We’ve actually done a few things post-show…nothing mind-blowing, but a renewed vigor to get things done goes a long way!
While we were at the show, we saw some neat ideas too, so the drive back was a series of discussions around what we wanted to change in our plan. We’ve done a bit of level-setting. We’ve regrouped. We’ve created revised lists. Now that we have four months till the next show, we’re slowing down a bit and taking stock of what we really want to get done prior to that.
The plan is to drive the car to the show, so the engine, front suspension and brakes are high on the priority list. Those need to get done first so that we can drive the car around some in order to be comfortable taking it on a trip.
Toward that end, we’ve dismantled the front suspension. The Gearhead has been pulling off parts to determine if that are still usable. If they are, I’m taking a grinder to them to clean them up a bit. Also, grinders are fun! If you don’t own one, please remedy that at your earliest convenience. The parts that I have done are nice and shiny, no more grime or caked-on dirt and grease.
The plan is to paint the inside of the engine bay white and the front suspension will get a coat of that as well just to jazz it up some (hence the other reason for the cleaning).
We have already gotten the spare tire mounted and balanced so that’s ready to get strapped into the trunk as well.
And we have all our parts ordered (motor mounts, anyone?) and on their way so once we have those, things will start to happen fairly quickly. Looking forward to its maiden drive around the block!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Kadett Chronicles 18: Roadtrip Rundown
So we’re back from the car show and let me just say that I had a fabulous time at my first-ever related experience. Here’s the 411 on how the trip went:
The drive out east was fairly uneventful (if you don’t count the rush at the prospect of getting out of dodge for a while). And we had beautiful weather for the long drive. I don’t know what it is about roadtrips with The Gearhead, but I always have a great time just watching the road and talking about whatever. Doesn’t even matter where we are going really; getting there is more than half the fun!
We spent the night in the comfort of a fellow Opeler’s house…along with about 6 other Opelers headed out to the show. The next morning was an early rise, but we were all up and at ‘em, ready to hit the road in a caravan. We picked up more Opelers along the six hour drive to show. I think we must have had about 15 cars in the caravan at one point.
Made it to the show without any mechanical issues whatsoever. Checked into the hotel (and were told that we were given a room with a “good” shower by the hotel staff, whatever that means) and took a quick nap before dinner and drinks with the Opeler group.
The next day we headed out to the show and spent a grand weekend in what I can only compare to a state fair. There were lots of import cars to run around and ogle as well various fair food and vendors (much like a swap meet) to peruse. I discovered a love of peanut butter ripple ice cream at the fairgrounds and I will never be the same. There was even a variety of bands that played.
Basically, we parked the car with the other Opels and then took out the lawn chairs and sat around chatting with people the whole time. A few breaks in there to tour other cars, get some grub, of course, but for the most part it was a lawn party with some really nice people.
Most of the car clubs had big party tents set up on one end of their designated spot on the fairgrounds too, for registration, in case it rained, and/or to provide some shade (it was hot and lots of sunscreen ensued). The Opel club also did an auction of car parts and other Opel collectibles in order to raise money to host the web site that everyone uses to communicate.
Since most of the Opelers were staying at the same hotel, we reserved a conference room for everyone to get together for a few drinks and shoot the breeze some more. People brought microbrews from their local breweries to share too and it was nice to get to know them on a non-car level. This is one great group of folks.
Beyond that, I took tons of pictures (of course) while at the show…over 1200 actually. I’ve been whittling that down and cleaning up the images this past week. Check them out!
We are definitely going to the show in September; this one is a little closer to home so we’re hoping to drive our finished Kadett there. Here’s hoping!!
The drive out east was fairly uneventful (if you don’t count the rush at the prospect of getting out of dodge for a while). And we had beautiful weather for the long drive. I don’t know what it is about roadtrips with The Gearhead, but I always have a great time just watching the road and talking about whatever. Doesn’t even matter where we are going really; getting there is more than half the fun!
We spent the night in the comfort of a fellow Opeler’s house…along with about 6 other Opelers headed out to the show. The next morning was an early rise, but we were all up and at ‘em, ready to hit the road in a caravan. We picked up more Opelers along the six hour drive to show. I think we must have had about 15 cars in the caravan at one point.
