Well, it’s been about 2 months since I have blogged, and the calls have started coming in to make sure I’m still alive…
My favorite was from the customer whose shell is in the rotisserie now – “Your last blog posting, “It just never gets old” – is starting to get a bit old… That cracked me up!
YES – I’m still alive – and just busy beyond the ability to blog. The Donovan bonnet and race trip really took a bite out of me. I was working around the clock, not getting enough sleep, and letting lots of other things slide while it was going on. Once it was over, I was playing catch up for about a week, and then Janie and the kids moved to the cottage for the Summer – opening up a whole new can of worms.
I know that probably makes me sound like some rich guy – I’m not – it’s actually the reason I’m poor! Most people around here have a “beach house” if they have a second home – which costs a small fortune. We have a small 3-bedroom cottage in upstate New York on the St. Lawrence River where Janie grew up. It’s fabulous, was very reasonable to purchase 10 years ago, and the kids and her move there every Summer for 10 weeks – we love it! The downside is that it is 405 miles away… – but worth the trip!
SO – in the Summer, I always think I’m going to get alot done because the family is away and I can work nights. But what really happens is that at night, I do all of the stuff that Janie usually does – like feed myself, and the cat, and do my laundry, cut the grass, etc… Then I go up on weekends so I’m not logging any weekend hours in the shop, and then there is the travel time back and forth…
This year was Janie’s 40th birthday, our 15th wedding anniversary, and 10 years since we bought “The Camp”. So I decided to have a surprise party for her up there to celebrate. Well, that got bigger and bigger, and that’s where all of my blogging time went! I’m just getting back from that, and it was great – and she WAS surprised – a real feat!
They will be back home again in three weeks, and things should start to get back to normal and the blogging will pick up. I will probably do one of my famous “10 blogs at once” days to catch up on the work we have been doing all Summer. We’ve redone the Donovan 61 bonnet to make it even better and as good as it could be before paint. We also completely rebuilt two other bonnets – an excellent original ’66 Series 1 2+2 bonnet, and a DISASTROUS ’68 Series 1.5 bonnet that we also converted to Series 1 covered headlamps. We’re working on a coupe shell in the rotisserie that is THE WORST condition shell I have done to date, but it’s quickly becoming THE BEST – since there is so much new metal in this thing now!
So hang in there – things will be back to normal soon. My life is CRAZY and very busy, and that goes beyond the E-Types…
I’m actually thinking very seriously about making some big changes and trying to simplify some things, and so I’m pretty sure that I am going to start selling off some or all of my “projects” – since I’m just not touching them – and with the age of my kids and the business, it could be 20 years before I do… So – if you’re interested in any of the following, let me know!
Enjoy the rest of your Summer! – Chuck
1919 Dodge Roadster – runs, drives, tagged, insured – HPOF condition – lots of fun!
1927 Paige-Detroit 6-75 2-man board-track racer – shortened, narrowed frame, includes two of everything – two original Paige engines (biggest engines built by Paige), two trans, two of all accessories, 3 radiators, etc. Frame, complete suspension, wheels, etc. all done, mocked up, and in etch primer. Engines are rebuildable or could even run as-is. Everything is there except the body itself – I was going to form that from Aluminum for low weight. Does include an original steel hood and firewall. Was being built as a Great Race car.
1959 Devin wide-mouth, wide-body shell. 96″ wheelbase. I was going to build a tube chassis and use E-Type suspension, brakes, steering, etc. You could use an E-Type drivetrain as well, or I do have a 1970 10:1 500 cubic inch Cadillac engine for this – includes a manual trans flywheel and bellhousing. I also have a complete Series 2 E-Type coupe donor car with matching numbers and a running engine and clean title that could be used for this – we used the body shell and bonnet from that car for another project.
1956 John Deere 420 Crawler-Loader. Yes – I have a bulldozer… It is up at camp. I bought it on a whim about 5 years ago because my late grandfather was a bulldozer mechanic and it seemed cool. Steering clutches were seized – how hard could that be? Well, I found out… Steering clutches and final drives are now excellent – undercarriage is at 100% (fully worn but still functional), weighs 10,000 lbs – will lift about that much too!
1985 Corvette Coupe – bought from the original owner. Has a digital dash that is on the fritz, and the overdrive wiring has some issues – but we can fix both of those things here. 148,000 miles, but runs like it is new – never had anyting in it except Mobil 1. Bone stock except for a Centerforce dual-friction clutch and a Magnaflow exhaust. Needs paint, but no bodywork. Ran 14.6 at Cecil County Dragway as it sits – with 136k miles on it – FAST!
