Thanks Johnny.

Peter, the guy assembling the car said it best. You'll get the door to fit excellent, but then you try to adjust it to get it perfect, it will fight you and even after hours of fiddling it will never get as good as it was before you messed with it.

It's nice having a second set of eyes and an experienced builder. A couple of times he's uttered the phrase "your car is too nice for that. we need to get that properly zinc plated or ..." so, I will be selling off some of the parts that are driver quality, but not quite nice enough for this build

They make it look sooooo easy on TV...

A brief update in my adventures in noobery. I have the Rebel Racing rear spring plate bushing kit.

I did not sufficiently clean out the scale on the drivers side torsion tube, so when I installed the aluminum bearing race in the torsion tube, it got stuck.

I used the spring plate to draw the aluminum cup in. That was f*cking dumb as i pulled 3 of the 4 mounts. So the shop is repairing those for me and we are installing the Elephant reinforcement kit.

Problem solved, right? WRONG. I got the mount slightly cocked, so we needed to cut it out and now I'm trying to get a hold of Rebel to obtain a new bearing race.

Lesson to the amateurs like myself. If it isn't going in right, don't force it. You will wind up with much sadness.

They make it look sooooo easy on TV...

A brief update in my adventures in noobery. I have the Rebel Racing rear spring plate bushing kit.

I did not sufficiently clean out the scale on the drivers side torsion tube, so when I installed the aluminum bearing race in the torsion tube, it got stuck.

I used the spring plate to draw the aluminum cup in. That was f*cking dumb as i pulled 3 of the 4 mounts. So the shop is repairing those for me and we are installing the Elephant reinforcement kit.

Problem solved, right? WRONG. I got the mount slightly cocked, so we needed to cut it out and now I'm trying to get a hold of Rebel to obtain a new bearing race.

Lesson to the amateurs like myself. If it isn't going in right, don't force it. You will wind up with much sadness.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1726683074.jpg

I also wrote about my travails installing the Rebel Racing rear bushings. I didn't have the problems you had, but it was a PITA, and after doing it, I wish I had stayed with the rubber bushings on my street car.

I now have about 5000 miles on them. The RSR bushings do increase harshness of the suspension and transmit more road noise to the cabin. On a smooth highway, they transmit very little additional noise, however on rougher roads, they are noisier and harsher.

It looks like it wasn't all my fault. Talking to the shop they think that the studs were previously repaired and that they were cocked, which resulted in the extra sadness.

We are cutting out the steel and the studs and using a replacement panel from Restoration Design. Concern was that if we just replaced the studs, it would be a potential failure point.

I've been able to secure some replacement bushings, so should be able to have her back on the ground soon.

I have the Rebel front bushing kit, the rear spring plate kit was well as smart racing rear monoball mounts.

I'm expecting more road noise, but i like that it allows the suspension to articulate without added spring load.

Getting closer...

Really happy with the care these guys are taking with my car. Realistically with family and business obligations, I would have missed another year of driving if I tried to finish it myself.

Will likely be home by Christmas, but will wait until spring to drive it with this cold weather in Vancouver.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1732836358.jpg

Looks to be about 95%!!!

That last 5% is a killer, though... both for budgets and schedules!

It sure would be nice to walk out to the garage during the holidays and drool on it even if you're not going to be driving it, keep us updated!

Thanks Jonny! Current fit-up is with the slick back engine lid. I also have the ducktail.

Spring modification list after break-in will be to fit up the GT3 muffler I got and maybe get the Achtungkraft decklid mounts to swap between the 2.

Just firing it up you can tell it's going to rip. The 3.2SS with aluminum pressure plate should pick up revs pretty quick.

Nice work Focker, even if it feels like two steps forward one step back sometimes (or even reversed in this case...)! The Rebel kit is nicely engineered but not easy to install, with our old cars and their variations in diameter, rust, etc in that area.

What shocks are you going with? I'd skip the Bilsteins HD / Sports as the valving is rather stiff and harsh, and won't pair well in terms of NVH without the stock soft rubber suspension.

Maybe a set of KW V3s? Jonny seemed to be very happy with them. I got a ride in Guido's car that has them with 25 / 30mm TBs and stiffer Tarret sway bars and was surprised that it was very firm but not overly harsh, even on bumpy Berlin roads. That heavy a spring with Bilsteins would be very uncomfortable.

Thanks Lukas! I have upgraded sway-a-way hollow torsion bars with koni adjustable shocks front and rear.

Still using stock swaybars with stock rubber bushings and adjustable end links out back.

We just hit another small snag on the sunroof, with some missing sliders. The wind deflector has always been MIA, but looks like the sunroof may have been marginally operational since I got it. Just one of the many surprises when the car has been dissambled for some long and was taken apart before a battery was even put in it.

We've also replaced the blower fan due to corrosion and I think the wiper motor was pooched as well.

Inching closer to completion.

Pete and his team are getting the build to a level I was never capable of. A level the car really deserves to be honest.

We are getting closer and closer, but every now and then we hit a snag.

Latest snag is the "quality" of the door check repair the previous owner did. I had bought the Rennline reinforcement kit just in case, but even that isn't strengthening things to the level it should be at (all of these things are beyond the scope of my expertise).

So, we are pivoting and fabric/nylon straps will be used as a lightweight door check to keep the fender and doors from getting smashed or ripped apart.

Pics of the inside of the door...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1736470750.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1736470771.jpg

Yup.., door straps are a decent route to take. My door checks were shredded. I like this using approx 1” belt leather and Chicago rivets.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1736480029.jpg

This is what I use as well.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1737927302.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1737927302.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1737927302.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1737927302.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1737927302.jpg

Not far away now...

Car is assembled, carbs need to be cleaned again to get it up and running.

Alignment and inspection still to be done, then better weather and I can break in the motor.

Although costs escalated more than I anticipated, some wiring gremlins took more time to sort as there seems to have been an issue with the new tunnel harness resulting in issues with reverse lights, oil pressure and oil level sender.

There’s so much to like in your above photos. Nicely thought out & well done! I’m sure Spring cannot come fast enough for you...

I'm certain I got the name from someone else, but the ethos of the build is The Gentleman's Hot Rod.

The Achtungkraft mirrors really turned out well.

Just went through the build from Post 1 until today.

So glad to see its going to be driven soon! Congrats and good for you for sticking through it

man this build is truly incredible! Just out of curiosity what wheels did you end up going with...tried searching the entire thread but not sure if it was mentioned. An inspiration for sure!