Unhinged

I spent yesterday with my wife to celebrate her birthday, so I didn't work on the car.  Today I only had 4 hours to work on the car, so I was eager to get started.  I was going to work on the under hood electrical wiring, so I decided that it would be good to fix the hood springs first.  Paint guy mentioned that the springs seemed a little weak when he put them in, but he couldn't figure out how to tighten them.  The springs were so weak in fact that the slightest breeze would push the hood over, and it would slam shut... not good if my head or torso is over the engine compartment!

What I thought should be an easy task took the entire time!  The hood hinges are up under the nose of the car (the hood tilts forward on old T-birds).  The hood springs are coil shaped, and rather hard to get to.

 I could get the springs off, but I couldn't manage to put them back on with the additional half-turn of tension that they needed.  I worked on this for over an hour, and even started making a special tool to reach up inside the nose of the car to tension the spring.

Finally, it became clear that the hood would have to come off, so I could remove the hinges and install the springs on the bench!I really didn't want to take the hood off!  Paint guy had done a good job aligning the hood, and I didn't want to risk messing it up!  Still, if I marked the hood carefully, and got a couple of friends to help, maybe this would be OK.  I used a sharpie to mark the position of the hinges on the hood.

 Then with the help of Uncle Packard and #1 son, we removed the hood and the hinges.  With the hinge on the bench, #1 son and I were able to get the extra half-turn on the spring.  This involved multiple attempts using a wide variety of tools, but finally we prevailed with a set of very large channel lock pliers and a seal puller.

With the tightened spring in place, I greased the hinge liberally, then exercised the action

It was clearly much stiffer, and now it didn't squeak any more!  Excellent!
The three of us then re-installed the hinges and the hood, carefully lining up my marks.  The alignment was pretty close, and after another half-hour or so, the hood lined up pretty well.   The springs worked superbly, and the hood no longer has a tendency to fall on an unsuspecting mechanic.

This doesn't seem like much for half-a-day's work, but still I am satisfied.

Making Life More Inviting...

In a previous post, I talked about how the dash board is the car's invitation to the driver, and how I felt convicted about not making my life an inviting place for God.  I also mentioned how I was dreading working on the dashboard in the t-bird!

Well, this weekend #1 son and I did exactly that.  It looked pretty bad before we started.  Remember the rusty lower dash?

Early Saturday morning we pulled the steering column and started on the dash.  The trim came off very easily!  It's almost as if the car wanted to be worked on.  Of course, it helps if you have the proper tools.  There is a special tool for removing the bezels on the dash controls.

 Then we masked the lower dash and wire wheeled the rust away.  I used a power drill and wheel for the big areas, and a mini-die grinder with a tiny wheel for the tight areas.

 Then, we layered on a coat of rustoleum hammertone to get some texture.  At this point I realized what a poor sanding job I did!  Well, I just layered on a couple more coats, and the problem went away.

 By mid afternoon, we were ready for color.  This is color matched to the seat and arm rest vinyl.  The sheen is supposed to match too, but I got it on a little thick and it's kind of glossy.  I put the color on a little too soon, and got some fisheye from the hammertone... so I had to wait an hour and lay on a second coat.  I'm hoping the sheen will sort of match the ash tray and glove box door that I already painted.

I carefully buffed the aluminum dash trim on a bench buffer.  The dull finish brightened right up, but the oxide spots took a little more effort.  It doesn't look new, but it does look a lot better.  Since I'm not ready to cough up $500 for new aluminum trim, I've convinced myself that it looks pretty good!  If you ever decide to buff your own trim on a wheel like this, be very careful.  The large holes for the heater controls and radio can easily get snagged in the wheel and turn your expensive trim into a pretzel!  Don't ask me how I know... let's just say that I started using a dremel buffing wheel for some of the tougher spots.

Meanwhile, #1 son carefully applied bronze wool to the chrome bezels and knobs.  I think he did an absolutely fantastic job!

