Casey Family Build Thread (coupe)

[MRSQSL]

Your car is beautiful and you are lucky to have each other. I only hope Coupey treats me as well as your worn out car. Hee, hee.

Doug, my face would be frozen in shock and disbelief if Coupey ever knocked Fernando from the top spot. His car is absolutely amazing and I drool over it each time I have the pleasure of seeing it. He deserves the top spot.

I was perusing the calendar this morning and discovered we may have a potential conflict with HB next year. Eeeeep!!!! If the coupe is done, I'm taking it even if Mike can't go. I just haven't told him yet.

[SoCalMike]

Julie,

No worries. It all worked out fine and I believe Mike arrived safely for his flight that I hope wasn't delayed again. It was great to see you, Mike and Steve again. Haven't been able to get down to Casa De Cassey lately as we discussed, but the coupe is looking awesome. Hopefully I can make a trip down to twist a wrench soon. HB was awesome again, and I too was also given the opprotunity to talk with many of the fantastic people within this FFR family that came from all over. It really is truly amazing to look at all these "Way Too Cool For School" cars and see the diversity and passion within everyone involved and what appeals to each of us and how that passion is expressed through these cars. Mary and I will talk tou you guys soon.

Mike

[Tom Mauldin]

I can't tell you how much I enjoy reading all of the updates! Thanks for taking the time to do this. Keep up the good work.

[QSL]

Here are a few shots for all your enjoyment...

Yea Mike, I made it safe and no more delays. It was a huge help having you there. Thanks again man and we need to do that dinner.

Doc, I laughed liked crazy when I saw that brown bag... Very cool!!! Problem is though, i kicked it over and had to open that can. Then I poured it in my coffee container hoping to save it, but it was hot out and it was warming fast. The only action I could even think of doing was consuming it. Yea, I took one for the boys that day, but thats the kinda guy i am.

[WIS89]

Mike-

It looks like a typical teenager being forced to wake up early in the morning in that one shot.

Cool pictures. Congratulations on your awards; well deserved! Also love the miniatures.

Enjoying your build progress.

Regards,

Steve

Here are a few shots for all your enjoyment...

Yea Mike, I made it safe and no more delays. It was a huge help having you there. Thanks again man and we need to do that dinner.

Doc, I laughed liked crazy when I saw that brown bag... Very cool!!! Problem is though, i kicked it over and had to open that can. Then I poured it in my coffee container hoping to save it, but it was hot out and it was warming fast. The only action I could even think of doing was consuming it. Yea, I took one for the boys that day, but thats the kinda guy i am.

[General Goodtimes]

Mike and Julie:

Congratulations on the well-deserved awards! After seeing how tight this FFR community really is, getting this type of recognition must make all of the busted knuckles and welding burns worth it (as if going into the garage and firing these beauties up doesn't!). Thanks again for sharing with us.

Well done, and carry on!

[MRSQSL]

Week 62:

Nothing happened. I meant to say that sooner, but I am just now finally getting around to it. After all the stress of getting ready for HB and then the towing and getting everyone situated that evening, we just didn't have the oomph to work on the car at all. Plus, it's hard knowing the next step is to take the engine out again when it looks so darn nice in it. I know we need to get to work if we plan to have it ready by HB next year. I think I need a good, hard shove to get back in the groove. If I'm in a full body cast next week, you'll know Mike took that literally.

[John Dol]

Congrats on the awards, maybe next year I can join you guys!

John

[Presto51]

Week 62:

Nothing happened. I meant to say that sooner, but I am just now finally getting around to it. After all the stress of getting ready for HB and then the towing and getting everyone situated that evening, we just didn't have the oomph to work on the car at all. Plus, it's hard knowing the next step is to take the engine out again when it looks so darn nice in it. I know we need to get to work if we plan to have it ready by HB next year. I think I need a good, hard shove to get back in the groove. If I'm in a full body cast next week, you'll know Mike took that literally. :)

Julie, Julie, Julie, what you all need is a build party with as many forum members as you can handle, that would get Coupey back on track and on time.

