Well, it’s April, and I'm hanging in there. Getting finished this month is almost surely not happening, but close. I fear that the new project that idled Ricky in mid-December possibly turned into a succession of projects. The price I pay for being a non-profit job… These guys have to keep the lights on and pay the bills. In any event, my anguish disappeared on March 21, as Ricky entered the paint booth, staged like this:



He is sporting temporary front tires/wheels, installed to preserve the Centerlines and Cooper Cobras while the front end was rebuilt in December. Also windshield and rear window came off for reasons that aren’t necessarily clear to me. Something about not enough trim clips…

Once in the booth, doors, hood and trunk lid were removed along with valence, rear spoiler and cowl vent grill, for the final sprint to the finish line. By April 5, base and clear were shot using PPG paint, and once paint was applied, progress looked like this, as they staged for dry-sand and buff.






The two holes in the front of the hood will house round-key hood locks, preventing amateur predators from lifting my hood to bypass my remote-operated battery disconnect switch. Try hotwiring a car that does not have functioning 12V DC! That should eliminate the amateurs from candidacy for “rip-off puke of the year” trophy, leaving only the professionals with tow trucks in the running, along with any car-jackers who manage to out-duel my 1911. TBD in that column…

I will hopefully have pics on Monday showing progress from this week, as the car returns to outwardly complete, and ready to drive to the upholstery shop for final tasks. Stay tuned as updates will start flowing again. As Ted Lasso says, “Believe!”

 

Looking good.

 

Well, that was optimistic... That has been my habit since the start, so many years ago. You would think I would learn...Today is May 1, known colloquially as “Mayday”, ha ha. Ricky is being reassembled now that he is apparently fully buffed and paint is relatively cured. Here is an example of the finished product:



Sorry, indoor lighting doesn’t really do the maroon color justice. Here is a reminder of what he will eventually look like:




Bumpers, hood stuff, front grill, emblems, etc, are being re-installed.

I will be provided pictures, taken outside on a sunny day, once he is complete to this point.

He is scheduled with the upholstery shop for intake on May 20, and that shop owner told the B&R Auto ownership to expect a 3-week job. If those dates are correct, I should expect presentation around mid-June. After all these many years, I am once again ‘not holding my breath.’

The current status of the interior is “semi-complete”, and remains as it was when it returned to B&R on November 8, after spending 7 months in the little upholstery shop of horrors. The seat frames were blasted and re-coated, and foam and covers were “in place” but not actually completed, so seats will be fully taken apart and assembled correctly. Carpets are possibly complete. Door panels were completed, with water barrier, but will be redone due to trust issues. Speakers (both 6½” and tweeters) have been installed in door panels but status of wire feed from cabin to doors is unknown. Stainless braided conduit was purchased for the air gap, but who knows? Kick panels and rear-seat quarters were supposedly cut to fit but not fastened in (it was just so darn hard to do in that 7-month interval), and sail boards are hanging (around?). Dash pad is installed but will be fully checked out, and since most of instruments were uninstalled for some reason, front dash and wiring will be verified. Same for console and its instruments. Beware of leaks around the oil pressure gauge! Headliner was installed but there was a problem area behind driver’s seat, so TBD. Might need replaced, and the first time involved a lengthy back order, so pucker up. Rear deck and its 6X9 Triaxial speakers are not done at all. 3-Point seat belts from Morris Classic Concepts are still in package.

Three weeks seems ‘hopeful’ but a guy can hope…

Sigh.

 

 

I realize this is what appears to be an old story, since my last entry was in May of 2024. I am not going to go into activities that have occurred to take us to this late date, but I can reveal now that Ricky Camaro is complete, re the restoration, and has been accepted and all payments made. Here is a nice shot or two of the finished project:






Note the lack of emblems on the side of the car. That is a purposeful decision on my part. Also, the lack of chrome accents around wheel wells and along bottom of car. And no white lettering showing on the Cooper Cobra tires. Personal preference, so it’s not an oversight.

And I’m a happy guy! B&R Auto is going to deliver Ricky to my home next week, if they can secure an enclosed trailer, and then I can finally begin Phase 2, “in which Doris gets her oats” (for you Beatles fans). Phase 2 involves applying a graphene/ceramic finish onto this beautiful PPG paint. I chose Adam’s Polishes, and am also prepared to personally perform all the process of prepping and removing any of the extremely small swirl-scratches from the finish. They are there inevitably, as B&R Auto has put 500 miles onto this vehicle along with washing the new and tender paint. You can visit Adam’s Polishes’ website and linked Youtube videos for an excellent presentation on the subject of washing and protecting paint.



Finally will come Phase 3, which followers of this thread might recall involves installing high-density particle board across the rear seat back, within the trunk, covering it with beautifully finished maple,



installing a subwoofer in its center that will fire through the back seat into the cabin, placing an enclosure around the subwoofer, separate enclosures around both 6X9 tri-axial speakers, mounting the two power amps (one 6-way, the other single channel for sub) on the maple, installing a second battery in the trunk with battery isolator and power distribution relays, and after paying the car audio technicians to power up and adjust the system, sitting back to listen to my ridiculously-expensive (Hertz door and deck speakers, JL Audio sub and amps, Custom Autosound Head-end) sound system. In the engine compartment picture, you can view the #4AWG fine-strand power and ground runs, with the +12V lead running through a 100-amp fuse.