 In the last few minutes of daylight, we installed the headlights and headlight doors.  Man, what a difference that makes!  It is really starting to look like a Thunderbird!  These are halogen H4 headlights I got from a truck supply house.  I really like the clear lenses and glare shields, and they are less expensive than the good quality tri-bar headlights.

 This morning the paint was dry, so we started installing the newly-buffed trim.  Here's a shot of that tool I was talking about.

While the steering column was out, I installed a mechanical brake light switch.  I did this for safety reasons... it is more reliable than the original hydraulic switch, and is the kind of brake light we are all used to on modern cars.  Any touch of the brake pedal will now turn the lights on.  While I was under the dash, I figured I would hook up the tachometer.  It's pretty cramped up in that corner... here's the back side of the tach hiding there above the headlight switch.

 Our first attempt to get the tach working failed.  Since I now knew it was only held in with two nuts, I decided to pull it out.  Oh, and the clock too.

 Oh, and the instrument cluster is only held in with four nuts... much easier to remove than I had thought.  I wanted to pull it out and brush away the dust that had accumulated under the speedometer dome.

 Now the joy of putting it back together...

 We finally got the tach working.  Mechanical tachometers behave differently than the electrical ones we are all used to.  Revving the engine makes the needle jump way past the actual RPM, then it finally comes back and settles down.

 Here's a celebration shot of the dash done, and the steering wheel back in.  We went for another short drive around Grandma's driveway, just to check that the speedo still worked.  It did.

I'll be bench testing the clock before I put it back in.  There is a guy who will rebuild the clock for around $50 if I need it, which sounds like a good deal.

It has been another awesome weekend!  I'm feeling extremely blessed to have several days of high-quality time with my son.  I'm also seeing this car come together in an exciting way, full of little nuances that I could not have predicted.  I feel that God has met me in my dread, and blessed my willingness to carry on.

As I reflect on my own spiritual restoration,  I can see other exciting, unpredictable nuances.  If I take these surprises with an attitude of faith, they can be delightful.  If I experience them in an attitude of distrust, they can be annoyances.  Or worse, they can defeat me.

Today, I am not defeated.  I am blessed.

Emblematic

#1 son and I got the tail pipes installed earlier this week.  The mufflers are under the floorpan, directly under the seat.  The tail pipes route the exhaust from the mufflers, over the axle, past the gas tank, and up through holes in the bumper guards. 

 Having the exhaust exit through these "jet exhaust" bumper guards is one of the iconic emblems of a '55 t-bird.  It is a key part of defining its character.  By installing oversize stainless steel exhaust tips, I merely "accentuated" this feature!  I have to admit, the car sounds amazing with the tail pipes on.  The cam and exhaust work well together, and the engine seems very eager to tear up the road.  When I first fired up the engine, and the exhaust came shooting out of those sewer pipes, my son and I nearly choked with laughter!  What a riot!  It's kind of comical, but also very cool.

 Another emblem unique to the '55 among T-birds is the Y-block fender insignia.  Normally, it's placed just behind the chrome hashmarks at the break line of the front fenders.  As I mentioned before, I really don't like fake things on my cars, even if they are stylized fender vents.   As a teenager, I redrilled the fender holes and moved the Y-block emblem.  I was tempted to change the fender trim back to stock, but then I hesitated.  Maybe honoring my teen-age decision was important.  Maybe the car does look better without extra needless chrome potmetal on the fender.
I've posted pictures of this before, originally on the car and then in primer.  Here's what it looks like on the painted fenders.

Yup, there's a little orange peel on the driver's fender.  I'm confident that can be rubbed out.

Simple. Elegant.  I took the other emblems off the car, because I like the clean look.  I will keep these Y-block emblems.