Shoot if you can get the Da-Bat to show I'll fly out and help out! Oh the heck with it, even if he doesn't show I will

Plan it and we will come

Ron

[MRSQSL]

John, I hope you get the job. It would be great to have another Coupe out here in California.

Ron, we've always said if the garage door is open, come on by.

[xlr8or]

Build party! Build party! Build party!

[68GT500MAN]

I like the idea of the build party - I can't see if your garage door is open from Fresno.
Doug

[David Hodgkins]

Did someone say build party??

[MRSQSL]

I don't know about a build party, but I'm down for a "pull the engine out of the car" party. I have proven over and over again I should not be anywhere near heavy dangling objects and it goes much more smoothly when Mike has outside assistance. I'll take pictures (probably mostly of my fingers).

[Rodster]

When? May 24/25
? June 7/8?

[SoCalMike]

BUILD PARTY??? Who, What, Where, When? Did I hear build party? WHOA, Chick cars, other cars and beer. It just doesn't get any better than that.
Seriously Mike, if you need a hand, you know i'm only a phone call away. Lets plan it for next saturday to pull the motor and trans, among other things that we can get done. Text me and let me know.
Talk to you two soon.

Mike

[QSL]

ehhh, just taking a break from the cars for now and getting some home stuff fixed. Looking forward to cranking on it again in a few weeks. Heck I have not even really played with my new lift yet.

[MRSQSL]

Week 63:

Again, nothing car related happened. It's nice to take a break and work on the house. Frank and Julie came on Friday to install some recessed lighting and will be back today to do another room. Mike put some dimmers on those switches so we have a little more control over the brightness. Now I don't have to shrink from the massive amounts of light in the bedroom (and that was only with two bulbs). There was one room we rarely ever used, but we made some changes and now we practically live full time in there. It's so nice when your house feels like a home. We need to paint the bedroom (hopefully Julie can help me with a color choice today) and do some more decorating and eventually pick tile for the kitchen floor. Then we can sit back, relax and enjoy all our (Frank's) hard work.

We are taking Scoopy to a car show this weekend, but I doubt we will work on Coupey until the following weekend. Stay tuned though. You never know what may happen around here.

[MRSQSL]

Week 64:

Please don't unsubscribe. I promise we will get back to working on Coupey.

Saturday we went to a car show in Upland and had a great time. Scoopy is such a fun car to ride in. Even though I was hot, had a headache and was really tired, I didn't want to get out. We planned to take a short drive Sunday morning, but ended up with too much to do.

The bedroom is getting a fresh coat of paint. I'm doing as high as I can reach down to the floor and Mike was kind enough to climb on a ladder and do the top portion on a couple walls. I bought another gallon of paint and I think I can finish tonight or maybe tomorrow. Then I get to start on the bathroom portion of the paint job. Anyway, it should be done by the end of the week so we should be able to work on the car again soon. I've got the itch to get back in the garage. We'll post something in the So Cal section or pm people if we need help with the engine removal. We really appreciate how helpful and wonderful the people of this community are.

[MRSQSL]

Weeks 65 and 66:

Sigh. Mike keeps me so busy, I can't get near the garage. I threatened him this weekend though. If I don't get to work on my car next weekend, I'm going to... (I never finished the thought, but whatever he can conjure up is probably worse than anything I can scare him with). There will be a legit update next weekend or I'm just going to sit on the floor and cry. I don't think it'll accomplish anything, but I'll probably feel better.

We were camping this last weekend which is why nothing car related happened. Other than getting the Jeep smogged (special star station requirement this time around), I don't think we have anything planned next weekend. Poor neglected little Coupey.

[frankeeski]

Sadface. You're getting more done on your car than I am on mine. You can take that as a positive, I guess.

[Presto51]

Weeks 65 and 66:

Sigh. Mike keeps me so busy, I can't get near the garage.

