audtatious wrote:Wow, getting close.

Hopefully you can find a roof rack, tho it may be a bit difficult as I'm sure nobody makes that anymore.

Rick has worked my rack over and will be sending pictures this coming week if all goes well. I made the choice to paint instead of major money rechroming and hope it will work with the stock color scheme we are staying with. I also want to THANK all of you for staying with Rick, Neal and I on this build. I'm sorry it has been so long but I keep running out of coin or change my mind or just have a hard time finding the Wagon parts that are needed. So Thank You all for taking the time to read about my dream.

It takes time, we appreciate you keeping the thread updated

Yours is one of the few quality builds that hasn't fizzled out in some way. I know I've gone through multiple build threads, and nothing ever seems to get accomplished...
I love this wagon! Make sure to let NICO know where you take road trips- I know plenty of people would want to see this beauty in person.

Well, my followers, it's been a bit, but I have some new pictures and a new e-mail from Rockin' Rick down in MO. Things are starting to look interesting.


Mark,

Some more pics for you.

Still waiting on the fuel pump, but it should be in today (Thursday).

Larry, the fellow doing the seats, called Sunday and said the seats will be done soon. Just waiting to get a few things done so I can get the ole girl started and get her finished. 

I went out Sunday to Larry's place to help him resolve a small issue on the upholstery and got to see the seats. He has all of them done except for the back of front seat, which he had a question about how the corner was done from factory. It was no problem...he just wanted to make sure!!!!!

He really firmed up the bottom of the front seat and added some more dense foam to make the cover really tight. He also painted the bare metal seat frames before he did the upholstery, which impressed me. Your seats are very nice!!!!!

Larry Kuhn is the name of my friend doing the upholstery. He is very good and has been doing this for a long time.

Well, Mark, that's about all I got for now. I'll keep you posted as I progress. Sorry these are so late as we have been busy trying to get Sharon's car fixed and have been down to one vehicle since last week. It has made things crazy around here for a while now. Oh well...everybody has their turn in the barrel.

Ha Ha!!!!!  

Rick


And, now for some pictures. ENJOY!!!

Lookin pretty good there, Pop. Be patient and you'll have her back before you know it.

Well, I have a few pictures for ya today. Not a whole lot. Not much of an e-mail either, but quick and to the point.

Here we go.


Mark,

Here are some pics of the seats. They came out really nice and will look great when trim is installed.

Fuel pump is not in yet. Hopefully today (Monday). I'll keep you posted.

Ole man in MO!

Don't take a sharp left turn on those things without a seat belt.

I do have fond memories of being slung to the passenger side and have a "where's the brake pedal" moment back in my stupid non-seat belt days.

Opportunity curve!!!

Hey, gang. Guess what. I have some new pictures to show you. So, here's the letter from Rick.


Mark,

Here are some more pics for you to look at.

The roof rack came out really well, as you can see. The underside of hood is still a little wet in these pics, but should dull slightly when it gets fully cured. It is a semi gloss finish. 

I will call you this evening about the starting problem as it is too lengthy for my poor typing skills...Ha! Ha!

Call you soon.

Rick

And, now for some pictures!

Nice. Close to being done.

Sadly, we are having a problem with the LT1 not wanting to run.

Rick has put a new electric fuel pump on and it will not start. She does run on short bursts of starting fluid and there is the correct pressure at the injectors but still no go. They are thinking the VATS system may have reared its ugly head and said, "Nope you are not takin me." But it ran before, so some part of the program must have changed after being unhooked from the battery this long. Rick is loading her up for a field trip to scan the computer and see if any clues show up (I hope).

Maybe she just needs a day out, you know, cabin fever. Any ideas you might have, please let us know. Rick is reading this thread so your input will be read.

Thanks from the G.O.B.

G.O.B. wrote:Sadly, we are having a problem with the LT1 not wanting to run.

Rick has put a new electric fuel pump on and it will not start. She does run on short bursts of starting fluid and there is the correct pressure at the injectors but still no go. They are thinking the VATS system may have reared its ugly head and said, "Nope you are not takin me." But it ran before, so some part of the program must have changed after being unhooked from the battery this long. Rick is loading her up for a field trip to scan the computer and see if any clues show up (I hope).

