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Hank,

Summer is beginning to come on fierce which means my garage time is going to get more and more limited. My goal is to have the car sorted to a point where I can drive the car to the PI National Meet in January (transmission allowing). The car will still be in primer and with a stripped interior, but dammit it will be there!

I finished getting the drivers-side fender aligned and completely bolted in place. I had to drill out the 2 broken bolts where the fender bolts to the bottom side of the body. Those bolts were completely rust seized on both sides. I replaced those bolts with stainless steel bolts that are grade 5 rated. Hopefully I won't have to worry about those breaking off or rusting in place in the future.

I installed those bolts loose, and then loosened all the other fender bolts. Then using a floor jack and a block of wood I was able to lift the front of the fender and hold it in place until I got the gap between the fender and the front door even. Then I tightened down the top bolt, the bottom two, and then the fender to support radiator core bolts. I was then able to drop the jack, and then install all the bolts that secure the fender to the frame rail.

Still need to do the same on the passenger fender, and then do the final alignment on the hood, adjusting the hood to cowl gap, and the centering between the fenders.

Some more work on the Clipper today. I got the passenger side fender aligned and completely bolted down. Then I finished media-blasting all the various bolts, clips and speed nuts to finish putting the front of the car together and then they were all painted to ward off future rust.

The front splash panel was installed next, followed by the top radiator cover panel. With all this in place I was able to then get the hood alignment dialed in. The hood latches evenly with no binding.

With all the done, I finished the day in the garage with cutting the flexible duct for the fresh-air intake. This was then installed. I am using reproduction material that I bought from PI. This fit so much better that the corrugated plastic ducting that was on my car when I got it. The OE style ducting fits snug so no clamps are needed.

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Wow Kev,
The old girl is certainly coming on a treat.Can't wait to see the next development in your meticulous renovation.
TC

Before and after.

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My gosh, 2 pictures are worth a thousand words in this case! Looking great Kev!

Thanks Jim!

I guess it shows to never under estimate what can be done on a budget in a home garage. Still have a long way to go before Jan!!

Looking good! It is amazing what you can do when it is all you have.

Looks great. What a difference! I hope mine looks that good whenever I can get to it...