UNDERCOATING!

Well, it finally happened. After over a year of prepping, pondering and a little painting, Matilda actually made it into Line-X for undercoating. My original plan was to load the body on the cheesy folding Harbor Freight utility trailer that I bought especially for this purpose, stuff the rotisserie into the back of my truck, and attempt to set up this contraption by myself. Thankfully Chad decided not only to help, but to rope his dad, Jim, into the adventure as well. Turns out, that three guys can just pick the body up, and put it wherever it needs to go. The fact that Jim also has a fourteen foot car hauler that allowed us to put the whole setup on a moving platform, didn't hurt either. I had envisioned the need for all sorts of elaborate cribbing to hold the car in place during the trip to Salem, but since we were able to simply lift it into place when attaching it to the rotisserie, we just let it ride on the trailer deck, which it did like a champ. I noticed a number of people on I-5 trying to get a closer look at the strange little car on that trailer.

When we arrived at Line-X, we were greeted by the owner, Wade Starbuck and his crew. They were great to work with, as they were both professional and helpful. I was asked about use of the vehicle, placement of the material, and to what thickness I wanted it applied. Wade even went so far as to call me after the masking was complete to see if I wanted to get some pictures of the process! He explained that the material is a two part chemical blend that is kept separate as it is heated and pressurized to 2500 psi, before it is mixed by the spray gun during application. The amazing thing to me, is that after ten seconds it is set up well enough that you can walk on it! Another surprise is that Line-X is also practically non-toxic. I thought that any material that had all of these properties would definitely be adding to the hole in the ozone layer, but I guess we'll have to look to our other pursuits for that.








Needless to say, I couldn't be happier with the finished product. This is exactly what I've had in mind for the last year. We have a surface that is practically bullet-proof, let alone rust-proof and will cut down on road noise. The best part is, now we have a great base on which to build a beautiful little car.

There's Color in the Air...

Fans line the bottom of the garage door, transforming our garage into a makeshift spray booth.

I realize it's been a long six months since my last post. For the past five and a half months, a lot of the same tedious tasks were taking place, and I knew few people would want to hear about the seemingly never-ending grinding off of paint down to bare metal. So I decided to wait and spare you the boring details. There was a lot of grinding, a lot of dust, and a lot of vacuuming and cleaning in between. I finished up grinding in mid-February, about a year after I began. I was ecstatic to finally be able to cross that task off the restoration checklist.

Down to bare metal

So, at long last, I finally got to shoot some paint on the body. This turned out to be a good way to figure out how to apply a few different types of primer and see how my garage spray-booth would perform.

Mixing the etching primer

Since I had taken most of the body to bare metal, it was necessary to dust it with an etching primer before proceeding to a catalyzed primer, and finally a single-stage body color. I was a little unsure as to when in the process I should seal the body seams. My Uncle Joe suggested etching, then sealing. I was leaning that way since it made sense, but it also added a bit of extra work. There's a window of time that you can shoot the next type of paint without having to re-sand and re-clean, and since I took the time to caulk seams, I missed that window. This meant that not only would I have to scuff the entire body with 100-grit paper, I would also have to re-shoot the etching primer before proceeding to the other two paint types. I didn't mind too much, after I had finished sanding, since it really seemed like the way to get the best bond.

Caulking the seams/Primer coat on

All in all, I'm pretty happy with how it came out. I would be supremely disappointed if this were in any way supposed to resemble the finished product, because it does not! There are places that look like textured drywall, a few landslide runs, and I actually ran out of body color! If I'm reading the data sheets correctly, I should be able to pick up a quart of paint tomorrow, and still be within the window for re-coating, so that part should be okay. As for the blemishes, this only really needs to look decent in the engine compartment and interior. The rest of it will either fall within the tiny unnoticeable spaces around window glass and doors, or be covered completely.

First coat of Matilda purple!

The best part about having cleared this hurdle is that the next chance I get, I can finally get this thing in for undercoating, and then start making some real progress!

—GP

Today's the Day!

Believe it or not....Matilda will be mostly all purple by the end of the day!
Check back for a longer blog post this evening with photos. Major advancements have been made in the last six months. More soon!

Scalping Matilda

It's been part of the original vision of the car to cut out most of the top and install a sliding ragtop similar to those found on original Mini Coopers. Around six weeks ago, I ordered just such a top from a company in Arizona called, Street Beat Customs. They told me it would take six to eight weeks to receive, as they would have to custom make it to the 35x37" dimension that I wanted. It actually only took about a month, and with a few weeks for me to get around to it, I finally fired up the jigsaw. The original sheet metal that makes up the roof is very thin and has almost no integrity. I'm hoping that adding the aluminum frame of the slider will add a considerable amount of rigidity, because it would be impossible to straighten anything on the top of this little car as it is.

