What's in the box???

What is in the box?
I don't think you will be able to guess which car part arrived in this box! I will give you a hint....It is black, and it is soft.

Okay it is the roofing material. Here is a picture of it after it had been laid out flat in the family room and then rolled on tubing to keep it as flat as possible.
It is very interesting. I could best describe it as a type of vinyl or naugahyde. It is textured with long lines running parallel to the long sides. It has a foam underlining that is a separate piece. There is also a black liner that I am told will go in the inside, to make things look good....I love the wood look myself.

Well Saturday here is what she looked like late in the morning. Front view:

Side view:

The dust is our fault, the garage is dusty with the wood shop in the next room. Also Arizona is dusty and dirty, and it has been extremely dry lately. Well Saturday was a hard day for Gary. He made what he thought was a huge mistake...it all ended up being just okay though.


These long top sides have taken him hours, literally hours to make. He has had to custom make each and every cut, some cuts taking several times to be exact. You see this is not a kit, nor do they have instructions or a pattern. They have pictures from another that has been restored (apparently there were only a few of these made, not sure on the exact number). They have reproduced this car from the pictures.


Here is a picture of the top front side. It runs the full length of the car. Well Gary went to make a cut in the front part of this piece and cut it wrong...30 hours down the drain. He was so distraught and frustrated with himself. Not only that, and this I don't entirely understand, but he now lost an angle and felt like it would be next to impossible to reproduce this piece. Well after much consideration, he did patch and glue (doesn't every piece of art have to have some sort of imperfection...And this is truly a work of art!) Well here is a close up of the "mistake". Can you tell? I had a hard time finding it, it will be just fine I think.

Next he glued the top part together in the back and sanded it. This raw maple wood is beautiful, just absolutely beautiful with it's soft subtle grains.



A close up of the details at the back corner.

This is the front header to the roof assembly. It was a piece that was purchased.

Here it is laid up where it will go. The "corner" or area where the side and front meet have to be put together, rounded and sanded.

Lots of hours getting everything just so. Accuracy is a priority, and it takes time. This has kept him busy and he has thoroughly enjoyed every minute...well almost every minute...there were a few minutes of stress on Saturday.