1987 3.2 Carrera Backdate project - Sladeys hotrod

[stretch]

Well done Mark. I hope to see it in the flesh at the weekend.

[bjmullan]

So looking forward to seeing your car tomorrow night and the weather is looking good for the BBQ

[grannysmith]

Looks great Mark, well done with it all on that time scale you gave yourself.

Don't know if you're via Hull tomorrow but looking forward to seeing it this week.

[Bootsy]

So looking forward to seeing your car tomorrow night and the weather is looking good for the BBQ

So you're coming to CLM Bundrock ?

[Darren65]

Shaggilicious baby!




I think the car will have the MW effect at CLM……can't wait to have my photo taken with it!

Congrats again

[hot66]

Wow

Stripes make a massive difference ... Love it

[bjmullan]

So looking forward to seeing your car tomorrow night and the weather is looking good for the BBQ

So you're coming to CLM Bundrock ?

Bootsy I'm the official flag marshall and if you haven't paid for the Scottish Tour you can't go to CLM

[sladey]

Thanks. Now when you guys see it you need to bear in mind there are a few bits to polish out/ touch up on the paint; I haven't even washed it properly yet so there's spatter from the polishing in a few places, and the interior is still scruffy (that's for later this year). It ain't no concours queen - it's a permanently work in progress hot rod

Having said all that, I feel more comfortable with a slightly scruffy look and I am loving it to bits. I will clean it up properly when I get back though.

I'm really pleased with the colour/strip combination as it came to me one Sunday afternoon and is just what I thought it would be.

While I'm reflecting on it all, it so probably time for a few thank-yous

Whilst I've put myself and my marriage under strain to get it finished, it would have been totally impossible without the help of a number of people so here goes

Jon Miller - gave so much of his time to help with advice when I was doing the first sill. I was able to phone him at all times and in particular he helped to calm me down one Sunday morning. His web site made sure I was really aware of what I was getting into, with clear pictures of what is involved. He also helped to egg me on into removing the sunroof

Neil - what started out with him stopping by to borrow a wing and see how I was going, transformed into Neil doing the Drivers sill, prepping the whole car for paint, and eventually doing a full respray! Neil has worked really really hard on the car and really gone the extra mile when I've needed it. As we got closer to the deadline Neil did what he could to make sure we made it in time. His work has been great. I was pleased with what I did on 'my' side but Neil's side is neater and his years of bodywork experience have shown through. When the painter let us down Neil stepped up and painted the car - his first full respray since the 1990s. When I dented the bodywork Neil sort it out and he's still going to do a few chips my clumsiness caused.

Mike Bainbridge - there's a lot been written about Mike and he fully justifies his reputation as the sage of the lakes. As I've said before he doesn't just know what you're meant to do, but he knows why you do it and what happens if you don't. More than all that Mike also really rose to the challenge of my deadline. When my engine was down to its last nut and bolt I accepted I wouldn't be taking it to CLM. Why not? was mikes response. He really went the extra mile doing the rebuild quickly, but then letting me join in (supervised!) in the final build up as well as explaining the intricacies of cam timing. Issues kept raising their head try deeper we went into the engine - with each one he calmly explained what needed doing and sorted it out. When I thought the engine was blowing up after I started driving it Mike calmly sorted the problem out and while it was with him he got it MOTd while I was on holiday. Like Neil, mike saw my deadline as a reason to get stuff sorted and help me achieve it

Ian - living round the corner, Ian is often the first person I turn to when things go bad. When I sheared off the exhaust stud I needed a cup of coffee in Ian's kitchen to talk me back from the ledge. I was as going to do some I welding on Ian's sons mini but my car took over so much of my time I wasn't able to do it (but Neil step in a and helped him out). Ian's especially helpful with things that need logic such as starting the engine and anything electrical.

Other people have also helped in lots of ways - Bert ran me up to the Lake District to collect the car on Sunday, Nige offered to pop round and help out loads of times, Chris Jury helped nail the colour scheme as well as sharing some of his design ideas. When things weren't looking so good Peter (Petric) offered to lend me one of his cars, and bert also offered Jazi. Bootsy sorted out my vinyls pronto - again really buying into the CLM deadline.
EDIT:- forgot Russ with his trans - lancs mercy dash to source me a cambox, buy a cambox, and take it up to Mikes - thanks Russ

Everyone else - the messages of support, positive comments, ideas and suggestions have all made a huge difference and allowed me to maintain my momentum and realise I'm not alone. That's not even taking account of the huge amount of expertise people have willingly shared by posting on the forum. Going through something like this makes you realise what a great community DDK is.

Thanks people

Mark

[jb]

A simply stunning result

[DustyM]

Looks wicked ( if I'm not to old to use that phrase!)

Hope it brings you as much enjoyment in its second encarnation as it has up to now.

Cheers
Jon

[Nige]

More photos please Mark looks fabulous.

[Lightweight_911]

The car looks great - a fitting tribute to all the effort (& heartache) tha's gone iinto it - & finished in the nick of time !

Have a great CLM weekend !

[Northy]

More photos please Mark looks fabulous.

+1 Come on Mark, show us some more.

[Chris_911]

Sweeeet. A fab result & a great example of the community spirit.

[neilbardsley]

Very nice