, I'll keep it down while I drive and throw it up when stopped for long periods of time. The tab welding thing didn't go as smoothly as planned. There is a little grabby thing you have to weld onto the bar itself so that you can actuate the disengage function. It has to weld right next to an aluminum thing which ended up essentially evaporating. Mike solved the problem and it looks great, but not a fun chore and it took much longer than expected. Safety police should stop reading now. I had the job of sitting in the car and holding the rod while he tack welded in the tabs. I had gloves on and work boots and my hair was in braids and safety glasses installed. I figured I was good. Mike slammed down the trigger and wham. Sparks flew. He got one in his shoe which made me giggle just a little since he did a funky jiggle dance. Snicker, snicker. He cooled off and hit the trigger again. I closed my eyes and squished as far away as possible. "I'm on fire!!!!!!!" I shrieked. He guffawed and told me I was completely fine. A spark must've landed on my shirt. Learned my lesson. I moved waaaaaaay away from the welding area and held the rod long distance for all future welds. For the record, I was never on fire and there was a fire extinguisher nearby for safety and it only stung for a few seconds with no lasting damage.

I removed the trunk aluminum. Okay, Aly, Mike and I removed the trunk aluminum. I suspect we will need to cut that big flat piece into smaller pieces if we ever want to reinstall it. The initial plan was to start welding in the cross bars for the trunk area, but then the wifi thing happened (still having problems as I type this but my computer is connected directly to the thingymajigger, so I can work even though everyone else is suffering). With the trunk aluminum removed, my job was to temporarily install the fuel tank to make sure nothing would interfere and see if there was room for a dropped trunk area. The gas tank was on a little shelf thing waaaaaay up by the ceiling. I climbed a ladder, but discovered almost immediately that I'm still afraid of heights and the gas tank box is too heavy for me to easily move. If I could somehow manage to super strength myself and get it lowered, it could potentially fall and knock the TV off the wall or tip the other way and crash into the engine on the stand and knock the stacks harshly onto the concrete. Ponder, ponder, ponder. Yeah. I decided to wait for Mike to come back out. This required more laying on the floor, sitting in the chair, etc. I read enough of the coupe manual to know that I wouldn't be able to use the straps to install the tank because the body was still on and there was no way that was going to work out. Once Mike returned, we were able to wedge the tank up into the car. This lead to a lot of standing and staring. 1) Put the cross bars in, but no drop trunk. 2) Put drop trunk in, but no cross bars. 3) Cut out lots of bars that are probably super important and put in the cross bars AND the drop trunk, but a smaller and more to the left trunk which would be big enough to hold a tool bag which is what I really want. It'd be nice to have a compartment for necessary stuff rather than being able to see it strewn around the back hatch area. I decided I could sadly give up my cross bars for the necessary trunk storage, but Mike agreed that we both want the bars so we'll have to find a way to make it work. Yay. My hero!!!!! By this time, though, it was around 5:00 and I was tired and hungry and hot. It felt as if the swamp cooler wasn't working as well as usual especially since it was only like 90 outside. It wasn't until I went over to turn it off and move the giant contraption so Mike could pull Scoopy back in that I realized whoever turned it on put it on max vent instead of max cool. D'oh!!!!!!!

Saturday was a lot of fun. Most of the story is roadster related, so I'll update that thread next. After the car show that morning, we ventured out to Fontana to watch Tom and Karen race their coupes. What nice people!!!!! Lots of roadster people were there as well and it was fun to see everyone hanging out, working on the cars, etc. This was the first time we had met Tom. What a super, wonderful, amazingly nice guy and he didn't seem to mind we were taking up space in his pit and shooting lots of pics of his car while he was trying to fix stuff to get it back on the track. Both cars had issues with overheating and gauges. We only got to see one "race", but there is nothing like seeing two Coupes side by side on the track. How many people can say they've seen that recently? I actually remembered to bring my camera, battery and memory card, so I was able to get some pics. We were invited to hang out afterwords, but Mike and I hadn't eaten and it was late and the kids were home alone. Sadly we left. Thanks to Karen and Tom for letting us hover and to everyone else for being so nice.

[Rodster]

I like the message from Peter Brock - awesome. And dinner with Russ!

So, just saying - what about a steering wheel like this one - to match the details on your toggle switches? That would make the awesome dash look even more awesomer!

Something like this, from a similar car in my past:

20369

(Picture from http://www.superchevy.com/features/impala/sucp_0912_1961_chevy_impala_ss_clone/photo_06.html

[tcoon]

Many thanks to Julie and Mike for making the trek to Fontana this weekend! You have no idea how valued the support from the FFR community is. We always love having fans and it's great to hear your ideas and suggestions as we work through the challenges of making these street cars live under the stress of racing conditions. Keep up the great work on your new coupe!