Slow but Sure

Alright, so the body restoration process has become long, slow and boring. Hence the lack of meaningful posts. Currently the undercarriage has been completely stripped of undercoating and original paint. The engine compartment and interior have a bit of grinding left to be done, and I decided to take all of the door jambs and visible interior surfaces to bare metal. The next step will involve caulking all open body seams. Once that's done, I'll finally be ready for primer and paint. Then, the rotisserie can be disassembled and the body can be trailered to Salem to be undercoated. Once back from Line-X, I will begin the process of bending fuel and brake lines from new tubing, and sand blasting and painting all of the undercarriage parts before reassembly.
—GP

Happy Birthday Matilda!

Hard to believe, but one year ago today, Matilda arrived at our address after being hauled nearly 1000 miles from the greater Los Angeles area. In the last year, we've made significant progress on our project. We found Fred, another rusty parts car, in July and a month later, Monique, the rust-free body. We worked on the project off and on through the fall and winter, and picked up speed again this spring.

The past several months have been devoted to stripping Monique's undercarriage in preparation for new undercoating. This has been a somewhat long and arduous process, but we are nearing the end and hope to be transporting the unibody shell to Salem in the next 4-6 weeks for the application of Linex. As soon as that has been accomplished, the meticulous restoration of all the undercarriage parts will begin before reassembly. Although the Matilda project will likely turn two (38 in car years) before she is running again, she will be better than new in the end. We look forward to the day when we can take her out for a weekend drive on a back road to find the perfect spot for a picnic, Simone's head sticking out the top.

Chad's Tornado

The following post has nothing to do with Matilda. For that we apologize. But an amazing thing happened to Chad, friend and Matilda co-conspirator, in the past two weeks that we felt needed some recognition.

As you may know from reading this blog, Chad has an amazing eye for cars. He is the one that spotted Fred (our Matilda body #3) some 100 feet off the road covered in a pile of boxes while flying down Highway 20 last summer. A few months ago, Chad was out driving near Lacomb (southeast of Albany), when his radar went off and alerted him to a white car obscured in the distant corner of a pasture. He had an inkling this was a special car, but didn't see the car's owner and so drove off with the intention of coming back another day to get a closer look.

Fast forward to a Monday afternoon about two weeks ago. Chad again drove out to the pasture, and ogled the vehicle through his friend Eyela's binoculars. He was taken aback by the view of a car he had never seen before. He then spotted a man walking around the property and quickly jumped out to meet him.

The man agreed to let Chad take a look at the car, and they walked over to it. The man explained that it was an old British kit car, chassis and window glass long gone, but had a complete body that is in fair condition. Chad persuaded the man to sell him the car, and then set off for home to wait for its delivery and do a little research.

It turns out the car is a Tornado Typhoon Sportsbreak, made by the Tornado company in Hertsfordshire, England around 1959-60. Very few Sportsbreaks were made, and there are only six known Tornados left in the world. Only one photo of the Sportsbreak is known to exist, and it is pasted here.

Chad sent the photo out to friends to show his new find. When Eyela saw the picture, she noted the license plate looked similar—if not the same—to the one Chad had just acquired. Turns out the car pictured above IS the actual car that Chad bought. He is now the proud owner of the car bearing the British FXU392 license plate! The photo that was taken nearly 50 years ago in a field in Hertsfordshire, England, is of the exact car that somehow made it all the way to Albany, Oregon.

That story in itself is amazing, and we were blown away by it. But it gets even more interesting. Chad came across contact information for folks who are Tornado aficionados, and sent them all emails discussing his find. He was informed that there were only TWO Sportsbreaks produced, a factory prototype, and one other. His car, the one with the FXU392 license plate is the factory prototype. Turns out the car belonged to the Tornado company's founder, and it was his wife's daily driver. The man in England who writes the newsletter for the Tornado enthusiast's club, has notified the owner of the car's existence, and is planning on making this the lead story in the next issue.

We can't wait to hear what happens next!

To learn more about the Tornado car company, visit: http://www.toddmizener.com/Beadyeye/hist1.htm
http://www.astruc.s.easynet.co.uk/tornado_register/frame.htm

Matilda gets a pick-me-up

Life has gotten crazy again with the onset of the busy summer season. Matilda's progress has been held up temporarily as the undercoating removal did not go as well as planned. It took a few weekends to clean up the dust that was created by the wire wheel and offset grinder I was using. I might try a heat gun and solvent to finish it up.

During my break from grinding, something caught my eye in the Northern Tool catalog. After some semi-precise measuring, I came to the conclusion that our garage actually could accommodate a four-post lift! So, after a few weeks of plotting and planning, not to mention calling in favors from most of the guys I know in the area, Matilda now has a cozy little perch above Carley's Accord. In the next few weekends I'll get the body back on the rotisserie and finally get it ready for Line-X.
—GP

1971: A Race Oddity

Click the play button to see Matilda's successful ride on the auto rotisserie.

Sunday we had Chad over for breakfast, and a little "car-listhenics". That's getting exercise by lifting a small car off of a motorcycle trailer. We then unloaded the rotisserie and started setting it up. I had already read the instructions, and watched a video on the proper way to rig the Whirly Gig Body Handler, but that didn't stop us from figuring it out anyway. Actually, Chad had to get to work, and even though I didn't really expect to have it up and running in one day, I had it horizontal by lunchtime! I must say the little car looks pretty cool rigged as it is, and it's going to make the undercarriage work a snap.

