TF body in BRG

It’s been a while since I posted but I said I would post a picture of the Beast in color. It took a bit of bodywork but it is finally in BRG. The firewall is also painted but we’re not happy with the green in enamel. The body is in lacquer but the firewall and under the wheel wells we usually paint in enamel.

TF in green

Sore as heck...

Yesterday was a payback day for the loan of scaffolding that we used siding the new garage at the house. It was sided with 1” by 10” boards, some 16 feet long. Without the scaffolding it still wouldn’t be done. It made the project go pretty quick. So yesterday we helped the “loaner” put up a pegged barn, 24x40. It was a lot of work and there were probably 20 guys there but it still took 8 hours to erect the framing. There was a crane to help so we didn’t have to use pike pole and push up the sections. I didn’t have my camera there so unfortunately I don’t have a pic. Needless to say I’m a bit sore today hence the title of this post.

Things are going well in the paint booth. We needed to get the green paint out of the gun so the doors For BlownTC got the first 6 coats of paint. This week the body tub will get sanded and get the finish coats of paint then move back to its frame for good. This will free up more space to get the Beasts body tub ready for paint; the doors are ready now.

I’ll post pics by the end of the week. Time to stack wood. Later…

Going Green...

Yes there was green painted today! And the green looks nice. You can’t tell by the picture because the flash washed it out. I’ll take more tomorrow without the flash and see if I can get a more accurate picture of the green. BlownTC’s body tub had it’s first coats of paint it will sit until Monday then get a light sanding and then get several more coats.

BlownTC in Green

Nothing much more to say it’s all prepping, sanding, priming, sanding, painting, sanding, and painting…. But it is good to have painting weather, finally.

It's getting chilly!

Hey guys I’m still around. There hasn’t been much to write about with the restorations. A lot has been backing up at the paint booth. With all the rain last month painting came to a stand still with the high humidity. Now that the weather has changed the paint booth has been in gear again. There has been a lot of prep work getting done but how far can you go when everything is just piling up. We were working on 53TD’s fenders, running boards and aprons. Today the fenders got the last coats of paint. It will be a month or so before they can be rubbed out and installed but they are painted.

Tomorrow the body tub for BlownTC will get a few coats of green paint. It has been sitting in the Q at the front of the paint booth. Once it’s painted it will be put on the chassis to dry. I’ve been working on identifying the holes on the firewall to figure out which ones need to be eliminated before paint. There are quite a few holes that aren’t needed.

I worked on the Beast’s doors yesterday, sandblasting them and filling in a few dents. They are ready for primer. The body tub is almost there but it isn’t needed until the TC tub is out of the way.
That’s it for now I’ll have some paint pics by the weekend. Later…

More....

I didn’t have a pic of the back of the dash but here it is.
Also since I’m posting…the fenders for 53TD are ready for paint and may get painted tomorrow. The running boards will be ready tomorrow also.

And BlownTC’s steering column is ready for paint. The steering box looks ok as far as play in the shafts go. Once painted the Thompson kit will go in. The radiator is straightened out (the fan had hit it flush and put a nice circle in it by bending all the fins) so it is ready for paint also. The rear shocks are in. The distributor is on and timed and a new cap and wires have been fitted. We did a tail pipe fit with a TD down pipe and a TD muffler and it looks “doable.” A little more flow with the supercharger can’t hurt. Speaking of the supercharger the idler for the belts has a crack in it from top to bottom. The bearing was frozen and not turning, we opened it up, cleaned it and when the bearing was pressed back in the crack was opened. The machine shop said the crack was an old crack and filled with dirt and grime. It can’t be welded but they can make a new one without any problem. More to come………

The update!

An update on things at the shop. First we finally have a BRG (British Race Green) paint we are happy with. Both BlownTC and the 54TF are going to be BRG. There has been some repair work but it doesn’t seem like a lot of cars are getting out this year. I’ve been to Buffalo and back again since the May visit and I’ll probably be going again at the end of this month. There is a lot of work getting done on my carriage house and it’s killing me not to be there in the thick of it. Ok on to the updates.