Made it to the show without any mechanical issues whatsoever. Checked into the hotel (and were told that we were given a room with a “good” shower by the hotel staff, whatever that means) and took a quick nap before dinner and drinks with the Opeler group.
The next day we headed out to the show and spent a grand weekend in what I can only compare to a state fair. There were lots of import cars to run around and ogle as well various fair food and vendors (much like a swap meet) to peruse. I discovered a love of peanut butter ripple ice cream at the fairgrounds and I will never be the same. There was even a variety of bands that played.
Basically, we parked the car with the other Opels and then took out the lawn chairs and sat around chatting with people the whole time. A few breaks in there to tour other cars, get some grub, of course, but for the most part it was a lawn party with some really nice people.
Most of the car clubs had big party tents set up on one end of their designated spot on the fairgrounds too, for registration, in case it rained, and/or to provide some shade (it was hot and lots of sunscreen ensued). The Opel club also did an auction of car parts and other Opel collectibles in order to raise money to host the web site that everyone uses to communicate.
Since most of the Opelers were staying at the same hotel, we reserved a conference room for everyone to get together for a few drinks and shoot the breeze some more. People brought microbrews from their local breweries to share too and it was nice to get to know them on a non-car level. This is one great group of folks.
Beyond that, I took tons of pictures (of course) while at the show…over 1200 actually. I’ve been whittling that down and cleaning up the images this past week. Check them out!
We are definitely going to the show in September; this one is a little closer to home so we’re hoping to drive our finished Kadett there. Here’s hoping!!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Kadett Chronicles 17: Roadtrip!
Just a quick note to say bon voyage. We're off to the car show tonight! Woot! It might be sans Kadett, but as the true Opelers tell us, these things are more about the people than the cars. I'm looking forward to meeting The Gearhead's Opel gang. More to come post-show!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Kadett Chronicles 16: Progress report (5/17-5/18)
The Gearhead has continued to work on the engine and during that process discovered that both motor mounts and the transmission cross-member are shot. And it sure doesn’t make much sense to drop a new motor into the car without any working mounting points. Basically the only thing holding the engine in the car at that point is gravity which doesn’t make for ideal travelling conditions.
On top of that, some of the parts we had ordered from Germany still aren’t here yet. I hate how you can’t count on things you can’t control. Grr.
So the project has not only stalled, it’s come to a screeching halt. The original challenge was to get the car done in 30 days. Granted, it was a tall order I admit. But if we had been able to pull the engine sooner and the parts came through the mail on time, we probably would have made it happen.
At this point, we’re not going to be able to bring the car to the show. There’s just no way to get it done. We ran out of time. I’m extremely frustrated by this, but there’s nothing much I can do about it I guess.
The new plan is to wait for the parts to get here and then put the car together. At least we’ll be able to drive it around for a while and work out any kinks before the next show. There are two coming up – one in California in August and one in Illinois in September. Maybe we’ll be able to drive it to one or both of those.
I’ll continue to post our progress as well as other car-related bits as they come up.
On top of that, some of the parts we had ordered from Germany still aren’t here yet. I hate how you can’t count on things you can’t control. Grr.
So the project has not only stalled, it’s come to a screeching halt. The original challenge was to get the car done in 30 days. Granted, it was a tall order I admit. But if we had been able to pull the engine sooner and the parts came through the mail on time, we probably would have made it happen.
At this point, we’re not going to be able to bring the car to the show. There’s just no way to get it done. We ran out of time. I’m extremely frustrated by this, but there’s nothing much I can do about it I guess.
The new plan is to wait for the parts to get here and then put the car together. At least we’ll be able to drive it around for a while and work out any kinks before the next show. There are two coming up – one in California in August and one in Illinois in September. Maybe we’ll be able to drive it to one or both of those.
I’ll continue to post our progress as well as other car-related bits as they come up.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Kadett Chronicles 15: Progress report (5/13-5/16)
Lots to report today...I had meant to post throughout the weekend, but time really got away from us. Plus, The Gearhead caught a cold somewhere along the way so we were less productive than we hoped we would be this past weekend. Friday night was spent sans car at all; The Gearhead slept from the minute he got home from work till around 9:30pm and was back in bed by 11pm. So we lost some time there, but he really needed his rest so it was for the best. We both were up bright and early on Saturday and Sunday though.