Light as a feather, stiff as a board....RISE!

In preparation for loading onto the auto rotisserie, Matilda's body was lifted off the trailer and onto the floor.

Rotisserie Retrieval

So, this morning, we got up early (for a Sunday) and got after it. Carley had a study date with another X-ray student in Lebanon (the town, not the country), and I met Chad for a quick trip to Cottage Grove to see his parents and pick up the auto-rotisserie. It was my first trip to the folks' place, and what a place it is! Right after crossing the river that they refer to as "the creek", you're immediately greeted by a very quaint Tudor-style home nestled in the woods, and a full professional grade auto shop that would make any mechanic's mouth water. Chad's dad, Jim had the larger pieces of the rig suspended by chain from the cable crane of his heavy equipment service truck, making load-up a snap. I was treated to a tour of his shop, which included a look at a few of the cars he's restored over the years. I see where Chad gets his knowledge of, and his love for cars. After a nice visit with his mom, Nancy, we were back on the road, stopping only to save the life of a wayward salamander. We transferred everything to my truck where it was parked, and now await the opportunity to set this puppy up! —GP

Breaking the Logjam

Our nephew Brendan came down again to help us with a little auto-restoration fun. I'd been saving the tear-down of the passenger door for him, and since we're in sort of a holding pattern on the undercoating, we finally got back to the engine. I'd hit a road block several months ago, when I was unable to remove the clutch plate. It was supposed to just slide right off the shaft with minimal effort, but hadn't budged since bell-bottoms were in style. My buddy Noah was over to help and hang out, so between the three of us, we were eventually able to come up with a suitably dangerous solution to the problem. Turns out that all it took was grinding down two of the adapters for the slide hammer, holding a torch on the hub until it released the requisite noxious fumes, a little cursing, a lot of hammering, and we were home! After that is was practically no effort at all to open the drive chain housing, and remove the drive gears and sprocket. By this point we were all pretty pleased with the weekend's progress and didn't want to push our luck.

For a short introduction to the project, click the play button to watch our first Matilda video log:

—GP

Body Work Begins

Even though we are blessed enough to have an almost completely rust-free body, there were a few little spots that needed some attention. Fortunately, they are in places that will never be seen, but since we are doing this thing all the way, I figured it'd be a good chance to remind myself how to do this body work stuff. The worst of the two places that had actually rusted through, was under the driver-side door sill plate. I remembered taking care of some similar holes in a car when I worked for Tom Brown at Coachworks Autobody when I was nineteen. It involved tapping the rusty spot with a pointed hammer until you've broken out anything that isn't solid metal. This has the effect of bending the surrounding area down slightly which makes the body filler portion of the repair work better. Then you cut some light-gauge sheet metal into shapes that will fill the hole, while sitting into the recess created by the hammering. Next, you apply a coat of Duraglas (fiberglass body filler) to the hole, insert your metal plates, and cover the whole works with another layer of Duraglas. After sanding, and re-filling any low spots with regular Bondo, it's ready for primer. —GP

Body Deconstruction is Complete.

Well, I talked myself into it. I called the guy at the Line-X place in Salem where I had the bedliner for our truck done, and he guessed that it would be about the same price to undercoat this little car as it was for the bedliner. The only challenge is that he wants the car standing on end so that he can stand the requisite four to six feet from it to spray on the material. I've been brainstorming some sort of carpet-covered wooden apparatus that will work as a stand that will allow not only his application, but my removal of the old undercoating from a comfortable standing position. While thinking on this geometric feat, I got a little more work done this weekend. I've been battling a broken bolt in the rear bumper bracket that has prohibited me from sliding it from the channel in the unibody. Well, now that I had dropped the leaf springs (and fuel tank), I had an unencumbered shot at the offending bolt from underneath. It took a little maneuvering, but I was able to insert a small cutting wheel from a dremel tool into a slot in the body, and cut off the remains of the bolt, allowing the bumper to come free. This left only the front break hoses and mud flaps, and the body would be only a shell. Of course, there is a ton of prep work to do before it will be ready for undercoating, but is nice to be done with the (except for the engine) deconstruction phase. —GP

Almost Stripped

The last few weekends have been relatively uneventful, or enough so that I've had a little time to get into the garage for some "Matilda Time". This has allowed me time to finish stripping out the engine compartment, and after a long struggle, remove the dash. I've also decided that if I'm going to go this far, I might as well pull everything off of the undercarriage. So today, I removed the spare tire carrier (to be powder coated at a later date), the rear shocks, and generally eyeballed the under-side of the car. I figure that once I drop the rear axle by removing the leaf-springs, that should only leave the monster-size six gallon fuel tank. I'm a little torn as to whether to grind off all the original undercoating and have it Line-Xed, or just clean it up and start the reassembly. I'll probably bite the bullet and start grinding, but I'll need a few days to talk myself into it.

