Three , Two, One -- Jump

Today, I officially got started with assembly.  Nothing is actually attached to the frame yet, but I'm getting close.  I feel this nervous excitement over taking the next step, kind of like a skydiver who hopes his parachute will work.  I've already sunk a lot of money into a bunch of parts and I have no idea if this car will actually ride down the road someday.  I guess the good news is that even if it doesn't work, I'll still be in better shape than the doomed skydiver.

I've included a few pictures of the progress.

As expected, my transmission was delivered today.  Nice, huh.

I also unwrapped the rest of the parts I got from the powder coater.

I started preparing some sub-assemblies.  I forgot how many parts I had accumulated.  This is one of about 10 boxes.  And many more parts still to come.

A couple of the parts were powder coated in an area that was supposed to be bare so I used paint stripper to remove the finish.

Here are some parts ready to assembly.

And here they are fully reassembled.

In this picture, I'm reinstalling the bushings I had removed for painting.

The upper and lower control arms ready for installation.

Tomorrow, I plan to get the front suspension assembled and hopefully get the rear bearings pressed (if my friend George I around -- he has a hydraulic press).