I had a (mostly) good ride home. I still laugh when I see people pull up along side the trailer while we're cruising down the highway and pull out their phone's camera to take a picture (while they're driving!). Just wait until it's finished! The painter said that I should be prepared for a short drive to get an ice cream will take 3 hours because everyone will want to see the car and have questions about it.
I mentioned that the ride was mostly good. Well, it went fine until I got to the infamous NJ Turnpike. Around the Lincoln Tunnel there are two branches and on this Saturday, one was closed so all the traffic merged into one branch. As we approached a toll, the was a 4 mile traffic jam. I inched along having conversations with people in other cars about the Cobra. As we approached the toll booth, there was only one pay lane open (but multiple EZ Pass lanes) causing the backup. With a trailer, I can't use EZ Pass so a slowly merged into the pay lane. When I finally got to the station (where you actually pickup a toll ticket) nothing came out of the machine. I started honking (as did 200 cars behind me). Just then, the other pay station opened and cars quickly started shifting over. After about 5 minutes of honking, I got out of the car to try to figure out what to do. Of course, there are no employees around. I have a 25 foot trailer that I can't backup into 5 miles of traffic to get into the other lane. If I leave without a ticket, I'll get charged the maximum amount. I even thought about trying to grab a ticket from the other machine. Frustration is an understatement. Finally, an employee came to tell me that I can't walk around out there. Thanks for the advice buddy and give me a ticket so I can get out of here. From there it was on to home.
There's lots and lots of little things to do to get the chassis finished before the body goes on. I just finished installing the heater behind the dash. After all the work I put into it, it almost didn't fit! Fortunately, when I set the dash to the proper angle (third picture), I had just enough clearance.
I also fabricated a bump-out where my left foot can go while it's off the clutch.
It's still a very long list to get done. Wipers, electrical, dash, interior, trunk and so on. I'll keep you posted.
And if you're wondering, I do have pictures of the body goes through it's stages of preparation, but I think I'll save them for another post.
By the way, Carroll Shelby died last week at 89. He was the developer of this car and a race car legend. Thanks Carroll for keeping me busy.
