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Thanks, Ken. I'm pretty excited now. Color choices are subjective for sure. Beauty in the eye of the beholder.

But I picked this gray for the metallic which highlights on all the curves on the car and also because it's sort of a non-color, that will make opening the door to this gorgeous antique red leather a breath-taking experience.

It looks great with a tan top, might be great with black, too, but that might be too serious and detract from the sporty character of a convertible. I think it will make the chrome on the car more of a participant. Sometimes bright colors take over. They are all you see and define the car. As Interior Decorator for a Day, I think this metallic gray, which has green and brown casts in it, will work especially well with the unpopular early woodgrain that uses mottled Aspen grain with light walnut and carpathian elm compound instead of the red-brown that dealers liked better and the factory changed to after Feb 1940. Maybe, if I'm lucky, 2 months away now.

THE DUCHESS HAS MOVED TO THE DINING ROOM. DINNER IS SERVED.
Assembling painted parts in the dining room. Maybe make a Packard bed, like those Rolls ones for kids.

This is the joy. Finally, with a painted part, the rubber parts can be added. The chrome goodies. Misplaced my hood lacing after 25 years. It will turn up.

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Wow! that is looking fantastic! I hope to see the finished product some day. Perhaps you might consider coming to our P-Info Laughlin get-together.

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Ahhhh. You've discovered the secret!! I'm going to have to try that.

Here's a detail question: Are those horizontal braces across the middle of the side grills supposed to be painted matte black to hide them? I haven't painted mine (yet), but I think it would look a lot better, so I will.

By the way, I'm starting to get jealous. That is really looking NICE!!

Believe me, Jim, I am itchin' to get out on the road. My girlfriend and most of my family live in California, but my sister lives in Maryland, si there's a possibility of visiting. And yes, each piece (I'm assembling the hood tonight after work) with all it hardware, chrome, ornament, rubber guards etc coming together finally just creates those stand back and admire moments. The taillight assembly with the wiring soldered, now set up for turn signals with new harness, just looks great.

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I won't accuse you of being obsessive, West, painting those cross pieces. It is a hand-painting job. I don't remember mine as being black. But if you do it, take a before and after pic. The chrome shop didn't do anything to the back side, so I hit it with some "original chrome" paint, which you can't see from the front. So black paint might work as well to hide the back side and make the vent line thinner. If you did that, a spray and wipe on the cross bars from the front might make it easier. As far as being obsessive. I have to admit, I Scotch-guarded the cloth conduit of my wiring harness. Why? I don't know. Easier detailing?

EDIT: Jim, since you machine is so original (except for the starter paint job) maybe while you're clip is off you could take a look at those vents for West to see if there's any black paint there. Not to get too serious about that, but the spaces between the bars at the top and bottom of the vent would have been done also to maintain that look. To me it looks like the bumps between the bars were intended to show. Otherwise they could have been easily recessed in the casting. Your car might hold the answer.

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Yes. I totally agree and was going to do those too. My plan was to just paint them with a brush and a dab of paint. Nothing difficult.

I guess this photo kind of answers the question in both areas. I may still paint it anyway.

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And this one. Really looks odd to me. I'm definitely going to paint them.

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Jazz every night in Joe's garage, which is expanding into the house.

FENDER WELT. Now I'm a seamstress. I stress over seams. I'm tearing off 1/4 in. strips of duct tape to hold the welt in place as I go. Then I use the first one cut as a pattern for the other side of the car.

PARKING LIGHT PAD: I cut these the same way from Steele Rubber's generic liner that has a small lip on one side to pad bright ware for which no pads are available. I bought this long ago and kept trying to remember what it was for. I cut off about half down the middle as excess. Taped as I went, clipping and snipping. Then I used the Q-Bond super glue, touched the two ends together and made a ring. I didn't realize that the glue was caught by the lip instead of dripping on the paper below, so I thought none was coming out. Then I realized it was on my fingers, now stuck together. I guess the sheer terror of Oregon jokes gave me that super power mothers who lift cars to save their babies have to separate my finger without tearing skin. One little drop locked those rubber end together.

I left a couple of pieces of duct tape on there to make it easier. The Duchess had been held together with so much of the stuff back in the day that she didn't reject it, but considered it original equipment.

THE HOOD. Had to be foregone for dance show last night. Too large to hold in my lap like the parking lights. So putting that together tonight.

WIPER MOTOR ARRIVED TODAY from Wiperman. So will install that tonight, too.

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