—GP

Bringing in the Big Guns

Dad and Nancy and Dennis and Mary came to see us for the premier weekend of the play I've been working on, "Goodbye, Charlie". They came to the Saturday night showing, in which we were blessed to have twice the audience with four-times the sense of humor as the night before. After a delightful Sunday morning breakfast at the Broken Yolk Cafe, we hit the garage to see just what I've gotten myself into. It was reassuring to have the input from Dad and Dennis on the wear and tear of the engine. While one perused the shop manual, the other would explain to me just what I was looking at. It was relieving to hear that they seemed to think that this was a pretty well (albeit strangely, in some places) engineered car, and that I could probably handle the rebuild if I stuck to the manual. Dennis explained a few useful tricks to me, like holding the cam chain horizontally to see how worn it is, or checking the bondo'd spot by the gas filler with a magnet to see how thick it was. While checking this spot, he noticed that someone had replaced the gas filler hose with a radiator hose. It's feeling a little thin and squishy, so I'll have to put it on the list of things to replace. It was sure great to visit with everyone and especially nice of them to check out our project.
Until next time...
—GP

Thanksgiving Weekend Progress

Our nephew Brendan was kind enough to stick around for a few days after Thanksgiving to give us another hand on Matilda. We continued our stripping of the body. While Brendan used the angle-grinder to wire wheel the old, crusty remains of the weather stripping, I cut the rubber seal and removed the windshield. I also began dismantling the driver's door. Overall, the car is nearly rust free (especially compared to the car parked next to it), but there are a few small spots under the back seat, in each door sill, and inside the window slot in each door.

With brushes in hand, Brendan and I applied Rust Mort to any spot that needed it, and a few that didn't for good measure. According to the instructions, some rust must remain to react with the rust converter, which would explain why some spots seem to have been treated better than others. I also took this time to remove the fenders, hood, and head light bezels. I plan to remove the remaining items from the engine compartment when next I have time, in order to get ready for paint. Before returning Brendan home, we made a trip to Harbor Freight so I could do my part to support the US trade deficit by purchasing some of the finest tools China has to offer (at rock bottom prices!) I picked up various items, including an air regulator/drier and two new gravity-feed spray guns. I'm confident that with such surgical grade instruments, and my finely honed body and paint skills Matilda will end up with a paint job that Earl Scheib himself would be proud of.
—GP

Engine Rebuilding Begins

I started tearing down the engine today, and with the exception of a few minor obstacles (a broken valve cover bolt, and the strange presence of a wood screw) it went pretty well. Even though the only other engine I've ever rebuilt was roughly the same size (a Briggs and Stratton lawnmower powerhouse in a tenth grade small gas engines class) this one is slightly more complex and has a four-speed manual transmission built into it. So, armed with this intimidating knowledge, I've been bagging and tagging all parts and pieces and taking pictures like a paparazzi stalking Brittany Spears. I'll need to start up Chad's solvent tank parts washer and get the thirty-six years of grease off of this stuff, but I'm leaning toward getting the engine compartment and interior of the body ready for paint.
—GP

Matilda's New Shoes

We learned an important lesson last Sunday afternoon: choosing to pick up a spirited, mud-encrusted Simone can result in a lower back injury. Gary was flat on his back in a great deal of pain for several hours after the attempted lift, and then had to spend the next 24 hours lying down alternating heat and cold packs before he made a full recovery.

Staying home sick from work when one is immobilized isn't generally fun, but Gary made the best of it. While sequestered to the recliner in the living room, he spent time online researching a few things for the Matilda project. He decided to begin by searching for tires. He called the Schwab's store in Corvallis that he used to work for to see if he could get a set of 145/80-10 tires for Matilda, but they don't carry anything that small. Not to be discouraged, he turned to the Internet. Several Google searches later, he found a Mini Cooper parts company based in Auburn, CA that carried the tires for a fair price and ordered them. They arrived Thursday. They are so small that all five of them fit in one relatively small box!

Matilda's new tires aren't much bigger than Simone's head!

When I arrived home from class late Monday afternoon, Gary was feeling better and a little stir crazy from being cooped up all day. We decided to then go out and see if we couldn't find paint for Matilda. We've been looking hard at purple cars lately, and I'd decided the only purple I really liked was one found on late 1990s Dodge vehicles. I couldn't find a paint name or color code though, so we thought we'd try the auto paint store and see if we could identify it by looking through their color chart books.

We drove out to Tangent and spent the next 15 minutes looking at paint chips. None of them seemed correct. The man that was helping us suggested we go to the Dodge dealership and see if they had one on the lot or could help us identify the color. We managed to find the dealership in Albany, but they didn't have any purple vehicles, and didn't have any pictures of one. They suggested we visit another dealership to see if they might have any on the lot.

Gary called Chad to see if he had any ideas, and in less than two minutes, he had both the name and the color code for the purple that I liked: Deep Amethyst Pearl (TCU). Chad saved the day yet again! So, we headed back to the auto paint store and bought some of the paint supplies that we will need. We're hoping to paint the engine compartment and the inside of the car over the Thanksgiving holiday. We painted some on a plastic coverplate to see how it would look. It's a little hard to see with the glare, but it's a deep purpley-blue. I can't wait until our project is far enough along to where we will be able to paint the exterior body! In the meantime though, Gary continues to tear down the engine and work on tracking down things like engine gasket and seals. Hopefully we'll be blogging again soon about the engine disassembly.

