Cool Desert Nights - 2013

What a great day.  We arrived at 6 am and found the grassy area 80% full.  We set up in a spot close to our usual location.  This year it was the Corvette, the Schwinn, Gerri and I.  Dennis and Annette K were in Las Vegas and weren't able to join us.

This was the first day we saw the car in full sunlight and I have to say it was stunning.  Early in the morning the car favored the color purple but by high noon it was blue as blue can be.

People admired the car all day long and comments were non-stop.  The most asked question was, "What color is that?"  Early on we tried to explain all the colors and the process but found later that the best answer was "Cobalt Candy Blue".  Professional painters weren't satisfied with that answer and wanted the details.  Everyone loved the ghosted stripe.

Gerri and I decided the most frequent statements were, "63 Split window, my most favorite car ever" and "That is the most amazing paint job I've ever seen."  Without question we heard those two statements at least a hundred times each.  Comments were non-stop all day long.  I was amazed.  Click on the picture, you'll see.

Max H showed up and it was great to see him.  Max is one of the 5 most frequent visitors to this blog and he does it from half way around the world.  He was suffering from 12 hours of jet lag.

Just because it's beautiful.

700 cars showed up for Cool Desert Nights this year.

CDN was full-on with great participation.

This was Gerri's favorite.  The teardrop was awesome.

Wow.

Now this is purple.

Gerri took this picture.  Look close and you'll see our Corvette.

On a sour note I have to tell you we developed an oil leak at #7 cylinder.  It's fouling the plug and smoking out the left side pipe.  My suspicion is a bad or missing valve stem seal.  It's not a big deal but it wasn't something I expected.  I'll start investigating the issue in a few days.

I started feeling bad then I saw this poor guy showing off his quad ride.  I am much better now.  

The car isn't done so this won't be the last post.  I am going to target Hot Summer Nights in Reno instead.  That's a couple months away and that gives me enough time to complete the interior.   Next post won't be for a couple weeks though.  I am having foot surgery Tuesday and I'll need a little time before I can start working on the car again.  See you in a few weeks.

Thanks for watching.

Cool Desert Nights 2013 - DQ

Gerri had her first ride in the Corvette last night.  She took a short video I thought you might enjoy.

Cool Desert Nights - 2013 - DQ

Brant and Peggy  M thought they'd do a parody.  I like it!

Brant and Peggy M being funny

Upholstery pieces will not arrive from Al Knoch Interiors until next Tuesday.  What I am using are  the refurbished seat frames with red seat pads from our dining set.   It's interesting that nobody disapproved.  Everybody recognized the interior as a work in progress.

Half of the cars at tonight's Dairy Queen Show & Shin came in caravan.  This is a video of some of those cars arriving.

CDN 2013 - DQ

The turnout was about half as many as last year.  Drizzle was the culprit.

We had a nice spot directly across from Dairy Queen.

Response to the car was amazing,  They loved the split window, they loved the fuel injection, and they even liked the Heater Delete option.  But by far the most comments were about the paint job.

Noteworthy comments included:

That is my most favorite car ever!

Can I shake your hand please?  That's amazing!

I love the racing stripe.

What color is that?  It's beautiful.

That is a sweet little Stingray.

This is the best car here,  no kidding.

This is nicer than the other one (there were 2 - 63's last night)

Most of the cars stayed until 8:30 pm even though it drizzled all night.

Here's a unique tail gate.  Key chains galore.

Lots of nice cars.

Matt P would have  liked this ride.

Gerri said it even looked good all wet.  I agree.

Saturday is the main feature Show & Shine.  DQ was only a teaser.  I'll post pictures on Sunday so be sure to check back in a couple days.

Wish you were here Ty enjoying the fruits of our labor.

Max, welcome home.  See you Saturday.

Door Panels

Unfortunately, I am still waiting on parts from Al Knoch Interiors.  They have wonderful products but their shipping policy is horrible.  I found out that when multiple items are ordered they hold shipment until everything is ready.  Any specialty item that requires fabrication will prevent in-stock items from shipping.  They still owe me parts for the doors and the seats.  This is not good.

Cool Desert Nights starts Thursday night.  I can't hold off on the doors and the seats anymore so I decided to assemble the doors knowing I'll have to go back later and add missing parts.  

These are drivers side door panels.  I have to take the parts from the old panel and put them on the new.  The "hockey stick" is simple.  What's difficult is on the back side.  

