[MARTINSR]

LOL, that isn't an ant eater! LOL, it's a donkey.

Brian

[1971BB427]

Martin,
Since my garage is also on the property line it has no windows on that side, and the wall is cement block to meet our fire codes. My garage is attached, so anyone who got in could also enter the house, so I have a old fashion security bolt on the rear door. It's two pieces of 1.5"x3/8" steel with a hardwood 2x4 dropped across the door, and a solid wood door. They could get through the metal rollup door easier than the man door, but it's facing the street, so pretty wide open to view. The door is so heavy I had to add a roller wheel to the bottom to keep it from sagging on the hinges.

[boothboy]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

LOL, that isn't an ant eater! LOL, it's a donkey.

Brian

Mixed species no doubt. looks like a ant eater to me!
BB

[deadbodyman]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

LOL, that isn't an ant eater! LOL, it's a donkey.

Brian

I lost my donkey,

[sportcoupe]

I finally got my dash painted, had a friend with a paint shop do it. HOK candy apple toward the brandywine red. Cell phone pic kind of fuzzy but looks great in the sunlight. Just ordered my front ties from Summit MT radials. Now I can get the car off the jacks.
My son is flying home from CA, hasn't been here in 4 years. He's head mechanic at Jim Russell Racing for their formula 3 cars. I hoping to get his help wiring the dash gauges to the harness and setting the dash back in. Haven't started the car up for a while. sc

[MARTINSR]

Looks good Sportcoupe!

Well I finally got over my overwhelmed/ticked feelings I had over the top project and got out there tonight for a few minutes. I pulled the front tight and stapled the top to the header. It's looking pretty good up there. I have been so disappointed over the wrinkles I just couldn't work on it. Well, it isn't going to be perfect, neither are most other converts out there such is life. I will have a good time with it and the top is going to be down most of the time anyway!

Brian

[boothboy]

Brian that top looks great to me! Just enjoy it and don't sweat the small stuff!
BB

[MARTINSR]

BB, that's the good part of the top. The rear looks as wrinkly as Betty White! But it hit me in talking to my brother that the Goodguys is in two weeks and I told myself I was going to drive it to that, so I need to step it up between now and then and see if I can pull it off. When I was a youngin, I would have had this sucker done 24 hours, and stay up those 24 hours to make it happen. And I DID it a number of times!

We will see, if mechanically it's ok I will be there, we will see.

Brian

[boothboy]

Brian years ago I installed a top on my Falcon Futura. I ended up with wrinkles in both sail panels The problem was (other than I wasn't a upholsterer guy) i installed the top with the thought " when it's on I can take a heat gun and take out the wrinkles'. Didn't happen. It worked ok when I was recovering airplane surfaces but not car tops. the trick I later found out was to heat the top fabric as you installed it. not after. Dacron shrinks top material st reaches. Unfortunately a heat gun wasn't hot enough. You need a steam source. Didn't have one. I learned to live with wrinkled sail panels. Some time life's to short.
BB

[sportcoupe]

sooner or later we get wrinkles, the top looks good go and drive it.

[billy zz]

finished my new engine install
THE LOVE WEASEL RIDES AGAIN!

[MARTINSR]

Awesome Billy, out having fun again!

I spent the entire day working on this top. I got it pretty close and I think it's going to be staying just the way it is. I put it out in the sun to warm it up and had to work on it out there, I am BEAT from the heat, wow am I beat.

Anyway, I made some serious progress and hope that with it sitting out in the sun a day will shrink it up some as I have been told it will. I actually had the rear sides looking great until I lifted the top up in the front to tighten up the material at the header. Doing that wrinkled up the rear. So I am hoping if it wrinkled that up like that then letting out in the sun a day should tighten it back up. I'll give it a try.

All I know is this sucker is coming down to the wire. I also cleaned up the door panels and got them ready to put in. It's getting close here guys!

Brian

[John long]

you have added new meaning to "We must endeavor to persevere". I know you are glad to be getting this behind you. Congratulations on your first top.

John L

[MARTINSR]

You know John, in my business of body and paint, I know if I leave anything, any flaw, it's because I want to. I can make a panel perfect, detailing every single tiny line or edge to perfection. I can prime and surface every single square MM to perfection and paint and clear the same why blocking out and buffing every spec of texture even in a door jamb if I wish, so not being able to make this top perfect was frustrating. I feel like a bad *** for being able to do it at all and at the very same time feel defeated because it isn't perfect.

But I am so happy it's "done" (I still have some details like the wire-on and such) I am humbled by the guy who ever it was that did the Dodge Dart at the show I went to Saturday. It looked like a friggin vinyl top! There wasn't a spec of a wrinkle, I am talking ZERO, NOTHING, it was smooth like painted steel! I bow at his feet who ever it was that did that top!

If nothing else I have an even great respect for upholsters than I did before.

Brian

[boothboy]

Top look good Brian but how are you ever going to be able to show your face again with that wrinkle?
BB