A Morning Gone...

I'm taking vacation this week.  Wednesday, my wife and I go to parent's day at #2 son's university.  I decided to take Monday and Tuesday to work on the car.

This morning started badly.  I tried to fit the gravel shield in front of the radiator, but the new aftermarket sway bar was in the way.  The holes around the radiator just weren't lining up!

So I thought, perhaps I got this sway bar in upside down... why don't I take it off, flip it over, and see if it fits better.  Here's what it looked like before I started.

 This was more complex than it looked.  I found out the hard way that I had to move the car off the pit, and jack up the front to get it out.  Then I had to do the pretzel dance to get it out.  About an hour later, I had it back in.  Here's what it looked like.

Notice how the sway bar now interferes with the lower suspension arm!

Same thing happens on the other side.

 I guess I had it right the first time!  I'd rather have the gravel shield rub on the sway bar than have it interfere with the suspension!  That is a recipe for breaking something!  By lunchtime, I had the car back the way it started.

 Putting in the gravel guard with this interference was difficult.  I could only get 6 of the 10 bolt holes to line up.  It felt pretty solid, so I guess I'll go with a 60% solution!  There is no way the four holes in the back can be used with that sway bar in there.

All I had on hand were round head screws.  A trip to the local hardware store wasn't helpful.

#1 Son dropped by, and wanted to do something to improve my mood.  I suggested that maybe he could apply the weather stripping to the trunk.  He did an excellent job!

The last significant thing we did today was install the horns.  When I took them off the car in '72, I had all sorts of weird teenage ideas and tastes.  On a lark I painted the mouths Ford Red.  Somehow, it seemed appropriate to honor that decision, so I repainted them the same way.  Here's how they look in the car.

The car in the back is Uncle Packard's '29 Roadster.

 This was not the most productive nor satisfying day.  I'm still working through my disappointment and feeling of inadequacy.  It seems like too much for me, yet I can see things getting better a little bit at a time.

It is getting better.  Just not as fast as I want.

Lord, help me see your will in this.  Help me to move at your pace, to be patient and persistent.  Help me to realize that time spent is not necessarily time wasted.