The Snowball Saga - '68 Standard Revitalization Project by Blitz

8 minute(s) of a 403 minute read

It almost worked. I was just about to bask in the glory of successful problem solving.

But guess what? The dumb thing blew apart again as I was snugging it down. This time I didn't gouge the paint, so I don't think the screws made contact with the "front" of the cap. I think it's just the way these are designed - when you're pulling the two halves together, the little tabs can't handle it, and they let go. This is a look at how much the screws stick out, I think this clearance is ok.

Here's a look at the problematic little tabs that hold things together, after reuniting the halves for the second time.

By this time I was done messing around. So I called up my good friend JB to see if he had any ideas. He did.

I went ahead and did this to all 4 caps. I think it's good insurance. When you look at those tabs, you can see why they can fail. Pretty flimsy design. The only downside to permanently epoxying them together is that I won't be able to touch up the black paint if I have another gouging issue. Hopefully that won't happen again.

Anyway, curing time is 15 hours so I should be fine to try again to install the caps this afternoon. Fun times!

Well, I think my fix with the caps worked. Let's hope they stay on. But the big news is, the wheels are on the car! Here's a last look before the black paint gets annihilated by the trim rings.

This is my sweet shop setup now: a crappy Duralast jack and a slanted driveway. The WCCC shop was pretty good, but I'm moving up in the world now.

Anyway, here they are all dressed up with the brushed trim rings correct for '68. They complete the look!

Proper glamor shots will have to wait - I have to prep for the car show this weekend! But I'm very happy with the end result. It looks like it should! This setup fits the personality of the car much better.

Don't get me wrong, the Legendary GT5's are great looking wheels. If my car was a bit sportier, or a dark color, or didn't have a vinyl top, I think they'd be perfect. But this car is quite literally a Granny car. A classy cruiser. Maybe I need to get another Cougar so I can use the GT5's.  

10-11-2021

Thanks guys! I agree that these wheels & tires seem to be the finishing touch this car needed. They really suit it perfectly.

So yesterday was quite a day. As I alluded to earlier, I entered in a prestigious car show. It seemed like the perfect place to officially show the car for the first time. The show was the Montecito Motor Classic. (Here is their website and here is an article with a nice recap).

Lots of rare, interesting, high value cars in attendance in all categories. Awesome variety - everything from hypercars, one-off race cars like the Lola GT (valued at $25 million and owned by Allen Grant, former mechanic for Carroll Shelby), even the George Barris "Koach" from the Munsters. So this was no podunk local show, it was kind of a big deal So really my goal was just to show up, have a respectable entry, show my car to people and tell the story, and enjoy wandering around looking at everything else. I was in the "American Classics" class and had no expectations to win anything. There were probably about 20 cars in that class, all very nice. I snapped a few pics in the morning while everyone was still arriving & staging.

I had fun throughout the day looking at everything, and hanging around talking about my car with anyone who had questions or comments. Lots of people who used to have, or knew someone who used to have a Cougar, all with fond memories. Plenty of compliments on the restoration, which was nice. I didn't mind repeating the story several times to people who were genuinely interested & excited to see a nice Cougar there. I also had fun flipping open the electric headlight doors and surprising passersby.  

The voting was done within each class, so each person had to vote for another car in the same class (other than themselves of course). I voted for a gorgeous 1955 Corvette. Imagine my surprise when I got a little phone call and found this on my car.

I won my class! Can't believe it. I'm usually not someone who gets hung up on trophies or accolades, but it really did feel pretty special and validating to have all that hard work recognized in a venue like this. Here I am driving up to get my trophy.

Unreal.

Sitting in the "winners circle" with some of the other class winners:

Anyway, what a day. Feeling proud and a bit humbled. And now I don't feel like I need to compete in any more shows, this pretty much takes the cake, right off the bat.  

As promised, I made a quick detour on my way home to snap a couple new glamor shots with the new wheels & tires. I think the car is truly complete now, at least in terms of major items and overall appearance.

Very happy. I'm thinking about all the things that had to line up for this all to work out the way it did, and all the people whose help made it possible. I can think of about 10+ people pretty easily whose help was instrumental. And yes, I put in so much work myself that I don't feel at all bad soaking up some glory, but they all deserve some glory too. Thanks all for coming along for the ride.