I'm not too sure if any of you that have been following my thread have noticed but it may come as a bit of a surprise to find out that I'm somewhat of a procrastinator. Shocking, right?.
Anyway, this filthy habit extends well past my garage activities and blankets quite a bit of my working life and as such, just the other day I found myself at work at my desk avoiding the 40-odd degree weather outside by running mental lists of what I need for the coupe. In a sudden and unexpected burst of productivity I broke out the note pad and started writing it all down.
I'm sure you're all reading this and saying to your monitor "woah! slow down there big-shagger, you don't want to bust a vein or anything with all that work" but worry not friends as I was able to fill up a full A4 page without breaking much more of a sweat than the heat was already causing. I didn't make exceptions for what I think I already have in the shed at mum and dad's and simply compiled it from memory so there could be things listed that I already have, and things not listed that I don't.
Anyway, I thought I'd share this with you all, if for no other reason to encourage myself to not be such a lazy shit.
Stuff the Galant needs:
a list of items I need to repair the damage to the car
* Complete radiator support panel with headlight mounts and grille mounts (will basically need a stuffed GD shell to chop the front off)
* Bonnet with stainless steel trim
* Eyebrows (both) and blinker assembly (at least driver's side)
* Driver's side guard
* Lower valance
* Front bumper and light assemblies (GD type)
* Headlight buckets and headlights
* Radiator (was running GH Sigma but will probably go alloy)
* Thermofan
* Possibly a drivers side front chassis rail (will get cut out of the shell I chop the front off of)
Other Stuff
Not necessary but important none the less
* Rear bumper end piece (driver's side)
* Rear window rubber (I can dream, right? that said I've seen a trick for painting around window rubbers if they're not being removed
)
* Front windscreen (doesn't have to be new, just in better condition)
* Fender mirrors (so I can fill the door holes before paint)
* New rear shocks
* Heater tap and reconditioning of the heater core
* A catch can setup
* A better airbox design and parts to relocate battery to the boot (which I should have done in the first place
)
Oh and the engine is likely to need a freshen up after sitting so long.
I also wrote up a wish list of parts for future mods that will shape the outcome of this iteration of the car but I think I'm going to keep that to myself. The reason for this is that quite a while ago I read somewhere (I think Speedhunters) that the internet era's habit of detailing every tiny element of a build from start to finish is, while very interesting, getting kinda detracting from anticipation filled reveals. You already know what it looks like before it's rolled out of the garage the first time.
This got me thinking a little about this build and my thread. I want to share the experience with you. Getting it to where it is now, especially the adventure of the engine conversion was one of the most fulfilling things I've ever done. But the first time I took it to a meet, everyone knew every nut and bolt already because you would have read about them as I was turning them.
There's nothing wrong with that but I just have this feeling that I should keep at least some things from you until the end. So here's how I'm going to share this project, however long it's going to take to complete (very).
Firstly the repair of the front end damage I'll show in all it's gory detail. I owe you that much, plus it will build up to the blank slate that I intend to start with.
Once the shell is straight and striped, the pictures are going to become a little more discreet. Detail shots of jobs here and there, vague photos of cool parts just to get you interested.
And absolutely no talk of colour. Period.
Ambitious? Yeah. Annoying for you? Probably. Self absorbed? Well obviously. I just thought it'd be entertaining to try and approach the build thread idea a little differently. Oh and once the car is done, then I'll go into detail of various things. Just hope my memory holds up
There's one more thing that's worth mentioning before I wrap up this word assault. I had a chat to my folks just a moment ago and the caravan they've bought (and just taken delivery of) and were planing to fit in their garage has turned out to be a little taller than they had anticipated and will no longer be kept in the garage when not on the road but stored elsewhere. What does this mean? It means I'm in with a shot of calling dibs on some garage space while they're busy driving around the country. And that is the last piece that needed to fall into place before I could start work (if you'll remember I don't have a garage at my place, only a carport and nowhere to store delicate parts while the rebuild commences)
Finance:
Check!
Parts:
Partial Check!
Workspace:
Should be a Check!
Getting excited.