Here’s what we got done:
The floor carpet was cut, sewed and installed. This is not a hard process, it just takes a while. We bought a roll of brown paper at the local home improvement store and it worked great for creating the template we used to cut the carpet down to size.
That paper also doubled as a backdrop for spray paint work that had to be done. We painted several things a matte black including the dash, cigarette tray, glove box and the gas can.
I finished upholstering the back seat side panels and rear shelf. And I have to say – what a pain. Granted, that was our fault for the design we came up with, but still. It does look great in the end though…very sporty with the alternating black vinyl and blue outdoor canvas fabric stripes. Then we installed these panels. This was another challenge because of the padding that we added to the panels. It made for some tight fits when it came time to put the back seat in. But it all worked out, just took more time.
We put in the door windows and also finally got to install the door panels too. After they went on (with a million tiny clips by the way – ugh), we installed the door pulls, window cranks, door handles and lock pulls. Everything is chrome except for the door handles and lock pulls; those are black. It all looks nice and polished and shiny!
Speaking of…I cleaned and polished just about everything under the sun. If a part had to go back on or in the car, it was dirt-free going in! From the bumpers to the hood ornament, everything got some spit and elbow grease. My hands are all dry and scratchy from all the cleaning supplies and water rinsing. It was a beautiful sunny weekend though and it was so nice to be able to spread out and lay everything on the grass to dry.
Most of the window weather stripping is in. All the new dark black is really impressive against the white/blue colors of the car. It really pops.
Pretty much everything is installed on the car now. Even the headlights and taillights are hooked up and ready to go. The only essential things missing are the driver’s side seat (need the room to work on the steering column and pedals) and the windows.
What’s left? The engine. We took out the front suspension last night so that we can get the engine dropped in. Hook that back up to the suspension and install the ignition switch and let her rip! Not so fast…also need to replace the shocks and work on the brakes. And we need to get the spare tire mounted and balanced. So basically all the mechanicals. Nothing like cutting it close.
On top of that, we re-thought our transportation out to the show. We were going to pull the car behind The Gearhead’s S10 via tow bar. But now that we won’t get a chance to drive the car around some to get a feel for wheel bearings and whatnot, we decided to trailer it. What that means is that we need to borrow my father’s trailer and his truck to pull it (the little 4-cylander S10 won’t cut it). My father and his toys live 2 hours away from us. So now we have to head there tomorrow night to pick those up. Which means one less day to work on stuff. There’s never a dull moment!
I have to say that I’m surprised at how much longer everything took to get done this weekend. I’m not sure if that’s because we were doing such a great job or if it was really just that hard. If we had another week, that would have been perfect. As it stands now, we’ll likely not get to everything. That’s ok though. There’s another show coming up this fall so it’ll give everyone something new to see.
Here’s what we got done:
The floor carpet was cut, sewed and installed. This is not a hard process, it just takes a while. We bought a roll of brown paper at the local home improvement store and it worked great for creating the template we used to cut the carpet down to size.
That paper also doubled as a backdrop for spray paint work that had to be done. We painted several things a matte black including the dash, cigarette tray, glove box and the gas can.
I finished upholstering the back seat side panels and rear shelf. And I have to say – what a pain. Granted, that was our fault for the design we came up with, but still. It does look great in the end though…very sporty with the alternating black vinyl and blue outdoor canvas fabric stripes. Then we installed these panels. This was another challenge because of the padding that we added to the panels. It made for some tight fits when it came time to put the back seat in. But it all worked out, just took more time.
We put in the door windows and also finally got to install the door panels too. After they went on (with a million tiny clips by the way – ugh), we installed the door pulls, window cranks, door handles and lock pulls. Everything is chrome except for the door handles and lock pulls; those are black. It all looks nice and polished and shiny!
Speaking of…I cleaned and polished just about everything under the sun. If a part had to go back on or in the car, it was dirt-free going in! From the bumpers to the hood ornament, everything got some spit and elbow grease. My hands are all dry and scratchy from all the cleaning supplies and water rinsing. It was a beautiful sunny weekend though and it was so nice to be able to spread out and lay everything on the grass to dry.
Most of the window weather stripping is in. All the new dark black is really impressive against the white/blue colors of the car. It really pops.
Pretty much everything is installed on the car now. Even the headlights and taillights are hooked up and ready to go. The only essential things missing are the driver’s side seat (need the room to work on the steering column and pedals) and the windows.