On the upper part of the door panel, the right side of this picture, is a stamped steel plate that's stapled to the cardboard panel.  These are beefy staples that go through both the steel and the cardboard.  These are not easily removed and I haven't a clue how the staples would be reinstalled.

Here is the sheet metal piece.

After sand blasting and painting I did a dry fit to the door.  No issues here.

I decided to use industrial grade contact cement to bond the sheet metal to the door panel.  It's very strong.   The hockey stick and other pieces were  attached to the new panel.

After the door panel was hung I installed the window cranks, door knob, arm rest, and door lock.  I am pointing at the door lock.  This reflector twists to lock and unlock the door.  It's pretty cool.

I worked on the passenger door but I can't find the old door panel.   I don't know if it's misplaced or I never had it.  I emailed Dennis S. in Hawaii to find out if he remembers.  No luck.  Neither of us can say for sure one way or the other.  So, I am going to assemble the door knowing it has to be redone after CDN.

It looks nice but it's lacking the upper sheet metal and the hockey stick.

So, the doors are ready but the seats are not done.  Thursday night I'll take the Corvette to Dairy Queen for what many believe is the best CDN event.  Richland shuts the street down making way for hundreds of classic cars.  I'll post pictures Friday.

That's it guys.  We are almost done.

Hope to see you there Max!  You too Ty!


My Distraction

Ta-da.

Getting Ready for Cool Desert Nights 2013

Over the last several months the Corvette collected a lot of grunge from sitting in the garage.  Dust, finger prints, over spray, and grit from the blast box mostly.   After a good bath at the car wash I spent most of the weekend wet sanding and polishing the paint back to its original condition.  I'll wait till Cool Desert Nights to show you pictures.  CDN 2013 starts June 20th.

I did get to work on the headlight bezels.  I used the same paint and process as on the car. 

They turned out nice.  Now I need to make brackets to attach them to the headlight buckets.

Sun visors come in either Coupe or Roadster models for 1964 to 1967 Corvettes.  63's came in the roadster model only.  So even if you have a 63 coupe you have to specify roadster.  Surprisingly, Al Knoch Interiors got it wrong which means these are incorrect.  Al Knoch has been contacted and they agree.  Replacements will be mailed later this week.

I am still waiting for the burlap that goes between the seat foam (shown) and the seat frame.  I am assured they will be mailed Wednesday.  That leaves little to no time for assembly.  Even I am interested in knowing what happens to the seats for CDN 2013.

I have the leather covers and they look great.  Just need to get them installed.

Seat frames are done and ready.

I did install some of the interior trim.  I even installed the rear view mirror.

That's pretty much it.  Aside from upholstery, I'll be detailing the car for CDN. 

My Distraction

The Schwinn Stingray is looking pretty good too.

Door Windows and Electronic Ignition

I put off the side window installation because I thought it was going to be difficult.  I was right.  It took 10 hours and multiple attempts before I finally finally figured out the correct sequence.  The door goes together like a Chinese puzzle box.  You may get most of the pieces installed but there seems to always be at least one piece left over.  For those that might be visiting this site to find the proper sequence, I'll be a little more detailed than usual.  There may be other ways, this is my way.

I polished the glass and installed new rubber molding.  I rebuilt both geared wing window mechanisms and the main side window actuators.  Lithium grease was used on all moving parts.

The first piece installed is the main side window actuator including the small track shown in the lower left of the picture.  After this is installed crank it down as low as it will go.

Next is the wing window chrome molding and the wing window, in that order.

The chrome molding can be held in place with tape.

The wing window and chrome  are fastened with 4 screws located under the door weather striping.

Next is the window channel.  This is held in place with push snaps only.  For now, the lower pig tail will hang loose.  This is a key step, it must be loose otherwise the window will not fit in the door.

Next the window is lowered into the door.  Hold the rear of the window a little higher than the front otherwise it won't fit.  Once it's inside the door put it in the window channel then push it all the way up.  I used duct tape to hold it in place.  Now roll the window actuator up so the rollers can be installed in the window track.  There are strategically placed holes in the upper part of the door that allow access to the nuts. 

The final piece is the lower rear tract channel.  You'll need patience for this one.  When installed, the pig tail goes in the channel and gets fastened with a sheet metal screw near the bottom.  That's it.

Both sides are done and the windows did add some weight to the doors.

The doors shut even better now.  They're very solid.

I also replaced the points with this electronic ignition kit.  It took about an hour and it works great.  No more filing points, setting gap or adjusting dwell.  

  

That's it.  Thanks for watching.