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.