Yes, even Dr Frankenstein had days when nothing went right. As he gathered all his parts to assemble he had to make sure every little detail was attended to so that his dream of the perfect living, breathing, specimen would perform exactly the way he hoped it would. In doing so he would prove to the world he was the the creator of all things great.
Well, that may be a little overboard but in a way we are attempting to do the same as Dr Frankenstein in that we are attempting to breath life into a real monster, one that will show the world that FORD's are the creator of all things great. Hey, it's a car thing... Gotta have some fun and poke some jabs in where I get the chance. LOL.
Even though a lot has been happening in the last few weeks it has seemed like one of those dreams where you are trying to run but you are going nowhere. As the clock ticks and guys begin saying things like, "There's only 184 days until the race begins." it's normal to begin to worry. In reality as of today it is only 165 days until we join Gerie Bledso's convoy to head south but who's counting? But even more important to me is that I need to have this car finished so we can test in August. That's only 120 days from now. That way we can give the car a good shakedown, dial everything in and test all navigation and radio equipment. But then again I have learned over years of building cars for various races that the beginning always starts off slow but then as things get moving everything begins to fall into place and it all comes together. I am the kind of guy that hates to get out of my sequence of the time line I have laid out. Each part of the build is being done at a specific time for a specific purpose and there becomes a rhythm to it all. Change that rhythm and it's like the drummer loosing his place and the whole song goes right down the crapper! Had it not taken the first body shop so darn long I could have had a LOT of other things finished by now. But that's behind us now so it's on with the show and the good news is nothing has suffered any attention to details or quality as a result.
Today we installed a lot of new parts including the firewall insulation, the heater core and box (which required some modification due to the roll cage thru the firewall) and all of the defroster hoses and ducting and controls. Then we installed the FLAMING RIVER steering gear box and column. After we finished that in went the complete new set of clutch and brake pedal assemblies and rods topped off with a very cool CMC purpose built racing dual master cylinder and all new brake lines and fasteners.
As each item gets checked off the "Things to do list" I have to write down 3 more to do or at very least more parts or fasteners to locate to give it that "California's Best" touch. Today I realized the "Keeping it on a budget" mentality just does not work in the same sentence with "Racing". My wife told me, "The next time I hear you tell me you are going to build a car on a budget, I'm going to hit you in the head with a hammer. Maybe then it will sink into that thick skull of yours that it never works that way." Then she made me promise to take her out for dinner.
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