Almost there!

         Well it all seem to be falling into place. I've finally crossed off most of my to do list to get the car running. Tonight I hooked up the Battery and for the first time in 6 years she opened her eyes. This was a great moment for me. I know starting the car would be the highlight but this was a great moment also. This week I will be doing the last of the wiring from the harness to the dash and it should be running by the weekend. The last month I've thrown a lot of money at her and want to thank the wife for her support. Not only does this put a drain on our account but it also leaves the wife alone for the many hours while I'm lost in the car. When the Coronet is cruising down the road all the lonely days and nights will pay off.
 
          I've been taking a lot of pics and videos as the build progresses. You can find 2 of my videos on you tube @ http://youtu.be/lYYSqS8vEV4 and http://youtu.be/JccKp5tlNiM. I'm going to make a video of the car this weekend with some more progress and hopefully the first start up.

I've found some inspiration!

     Its been a while since my last post only because I have spent my time working on the Coronet.

When I can find time between life and sleeping, I've been digging back into the car. I almost hired out a few of the things I needed to complete as I thought I wouldn't have time. Instead I forced myself back into the project. After a few minutes of hesitation I dove in. Probably the best few hours in mmy garage in a long time.

The rear break lines were a breeze. I knew the front lines would not be as much fun. Just as I was tying up the rear line to the proportioning valve, my neighbor Craig came over to see what I was up to. Craig is the type of guy that loves getting his hands dirty when it comes to cars and trucks. He happily volunteered to do the front lines for me and knowing what I was up against I gladly agreed. After thirty minutes or so he was done. Anyone tackling a big project like this knows what a great feeling it is to cross off some of the work needed.

     When I first started sourcing parts for the Coronet I came across a teloscopic steering column. The column was from a early 80's caddy. Thinking this is what the car needed it turned out to be a bad decision. The steering column was warn out and too many moving parts for the Coronet. I did use the column to move the car around for the last two years but it was time to make it better. On one of my daily scrumage hunts on CraigsList I came upon a nice set of GM seats.  I wasn't looking for seats but sitting off to the right side of the seats was a "cherry" tilt steering column form a Jimmy. A quick phone call and a 30 minute drive was worth the all the crap you have to look though on CraigsList to get bits and parts. The purchase was a steal when my offer of $40 was accepted knowing most of them were going for $200.

       As it turnes out this column was a little longer from the fire wall to the steering wheel. This was a way better fit for where the seats are going to be.  The next thing to cross off the list is the fuel line. I have the lines already just have to find a couple hours on the weekend. All three of these tasks were on my "hire-out" list. I figure I've saved myself about 8 hours in labour charges. Which by my calcuations is a F#*kin lot!

I've just recently starting watching Californication. It's giving me inspiration to write. I'm hoping that my writing will improve but I need to start writing without the TV on. Stay tuned for more stories with summer right around the corner. That's right - it's car show season and I am looking forward to seeing the cars that have been finished over the long winter months. Here is a few pics of the 1950 Dodge Coronet and I in the shop.

Finally getting started!

Well, I was hoping to be well on my way by now but  a few of my neighbors changed my plans for me. I ended up doing 2 break jobs and a garage door opener install. So late Saturday afternoon I got some time to give a little love to the Coronet. I also had a chance to work on it today. The ball joints were due as well as new callipers and break pads. Later this week I'm hoping to get to the intake and carb.

Sunday after I was tired of working on the car for the day I took a trip down to the fab shop to discuss the future of the 1950 Dodge Coronet. My buddy Dustin is going to run the fuel lines and the break lines for me. With a LOT of luck we might be able to have it running by the time it leaves there. While at the fab shop I had a chance to see the 1939 Pontiac, they built in the fall, fire up when they were bring it in the shop. The Pontiac turned out pretty cool! It sounded fantastic with such a short wheel base and big exhaust.

Focus!

Its time to get back into this on going project.

I seem to hit the 1950 Dodge Coronet project hard a couple times a year. I have taken 1 year completely off (last year) but had full intentions of doing something to it. Life, kids and other activities always come first obviously, and the car get shoved further and further into a dark corner. This year the wife and I have made a serious plan to get the Coronet on the road. We seem to be so close but after its put in a list form were a long way from the finish line.

