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The
2001 show season is over, it’s now the end of January 2002 and I’ve been busy.
This is the time of year when most car people are redoing or freshening up
their cars and I’m no different. There
were so many details that I rushed through last year that I had a lot of things
to clean up. One thing that I wanted to do this winter was to have a new
transaxle built. Eventually I want to have a close ratio positraction transaxle
built to go along with the blown 2180 c-c motor that will come next but the poor
state of the economy won’t allow that this year. Maybe next year will be
better. So this year I just pulled the motor and trans to give them the once
over with the cleaning rag. The trans had a few leaks that I’ve attempted to
seal up but that will be it for now.
The engine compartment was the biggest
project of this winter. In all of the hurry last year the engine compartment
suffered the most. I did not finish the inside of the bed at all. The wiring
was pretty sloppy so I was embarrassed to open the tonneau cover to show anyone
the motor. So this winter the inside of the bed got a complete make over. All
of the extra holes that were drilled in the bed were filled sanded and painted.
All of the aluminum was polished and I fabricated a new storage box / trunk.
The new box is lined with carpet and water resistant. Then to top everything
off I fabricated a new tonneau cover. The original cover was a one-piece
fiberglass design that had to be completely removed to work on or show the
motor. The new one is made from polished aluminum with a locking door for the
storage compartment and another locking door with gas springs for the engine.
So you can bet this year the engine will be shown.
Another change that’s been made this
year is the seat. I’ve built an aluminum seat well that drops through the floor
so that I can make the bottom seat cushion much thinner with springs that will
make for a much more comfortable ride and I sit much lower in the car.
I have also built my new stainless
steel fuel tank with sending unit. The tank holds nearly nine gallons and what
a treat having a gas gauge.
Another change that I made is the
brake and clutch pedal pads. I wanted the store bought stainless steel with
rubber inserts but that’s more money that I didn’t want to spend so I machined
my own from solid stainless steel in a meat tenderizer design. They look pretty
cool and nobody else has a set like them.
Like I’ve said before these cars are
never done.
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