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| 1 September 2004
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The PMC arrives in Tacoma, Washington and is
transferred to a road carrier for further transport to Dallas. We are
anxiously awaiting her arrival!
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| 7 September 2004 | It is 7:30AM, and the delivery truck is parked
in front of the office. It is hard to believe that she is so silent. The
leather will need some tender care, and a good dose cleaning with some
soap and a good amount of Leatherique. We will see what the results
bring. In addition, some carpets will need to be re-glued to the walls,
and she will look a lot younger. The black enamel paint shows serious
aging and will need attention. The shifting is extremely easy and
smooth, brakes work fine and the engine idles nicely at what sounds like
300RPM. Shall we take her to the Texas CCCA meet in Arlington on Saturday? Compared to DLW72, she is very roomy up front, and the room in the passenger compartment is respectable as well.
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| 8 September 2004 | We take her for her maiden voyage. First stop is
the gas station to fill her up. Onto dinner. One noticeable item is that
the windows are no longer rattle-free. A bit of smoke comes out of the
exhaust during the drive, and the R100 headlights are not operable. The
engine is probably a sticky valve, and an oil change
over the next few days and in some 100 miles later might resolve the
issue. The engine purrs incredibly.
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| 11 September 2004
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It is time to take WVA76 on the road. We are off
to Arlington, some 30 plus miles away on the highway. The ride to the
CCCA event goes very well. She runs incredibly well, and the legroom is
great. On the way home we blow a hole in the old exhaust and the ride becomes a bit louder, but still comfortable.
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| October 2004
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It has been incredibly busy at work, and all I
had time for this month was treating the leather interior. Based on
advise of Hilborn Interiors, we washed the leather with regular Ivory
bar soap and washed and washed until the towels came away clean! On to
rinsing and finally a few generous coats of McGuiars' leather
treatment and conditioner. It seems that only the front seat cushions need replacing, the rest of the leather is in remarkable shape. New springs in the seats will add to the seating height and make the ride even more enjoyable.
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| 11 - 15 November 2004 | Dr. Ralph arrives in town and the first thing to
be done is to give the car a full evaluation. I have an idea what work needs to be done, but the car has such character that it is important to have an expert evaluate WVA76 so that she can continue to give us pleasure for decades to come. Only with Ralph's expertise can one set priorities in the right order. The items typed in light text were completed during this week. Under the right-hand side bonnet: The engine needs a good wash down to be able to see all issues Head gasket needs to be replaced The rear rocker cover nut needs to be changed to original The choke needs to be rewired and connected properly Fuel flex line is on its last legs Steering box leaks oil Clean up wiring for the turn indicator system to hide them better Rubber gas excluder on steering column is completely cracked Non-original coil on the car Replace top and bottom radiator hoses Add thermostat Replace belt Under the left-hand side bonnet: Replace heater hoses Spark plugs and high tension wires replace and reroute Replace manifold gaskets and replace nuts with correct ones Side covers need new gaskets Front engine mount needs replacing Give this side a good cleaning as well Head needs to be painted black Replace gasket on bijur pump New radiator cap and seal Under the car: Need new gaiters Rear left shock is leaking Wrong and rusting exhaust Thrust washers are gone Rear engine mount is worn Wash down battery and frame with baking soda and hot water Rebuild brake master cylinder Front springs need attention Replace anti-roll bar Bottom pivot pins Replace top bushings Replace coil springs Wash down entire chassis
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11 - 15 November 2004 |
During the week we manage to replace the rear and both front engine
mounts; replace the brake master cylinder with a re-sleeved unit;
replace the gaskets on the side panels and the exhaust manifold; remove,
clean and re-install the water pump with a thermostat addition. We added
Bars-Leak to stop a tiny leak in the cooling system. The test drive shows the results immediately. The car stops on a dime and the rattle of the windows has been greatly reduced by the new engine mounts. Still to be done are the spark plugs, replacing the steering box grease, heater hoses, front suspension, re-arching of the rear leaf springs, spark plug wires, steering column gas excluder (gasket on the firewall), head gasket, and ordering of a new proper exhaust system. We have ordered five new tires and tubes. Hopefully we will have those within a month to be able to put her on the road again.
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November 2004
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One item that we will try to do during the winter is described by a
member of the
RROC in Australia. We have Ralph coming back sometime in January or February when we will continue with the major work (head gasket and front-end). In the meantime, we will tackle the smaller items ourselves.
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December 2004 |
Ordered and replaced all 5 tyres with the correct size. Of course,
we get a flat not even ten feet from the office! Replaced the flat tube,
and voila she drives like a champ.
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17 - 19 January 2005
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Under the right-hand side bonnet: The engine needs a good wash down to be able to see all issues Head gasket needs to be replaced The rear rocker cover nut needs to be changed to original The choke needs to be rewired and connected properly Steering box leaks oil Clean up wiring for the turn indicator system to hide them better Rubber gas excluder on steering column is completely cracked Non-original coil on the car Under the left-hand side bonnet: Replace heater hoses Spark plugs and high tension wires replace and reroute Give this side a good cleaning as well Head needs to be painted black Replace gasket on bijur pump Under the car: Need new gaiters Rear left shock is leaking Wrong and rusting exhaust Wash down battery and frame with baking soda and hot water Front springs need attention Bottom pivot pins Replace top bushings Replace coil springs Wash down entire chassis
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| 2006 | Decided to give the car a major mechanical restoration. It is not my intent to do a complete restoration, but mainly to make the car completely dependable and replace any rotted wood under the running boards. The wings and rear fenders will be removed for painting. See details HERE. | ||||