The car isn't stock.  It's unique, and that uniqueness will become more obvious as I continue to put the car together.  The colors aren't stock.  The upholstery isn't stock.  The brakes aren't stock. The engine certainly isn't stock.  I'm not claiming that the car is "better", but I do feel affirmed in my decisions.  The car suits me, and it is consistent with my intention for it.  The decisions I have made are reflecting my own personality in this car, and I like what I see.  It makes me feel good about myself.

I believe that is part of God's blessing to me through this journey, and part of learning to live an intentional life.

Desire and Intention (Back from the Body Shop, part II)

Tow guy moved the car from the body shop back to Uncle Packard's garage yesterday.  As we were waiting for Tow Guy to come, I mentioned to Paint Guy how much I have enjoyed knowing him and his 91 year old dad, Body Guy.  We talked about Body Guy's heart issue, and how Paint Guy was ready to close the shop last January.  We also talked about Body Guy being back in the office 3 days after his heart valve replacement, and I wondered why being in the shop was so important to him.  Paint Guy paused for a second, then said "It's where he goes to talk to people.  He really doesn't do much work anymore, but he talks to everybody".  I thought about this, and realized that every conversation I've had with Body Guy or his son has been pleasant, supportive, comfortable and unhurried.  It took half an hour of talking before Body Guy would give me the bill for the paint... this shop is not about making money.  It's about something else... it's about relationship.  I mentioned to Paint Guy how his shop has become a gathering place within the local car culture, and how people are always coming and going... and usually talking to Body Guy in the process.  It keeps Body Guy connected.  It keeps him alive.  There is a lesson in this for me, especially when I want to retreat into my own isolation.

Paint guy made it clear that he has enjoyed working on this car, that he is compelled by its history in my family, and that he would like to continue to help me with it.  This really made me feel good, and affirmed!  I sometimes have difficulty with affirmation.  Even though I need it and long for it,  I didn't get much growing up.  My dad is definitely not much like Paint Guy or Body Guy.  Because of this, when I go get affirmation it doesn't always soak through my shell and into my soul, where it needs to go.  I feel like I'm in the middle of the river, dying of thirst, but distrustful of the water.

Tow Guy and Paint Guy getting "bluebird" (no longer "dirtybird"!) on the truck.

A short, slow trip across town.

Backing down Grandma's old driveway

What a pretty car!  I still can't really believe it!

Glamor shot

Nestled in with Uncle Packard's other cars, and ready for re-assembly.

Tow Guy is another interesting character!  After he delivered the car, we had a long chat about Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Packard, my Dad & his generation.  He knows Uncle Packard pretty well, and was genuinely interested in the family history. We talked about what it must have been like for my Dad to loose his own father when he was 16, and be reluctantly forced to act as "the man of the house", and how Grandma had to be such a strong female personality in order to survive.  We talked about how Dad's inability to grieve made him inaccessible, distant, and often overbearing.  We talked about how that played off my Mom's codependency, and her own passive-aggressive way of coping with life.

I've been reading Gerald May's "The Awakened Heart".  May's writing always resonates with me, and provides a fresh look at spiritual issues.  In this book, he describes the difference between desire (wanting or longing for satisfaction), intention (claiming the desire, consciously owning it, and deciding to seek satisfaction), and control (what we are able to do to make satisfaction happen).  Most of us don't make these distinctions, and go directly from wanting something to taking action to get it.  That is totally about control, not about desire or intention.  I, for one, have a long history of being control oriented.  Needless to say, it got me into trouble.  It got me into addiction.

Waiting for this car to be painted has been therapeutic.  As I mentioned in a previous post, it has caused me to linger in my desire, and to more carefully articulate my intention.  I really believe that this lingering is a good practice, and I need to carry it over to my career, and my care for my Dad and the rest of my family.  I really need to do this before I lay down an action plan, or invest myself in fixing anybody.

Feeling desire, without acting on it or moving away, is a hard thing for me.  But it is only here that I can really decide what I truly want.  I think that God has been asking me what I truly want, not just what I desire.  What I want from Him, and what I want to become... and he has been asking this question for most of my life.

