Maiden Voyage
The snow was still ten feet high - but the streets were dry. It was darn cold - but the sun was out. I was tired and sore - but the cat was calling. Softly.
It was the first day of spring (okay, the 8th) but it was time to get out of the dust and into the daylight. The cat had sat all winter as the wife’s car went in and out into the cold each day, dragging the heat with her when she left and the dirt and salt when she returned. Quietly, the white cat sat on stands as I removed her old bumper and planned a new front look.
After all the years of mechanical prep and then the electrics and finally the interior this is to be the summer of body and paint. But touchups only. The last remaining original parts – body, paint and glass would finally get some much needed attention. But I am just doing the front and rear faces only. The rest will wait for some unexpected (well, not totally unexpected) incident, before I actually paint the whole car.
I bought an Amerisport fiberglass front bumper to replace the original twisted rubber overbite that had been hanging on by a few loose bolts for all these years. After removing the old bumper, I worked on the perfect fit and then got ready to paint it gloss black. But I with some pushing from you folks on the board, I thought that I might try something less bulky, so I crafted some varying mini bumpers out of foam. Eventually, I bought the Euro bumperettes in aluminum, from Hall. I messed around with all three and thought I would use both versions, depending on how I felt or where I was going. After all it only takes a few minutes to change from one to the other.
As I lay in bed each night I was drawn back into the garage to look at it’s bare front nose. Something exciting was going on there, but I couldn’t see it properly. I put the wheels back on but still could not get a good look at it. But I was starting to think that NO bumper was the way to go.
With a perfect weather day reserved for a few more hours, I decided I needed to see it on the road. I chopped some more ice away from the garage door, rolled it up and got ready for the first rumble of the season. I tightened my battery cutoff (the greatest gift ever from my Ottawa Pantera buddies) and slid into the leather cockpit. As I turned the key (not touching the throttle) the starter jumped into life and cranked like it was running just yesterday. I watched the oil pressure climb to 80 then released the ignition. Three quick pumps on the gas pedal and I turned the key again.
It never ceases to amaze me how simply perfect this car is. Almost 200 days had passed since it last fired up, yet it instantly barked to life and maintained a sweet 1500 rpm idle that was smooth as silk - and music to my ears. After a few minutes I backed out into the sunlight. Not a squeak, rattle or complaint. I parked in front of the driveway and jumped out to look at her bare nose in the sunshine. I got some white vinyl and patched over the bumper bolt holes to see what it will really look like.
I dunno about you, but I am sold. This is the way to go. Some of you already told me that. But I had to be sure.
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