It was almost four years ago (in September '07) that my
story began with my '83 cabriolet. I had bought a non-running, forlorn, dirty and leaking, yet delightfully stock and numbers-matching, cab that, if things were left unchecked, was on an inexorable slide towards a parting out or worse.
Pelican "techweenie" was my invaluable valuation consultant and reality check during my negotiations to acquire the car and bring it back to life. So, the journey began.
I've had to do lots of things, including: a top-end rebuild and new clutch; CIS sorting; recovering a pair of standard seats in off-white vinyl (the original black leather sport seats are stored away and will eventually be re-covered); replacement of a broken shift knob with the correct original 915 shift lever and knob; paint spot repair to stop the rust at the lower windshield corners and below the headlights; window adjustments; replacing the blown-out door and rear speakers while keeping the stock and now getting hard-to-find '83 speaker grills; fixing the doors' "popping" on opening and closing; re-covering the steering wheel with a new leather wrap; repainting the wheels; and lots of other "little" things that add up (including tons of cleaning). I also rebuilt the leather-covered dash that was warped practically beyond recognition and re-covered it in black vinyl. Some tasks were easy and others were fairly daunting.
I did all the work myself except for machine work involving the top-end rebuild. My goal was to make the car a "driver" that runs well and presents well.
Yesterday was the big day, when, with plates purchased, I had the car inspected. I think I was more nervous over this than when my son was born. I shouldn't have been. It passed. I mean, it passed!
Driving home from the inspection, I noticed a clunk at the left front as I made a turn up a slight grade. I quickly put the car on the lift and found a front stabilizer attachment bolt that I hadn't fully tightened when I replaced the fuel pump, so the clunk was quickly remedied. The cold start pressure still needs to be tweaked in, too, which I'm getting close on.
This morning was the maiden voyage. What a blast! It lives! And, as Edd China would say, "Job done!" I'm well-chuffed, too!
Brian