What’s left? The engine. We took out the front suspension last night so that we can get the engine dropped in. Hook that back up to the suspension and install the ignition switch and let her rip! Not so fast…also need to replace the shocks and work on the brakes. And we need to get the spare tire mounted and balanced. So basically all the mechanicals. Nothing like cutting it close.
On top of that, we re-thought our transportation out to the show. We were going to pull the car behind The Gearhead’s S10 via tow bar. But now that we won’t get a chance to drive the car around some to get a feel for wheel bearings and whatnot, we decided to trailer it. What that means is that we need to borrow my father’s trailer and his truck to pull it (the little 4-cylander S10 won’t cut it). My father and his toys live 2 hours away from us. So now we have to head there tomorrow night to pick those up. Which means one less day to work on stuff. There’s never a dull moment!
I have to say that I’m surprised at how much longer everything took to get done this weekend. I’m not sure if that’s because we were doing such a great job or if it was really just that hard. If we had another week, that would have been perfect. As it stands now, we’ll likely not get to everything. That’s ok though. There’s another show coming up this fall so it’ll give everyone something new to see.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Scenes from The Shop: How to make the most of a confined workspace
So I’m just gonna say it…car restoration projects take up a lot of room. I don’t think I was naïve to this fact prior to starting this adventure, but it never really hit me until I was looking through the photos I’ve taken during this intrepid journey.
Let me paint the picture for you:
We have a two-car garage that is currently functioning as a storage space and workshop space as well as a home for The Gearhead’s motorcycle. We have a short two-car driveway. We live in a duplex townhome community. Hence we have a home owner’s association that has a lot of rules. Rules like “thou shall not park your car on the street for more than seven days at a time” and “thou shall not make a lot of noise” etc, etc, etc.
Not the makings for the best case car restoration project scenario. For all the lists and plans that we have made before and during this month, one thing we did not take into account is the work space. Well, I take that back some…we knew it was small and not ideal, but we really didn’t have any other choice so we worked with what we had. But I think we could have taken a more methodical approach not only to where we worked, but how we worked as well.
My advice to Gearhead’s with confined working spaces is this:
1. Try to remove everything that isn’t related to the car project. Is there any place else you can store the boxes of holiday stuff and camping gear? Some options would be to rent a storage unit for a while; the cost may well be worth it. Or even moving some of that seasonal stuff into an unused spare bedroom? You can shut the door and just forget about it till the project is done. This is bit of a pain in the beginning, but so worth the extra room during the project!
2. Pare down the tool selection. If you have a tool collection anything like The Gearhead, you don’t need them all for this job, so it may be worth the extra room to just box up the tools that you won’t use and put them in that unused bedroom with the rest of the rejects.
3. Set up the tools that you will use. Hang them on the wall so you can to make use of your vertical space.
4. Remember to return the tools to their spot on the wall at the end of the night. The Gearhead argues with me on this one, so let me clarify a bit. I'm not talking about the wrenches and sockets and stuff that you are using all the time. It's just as handy to have them right on the floor next to whatever you are going to do next. But the stuff that isn't used often...just get it out of your way.
5. Have a designated space for the stuff that comes out of the car. Seatbelts, mirrors, dash pads, headlights…there’s so many little things. We set up two steel shelving racks on one side of the garage to house all this stuff. Again, makes use of the vertical space and clears the floor. It still looks like a mess, but at least it’s all together in one spot and you don’t have to worry about tripping over anything.
6. Moved finished pretty parts to a clean room. When we upholstered the door panels, there was no way I was going to let them live in the greasy, dirty garage while the rest of the car got overhauled. The dust alone would have killed all our hard work. So they currently live in that unused spare bedroom, safe and sound. If you must leave them in the garage, cover them with a tarp or blanket.
And take this advice for what it’s worth. We certainly don’t have all the answers! Ultimately, you need to find the working style that fits you. But I think these suggestions can only help in the long run. Do you have any tips to share?
Let me paint the picture for you:
We have a two-car garage that is currently functioning as a storage space and workshop space as well as a home for The Gearhead’s motorcycle. We have a short two-car driveway. We live in a duplex townhome community. Hence we have a home owner’s association that has a lot of rules. Rules like “thou shall not park your car on the street for more than seven days at a time” and “thou shall not make a lot of noise” etc, etc, etc.