Until then... :)
—c

The Original Honda n600 Commercial

Thanks to Chad for finding this gem! If you can't watch the video, you can also go to the originating page.

Isn't it adorable?

The Deconstruction Begins

Our nephew Brendan came to stay this weekend, and helped us make the first real progress on "Project Matilda". After Teri Lynn and Brendan met us in south Salem, we made a quick trip to Harbor Freight to get the finest breaker-bar India has to offer. On the way to Corvallis, we were surprised to not only see, but be passed by a Fiat 850 (pretty much Matilda's Italian cousin) doing seventy miles an hour down I-5. We took it as a good sign of our impending automotive adventure.


Saturday evening didn't get us too far. I'd been working on getting the passenger side axle nut broken loose, and after breaking Chad's 1 1/4" socket and my new breaker bar, it still didn't budge! However, after a delightful Sunday morning breakfast, the day was looking up. I decided to forgo the luxury of a removable drive shaft, and just took the whole hub loose. While I toiled on the boring mechanical stuff, Brendan started on cleaning out the new, rust-free car. We hadn't done more than peek inside of it since we got it home from Madras. We were pleasantly surprised to find a plethora of spare parts (including a third usable carburetor) and even an abandoned vehicle notice from the Madras Police Department. It's dated 2001, so it's probably from another car, but it's still pretty cool.

Brendan made short order of the interior, removing the seats, carpet, seat belts, and just about anything else that wasn't floor pan. We did find a few small spots of rust under the back seat, and driver's side sill plate, but it's nothing a little rust-converter and Duraglass can't fix. So far, this car is in excellent shape, and will be ready for jamb-painting any time. By the time Curt and Teri came down this afternoon to get Brendan, the engine/transmission (as they are one unit) was nearly ready for removal. After a little wiggling, and lowering of the jack, it came free, setting the stage for next weekend's project: engine tear-down. —GP

PS: Photos from this weekend's progress have been posted to Matilda's photo album.

To-Do List

Here's our Matilda to-do list, in no particular order:

• Rebuild the engine/transmission, CV shafts, steering rack and suspension, starter, alternator, and steering
• Replace the brake system, exhaust system, carpeting, and vinyl
• Jamb-paint the interior, trunk, and engine compartment
• Purchase a new set of 145/80-10 tires
• Powder coat the wheels
• Straighten and re-chrome the bumpers and trim
• Remove all rust
• Straighten and paint body
• Cut out roof and install canvas rag top
• Add new seals and felts on all window glass, an alarm system with keyless entry, and a new sound system

Short list, right? This should only take a couple of weeks, tops! ;)

Matilda's Body Arrives!

Saturday morning we drove over to Madras to attend our friends Joey and Jesse's wedding reception. We had been waiting for this day for weeks, not only to celebrate their recent nuptials, but to also pick up our third (and hopefully final) n600.

We had made plans to stay with Gary's Aunt Mary and Uncle Dennis since their house is just down the road from where the reception was being held. When we arrived to drop off our things before heading over to the party, we were delighted to discover that Gary's dad had towed Matilda #3 (dubbed "Monique" by Gary's sister Teri) over to Dennis and Mary's on a small motorcycle trailer where she was now patiently awaiting our arrival.

She was as beautiful as we could have hoped for. Though a little wrinkly in spots, she was more complete than we had expected (especially for $200) and delightfully rust-free. She even had custom striping and spiffy Honda decals. Of course, that's all coming off, but we were amused by it.

Sunday morning we (and by we, I mean Gary) had to build a custom trailer lighting adapter while seven of us looked on. Fortunately, it was a daylight tow, as the trailer wiring shorted out the tail lights on the truck. We managed to get on the road by 3 p.m. and headed out Hwy 97 towards Redmond and then turned off to Sisters. The Toyota towed it like a champ, although grumbling a bit up the mountain passes. Santiam had light traffic, and while steep and curvy at points, we were able to go the speed limit most of the time while listening to some old "This American Life" podcasts. It was a smooth and uneventful trip.

I convinced Gary to tow Matilda 3/Monique home instead of to our friend Chad's so we'd have added incentive to start working on her/them. We are now delighted to have these two tucked away in our garage, waiting for the transplants to begin. We have one free weekend in September we're hoping to get started, but are planning on putting more time into it in October. We'll keep you posted!

A Body for Matilda!

It's been such a whirlwind lately. We were realizing last week that it's only been a month since our Matilda adventure began. It feels like we've been involved with this project a much longer period of time.

As of Friday the 27th, the parts car had been delivered to Chad's and waits for us to have time to disassemble it. Matilda is still sitting in our garage awaiting the various transplant procedures.

The body hunt intensified over the weekend. We checked eBay again and saw there were three cars for sale in Montana. Debate ensued as to whether or not to pursue them and what all would be involved in picking them up. Then I decided to see if I could find some sort of n600 message board, and amazingly found one on Yahoo! We joined and posted a message to the group telling them we were looking for a rust-free body for Matilda, preferably in Oregon.

