Penelope - The 1971 Project

[thaddeussmith]

I'll get current pics up soon. I flew out last week to drive this girl from California to Texas, but alas, she was not as road worthy as led to believe. A hefty U-Haul bill later and she is on native soil.

I should be able to get her through inspection and registration after these items:

Parts have been ordered to replace coolant system, sans radiator (water pump and/or gasket were shot).

Parts have been ordered to replace all of the hard brake lines (one of them was busted right above the transmission, no pedal pressure, fluid everywhere).

Hazard switch has been ordered (didn't have one, hence turn indicators come on, but don't blink)

What I've done so far:

Door panels were shot, so i've pulled them and will use as a template for super custom black plywood panels. Rear panels to follow suit.

Front bumper removed.

Rear seat removed and will be replaced with super custom carpeted plywood.

Parcel shelf partially removed, still have to dig out the speakers so I can build a new shelf and install fresh speakers.

Vacuumed, cleaned up the dash, untangled an audio wire mess, cleaned out trunk.

Core issues:

Pedal box and driver's frame rail have rot (i asked specifically about this, but was told they were all fine - sigh)

Rear wheel wells need some rust patching.

Rear end needs to be banged out a bit.

New seals everywhere.

Needs a fresh coat of primer black.

This car is not a restoration project. This car is about being A) safe, fast and fun to drive.

More to come..

[john1180]

(nt)

[thaddeussmith]

ya ya ..will take some this weekend.

[skipsfcr]

Excellent. We'll see you in Eureka Springs, Arkansas in April for the Mid-America '02 Fest XI. I can admire the car you just picked up and you can take a ride in your former car!

[thaddeussmith]

Excellent. We'll see you in Eureka Springs, Arkansas in April for the Mid-America '02 Fest XI. I can admire the car you just picked up and you can take a ride in your former car!

indeed!! Still very stoked to find out that das Tier (my name for that car) managed to survive and become reborn.

[thaddeussmith]

replaced the water pump today and she's running more smoothly. The old one was grinding and wobbly - no good. I still have heavy white smoke coming out of the tailpipe, so i suspect gasket or warped head or both. I'll tear into it after christmas to determine for sure.

In the meantime, I have plenty of other projects to knock out that don't require a running engine. Here's a few pics:

Burping her after a fresh pump and new hoses.

Front end needs some work.

So does the rear.

Any idea what car these recaros came from?

Rear seat deleted - Will cover up shortly

Dash is in great shape, with one semi-repaired crack.

and a nice bright cluster

More coming soon!

[mo's72tii]

Did sc classics move to cali? You could have found a beautifuly restored similar example closer to home in Dallas.

[thaddeussmith]

It was the right price and in a good starting point for me...

[mo's72tii]

I was just making a joke about sc and didn't mean to be negative about your project. It really looks good an I am sure will look great when you get working on it.

It was the right price and in a good starting point for me...

[thaddeussmith]

no worries - miscommunication, it happens (gets me in trouble more often than not). It DOES look like a SC finished project though

[mo's72tii]

Much better than the piece of shit that came the other way and went back!

Best of luck and fun with it.

M

no worries - miscommunication, it happens (gets me in trouble more often than not). It DOES look like a SC finished project though

[Chamonix72]

Did you realize you've got two right tail light lenses?

Edited to add: no clue where those seats came from, but I like 'em.

[thaddeussmith]

lol, nope. I'll add it to the list of things to track down and fix

[Chamonix72]

I only noticed because I got mine reversed once. I've got a nice pair of amber center lenses, if you get around to needing them.

[thaddeussmith]

the new LED license plate lights..