I think I want to be more like Paint Guy and Body Guy... relaxed, humble, and relationship driven.  And also like their friend, my generous and compassionate Uncle Packard. 

I spent last night under the desert stars with a good friend, binoculars, and a large telescope.  We were mutually humbled and amazed at God's handiwork in the heavens.   We both are active in our own recovery, and spent the evening telling stories of  His grace in each of our lives.  It was a perfect end to a truly grace-filled day.

As I slowly and deliberately put this car together, I want to learn to take the time to fully appreciate the grace and beauty God has for me each day! 

Realizing Glory!

Tonight I am celebrating.  The paint is complete, and the car is gorgeous!  There is still a lot of work to do, but tonight I feel affirmed.  I have been truly blessed.

The significance of this milestone is still sinking in.  This seems like a totally different car than the one I brought it home 16 months ago...

In some significant ways, it is a different car.  I am also a different man than the boy who abandoned  this car 40 years ago.

I will begin assembly tomorrow, but tonight I will stop and bask in the radiance of God's grace.  I see the object of my shame being redeemed, turned into something glorious, right before my eyes!  That's worth taking some time to ponder and reflect.

Peripheral Encouragement

Paint guy has finished the internal paint on the car, along with the hood, trunk lid, and doors.  This is what I saw as I entered his shop.  My first thought was "uh oh.  Another week with no progress.  Try to be nice".  Then I saw a gleam of blue behind the car...

 I think the color is stunning!  Of course, the color you see is largely a function of my camera and your monitor.  As I mentioned before, this color blue is very hard to render with the depth of the real thing.  Still, these shots give you a hint of what's in store...

I had a long chat with Paint Guy about cars and restoration.  As you might imagine, he has had quite a few cars, including a '57 injected Corvette.  He still has a '57 Chevy Bel Air, but he doesn't let his wife drive it.  He likes Ford Y-Blocks, and has owned a few of them, including a supercharged model.  We talked about different approaches to restoring cars, and how few early t-birds are seen on the road any more.  He appreciates my emphasis on making this car drivable and enjoyable, not an immaculate "garage queen" that rarely gets driven for fear of getting dirty.  He also is fond of this color, which he calls "a very 50's color".  I felt very comfortable with him, somehow affirmed that he is the right guy for this job. I also appreciate his affirmation of my stewardship of this car.  My goal isn't to win points with the car, it's to make people smile.

He thinks he will be done with the car tomorrow... with his history, I think next Friday is more likely.

His shop has done a few hot rods and restorations over the years, and they always keep a picture of each one of them in the shop.  He really wants a picture of my t-bird when it is finished.

So do I.

But Wait...

Paint still not done.  Sigh.

Progress, not perfection?

The car has been in the paint booth for a week, at the paint shop for 2 months since that trip down Grandma's driveway.  It was at the paint shop for 5 months the first time, getting initial body work and paint in the engine compartment.

It's not as if nothing is happening. The inside of the trunk and the area behind the seat has been painted, the entire body masked off, and the trunk lid stripped and primed.  I think the hood and doors are about ready to be painted also.

Interesting thing about the trunk lid... it is not original!  The base paint on the trunk lid is sage green, not turquoise (a.k.a. thunderbird blue) like the rest of the car.  Sage green was a stock color in 1956.  I suspect that the early repair work that caused the rear bondo/fender bullet configuration mentioned in a previous post also replaced  of the trunk lid.  The '56 trunk lid is identical to the '55, so no points off there.

You can see just a hint of the sage green base color peeking through the primer.

What is really interesting is my early memory of the entire car being sage green, not turquoise.  I mentioned this in a much earlier post, but I have found very little evidence to support that memory.  It may be possible that the car was hastily repainted sage green when the trunk lid was replaced, but the quality was so bad that it was easily and completely stripped for a subsequent dark green metallic paint job.  The car was dark metallic green when I got it in 1972.  The paint was old and oxidized by that time, but it was a decent paint job... the trunk and the door jambs had been painted.