Within 2 hours, we had a reply from Wayne in Redmond who said that yesterday his son heard of an n600 without an engine at a wrecking yard called Ira's in....Madras. We couldn't believe it! We called Gary's dad Jim and asked him if he wouldn't mind paying a visit to Ira and checking out the car for us.

Jim called Gary back this morning and said the car looked like it was in good enough shape. Next to no rust, a few small dents, but nothing we couldn't easily handle (especially with Gary's body shop experience). Jim paid for the car for us (a screaming deal at $200), and as it turns out, Gary's sister Teri and her family will be going over for a visit in less than 2 weeks, and offered to tow it back for us. We're lucky that we got it when we did, because the car was slated for crushing in a matter of days. We're just astonished at how this is all coming together...

Next step: Rebuilding the engine!

Parts for Matilda!

It's been a busy month! Matilda has been sitting patiently in our garage while we've been plotting and planning our next steps in her restoration. We've been looking around town and online for another parts car for Matilda, and thanks to Chad's help we now have one!

Chad has an amazing radar for cars, which lately has included 1971 Honda n600s. In fact, he was driving on Highway 20 by Blueberry Meadows when he saw out of the corner of his eye the tail light of a car that called out to him. What you have to understand is that this tail light was on a vehicle that was 100 feet off the highway, buried under a slew of boxes and other stuff in a carport, and Chad was most likely going at a speed greater than the posted 45 mph speed limit.

So, Chad called Gary to give him the location, and then we sped out there after work. Sure enough, a little '71 n600 was buried under a pile of boxes and other miscellaneous stuff. We didn't poke around too much as no one appeared to be home, and there were two rather vicious hound dogs barking at us from behind the chain link fence. But, it appeared to be in decent shape, so we left a note and asked the owner to give us a call if he was interested in selling.

We were at play rehearsal the next night, waiting to enter the wedding scene in the third act, when Gary's phone rang. The owner of the n600 was on the line and said he was definitely interested in selling. He had been traded the car a number of months ago, had hoped to restore it, but then got busy on other projects. We made plans to meet up over the weekend and see if we could come up with a mutually beneficial arrangement.

We drove out there Sunday to look at the car. It wasn't quite what we were hoping for body-wise, but it had good parts, including a good passenger seat, doors, instrument cluster, various engine parts, and a comparatively rust-free hood. We made him an offer, and he accepted, even offering to tow the car over to Chad's for storage. He wrote us a receipt, promised to deliver the car by the end of the week, and that was that. Once we have a few spare hours, we can begin swapping parts out.

Next step: A new body for Matilda.

Matilda is Naturalized!

Saturday was the day we took Matilda to the DMV to transfer her Florida title and make her an official Oregonian. What an adventure that was! Gary hooked her to the truck using a tow strap, wrote "in tow" on the back in blue painter's tape, turned on the hazards, and off we went. Although I didn't like either option, we decided that he would drive the truck and I would sit in Matilda to steer. Gary gently took off and we made the turn from Aster onto Country Club okay. When he hit 15 mph, I began to freak out. It was like a riding in a terrifying carnival ride with no seat belt, being pulled along in a tiny, rusty tin can. When Gary hit 25 mph, I though I was going to lose it. Making wild hand gestures and having a look of sheer terror on my face, I did my best to communicate to Gary via his rear view mirror to please slow down. Apparently I need to work on my miming skills because he mistook my hand waving as a desire for him to go faster, which he did. A short distance later (right before 35th street, a whopping half mile from our house), the toe strap broke. Hallelujah. I was relieved to be able to stop for at least a minute and let him know that 10 mph was going to have to be the max.

Gary retied the toe strap and we took off with our now agreed upon top speed. We tootled down 35th Street and onto Philomath Blvd. Fortunately, there was a large shoulder and we were able to stay in it so that we didn't totally muck up traffic. We made the turn into Avery Park, and navigated its speed bumps and windy road just fine. When we got out of the park and were stopped at the light on Highway 99, we decided to switch spots. Gary now got to ride in Matilda while Simone and I drove the truck. We made it about a mile down 99 before we were pulled over by one of Corvallis' finest. He talked to Gary, took both of our licenses for a quick check, then kindly let us go with the understanding that we would not tow Matilda back home ourselves. We were relieved to not get a ticket! He probably could and should have told us to get a truck/trailer right then and there, but let us go and we slowly drove the last 3/4 of a mile to the DMV.

Amazingly, we got right in at the DMV and were in and out in 10 minutes. We requested Matilda's custom plate "M TILDA". Here's our best rendition of what it will look like:

Once we finished all the paperwork and paid the necessary fees, we pulled Matilda down to the end of the dead-end street by the DMV (they tow any cars left there after 2pm on Saturdays), and then called a tow truck. It was worth the price of the tow to: a) not die on the way back home, b) not cause anyone else to die, c) not cause an accident, and d) not get a ticket. When we arrived home from rehearsal that afternoon, Matilda was sitting securely in our driveway, like she never left.