Hey Mike leave Julie alone so she can get some work done on her car..............Wait a minute............. I've seen pictures of Julie..........

It's okay Mike I wouldn't be able leave her alone either.

Carry on my man

Ron

[MRSQSL]

Week 67:

Sunday morning was "go time". I bounded down into the garage, looked around, sat on the sofa and wondered if I really wanted to do this after all. We had been doing work on the house and had moved some stuff in the garage so it was not as clean as usual. I mustered up the courage to stand and began looking around for the manual. Found it where it belonged which isn't where it has been for several months. According to the instructions, I'm pretty much done with the car. Gotta toss the gas tank in, run some fuel and brake lines and electrical and then it should be ready to go. Hmmmmm...or not. Fuel tank installation it is. I remembered how horribly that went with Scoopy, but convinced myself somehow that it'd be a piece of cake this time since I had prior experience. Yeah! Pep talk worked and I sprang into action.

The inventory list said my fuel goodies were in box 2B. Excellent, where's box 2B? Oh, yeah. Where else? The BOTTOM of the pile. My advice to anyone in the build stage, don't put box 3 anywhere but the bottom. It's super heavy and is full of things you won't need for a really long time. Of course this advice comes from a woman that has had to retrieve the bottom box essentially on a weekly basis regardless of which one I put down there. Box 3 is currently on the very, very bottom (it's the only one I can't lift by myself and I have to sort of kick/squash it around).

I looked around and discovered I was alone in the garage. I was going to need some liquid help. I hit the intercom button and asked the kids if they would make me a cup of coffee. Since I'm a lightweight, I need to eat something with coffee or I get nauseous and shaky (even with half caf which is what I'm currently drinking). I went back to the stack of boxes and began by removing the light stuff that always accumulates on top like the air conditioning unit and spoiler. I managed to move a couple of the large boxes when Alyssa walked out with a tortilla. That'll do. It's not the most appetizing thing I've eaten, but at least it'll keep the coffee from kicking my butt. She slid it into my mouth as my hands were full at that moment. I finished moving the box in my arms and proceeded to look for a clean, food-grade spot to put my uneaten tortilla. My mouth appeared to be the safest. Steve brought the coffee out and set it on the work bench and laughed as he watched me move a bunch more boxes with a giant tortilla dangling from my face. Sigh. After reaching the base of the stack, I grabbed the items I needed, switched box 3 to the bottom and loaded the cardboard tower back up. I plopped on the sofa to scarf down my food and drink. This is the moment when Mike walked out and looked at me as if I had done nothing other than recline and eat. Grrrr...I set him straight about my endeavors and then had to ask really nicely if he'd fetch the giant fuel tank box which was way up on the tippy top shelf. He eventually did and I pulled the odds and ends out only to discover the little square cap things did not exist. I wasn't able to even get through step one which I assumed was the only part I wouldn't struggle with. I skipped to step two which was bolting the straps on. Nope. Car wasn't high enough for the straps to clear the floor. This was solved by Mike playing with and assembling his new Quick Lift. We got the car up, put it on jack stands as well just for safety and I was able to bolt away. That was all I accomplished because the next step requires the first step to be done and I didn't feel like going to the store. It was hot, really really hot. Instead, I went inside, took a shower and relaxed for a bit.

Hopefully I'll remember to go to the store this week and get the little square things so I can proceed with the tank install next weekend. Oh, we took the body off the coupe. That wasn't fun. It took all four of us and a lot of grunting, squealing and other assorted noises. I was impressed we managed to get it over the fence and back down the side yard without dropping it or injuring each other much. At least we made a tiny bit of progress and Mike got to play with the new lift (which I was reaching under the car to grab and noticed I have a giant scratch down my driver's side 4" tube which I'm NOT happy about). I can only assume the scratch was from the trailer when we went to HB. Super sad face.

[Movieman]

You write well. You give people the sense of they are there with you.

