2.23.21 TAKING A BREATHER AND CALLING ON A FRIEND

 

We had a surprise freak cold snap that made painting my under-hood parts impossible.

I broke down and sent my inner fenders, crossmember, and radiator core support to a buddy who is a badass body-and-paint guy. Since we've had unusually cold weather I've been unable to paint and a freak snowstorm, although beautiful in pictures, wreaked havoc on our lives, knocking cable, Internet, and our water out due to frozen pipes. 

We were lucky. Unlike millions of less fortunate Texans, we had power th whole time and were able to keep warm. The plumbers came out and they're getting the lion's share of my discretionary budget this month.

Back to my painter friend. He is between gigs, and seeing as I've just scored a few back-to-back writing assignments, it gives me a change to recharge and focus on my work for the next few weeks while he primers and paints my parts using pro-grade equipment and materials. 

I'm actually grateful for the break and it allows me to focus on work for a bit. We also are still digging our way out of the cold snap that creamed the entire state. With it, we suffered a setback with our home's plumbing and had the bring in the big guns, so getting a couple weeks of freelance work into the bank is going to be the priority.

I still have plenty to do with the firewall and frame in need of paint, but I thought I'd treat myself to a little professional assistance from a guy who has the talent and the equipment to do a quality single-stage prime and paint job on the most visible parts of the under-hood. I figure he 3was agreateful for the work and I was grateful for the help. 

So off my parts went a couple days ago and with a little luck I should have them back in a week or two.

In the meantime, I've got the firewall to work on, and parts ordered for some minor rust repair on the inner front fenders. Basically all stuff that needs to be attended to before I can install the engine and trans.

It's also coming down to the wire on deciding whether to run modern rack-and-pinion steering or stick with the bulkier stock components. 

So there you have it. If you don't see a lot of post for the next few weeks, now you know why.

Stay tuned.