Next adventure: removing the engine! It may be a few weeks though, as we're swamped with work and play practice right now. We'll keep you posted!

Matilda's Heartburn

Well, we arrived home late Tuesday afternoon and were excited to see Matilda after long last. Even though it had been less than two weeks since we decided we wanted to be auto restorers, it had felt like an eternity.

Wednesday, Chad came over to help us assess and check out Matilda. We decided to try and get her started. After having charged the battery overnight, we found that certain things were in good working shape, but not the starter. So, we decided to pull-start it with Chad's Mercedes. But first we had to remove the old gas (in the gas tank for more than a year by our best estimates). Matilda's six gallon tank proved to be rather full, as four and a half gallons of stale gasoline were drained from underneath and poured into the readily available plastic milk jugs (side note: bad idea, but that's another story for another day).

After introducing two fresh gallons of Safeway brand petrol, we gave Aster Street her first view of its newest and smallest auto inhabitant. With Chad's diesel ponies yoked for the task, Matilda was dragged skippingly down the street. We dragged her 87 feet or so with no result. Just as we were about to lose all hope, we hit the 88th foot and she actually fired and began to run. She managed a coughing, sputtering idle for upwards of 20-30 seconds before coming to a halt. It was then that we noticed smoke coming through the rust hole in the hood. With master instinct, Chad expertly deduced that a fire extinguisher would be of some use at this moment. I sprinted back to the garage, grabbed the nearest fire extinguisher, and then ran back to the smoking rust bucket that is our Matilda. A quick blast to the air cleaner and the fire's progression was halted.

In an attempt to hide her from prying eyes, and stay out of the newspaper, Chad and I pushed her into the garage where she now awaits our next foray into her imminent resurrection.

—GP

Matilda Arrived!

So, after much stress and going to plans B, C, and D, Matilda finally arrived. Chad, kind and generous soul, said he would wait for her to arrive on Thursday and make sure she was safely deposited into her new spot in the garage. Hoping there would be no further delays, we loaded our suitcases into the trunk of our car, Simone into the backseat, and left Corvallis for points south at 5:50 a.m yesterday morning.

We spent a lot of time fretting on our way down I-5, watching the northbound lane for signs of Matlida. We figured chances were good that we would pass her somewhere along the way. We called Rudy (who was driving Matlida up from LA) around 9:00 a.m. and he said he was in Jacksonville, north of Ashland, delivering a car and we were next. He said he anticipated being in Corvallis at 1:00 p.m and would call us again after he left Jacksonville with his GPS calculated ETA. Unfortunately, 1:00 p.m. was about the only time that Chad could not be at our house to receive Matilda. So, we hoped that it would take Rudy longer than he expected to get back on the road and waited to hear back from him.

We got into Ashland around 10:00 a.m. and hit the Safeway to get sandwiches and take a stretch break. Rudy called and let us know that he had adjusted his schedule and would be at our house at 2:30 p.m., which was perfect, because that was when Chad was able to get there.

We took a deep breath knowing that Chad would be able to be there when she arrived, but we continued to fret and watch the clock. When we hit Susanville a little after 2:30 p.m., Chad called to let us know that Matilda was indeed there and in the garage. Chad reported that she is a little rustier than we could see in the pictures, but the engine and interior are both in great shape. We resolved to pursue the Creswell car with a little more rigor since it didn’t have the rust issue and between the two vehicles, we will be able to create one perfect Matilda. It's going to be quite a project, but at least we're going into it with our eyes open!

Watch for the next installment next week, when we get to see Matilda (part 1 or 2, depending on how you view it) up close and personal!

Matilda is Delayed

In anticipation of Matilda's noontime arrival, we postponed leaving on vacation to Nevada by a day. I have been home all morning waiting by the phone to hear from the driver. A few minutes ago, Gary called him to check and see where he was and was told that he was in North Hollywood. Apparently his truck broke down yesterday and needs a new radiator. He claims he will be on the road in a few hours, and up here tomorrow. If it's anything like his claims that he called and left us messages on three separate numbers (we didn't get any word of this happening), it's not looking very likely.

So, Matilda will not be here today. Drat! We won't be postponing our vacation any longer though, and will be on the road in the morning anyway. We are in the process now of trying to see if they will pull Matilda off the truck and wait until next week to bring her up. Or, if that's not a possibility, seeing if a neighbor might be able to sign for her.

It's a little (okay, a big) disappointment. We were hoping she'd be here and in the garage before we left. But, I guess she'll get here when she gets here. Hopefully she'll be here by next week and then we'll have more to report.

Until then...

Matilda's Journey Begins!

We just got a phone call...Matilda is being picked up right now and will be arriving in Corvallis tomorrow by noon!

More tomorrow!

Matilda's Dimensions

We drove down to Creswell with Chad yesterday to see the Honda at the wrecking yard and check it out as a potential parts car. Bob wasn't there, and there was no dealing to be done again yesterday, but it was fun to see it in person and get an idea of just how small it is.

Matilda isn't much larger than a dollar bill!

