Christmas has been good..

I know there hasn’t been much in the way of progress on the car, but I have been quite busy. Between vactions, holidays, and getting sick, the car has been somewhat neglected. But during all that time I did manage to save up some money and take care of a few things.

First up. I have been giving a lot of thought regarding the roll cage. I could pay someone $1500 to fabricate and install the cage and be done with it. But the whole point of this project for me is to learn, and do as much work on my own as possible. The search for alternatives led me to www.rollcagecomponents.com. This company has a great reputation within the ChumpCar community, and they will pre-bend and notch all tubing for a roll cage specific to your needs, then ship it to you for final fitting and welding. Since I have always wanted to learn how to weld anyway, I decided to buy myself a quality welder, learn to weld, and weld in my own damn cage. I figure doing it this way will save me some money, and give me a lot more experience than paying someone else.

I have been practicing with it quite a bit, and have welded together lots of scrap metal to make large pieces of scrap metal. This is all very exciting.
So here is the welder. A Millermatic 130xp with CO2/Argon tank and cart. Ready to weld.

Christmas really has been good for me this year. Between my employer and family gifts, I have received more than enough money to buy the roll cage, racing seat, and harness. Oh, and enough extra to make a very sizable credit card payment. Joy. With some of the money, I also invested in a bit more garage organization. I have a really hard time enjoying work in the garage if I am constantly searching for the right tools, and tripping over other odds and ends. So I got a really nice rack (get it?) from Costco, and a bunch of plastic tubs. I am now really happy with the way the garage looks, and I cant wait to work on the car some more!

So you are probably wondering, have I actually worked on the car?! Yes! I have! Nothing was picture worthy, but I did bolt up the starter, connect the clutch cable, connect all the wiring harnesses, bolt up the motor pitch stop, and wipe down more of the underside of the motor. Then I think I spent about 30 minutes under the car staring at the engine and transmission, trying to figure out just where the hell all the oil is coming from. I know the power steering pump had purged all its fluid like the morning after I drank to much Gin, but im still concerned there is another leak somewhere. Mark my words, if I dont figure it out, I have a feeling it will bite me in the ass.

Tomorrow I hope to measure the car and get the dimensions off to the cage builder. Then I need to continue re-assembly of the driveshaft, steering, brakes, suspension, and exhaust. We’ll see how far I get. More to come soon!!