With the list in hand I'm hoping to start crossing things off piece by piece. Theres a lot of freaking pieces! I've already started purchasing a good portion of the parts needed to get it running. That still leaves me very, very short in other areas of the car. The first step forward and 3 steps back rule of hot rods can be very intimidating and discouraging.


    The rule I was just referring to is why I took the year off from working on the Dodge. The reason I loved working on the car some how turned out to be the reason I really didn't want to work on it anymore. Maybe too much of a good thing IS bad?

With those feeling hopefully behind me there is nothing I want more than to be rumbling down the road in it this summer with my family. I've just leaped over a couple huge obstacles at the beginnig of this year and with that behind me I feel I'm more focused on what's important to me. I do owe a great deal to my wife and kids for helping me through my tough time but this blogs about the car! (sorry Kris and kids, lol). Were planning to get the show started (ie, working on the car) at the beginning of February. I will be posting progress reports and pics of the car as always (when ever there is something done to it) and hope to be posting again soon.

Motor mockup

I've finally had a chance to put a couple hours into the Coronet.

We meet great friends of ours every Summer in Osooyse for holidays. They drive in from Calgary to join us for a weeks worth of fun in the sun. Tim ,who is kind enough to supply the boat for our vacation every year, also brought up some "goodies" for the Dodge.

Tim races enduro cars and had some hidden treasures left over hiding in the corners of his garage. He supplied me with a nice intake and carb. He also threw in a 63' 327 corvette block.I've done a mock up on the motor i have in the car already and am going to save the 327 for a rainy day.

I would like to do a write up on Tim and his racing in the future and a few pics of his cars. The motor I received is no stranger to me. I saw it race down the track in one of his cars. That was a summer I helped on his pit crew at Race City Speedway in Calgary AB. That was also the year he took 1st place.

 So here's a few pics of the 1950 Dodge Coronet with the new parts.

Getting more work done!

OK its been quite a while since my last confession (lol). I had the Dodge towed to my friends fab shop this morning. Getting some brackets to hold the front end on properly. I was trying to do that part my self but found it to be over challenging. Trying to match 60 year old parts with 21 year old parts is something i have not mastered yet. There also installing the rad, exhaust and break lines. Pats drive line is going to be doing up a drive shaft for it. I'm hoping to be driving it by the summer. this is something I've been saying since I bought the car 4 years ago. Finding time and patience seems to be the biggest factor in this process. I usually blame it on the money tree but that's not the complete truth. If there are parts I need I would be able to scrape up the money some where. I took a couple pictures of it on the hoist.

Looks so different but the same?????

Time to throw some more $$$$ at it!

K, the poor things been sittin' for about a year and a half since any works been done to to it.
I've finally got the Hooker long headders on it. There was a lot of smashing and bending and swearing involved but there in! I also put in new bearings and races and fresh spindels. I've cut the body damage out from under the passenger side and am making new roll pan. Seems to get harder and harder to find the time and help building this car. Its going to happen, its just going to take a lot longer then planed. Here's some more recent pics of my gem to sooth your eyes.

Here's what I've been up to

Well lets start off with some history of the car. The dodge was found in southern Oregon near the Cal border.It was brought up about 8 years ago and spent the next 5 years in a chicken barn in Fort Langley BC. It was painted a bad cream color from its original sea foam green. I had the car delivered to my home in Langley where it has spent the last 3 years being personalised and modernly transformed.

I (meaning we from help from friends and family) began striping paint and the drive train. The original flat 6 motor and drive train was sold to a guy in Abbotsford BC for his 1928 International. After many hot days of stripping paint followed by cold beers in the drive way it was in primer, one panel at a time. It was this point that the wife started to refer to herself as the garage widow(lol). The body work was minimum other then a couple front floor pans. Don and Dustin from Schwab customs clipped the frame to a 79 Malibu and put a rear end from a local 55 Chevy that went to a 9". They also put in a tilt column and break booster for me. Thought it was going to cost me a small fortune but ended up doing a trade for storage on his sweet little 36 chopped chev pickup while he was moving shops.

I've removed the rear fenders, cleaned seams and welded solid to the car. Made for a much cleaner look. I've made a lot of changes to the dash and inner trunk. There's a 350/350 combo minus a drive shaft.  The wiring has ALL been removed and the 12v was purchased and ready to be installed. I am currently working on a custom rad mount and exhaust. There's a lot of work yet to do and this car is a budget build. I'm not sure what I'm more short of time or money (lol) but I'm always up for extra help or parts donations.