To put it into perspective, here are Matilda's specs:

Wheelbase 2000mm (78.7in)
Track: Front 1149mm (45.2in)

Track: Rear 1111mm (43.7in)

Length 3099mm (122in)

Width 1321mm (52in)

Height 1327mm (52.2in)

Length:Wheelbase Ratio 1.55

Weight 550kg (1213 lbs.)
Original cost (1971) $1300
(no extra charge for the sporty side-mirror!)
MPG: Estimates range between 40-60. We're hoping for 60...

Matilda's Story

Tiny purple Fiat in Prague, 1993

Years ago (14 to be exact), I saw this car on a side street in Prague and fell in love. At that moment, that tiny purple car became my vision of a dream car. I knew it was chimerical, but stashed it away in the nether regions of my psyche as a "someday" wish anyway.

The next few steps in the story may seem superfluous, but will all be necessary in hindsight.

Fast forward to December 2006. Gary has a dream that he's acting in a play again, and it drums up such nostalgia that we decide to dive back in to community theater. I find a listing for an audition in the newspaper which sounds like it would be a good fit for him. He auditions, and is cast in one of the lead roles. He spends the next three months going to rehearsal four nights a week and becomes good friends with Chad, who also has a part in the play.

Chad is over one night and I end up sharing the photo of my dream car. This got Gary and Chad talking about possibly one day finding that car (turns out it was a Fiat), or one like it, and fixing it up. It turns out that someday would only be a few months away.

It just so happens that Chad is quite the car connoisseur. He is rather adept at finding and fixing up vehicles. On Thursday (this past Thursday!), he was down in the Cottage Grove area (south of Eugene) for a haircut. While passing a saw shop, he saw a friend's car and decided to stop in and say hi. Bob, the slow-talking gentle giant that runs the shop, felt compelled to mention to Chad that he'd seen a little Honda car at a wrecking yard in nearby Creswell. Chad asked if it was a CVCC, but Bob said it wasn't, and it was actually smaller. Chad was intrigued, and called Gary on his way to look at it, knowing our penchant for Hondas and desire for a tiny car.

We were immediately interested, and when it turned out they were only asking $350 for the 1971 Honda N600 Sedan, asked Chad to seal the deal for us. The fellow at the wrecking yard, whose name was also Bob, seemed reluctant to part with the car. Chad left empty handed. Facing the uncertainty of that deal, we now wanted the car even more.

The Honda N600 in Creswell

We spent the evening looking up information on the old Honda 600s and found they are pretty rare. It's estimated (by one of the sites we looked at) that of the original 40,000 cars produced, only about 1,000 are still in drivable condition today. The car down in Creswell was certainly not in drivable condition, but we hoped with a little TLC and a couple years of faithful effort, it could be drivable again. Not wanting to pin our hopes on a deal that might not go through, we started searching for other Honda N600s that were for sale. We scoured the Internet, and found a few on Ebay. Several were way overpriced and others were too far away or in too bad of shape to make bidding on them worth it. We went to bed anxious and a little disheartened.

Friday morning Gary woke up an hour early by accident, and because he had some extra time, he decided to check Ebay again for any new postings. He did a slightly different keyword search than the previous night, and stumbled across an auction for the same car Chad had seen in Creswell, but in considerably better shape. This car was in the LA area, there was no reserve, and the bidding was only up to $450 after six days. Only nine hours remained. Gary placed a bid and became the high bidder at $485. He then left for work and put me in charge of keeping an eye on things.

Initially, we thought we'd max out at $500, but after consideration, decided to up it to $750. A noontime call from Gary upped the max to $1000. We stayed at a pretty steady $485 all day and were excited that this car might actually become ours. At 4:30 pm, 15 minutes before the auction closed, a new bidder came in and outbid us at just over $1,000. After some deliberation, we decided $1300 was the absolute most we would be willing to pay. We entered our new maximum and kept our fingers crossed. The bidding went back and forth a little bit more in the remaining 10 minutes, but stopped once our bid was upped to $1,110. Bidder 5 backed off, and the little car was ours!!

Our Little Matilda

The next major undertaking was figuring out how to get the car from the Los Angeles area up to Corvallis. We spent the next 12 hours waffling back and forth between driving down there ourselves (a side trip from our vacation to Nevada next week) and having it shipped. We penciled out all the costs and risks and determined it would only cost about another $150 to have it shipped than to get it ourselves (and not have to risk running our truck into the ground). Gary got online and got a bunch of quotes from different companies and ended up finding one that would pick it up in LA and deliver it to our door for a reasonable rate. As a interesting side note, Dan, the customer service rep Gary talked to, was originally from Eugene and was watching the Beavers game on TV at the time (we only need one more win for a second World Series title!).

So now the wheels are in motion, and our little Honda N600 will be here within the next two weeks or so. We have named her Matilda, and have big plans to start on her restoration once she arrives. We have started this blog as a diary of her transformation from a slightly tattered orange car into a shiny purple Corvallis cruiser. Simone will look so cute riding in Matilda with her head poking out of the window!

Artist rendition of Simone in a purple Matilda. Picture to scale.

We will keep you posted on her progress!