[exwestracer]

I like the message from Peter Brock - awesome. And dinner with Russ!

So, just saying - what about a steering wheel like this one - to match the details on your toggle switches? That would make the awesome dash look even more awesomer!

Something like this, from a similar car in my past:

20369

(Picture from http://www.superchevy.com/features/impala/sucp_0912_1961_chevy_impala_ss_clone/photo_06.html

Just FYI, the early 70's MGs had a beautiful 3 spoke wheel with a bolt on hub and thick rim. Looks a lot like an early Corvette wheel but much smaller. I'm modifying one for the coupe I'm working on now.

[MRSQSL]

Week 24:

Time sure flies. It's already been like 6 months and we haven't done diddly squat. Sigh. I am still determined to do this in 2 years. Just need to hurry up and do stuff.

This update will be short and sweet. We went camping. It was a great trip, but not really good for getting the car done. Mike swears he is going to do some work on it this weekend. Hopefully powder coat will follow shortly and then I can bedazzle you all with my technical and mechanical (in)ability. Also want to say thanks to Frank who apparently stopped by over the weekend to visit. Sorry we weren't home, but please don't let that stop you from coming back again.

Wow, too short for an update. I'll have to throw in something else...fishing. We took the kids out on the lake. Steve caught a fish almost immediately, but the darn thing got away. Mike spent the rest of the morning cursing the fish. The little creature actually fought enough to break Steve's pole! I didn't even know that was possible. After two hours, Aly had caught one, Steve had caught one and I had caught one (Mike wasn't fishing). Not one of those fish made it out of the water and into our boat. Time for new fishing poles I think. Either we kept catching the Loch Ness Monster or we were using really old substandard equipment. Considering one or both of the rods may possibly have been mine when I was an adorable little child, I'm leaning towards the substandard explanation. Now I want fish for dinner tonight...mmmmmmm fish.

[CraigS]

They have fish at the grocery store! ha, ha. And it will only take about 2 hours out of coupe work to go to the store and cook the fish AND eat it! This will sound pretty weird coming from a guy who left the house at 630AM Sunday to hang around a macadam parking lot until 2PM just to get 4 minutes of autocrossing in but... you have WAY more patience than I do if you enjoy fishing.

[MRSQSL]

They have fish at the grocery store! ha, ha. And it will only take about 2 hours out of coupe work to go to the store and cook the fish AND eat it! This will sound pretty weird coming from a guy who left the house at 630AM Sunday to hang around a macadam parking lot until 2PM just to get 4 minutes of autocrossing in but... you have WAY more patience than I do if you enjoy fishing.

Haa, haaa! You sound EXACTLY like Mike. We have a small fishing lake very close to the house and it happens to be almost across the street from a grocery store. Each time we drive by, Mike starts yelling that you can get fish cheaper and easier (and already cleaned) at the grocery store. Fortunately, the lake we took the kids to last weekend has fish that must be starving. Within 5 minutes, they were biting. Same thing happened the time before that. No patience required. As for the autocrossing, you have way more man parts than I do. Just saying. People keep telling me autocross is fun. LIARS!!!!!!! The last thing I want to do is go fast around turns. Heck no. Straight is the only time speed is allowed.

[SoCalMike]

Went over to give Mike and Julie a hand with the coupe yesterday and I was able to see that dash in person. All I can say is that the pictures do not do it any justice, that dash is absolutely awesome and you have to see it in person to get the full spectrum of how nice it came out. Can't wait to see it with the final finish on it. We worked on the car all day just to weld in one little plate... LOL. Had a blast hangin with those two. If you have had the pleasure of meeting these two great people and spending some time with them you understand how funny they are and they keep you laughing all day. Can't wait to get down there again to get some more done. I think its getting close for powder coat, but I'm sure they will keep adding those cool little touches that will make it an amazing car when finished.
Mike and I also went out for a ride in the Cobra, WOW!!! What an Awsome peice of machinery. Makes me want my car even worse, now I really can't wait. Thanks Mike, that was cool.

[frankeeski]

SCMike, Julie only lets Mike drive in a straight line. One day you'll have to venture one city over here to Upland and we can let you experience a few twisties through the Mt. Baldy loop. I'll make your eyes bleed :D , just kidding. Come on over and I'll buy you a beer and talk shop. Mike, Julie and their kids are a great family, you'll never find a more genuine bunch.