Happy Stude Year!

Hi all,

Been pretty quiet here on the blog, as Winter in California has kept me from doing anything but driving the car lately - not that that's a bad thing! It's been a lot of fun driving Barney around; the looks he gets are priceless. Some know what he is and will shout something appreciative. Others have no clue and just kind of gawk as we growl past.

But the rain has let up and now I'm starting to think about things I need to accomplish this year. My son, Reed, will be driving in June, so the car has to be ready for him. So here's what's got to get done in 2011:

• Rear springs and frame bushings installed
• Replace old tapered axle shafts with new splined
• R&R windshield and backlight and install new gaskets
• Adjust valves
• Install new exhaust system
• Track down and eliminate gasoline fumes in trunk
• Install new steering wheel and connect horn circuit
• Swap old ignition switch for new

Hey, this reads a lot like last year's to-do list! Geez, you'd figure I'd be farther ahead with 4 years of working on this car under my belt :)

By the way, these past few chilly weeks have given me ample opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of my heater rebuild (chronicled here). I'm pleased to say that the heater works beautifully now, providing ample warmth; in fact, I can usually just open the air intake and slide the heat control down a little bit to keep my feet toasty - don't even need to run the blower! Well, that's one thing checked off the list, at least.