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Running report entries

• MOT time again... ouch Suddenly realized last week that the MOT on the Amazon must have run out, and so it had, right back at the beginning of April. I'd been stuck in the house with a nasty bug for much of that time, which was probably why it didn't occur to me. Quickly...
• At last, the Amazon gets a bit of attention Finally got round to calling Lance at Romance of Rust, must be about 6 months after Jules gave me his number. Given it was Friday afternoon (and a hot 28 degrees in London) and neither of us were that busy, he suggested I popped over to talk through what I...
• Beneath the spoiler... So a month or so ago, I decided to take the spoiler off the rear of the Camaro -- partly because it was a really nasty homemade one that never looked right, and partly because I was thought the boot would be a good project for me to do at...
• Back on track (hopefully) Made the decision to go for it, and gave Lance a call. He promises he's going to get me a quote this week, and if it's affordable, hopefully I can get it in there as soon as poss.
• We're on... Just got back from a trip to Lance at Romance of Rust. We spoke earlier in the week, and he told me he'd lost his notes made when I went to see him last year. So we agreed that'd I'd pop round there today, we'd go through what needed doing,...
• Where we're heading with the Amazon When I took the Amazon over to Lance yesterday I said I wanted it to be sharp, but not pretty. By that I meant, the build should be dead-on, with the shut-lines and panels better than new, and some slight customising making it even sharper. However, I didn't want to...
• Moving on Just got a call from Lance -- things moving on nicely. He's aiming to get started on stripping the Amazon as soon as I drop it off on Friday, so that it can be ready for painting next week. Better get on choosing the colour in that case. Fortunately just...
• Down to bare metal Dropped off the Amazon at Lance's on Friday, with no problem, except that a couple of days before I was taking some 'before' shots of the whole of the car and just could not get the bonnet closed -- first time it's ever happened. Anyway ten minutes later it was...
• Hidden rust and dodgy welding Swung by to see the Amazon again this morning, and it's progressing pretty well. Not surprisingly a few bits of hidden rust have been found, including the post in front of the nearside door (you can see it in the picture), which was pretty much gone, as you can see....
• More dodgy welding Popped round for a quick look-see on Monday, and the nearside inner wing had been partially welded in place. It's not much, but it feels significant that we're stating to add bits rather than just removing them Not that there's not more to remove. The driver's side door post is...
• Progress report Heading over to check on the Amazon again today, and definitely progress. There's still patches of rust being discovered at the back, but the front half is coming together. First the good news: the inner wings are on, the doors have been rehung, and the bonnet (hood) has been tentatively...
• Some decisions made Headed up to Romance of Rust yesterday to check on progress on the Amazon, and by the time I'd got there realized I'd made a few decisions about colour and so on. One of the things holding me back, was that I'd spent so many years driving it around as...
• Strange industrial estates I have known... One of the curious pleasures of owning and restoring an old car is the places and companies you end up visiting. Workshops underneath railway arches, scrapyards down picturesque country lanes, and countless numbers of strange low-rent industrial estates. Friday was one of those days. I had to get some new...
• More of the same... Spent the afternoon down at Romance of Rust last Thursday, where there was more of the same... rust that is, in the other structural box section and outrigger. Mark had done a good job on the other side, which had been completely replaced or rebuilt (box-section, outrigger, and floorplan), and...
• Starting on the back Last week and this was spent tackling the back of the Amazon, and to be honest, I always suspected there might be some horrors lurking there. Lance had done a lovely job with the rear flanges, just smoothing out the lines slightly, and my job for the day was removing...
• Back end not looking good Got a call yesterday from Lance warning that Mark had been having a go a the boot now that I'd taken out the petrol tank and it wasn't looking good, so I headed down there today to take a look. He was right. Mark said he started cutting away the...
• Engine problems And it was all going so well(ish). First the good news. Quite a bit of progress in the past few days. After a final going over by Mark, the rear is all done, except for fitting the petrol tank and the clearancing. The lower of the two flutes on the...
• Getting the clearances right I've been down at Romance of Rust quite a bit over the past week or so, as we enter the final stretch. Mark's pretty much done on the body, I've been running around between the various suppliers and machine shops, and Lance is on the clearancing, making sure the gaps...
• Arches Last year I was driving around with gaping holes in the bottom of the front arches. To cut a long story short, this was the end result of the car breaking loose from its ties on the way accross the Atlantic three years ago. After much insurance wrangling, and saving...