10/15/2009 - Where We Are....

Good Grief! 5 months since the last update? Shame on me!

Here is where we are at now. Feast upon the pictures! Right click on a picture and "Show Picture" for a larger view.

Ain't she sweet? (thanks Clint!). Lifting section is on, mufflers are installed, luggage rack is on, the hood is on, and most of the trim is installed! I think I will leave the hood that color. I still have not figured out the grill. My idea I had failed abjectly. Drag. That is Kathy's orange Mustang out on the street, and our Amphicar in the garage.

Surprise! Another luggage rack! This one is rather more difficult to get. I think it looks way cool. Notice the license plate...it is licensed as a car instead of a motorcycle! Lights are all installed. The license plate lamp is straight from Autozone. I think the taillights are actually for a KR175...they are a little too small. Oh well, they were cheap! The Jeep is an old friend that has been around for 12 years. The Javelin is one of my later projects....360 and a 4 speed. Just like my first car!

What's that you say? Show you the interior? Well, alright then!

Not too shabby! Carpeted and all the interior panels installed. Lights all hooked up and the turn signals and horn works.The seat base was pretty rusted, so I could not get the original adjusters to work. What I did instead is just hook a bolt so that there are two seat positions...one for me and one for Kathy. It is a little tight in there, but I can make it all work.

I think the front seat looks pretty good. It is the same seat that was in the car when I bought it. Go back and take a look...it took a little welding to get it functional. The rear seat bottom is a reproduction ...there was nothing left of the original. I still need to make a wooden seat back frame for the back of the rear seat and get it mounted to the gas tank.

Which takes us to the current state of affairs. I finally conquered the idle issue, and was able to drive it around some. Brakes and steering worked great, and the acceleration was great. But, the clutch gave up the ghost very quickly. Plus, I think there may be something wrong with the trans axle (maybe). And the gas tank started leaking. So, the Frankenschmitt is put away for the winter. My understanding is that a VW clutch will swap out, and we are getting the gas tank fixed even as I type this, so hopefully we will be back on the road soon. In the meantime, I am working on keeping the rest of the cars running, getting the Javelin fixed up, and getting ready to play with this!

Stay tuned... there will be more to come. Wait until I get it to its first car show! Bwahahaha!!

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