Not the makings for the best case car restoration project scenario. For all the lists and plans that we have made before and during this month, one thing we did not take into account is the work space. Well, I take that back some…we knew it was small and not ideal, but we really didn’t have any other choice so we worked with what we had. But I think we could have taken a more methodical approach not only to where we worked, but how we worked as well.
My advice to Gearhead’s with confined working spaces is this:
1. Try to remove everything that isn’t related to the car project. Is there any place else you can store the boxes of holiday stuff and camping gear? Some options would be to rent a storage unit for a while; the cost may well be worth it. Or even moving some of that seasonal stuff into an unused spare bedroom? You can shut the door and just forget about it till the project is done. This is bit of a pain in the beginning, but so worth the extra room during the project!
2. Pare down the tool selection. If you have a tool collection anything like The Gearhead, you don’t need them all for this job, so it may be worth the extra room to just box up the tools that you won’t use and put them in that unused bedroom with the rest of the rejects.
3. Set up the tools that you will use. Hang them on the wall so you can to make use of your vertical space.
4. Remember to return the tools to their spot on the wall at the end of the night. The Gearhead argues with me on this one, so let me clarify a bit. I'm not talking about the wrenches and sockets and stuff that you are using all the time. It's just as handy to have them right on the floor next to whatever you are going to do next. But the stuff that isn't used often...just get it out of your way.
5. Have a designated space for the stuff that comes out of the car. Seatbelts, mirrors, dash pads, headlights…there’s so many little things. We set up two steel shelving racks on one side of the garage to house all this stuff. Again, makes use of the vertical space and clears the floor. It still looks like a mess, but at least it’s all together in one spot and you don’t have to worry about tripping over anything.
6. Moved finished pretty parts to a clean room. When we upholstered the door panels, there was no way I was going to let them live in the greasy, dirty garage while the rest of the car got overhauled. The dust alone would have killed all our hard work. So they currently live in that unused spare bedroom, safe and sound. If you must leave them in the garage, cover them with a tarp or blanket.
And take this advice for what it’s worth. We certainly don’t have all the answers! Ultimately, you need to find the working style that fits you. But I think these suggestions can only help in the long run. Do you have any tips to share?
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Kadett Chronicles 14: Progress report (5/12)
The car is home! Check it out! We picked it up from the body shop last night and it’s gorgeous. They really did a super paint job. Then they buffed the heck out of it. We opted not to use single stage paint too…we went for the whole ball o’ wax which included a clear coat. I love the way it looks so shiny and new.
Now we get to put Humpty back together again. We’ll give the inside a good cleaning and while we’re doing that, contemplate whether or not we have the time to go for the gold on a few things. There’s something about the new paint that makes some of the other stuff in the car look a bit drab.
For example, the dash could probably use a coat of black paint before we put the newly upholstered black vinyl dash pads on (remember, no airbags back then so the dash has these foamed pads that run the length the of car in case you get into a crash). But I’m not sure we have enough time for those little things at this point. They might have to be post-show updates. And that wouldn’t be the end of the world really. There’s another show in September. It’s the same crowd so it might be nice to have something new to show them then too.
So beyond that conundrum, the plan is to lay the carpet down and go from there adding things in from the ground up. There will be lots of progress to report as we’re into the last week before the show and things will happen fast…you know, because they have to. There’s nothing like a bit of pressure to motivate you to get things done. Some of our best work gets done that way. I love it.
Now we get to put Humpty back together again. We’ll give the inside a good cleaning and while we’re doing that, contemplate whether or not we have the time to go for the gold on a few things. There’s something about the new paint that makes some of the other stuff in the car look a bit drab.
For example, the dash could probably use a coat of black paint before we put the newly upholstered black vinyl dash pads on (remember, no airbags back then so the dash has these foamed pads that run the length the of car in case you get into a crash). But I’m not sure we have enough time for those little things at this point. They might have to be post-show updates. And that wouldn’t be the end of the world really. There’s another show in September. It’s the same crowd so it might be nice to have something new to show them then too.
So beyond that conundrum, the plan is to lay the carpet down and go from there adding things in from the ground up. There will be lots of progress to report as we’re into the last week before the show and things will happen fast…you know, because they have to. There’s nothing like a bit of pressure to motivate you to get things done. Some of our best work gets done that way. I love it.
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