53TD’s interior is pretty much finished. The last things are the steering wheel and hand brake and possible the seat back brackets. Dad has all of the last body panels in primer and ready for paint. The weather hasn’t been cooperating with all the rain and high humidity.

53TD

BlownTC’s body tub has been in primer for a while now. Now that we have the BRG it’s in the paint booth line up. The front end is finished. The engine has been cleaned, degreased, cleaned, paint stripped, cleaned…you get the picture. Well here is a picture,

BlownTC

We are correcting and fixing problems as we find them. That is the one thing that cleaning lets you do is see the problems beneath the grime. This week the brake system will be finished, the rear shocks will go in, as well as the rest of the engine parts will get back on.

54TF’s body tub is finished and ready for pre-primer body prep. The new fender wells are in and the body has been stripped and sanded. Now we will fix the small blemishes and prime it.

54TF bopdy tub

Well that is the quick summary; of course there has been a ton of small things that have been done too. And some of the jobs weren’t as easily completed as they were stated.

And then there is my car… I haven’t been getting one little thing done each day as I promised myself I would, but there has been progress. Mainly my dash panel is finished. Here is the front…and the back. Looks just as nice!

My dash panel

I'm over here!

Yes I’m still alive!!! I guess I kind of got burned out on the blog. Mainly because I’m not sure it’s being read and I may be wasting my time taking pictures and posting them. As well as the lousy writing. I do know there may be a few that read this blog but there have been only a handful of comments. Two that I know of and one that couldn’t be posted because of the full names used as well as locations etc. So as you see there’s not much impetus to continue. But I will from time to time update. And who knows if there is interest I may step it up a bit.

I will update the three main cars this weekend.

The best laid plans!

Friday’s birthday party didn’t go as planned! It was Dana’s birthday; she’s my next-door neighbor as well a bartender at Nietzsche’s. This was the party I had gone to. She worked her normal shifts on Friday so I walked down to the party to have a beer and wish her a happy birthday. After Thursday night I really just wanted to have one beer and get home because a real estate agent friend was coming to dinner. WELL, I sat down for a beer and the next thing I knew I was backed up 3 times. One obligatory birthday shot and one shot that was put in front of me (I’m not a shot person) later…I was on the phone calling Josh and postponing the dinner until today.

Saturday morning I had a meeting with an architect about the rehab of my carriage house. He seems to think it will be a fun project and is keen to do the drawings for 2,500. I’ve never dealt with an architect so have no guide on if this is pricey or not. I’m lining up another 2 to bid the job and see where it goes from there.

It seems with all the preservation board involvement and permits and such instead of having the building closed by winter it may not even get started until next spring. Which will be ok because I really want to be here for the whole rehab/rebuild, whichever I am allowed to do.



On a bright note a schooner sailed unto buffalo harbor at noon Saturday bringing kegs of a new brew released in the US. Alexander Keith’s Traditional Lager was taken off the boat and taken to local pubs; one was Colter bay; unfortunately I didn’t go to get my free taste. I headed over to the Irish round table at Nietzsche’s and Imperial pints of Guinness. The round table consists local Irish musicians that just come in and Jam on old Irish tunes. It’s a good time. After that jazz pianist opened for blues singer Joanna Conner and her band that just got in from Chicago. Fun night!

Today I have to get the lawn mowed and prep for the return to NH. Fun time is over. I have a meeting at city hall tomorrow then Tuesday I do the drive. I wonder how much more gas will be on the return trip!

Next post from NH with updates on the shop.

Ya gotta love it!

Another great day here in buffalo, even with a bit of rain. I just got in from an incredible time at Nietzsche’s. The University of Buffalo Jazz Ensemble & Jazz Combos had a recital there. The music was outstanding! After making dinner for a few friends of mine at the house we walked down for an after dinner drink and some music. WOW! Those kids were amazing, at one time they had 20 musicians on stage that were putting out the kind of big band sound that gives you goose bumps. Great time.

I have one more dinner, another birthday bash, one lunch and 2 more meeting friends for drinks to go before I head home Sunday. And that’s only what’s planned!!! As Humphrey said, ”Here’s looking at you kid.”