ITS ALIVE!!!
This post is really about three different days. So I’ll break it up by date. I think this is gonna be kind of a long one. 
04/14/2011
If you pay attention to dates, the 14th is a Thursday. I was really starting to feel the pressure to get working on the car, so I tried to squeeze in an extra week day to work on the car a bit. I had also received a bunch of goodies I had ordered, so I was excited to tinker with them. First I tinkered with installing the window net. And I really dont want to talk about how badly I screwed that up the first time. In fact the below picture shows it mounted incorrectly (to far back.) I fixed it afterwards, but didn’t take pictures afterwards because really, I’d lost motivation.
04/16/2011
My dad came out again to help, and we tackled a few different jobs. We test fit the harness and window net, then welded d-rings to the cage where the window net mounts to. Mainly we painted the roll cage white. Sort of. Rustoleum spray paint does NOT go on well. It looks very……chumpcar. I dont have any pictures of this day. Sorry!
4/23/2011
Today was EPIC! My dad was again here to lend a helping hand. He started checking all the bolts for the suspension and brakes while I installed the axle pins. Then we added brake fluid and bled the brakes. Then FINALLY after what seems like FOREVER we mounted up the wheels and got the car off of the jackstands!! I think we just stood and admired that for a few minutes before starting on the dashboard. All in all it went pretty smooth, but it did take quite some time to figure out where all the various wiring harness connectors went. With everything connected, I jumped into the car and turned the key. Nothing. Completely dead. I checked the battery terminals, and they were connected. Sort of. After removing them, cleaning, then reconnecting, I tried again. This time it worked! The motor turned over! I didnt have any motor oil in the car, so I didnt let it start. Instead Dad and I spent a while checking all the lights and controls. And EVERYTHING was working correctly. Incredible.
With that done, we took a trip to the auto-part store and Home Depot for some motor oil, trans oil, power steering fluid, and zip ties. Once we got back I started adding various fluid while my Dad tucked in some of the wiring and routed the brake lines along the rollcage. Afterwards, we installed most of the roll cage padding, and reinstalled the seat.
THEN…..we started the car. And it ran! I carefully put it in reverse and backed it down the driveway. It ran perfectly, the clutch worked (first time I was able to test the clutch since installing months ago,) the brakes worked, the steering worked, and all the gauges and lights and stuff worked. But let me tell ya, it is REALLY windy to drive in a car with NO windows installed. You don’t appreciate something as simple as a windshield until you drive without one.
After letting my Dad take a spin, we brought it back into the garage and just sorta stood there, looking at it, smiling. I cant begin to tell you how great it feels to have done so much work on this car, and then to get to see things really come together like this. After high-fives and hugs, my dad had to call it a day, and headed home. I cleaned up the garage, ready to call it a night. But as soon as I got the garage all clean, it really made me want to work on the car again. So I installed the rear view mirror and steering wheel hook. Then, I took the headlights and front bumper off to begin test fitting the mounts for the Hella lights. Then I stopped. Whew!
So whats left? Here is what I can think of right now:
- Install the lights and wiring
- put the headlights and front bumper back on
- finish installing the roll cage padding
- get a windshield installed.
- install all the harness mounts
- install the kill switch and wiring
- install a 2.5lbs fire extinguisher
- install front and rear tow hooks
- paint the wheels (8 of them) white and get tires mounted.
- install oil temp, water temp, and oil pressure gauges
- install a communication system
- flush and refill engine oil, tranny oil, radiator, and rear diff.
- lots of stickers and paint
- 100 other items I can’t think of right now.