Here where I work, the owner of the company, now retired, is an antique car enthusiast and restorer. He uses the back of the company building for his projects. Currently, he and his son, retired also, are putting the finishing touches on a 1936 Ford Phaeton open air (no windows) convertible. He has friends that come by and help and to get help also. A friend of his came by the other day to get some help installing a modern solid state voltage regulator on his 1939 Ford Standard coupe. I told him it really looked great for a car that was 68 years old. He said, "It should. It's only got 38,000 miles on it!" I said, "You mean on the rebuilt engine?". "No, the whole car!" he replied. This car of his is literally "the little old ladies car". It was bought new in 1939 by two sisters in rural Colorado. They drove it sparingly and when they got too old to drive safely, sold it to the man who owned the farm next door, in the 1960's. He kept it 20 years and only put 2000 miles on it. Then in 1980 he sold it to this guy I was talking to and he's only put about 3000 miles on it since then. This car still has the original spare tire in the trunk. The interior and engine compartment look brand new. The engine purrs like a kitten and the whole car is still shiny and new, not a single rust spot anywhere, even under the car. Man, I just hope one day I can find a little gem like this, hopefully a 1964 Mustang in someone's barn that has been stored for 40 years.........
New windlace in. New headliner in. Still a bit loose, I’m gonna let it set a few days and get used to the shape before I stretch it and do anything permanent!
Coming along very, very nicely.
I have the new rear quarterpanels, but it’s way, way more metal than I need to replace. So I’ll probably cut them down. A good friend of mine is an expert welder so he can tell me exactly where and how much.