It Was Bound To Happen............

It came outta nowhere. A pothole.

Not just any pothole mind you,...this one was obviously an abandoned mineshaft, as it had no bottom,...(well it seemed that way) The car hit that hole so hard that the entire dash shook like I hit another car.
It was so deep, I actually think I saw a brief glimpse of the Great Wall.

What's the big deal you're probably asking?....everybodys' ran into a pothole at one time or another.........
This:

You can barely see the crack in the paint (and the underlying bodywork) right above the reflection of the flash. It runs about two inches to the right as you look at this pic.
Its just the beginning, water will start to get in there now and fester. I am pis sed!
The car has been sitting since my encounter,...fortunately the $400.00 wheel is still round,...but I'm at a loss for what to do w/ a crack that will probably walk both ways now that it's in an area that I could not weld (The aluminum headlight bucket was chemically bonded to the steel bumper) read.,.... epoxied.



Here it is in all of it's miserable detail w/ a real camera:


(i need to do a better job of detailing the wax outta places it doesn't belong in,....sheesh.

S&B said:

there's one thing i know, if you can build that whole damn car, I'm sure you can fix that minuscule little crack.

Click to expand...

The problem with that little crack, is that the foundation under it (the steel weld surface of the bumper, bolted and glued to the aluminum headlight bucket, has now been compromised). If it's free to move around, the repair will break back out again the very next hard bump the front end is subjected to....................................


NOW, ....................Do you see my dilemma

RacEoHolic330 said:

I would at least do whatever you can temporarily do to seal up the crack to keep any moisture from finding its way in there. The permanent fix does seem like it's going to be a w hole lotta work unfortunately

Click to expand...

I agree,....thinking about getting some clear touch up (like the touch up pens you can get) and keeping the crack filled.

I'm already planning the revamp for the body (how far off that is I don't know,.....sometime after the Webers).
But the new color palate is slate gray and satin black. The interior will keep the same upholstery, but the red will dissapear in favor of the same two tone as the outside w/ the red band in the seat backs and maybe a thin redline showing up as an accent inside.

I'm thinkin' that I'm gonna bring the theme forward 50 years. Kinda mad maxificating the whole thing. Those pretty, shiny wheels will get a black or slate accent added to them as well

JordanB21 said:

Wellll. If you're considering redoing the exterior, fill it in for shows and looks till you get there. Heck, now you got me excited to see what the future holds for your car.

Click to expand...

This is how the whole process works for me,.......a little static sized spark bounces around inside my head until the day I throw the Frankenstein double blade disconnect that gives my creation................................LIFE!!!

SSeater said:

It was bound to happen, Mike.

Touch it up, clear it, buff it out, and rock on. It's hard to drive a show car and keep it a show car... I'd say that it would need to be a lot worse than that before you throw the double blade, though.

Click to expand...

And you know I expected it would happen as well, because it's one of the oft repeated questions I get asked by the folks that stop by to talk at shows.

That changed last week. Now even the frame of the headlight bucket is starting to become visible under the paint.

I'm not gonna ditch the current theme just yet ,( yet meaning anytime in the foreseeable future) I'll drive it as is for the rest of the year. The time for the revamp will be before it gets like one of those cars that has a bunch of fiberglass stuck on the sheetmetal that looks great from 20' away, and when you get up close reveals that the bond is breaking everywhere.

Noobz347 said:

This may be the time to start considering that Mangusta we spoke about, so many months ago.

Click to expand...

You know I've always considered building a kit car, but never thought I had the fab skills until now. And having something that looks like a Pantera would be waaay cool, but the reality of the situation is that I no longer have the time. Since taking the "real" job 3 months ago ( 7A-6P, mon thru fri) the last thing I wanna do is spend eternity in the garage working on something that needs to be that built. The ONLY reason I'm even contemplating a theme change is the fact that I wanna put a New Laguna Sega Boss style splitter on the car, and the current style wont support it (I don't think at least)
I'll drive the mach1 wannabe for however much longer,....the homework on the Webers is complete, and all I'm waiting on is for the new revised versions to be offered sometime this fall, and the existing ones should go down to about 250 a carb,.....(from 400). I've read enough and watched enough youtube to not be afraid of them anymore. The only difference between old, and new, is an improved part throttle transition hole that can be drilled DIY on the old one if you have half a brain.
If I have to,.....I'll fix the nose since it's the only thing showing any of the side effects of driving 8,ooo miles since birth, and I'll debut my 8 barreled carb setup next spring.
Besides the "look," You can actually hear the difference between a common plenumed engine (whether it's carb'd or injected), and a direct port throttle bodied/carbureted engine. The overlap on the cam is directly exposed to the air,...w/o getting co-mingled w/the other 8 cylinders. VRRROOOOOMMMMMMM!!!! (can't wait).

Why is it everybody thinks if something goes wrong,.......I'm walking around wringing my hands, or sitting in a darkened room in my underwear?
For the record, I have the lights on in the room when I'm in my underwear, Superman Underoos in my size are rare, and I'm proud to show them off.
I'm over it. ( for now) I will "bandaid" the repair until I'm forced to put on the cap and gown and operate. Right now I'm focusing on raising the necessary money for the next project that nobody on here can/will benefit from. (It's what I live for)
I know I'm wordy, but people need to read all the stuff that I write, so as not to confuse my mood, or state of mind.

Sometimes,...there's even a secret decoder ring offered inside my threads.


I'm still waiting for somebody to claim the free stuff I offered in one of my last threads.