Maybe she just needs a day out, you know, cabin fever. Any ideas you might have, please let us know. Rick is reading this thread so your input will be read.

Thanks from the G.O.B.

Boy does I feel goofy,

Dr Rickenstein has done worked his magic and pulled the levers to the right extent and with the power of 12 volts “SHE is Alive” once more. With the help of the Professor William (Billy) Cox (a hot rodding buddy of Rick’s who is a whiz around LT1’s. He has one in a Cadillac) owner of Muffler Man in Macon MO. The two of them tracked it down to a wire that needed to be constant hot on the accessory terminal of the fuse block. All because the new harness had a different color wire from the original wires. So with luck Cassandra is off to get the headliner in next week then interior and then alignment.

Sorry for the confusion, hope this straightens it out.

Macon MO! I've been through there. Congrats on having a working car again- I'm jealous.

Well, the ole girls time is nearing and Rockin Rick has sent us some pictures along with a better explanation of the VATS problem.


Mark,

Some more pics for you to view.

Sure am glad to get the starting problem solved.

In the pic that shows the wiring connections, if you look closely, you can see a blade fuse with green tape on it. I moved the pink wire from this location to the present location on front fuse block.  This terminal, supplies power to the VATS side of the computer. All I had to do was remove the blade terminal it had, change to a ring type terminal, and reinstall it to the front fuse block.

This terminal is cold until ignition is turned on and then it becomes hot and stays hot when ignition is turned to start engine. That was the whole problem as the hot (pink wire) was on the wrong location.

Your wagon starts immediately now and sounds great. I’ll keep you informed as progress unfolds. She WILL be home soon!                                                   

Ole man in MO


And now for the pictures.

Very nice

Needs a 6-71 pokin outta da hood

Holy crap! She is almost done!! WOOOHOOO!!! Not much longer now, pop. Hang in there.

audtatious wrote:Very nice

Needs a 6-71 pokin outta da hood

That would blow the stock stealth look, but someday maybe a Paxton Centrifugal blower would be nice.

Aw

Dual turbo would work.....

Sooooo shiny. Fantastic, Mr. Hartman.

How about some before/after pics?

/gratuitous

Dude, really? Look at the whole thread. LOL.

Oh, wait...maybe you mean like pics in the same post? Ummm...maybe once it's all done.

LOL yeah the latter, Neal. Be cool to see some side-by-sides.

Hey, all. Again, the updates are coming faster than I can get them posted. Rick has been busy at work with Cassandra, as you will see in the pictures. There was a small spot that needed to be taken care of that he mentions in his e-mail.


Mark,

Here are the pics of mirror mounting and right side dogleg repair.

The wagon will go to the paint booth this weekend to get the repaired area painted. Monday she goes to Tiger Upholstery for the headliner and wind lace installation. When she returns, I'll get the rest of interior completed, then off to Sid's for the front end alignment.

After that I'll take her for a little test driving, then hopefully, headed home to you for the River to River cruise.

Keep your fingers crossed!                               

Ole Man in MO.

Holy crap. That's making me tight in the pants, pop! Can't friggan wait.

What was up with the "right side dogleg repair"?

According to pop, it was a spot that wasn't caught in the body work, so Rick went back to take care of it.

I know it has been a very long time since I have posted up here. There was a small snafu that was unseen until two weeks ago. As the Grand Ol’ Lady was taken down to Columbia Mo for headliner and windlace things came up and she had to be put on hold. After talking to everyone, it sounds as if the ball will be rolling by Monday the 15th if all goes well.

So please be patient and keep an eye to the thread and the road, as you never know when “We” may pop up in your neck of the woods.

Very cool, thanks for the update, it's getting so close now!

Well boys and girls, I guess I lied to you again about Monday the 15th of August. As far as I know the car is still in Columbia, Mo. waiting for its turn again. I hope Rick asked them to take pictures as they worked, but if not oh well.

So I’m sorry that this thread is just dragging along. I don’t blame any of the readers for dropping off of here as by now I have noticed that most of you have kicked back awhile ago. But someday we hope to be roaming the byways of this country.

"Sorry", you're kidding right? All good things are worth waiting for and this thread has been a great read since your first post. I'll bide my time and hang loose until the next installment - Happy Trails.

George