December 2006
12/2/06--" NOS", or at least almost like new front valence purchased from Spork101 off the forum for $105. Good shape, and will probably keep it in the box until final assembly and paint. Almost PERFECTLY straight.
12/6/06--Took the car for a spin for the first time in quite a while. The steering is nice and tight. I am capable of driving with one hand, especially on the highway, but when in parking lots and maneuvering into the garage, it helps to have 2 hands on the wheel. Not required, but helpful. When I get a decent sized steering wheel (14" or so, as opposed to the little 13" one I have now to clear my legs) it should be just about right...
Car ran good, and the leak I had in the header gasket is gone, now that I put on two new "manifold" gaskets, with metal on one face and asbestos gasket on the other.
12/22/06--Finally got to doing a better mount for the top of the radiator. I have been sick for over a week, so I have had plenty of time to think about how I was going to do it. I ended up with a piece of thin metal sheet (16 gauge, I think, would have liked a little thicker...) and welded some spacers to the bottom of it that fell into the groove in the top of the radiator. This holds the radiator from moving forward or backward. Then it is screwed down to the front apron sort of putting slight pressure downward on the top of the radiator. Best thing is it is just two screws and you can remove the radiator from the top. Didn't turn out "quite" as nice as I wanted, but better than the first one, and I can always do it again later. I had to do a bend on the sheet metal and was not able to get a nice smooth bend with the tools I have.
12/28/06--Took out the carpet, both front seats, and welded up all the holes in the floor that were not needed (two drain holes with rubber plugs and the holes for the seat bolts). There was a minute amount of surface rust, maybe 5 spots quarter-sized, so I wirebrushed them down to steel. Then I painted POR-15 over the entire driver side, and all the exposed areas on the passenger side, before I ran out of POR-15. Currently, I am looking at purchasing new carpet, most likely Charcoal Grey, to install in the next week or so.
Total (rounded) = 6050