I'm still trying to piece together the paint history of this car.   I will need to have another discussion with my Aunt, who owned the car from '62 to '72.   Perhaps she can fill in some details, or find some old photos.

Meanwhile, I wait.  I want to be doing something, but I am not a painter.  I want a better paint job than I can possibly do myself.  I want to know that the car was painted by someone I trust, someone my Uncle Packard trusts.  I want to remember Body Guy and Paint Guy when I look at this car, and its beautiful paint.

I also desperately want to take Dad for a ride while he is still on this planet.  Or, more importantly, I want to remember taking Dad for a ride, and that it become part of this car's story of redemption.  I know that I may be obsessing about that future event, but I feel compelled to strive for it.

If it is God's will that I NOT have the opportunity to remember taking Dad for a ride,  at least I want to remember giving it my best shot.

Mighty Mighty Jet Engines of Chrome

The mid '50's saw the maturing of the "Jet Age", and a corresponding social iconography emphasizing jet-like features.  Jet aircraft were not only new and cool, they represented a kind of optimism and hope for the future.  In that brief time between post-war euphoria and the beginning of the space race/cold war, jets exemplified "progress" in a way that no other technology could.  The public was intrigued by the idea of coast-to-coast air travel in a matter of hours, of traveling in high speed luxury, and of course with the global security provided by America's mighty, unbeatable military.  Fins, bullet bumpers, chrome and aluminum became more and more prevalent in automotive styling.  Today, the cars from this era seem to bring on a strong sense of nostalgia... especially cars from the the "tri-five" years (55, 56, 57).  I submit that his is at least partially due to the strong jet-age characteristics of these cars, along with their relative simplicity and purity of design.

A curious styling feature unique to the '55 T-bird is how the front and rear bumper guards resemble  twin jet engines.  Without them the car looks cute but unremarkable, very much like a mid-60's Sunbeam Alpine/Tiger.  As I mentioned when talking about foglights, the front bumper guards have an insert that makes them look like jet engine intakes.  This is the same for both '55 and '56 T-birds, but the rear treatment is not.  On the 55, exhaust flows out the rear bumper guards though a set of ring inserts or "donuts" that resemble jet engine tailpipes.

On the '56, the exhaust simply flows out slots at the ends of the rear bumper.  Not near as cool.  The '55 rear "donuts" are rare and expensive, and I suspect that my car lost them in an accident before I was born... the same one that left a legacy of bondo around the trunk.  After the repair, the tail pipes were re-routed below the bumper like a conventional car, and the rear bumper guards were given front bullet inserts.  This extra pair of inserts were pretty corroded, so I used to make the mounts for the foglights.

Instead of paying $200 for new donuts, I decided to try using short 4" diameter stainless exhaust tips.  These are MUCH cheaper, and I was hopeful they would look OK.  I mocked them up today, and just had to laugh!  They certainly make a statement!

I used the re-chromed front bullets instead of the foglights

The exhaust tips stick out a little more than I expected, and they are certainly amusing.  Once I got past the giggles, I realized that the proportions aren't bad!  The good news is that the more the tips stick out, the less exhaust debris gets deposited on the bumpers.  Hopefully, this will make the chrome last longer.  I think I'll keep these for the time being.  After all, with this car I shouldn't be taking life too seriously!  The mega-exhaust tips are fun, and that's in character with the rest of the car.

Lest there be any doubt about my jet engine hypothesis, I mocked up the front and rear bumper guards as a single unit.  The result is remarkable.  Can't you just hear the engine whine?  The big tail pipe looks like a serious afterburner!

I visited Paint Guy yesterday.  There are a few additional snags, and I'm thinking that the car won't be ready until Friday.  It may be a while before I can install the bumpers and these cool bumper guards.

Well, that's OK.  I think I'm learning to be non-anxious yet present, to be subtly assertive, and to quietly persevere.
It's about time.  I've needed that most of my life.