Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Progress

So I've kind of stalled out lately.  It's been a busy summer and I've hit a few snags.  I was working on the rear suspension and stuff and discovered that I've got different sized axles and brakes.  Then I started working on the front suspension and got a lot done until I found I need new rotors and I'm waiting to order those.  So I started working on the transmission and driveline.  Got that done and on the frame.  So I've had a lot of time to think about what I'm going to do.  Then I realized that after I get the suspension done and the rear part of the drivetrain together the next step is either the engine or the body.  And since those are pretty big steps I stalled out.  

Ever since I found the problem with the rear end I've been casually looking to see if I can find a solution.   I've spent lots of time on the phone, posting questions to forums, looking at classifieds, ebay, and whatever else you can think of.  Opportunites came up and even a few parts cars.  Lindsay and I have gone to look at a few and then we found a guy that had 2 GT6's an hour away.  So we thought we'd go up and take a look.  He was asking $2000 for both.  The first one we looked at was maybe a 5 out of 10.  The body looked good, it had the rare overdrive option, but he said the engine was frozen and it didn't have the same rear end pieces that I need.  The other was maybe a 3 out of 10.  It had been rear ended so the body was pretty much toast.  The interior was unusable as well.  But when I peaked under the car it looked like it had the rear end pieces I need!  I wasn't quite sure and I couldn't get in a position to take the wheels off to get a better look.  So I started looking at the rest of the car to see what else would be usable.  It looked promising so I asked if he would split the cars and he said yes, then I made him a low-ball offer of $300.  He said $350 and I said sold.
Here's the car.  

During my research I found I could get all the pieces I need, but Mk 1 rear end pieces, for $450 to $500 before shipping.  So I figured $350 for a whole car that might have the pieces I need is worth it.  

Tonight I pulled the rear wheels off and guess what I found...
It has the same setup as my car!  HOORAY!!  Now I can finish up the rear of the car.  That is so cool.  

Another reason I bought the car was so I can use it as a cheat sheet on how to put everything back on my car.  In all the hubub and excitement of taking everthing apart I kind of forgot a few things, so it will be nice to be able to take a peek at the parts car.  Plus I now have an endless supply of nuts and bolts that I can scavenge.  It's going to be great.  
This car has a cool decal setup on it.  I think it's pretty cool.  It says GT6 in front of the rear wheel and has the stripes up the back of the door.  I think I might try to incorporate that into the finished product and maybe even try to find some original decals somewhere.  But I'm getting way ahead of myself.  
I asked the guy about the engine and he said he didn't know, but it does rotate so it's not frozen.  That's a good sign.  So I might be able to get some money for the engine or maybe even use it.  We'll see.  Bryce think's it needs to be fixed and he told me that he would fix it after I left.
So, all-in-all it's going to be fun.  I'll be able to finish up the rear part of the car and get that done.  I'm so excited and I just can't hide it.  Now if I just had more time to be a grease monkey it would be great.  Maybe this winter.  We'll see.