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.