Also, as part of Phase 3, I will be installing a battery disconnect unit on the main ground lead between battery negative terminal and engine block, which, coupled with the two hood-locks, will make it difficult for an amateur predator to start the motor, when enabled.

There are a few ancillary pieces, such as recording cameras fore and aft, a holder for my iPad, and carpet pads on the floor. Boys and their Toys…

Look for a final on this thread once I get there re Phases 2 and 3.

Once I have a few months of driving time, I’ll report back on a new thread to provide a status report, and maybe some thoughts on the process of restoration, making decisions, and the joy of having a 1st gen Camaro, true to the spirit of its original design.

 

Well look what the cat dragged in~
Good to hear she's finally ready to rock!

 

Well, hello, Y2K! Long time, no speak. My fault, as I have mostly spent my time since May in “hurry up and wait” mode. But all good things come to those who wait; so I’ve heard.

I like your Jefferson quotation, but view the probability of happiness for us as having little likelihood if we’re trying to prevent waste in general, whether in government or, equally if not greater, private industry, and especially in our personal lives. If Humanity has any one thing we’re good at, it’s waste.

However, quotes are one of my favorite things, probably because of my childhood association with my 30-year Navy Lifer Papa. He had a habit of posting quotes he liked on the walls of our workshop. Here are two that I saved:

“True liberty consists in the privilege of enjoying our own rights, not in the destruction of the rights of others.” --George Pinckard

“He is free who knows how to keep in his own hand the power to decide, at each step, the course of his life, and who lives in a society which does not block the exercise of that power.” -- Salvador de Madariaga y Rojo

Those two always hit home for me. The first one would come to mind every time I met a fellow human being not wearing a mask during the pandemic. Destroying my rights, and I guarantee, not caring.

I have picked up a quote of two through these many years (just turned 3/4!) that I find elegant. First, one by Benjamin Franklin, plucked from Poor Richard’s Almanac, that discusses the human desire for power:

“Ambition to be greater and richer, merely that a Man may have it in his Power to do more Service to his Friends and the Public, is of a quiet orderly Kind, pleased if it succeeds, resigned if it fails.

But the Ambition that has itself only in View, is restless, turbulent, regardless of public Peace, or general Interest, and the secret Maker of most Mischiefs, between Nations, Parties, Friends, and Neighbours.”

And then, from even earlier in History, comes a delightful discussion about the general good, from William Blake:

“He who would do good to another must do it in Minute Particulars; ‘General Good’ is the plea of the scoundrel, hypocrite, and flatterer, for Art and Science cannot exist but in minutely organized Particulars.”

And finally, to cap this discussion of the world that holds our Camaros in its gentle grasp, comes the “Code of the West”, articulated by Zane Gray:

“If it’s not yours, don’t take it.

If it’s not true, don’t say it.

If it’s not right, don’t do it.”

In the case of Ricky Camaro, B&R Auto lost a lot of money on this restoration, but long ago decided this would be a statement of excellence in spite of that fact. They stayed true to their word, only charged me their original NTE, and never deviated from buying the best quality of after-market available. For instance, here is the new battery:


They didn’t have to spend that extra $100.00+, they just chose to. The Code of the West.

 

Love Franklin, this is one I enjoy:
“Wish not so much to live long as to live well.”

 

First, new news: email this afternoon telling me that Ricky Camaro is getting loaded into an enclosed trailer Friday morning for a journey north through Seattle traffic and delivery here at my home. Wow! Service with a smile!!!

And you, my fellow Washingtonian from the Wet Side have a knack for dragging me off topic. For instance, our discussion about Nick Danger, time travel, and the Firesign Theater in general. Or the joys of old tractors! And now, potent quotes from great minds. I note that you liked my Benjamin Franklin discussion of Ambition. Good show. I too really like Franklin. I personally consider him my favorite of our founding fathers. And here is my favorite Franklin quotation, a poem to discuss lawyers and the Law:

The Benefit of Going to Law

Two beggars traveling along,
One blind, the other lame,
Pick’d up an Oyster on the Way
To which they both laid claim
The Matter rose so high, that they
Resolv’d to go to Law,
As often richer Fools have done,
Who quarrel for a Straw.
A Lawyer took it straight in hand,
Who knew his business was,
To mind nor one nor the other’s side
But make the best of the Cause;
As always in the Law’s the Case:
So he his Judgment gave,
And Lawyer-like he thus resolv’d
What each of them should have;
Blind Plaintif, lame Defendant, share
The Friendly Law’s impartial Care,
A Shell for him, a Shell for thee,
The Middle is the Lawyer’s Fee.

 

Good to see your baby is coming home, hope to see it in person next summer.
Here's a little more off topic:
A conversation between the two:
Albert Einstein: "What I most admire about your art is your universality. You don’t say a word, yet the world understands you!"
Charlie Chaplin: "True. But your glory is even greater! The whole world admires you, even though they don’t understand a word of what you say."
Photo: Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin in 1931 at the Los Angeles premiere of the film City Lights. Einstein said Chaplin was the only person in Hollywood he wanted to meet.