Does200,
The car was painted several months ago, but final buffing has not been done. When I saw the car yesterday, the paint appeared and felt very smooth and very well done, but up on a lift, dusty and under poor flourescent lighting, it is hard to tell. When we started about 2 years ago, I found that I was never driving the car for several reasons. Firstly, if it wasn't started and driven weekly, I'd have to pull the air cleaner and dump gas into the carb to start it. It was just a pain. Then, of course, even though I had installed a Fluidyne radiator years ago, if the temperature exceeded about 80F (and living in the San Fernando Valley, when isn't it above that?) or if there was traffic, I was always flirting with overheating (funny how on the track, it always ran cool as a cucumber), and having a 600hp Jag XKR as my daily driver gives me all the speed fix I need without any of the worry. So, originally, what started as a simple change to fuel injection to make the car more "friendly," turned into a "let's do everything I really wanted, so that I could enjoy it" moment. We've added additional fans to the cooling system, new clutch, put a 351C back in (as it had a "mongrel" 302 with some strange parts added, putting original seats back in with custom upholstery, removed the giant amplifier/stereo (I bought it that way many years ago, but never turned it on once in since I've owned it), relined the front trunk with faux suede as well as the rear trunk tray and headliner. We added headers and new exhaust boxes and tips, and although the paint was already very good, (I had it repainted when I first bought it), there were a few tiny bubbles on the lower valances, and I wanted to make sure that rust wasn't going to spread. We also put the flush front windshield on (I have the original with the trim), and I think it really makes a beautiful, upgraded look. These changes in addition to the work that has been done over the years (Wilwood Brakes, 17" wheels, etc....) will hopefully make it a car I want to spend time in on a regular basis rather than having it sit and gather dust. I'm excited about it again, and anxiously awaiting its completion.
Outside flag reflection on paint finish by JanDaMan, on Flickr
Outside flag reflection on paint finish by JanDaMan, on Flickr