[MRSQSL]

Thank you! That's so sweet!! Believe me when I say you should be glad you weren't really there. It was HOT this weekend and summer isn't really even here yet. It doesn't get super ugly hot until August. My August/September updates are going to be angry and irritable. I strongly dislike summer (except that the kids are home and it stays light out longer and heat in the evenings outside is one of my favorite things).

[Carlos C]

So... You do like summer after all?

Carlos

[QSL]

So now you guys see what I deal with...

[turbonut48]

Yes I can relate. My "Princess" says she likes the warm weather, until it hits 80, then wants the AC on. 70, and shes freezing. Pretty narrow comfort zone.
The Nut

[MRSQSL]

My comfort zone is 72-78 (maybe...72 seems awfully cold). I would get along well with "Princess". Mike's comfort zone seems to be 55-70. Clearly this causes some conflict. Let's just say I enjoy summer days as much as I enjoy mocking things up. As for Mike, as far as I can tell all he has to "deal with" is a loving wife who makes his life oh so much better in a multitude of ways. No sympathy.

[Big Blocker]

Julie,

Try a comfort zone of 40° to 110° - that's my limits for driving the Cobra . . . I rewired my dash in the cold of winter (44° in the garage) and rebuilt the exhaust system in the heat of the summer. But, I do understand your level of "comfort" perfectly. Like mentioned above, my wife wants the t-stat set at 72° but then complains about how cold it is - raises it to 76° and then starts looking for a fan to sit in front of . . . go figure.
We have two to three week "In-Season" times here in Vegas, so working on the car is well planned out in advance.
Not to worry, you'll get back to it - have Mike climate control the garage for you during your home remodels . . . Ha Ha Ha.

[68GT500MAN]

Julie, Your updates are missed.
Doug

[jayguy]

Yes Julie, please come back to us!

[MRSQSL]

Awwwww...thanks. I was out of town until about a half hour ago and I didn't have cell service or wifi or anything!!!! I'm off tomorrow, but I'll try to pop in and do a quick update of the nothingness that happened.

[MRSQSL]

Weeks 68 and 69:

I failed. I couldn't find those stupid little 3/4" thingumabobs that you shove up into the gas tank support jobbers. Mike says he'll go to McFadden-Dale and try to score me some. Since this is our first day back at work after vacation, I suspect he'll be entirely too busy to go today though. That's alright. I can give him an extra day. That's what a supportive, loving wife I am.

Before our Sequoia camping excursion, we took Scoopy to the Murrieta Father's Day car show. It was much cooler than last year and we had a good time.

Other than rambling on about how incredibly nice it was in Sequoia, there's probably not much I can say. I need to find a way to get Mike motivated to help me with Coupey. I realize it's my car and I need to be doing the work, but it's difficult to go in the garage if he doesn't want to go too. I'd get lonely (sniffle). I heard a rumor about an upcoming three day weekend, so crossing the old fingers some progress is finally made.

Oh, I did happen to notice a Stewart Transport truck just outside of Bakersfield Tuesday afternoon. Someone is very happily doing inventory I suspect.

Another oh. Mike and I celebrated another wedding anniversary during our trip. I love you Mike!!!!!!!!!!

[cobrajj]

Julie, let me know if Mike doesn't find these 3/4" plugs. Maybe I could see if anyone stocks them around here. Breeze has them but seems like a long way to ship. http://www.breezeautomotive.com/deta...=912&cat_id=27

Jim

[MRSQSL]

Thanks Jim!! I'll let you know once he gets over to McFadden-Dale. I thought about asking Factory Five but then realized shipping would be extremely expensive. Yikes!

[NukeMMC]

Lowe's or most any hardware store carries them in the hardware section.

[MRSQSL]

Home Depot doesn't. I knew I should've tried Lowes instead.

[68GT500MAN]

Happy late Anniversary to you and Mike!
Doug

[David Hodgkins]

Julie, McFadden-Dale is right around the corner from me. Say the word and I'll have 4 of those caps in the mail to you this weekend.