Need A Plan

I’m blaming it on the weather and an extended work schedule, but I’ve been entirely uninspired to spend any more time than necessary in the garage. For instance, this weekend the temperature was above freezing, and all I could manage to do, car-wise, was straighten a dent in the Suburban. By the way, is it too much to ask people to take responsibility for their actions? Last week the Suburban was parked in front of the house for a few days during which someone ran into the driver’s door AGAIN. A couple years ago that same door was backed into and no one left a note. No one left a note this time either. This is the third time in two years we’ve been victimized by hit-and-runs. Pretty sad that so many people today 1) can’t drive and 2) don’t have a conscience.

Sorry for the tangent – back on topic. I could make a list a mile long of Corvair tasks, so it shouldn’t be so hard to find the motivation to turn off the TV and turn on the garage heaters. I’m now convinced a plan would help. I perceive three different segments to the plan – Glinda’s roadification, Lucy’s improvements, and Betty/PartsCar’s drivetrain swapping.

Glinda’s roadification is basically down to cutting out rusted body sections, welding in replacements, priming, and painting. After the front and rear window channels are repaired, Victoria and I need to re-caulk around the glass edge and re-install the trim.

Lucy’s improvements include doing a tune-up, installing a dual master cylinder, swapping an alternator in place of the generator, and putting in the ’64 rear suspension setup I’ve got all the parts for. I’d love to get all these done before the next track day in early May. While there are some expenses for each of these tasks, none is a bank-breaker.

Then there’s the whole Betty and PartsCar saga. Since I’ve decided that these two cars are changing purposes and thus names, I now can develop a list of tasks that need to be done as soon as possible. New PartsCar is donating its engine, trunk lid, driver’s window, and assorted body panels to New Betty, and some more body panels to Glinda before being towed up to the Corvair Ranch.

So from all this, what’s the plan? Assuming the above forty degree days melt the snow in the driveway the next few days, how about:

1. Take the driver’s side window out of the NewParts car and install in New Betty.
2. Move New Betty out of the garage and move New PartsCar in.
3. Cut out the panels from New PartsCar, remove her trunk lid, and then pull her engine and anything else that’s worth salvaging.
4. Pull New PartsCar out of the garage and tow her up to the Corvair Ranch.
5. Put New Betty in the garage, install the trunk lid, and temporarily mount the engine to get it off the garage floor.
6. Put Lucy in the garage and do the tune-up and master cylinder swap.
7. If time allows, do the alternator to generator swap.

Throughout all this, Victoria and I will continue to work on Glinda.