tips I've learned so far

• the thickness of the cardboard from a matchbook is about the desired thickness of the gap for the points
• stop trying to keep track of the amount of money spent on this project. after my 4th trip to the parts store to return/exchange/buy parts, I've already lost track. I am not a fan of spreadsheets for "fun".
• PBR and Corvair restoration go hand in hand.

backseat clean-up

Last night I continued cleaning up the interior. I ripped the remaining bits of soft top from the convertible frame and started to vacuum out the backseat area. As I did so, I realized that the back seat was loose. The entire seat has rotted apart. All that's left is the springs/frame and the vinyl shell. All of the stuffing is gone.

I removed the seat and started to vacuum up the nesting materials that were there, but then decided that I had better wait until I find a mask of sorts. The possibility of hentavirus is not my definition of a good time....though the nesting material looks more like squirrel to me than it does mouse...either way, I'm postponing further vacuuming until I get a good mask.

more parts store fun!

So. Things to remember when going to the parts store:

1. though the chassis is a '63, the engine is a '61. yes, there is a different set of part numbers between the years.
2. bring the original pieces with you to compare/contrast before buying

Spark plug wires are best purchased as OEM parts. The parts store equivalent is actually for a VW engine and wont fit properly - not to mention, they aren't long enough.

We have made progress though. I cleaned out the area of the car where the top folds into. All of the nesting materials and the rotted cardboard liner are scraped and scooped out. The broken plastic window is gone - resulting in the first blood sacrifice! The entire area is vacuumed out.

I brought in the vinyl cover for that area and applied half a bottle of Mother's Back to Black to it. Most of it looks gorgeous. The "arms" though are black, but still dull. I'm not sure I can make them shine like the rest. We'll have to see. For now that piece is safely tucked into the basement while the rest of the car comes together.

a success of sorts

tonight, after dinner, we headed to the garage to check out the situation.

Jim gave me with a "present". It was a steering wheel lock "club" that was left with the car by the former owners. My first thought was: "ooh! a club to beat someone? but it has hooks?" hmmmm....

after that, we got down to removing spark plugs and wires. my trying to loosen one of them resulted in my arm being jammed into lid latch. that should leave a nice bruise.

there was a multitude of errors, however: the plug wires I bought were too short, there was a broken wire in the distributor, and the grounding strap I brought home was the wrong type. I'm currently 2 for 4 on the parts count. at least the spark plugs and the distributor cap were right.

Jim hooked up a set of jumper cables as a make shift grounding strap and then had me turn the key. at first, there was only a generator light on the dash, and nothing else. then a few clicks. Jim wasn't happy. I turned off the key, and went back to the engine. there was smoke! Jim had something connected incorrectly. he reconnected it all and I tried again. this time, i opened the car door. there were interior lights! there were brake lights! I turned the key and it turned over briefly. Then there were headlights, and wipers! no turn signals or reverse lights, but we're thinking they are easy fixes.

we were giddy with those discoveries and decided to call it a night. a quick call to Baxter's confirmed that they had all of the parts in stock. I'll be heading back there in the morning.

other notes:
 - spark plug number 4 was wet with oil. Jim says that this is probably gasket seeping and not coming from a cylinder, so this is passable...for now...

more tomorrow!

the move, the plan, and how I ended up here

Our move to Portland was based on a series of desires:

1. less traffic
2. better weather
3. to be closer to race tracks
4. better environment for our daughter

Upon settling into Portland, we would achieve these goals:

1. keep urban chickens
2. I wanted to work from home
3. dive into my art
4. acquire an "in town" car that was funky and fun (aka "bomb around" car)

We officially moved to Portland in July.

The chickens were soon to follow, but once we purchased a house, the chickens had to go, as there was not enough lawn to sustain them.

 I have been heavily involved in a few art projects since I crossed the Columbia, and I'm enjoying every second of it. Check out my work on the Paris in the 20th Century web comic, and my personal illustration and design work.

I left my office job in Redmond and became a telecommute PM.

The only part left for full conversion to Portlandia was the addition of a red convertible bomb around car. I almost ended up with a Thing, but fate wouldn't have it. One day a friend sent me a Craigslist link to an ad for a red Corvair convertible at a price I could afford. Jim went to see it and handed over the cash. It sat at its previous owner's house until we were moved into our new place. And then it came home.


The plan is to get it running first and then work on the interior and finally the exterior when time and money allow. I just came home with a box from Baxter's Auto Supply with $90 worth of get it up and running and pseudo shiny bits.

Today the restoration begins.

cost:
$1200 for the car
$90.40 for plugs, wires, battery cable, distributor cap (plus cleaning supplies)