Steve,
Welcome to the roadster list!
>There may be rarer and more sought-after Roadsters than the '69, but this
>car is a particular friend and I had a great time driving it -- some
>favorites were Saratoga to Santa Cruz on Hwy 9, Skyline, 280 (Hwy not
>mph, although we did our best) top down in the early hours, and North on Hwy
>1.
Yep, that is half the fun of our old roadsters. Especially ones that have
been 'in the family' for a while.
When I lived in the Bay Area, Skyline was one of my favorite BICYCLE
routes. So just keep your eyes open. Yes, occasional I had the roadster
out on the same roads when visiting friends out there!
>Apparently the fuse box I purchased on eBay recently generated some comment.
No problem! Gee, there are some other good roadster parts up on eBay
that moment, too. Uh, I am in the midst of a little spring cleaning (ahem).
>I will be reading your correspondence with interest and I hope to be out on
>the road before the 00's are over. Any guidance on restoring a Roadster,
>and particularly about getting started on a project, will be most
>appreciated.
Let us know what City, State you are in. Might be a few other roadster
folks nearby.
To start, I would PHOTOGRAPH Everything. I mean take a dozen rolls of
film, with and without flash, and just start from one end to another.
Really hopes that you put everything back together.
Take a good stock of how long you want the roadster off the road, and
what your current living arrangements are. Renting? Apartment, Condo,
House? etc. I had planned on doing a full restoration of my 68 2000
when I lived in Oregon. I never did a "frame off" but decided to get
it running, mechanically sound (new suspension, brakes), engine rebuild,
then paint/body... then interior. After the paint was done I moved to
Texas! No interior, but the car was driveable and made the trip in the
back of a 18 wheeler. Had I pulled the body off the frame, it would
have never made the trip and would have ended up as "someone else's
project". Ironic, sold my 1600 and 510 wagon. Drove a 510 Sedan
pulling a 67 2000 (NEVER AGAGIN), and had the 68 2000 shipped with household
stuff. Irony is I still have the 68 2000, much in the state is was
when it was shipped from Oregon. ;-) Everything else is gone. ;-(
Having said that, buy a few dozen boxes of zip lock bags. Label each
bag (passenger door, interior screws) and drop in the fasteners as
you remove them. A bunch of 3x5" cards with notes to fit into the
bag also helps. Gather the small bags and drop them into a larger
zip lock bag, so "groups" are together. If you send things out to
be replated later, PHOTOGRAPH the items in front of the bag they came
from. Resort, and check off a list, when the items come back from the
plating shop.
This may sound really tedious, but I remember looking at a few
projects for sale. Owner had stripped everything down, every last
nut and bolt, and all the fasteners went into big coffee cans. Poor
fellow didn't have a clue how to put it all back together.
Another list member was with me at one time, when we found a scene
like the above one, but we had a little too much fun. I would pull
a bracket of something up and comment "heater support bracket...
'68 version" The owner didn't even know what a heater support bracket
was!
Masking tape is a nightmare! Use little tags with wire ties on the
harness. Clear plastic bags with just a few parts in each are best.
Didn't mean to ramble so much, but the more work done up front the
quicker the end results are. Also should you find yourself moving
in the midst of a restoration, better chance of getting everything
back together!
Cheers,
Tom Walter '68 2000
Austin, TX
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