The Resurrection of Vixen

Quote of the Week:
"DeLorean - that's made by Ford, right?" - AutoZone employee

At this stage, there's simply no way to test the electrics. I plan to do so "on the Fly", as I get to the point where I can even hook up a battery. Fortunately for me, the previous owner left the electrical connections to the relay box intact. It's the only thing besides the pedal box assembly that he didn't take apart. (Yes, he even disassembled the alternator...)

Just a side note for those who have been in the same boat, or pontoon, I should say... Rivnuts are a pain in the wazoo. Only 3 of the access panel bolts in the luggage compartment came free, the rest are either stripped or frozen. I spent a lot of time with a Dremel tonight cutting slots in the top of the bolts, and slowly working them loose with a screwdriver and a pair of vice-grips. Having the body separated from the frame, I really have no need to go through the access panels to get to anything, but ya' always have to think of the future.

Another common question about my 12-step plan, was why I would want to reattach the body to the frame so quickly. The answer is, I have a one-car garage, and no room to store the pontoon body while I work on the frame. I've managed to get enough clearance between the two to attach the lines by placing 2x4 wedges between the body and the frame. It's workable, but mighty tight.

* * * * *

"Everybody wants to rule the world..." That was a great song this week coming through the speakers of the Disassembled D. It's the first song, and the first time, that the D has made music since 1990. =) I got the wiring harness together enough to test the radio & windshield wipers, which are the only devices hooked up at present. Both are working flawlessly. The LCD display and tape eject are both perfect, too.

So far so good on the little things.

My rear glass was broken out by the previous owner's attempt to remove the torsion bars (yes, it really does happen... use extreme care!) All I had was a rim of adhesive and broken glass to remove, but that alone took almost 5 hours this week. I used a hammer and sharp wood chisel to dislodge the adhesive, but it's a messy process. I would have liked to use the piano wire method to remove the glass, but the bottom edge has a sharp angle that would make it pretty difficult. Besides, I didn't have to worry about breaking the non-existent rear glass, and a utility knife just got gummed up while trying to saw through. Here's a good tip though I learned back when I worked at a body shop years ago: When you're trying to chisel out the adhesive, it helps to cover the remaining glass particles with a strip of Duct tape. Otherwise, while you're hammering, glass pieces fly everywhere. The tape holds them in place quite well, and makes cleanup a snap. A warning though: if you use this chisel method, watch the angle of your chisel carefully. Unlike 'normal' steel-bodied cars, it's quite easy to gouge the GRP in the process.

Costs for Week 6:

Date	Purchase	Store	Price
30-Nov-99	110528 Bracket, speedo cable	DMC Houston	13.76
30-Nov-99	(10) SP10402 clip	DMC Houston	13.90
30-Nov-99	(7) SP10392 clip	DMC Houston	10.08
30-Nov-99	(2) SP10844 clip	DMC Houston	0.92
30-Nov-99	SP10393 clip	DMC Houston	0.36
30-Nov-99	(6) SP10381 clip	DMC Houston	7.98
30-Nov-99	106989 Fuel line, used	Specialty Automotive	15.00
1-Dec-99	Snap ring kit	Rebco	9.58
1-Dec-99	Washers	Pep Boys	4.99
1-Dec-99	Brake line	Pep Boys	4.49
2-Dec-99	Spring Compressor	AutoZone	34.97
3-Dec-99	Bolts	Pep Boys	13.07
		Week 6 Total	$129.10

		Running Total	$4670.72

Year One:
Week 1	Week 8	Week 15	Week 22	Week 29	Week 36	Week 43	Week 50
Week 2	Week 9	Week 16	Week 23	Week 30	Week 37	Week 44	Week 51
Week 3	Week 10	Week 17	Week 24	Week 31	Week 38	Week 45	Week 52
Week 4	Week 11	Week 18	Week 25	Week 32	Week 39	Week 46	-
Week 5	Week 12	Week 19	Week 26	Week 33	Week 40	Week 47	-
Week 6	Week 13	Week 20	Week 27	Week 34	Week 41	Week 48	-
Week 7	Week 14	Week 21	Week 28	Week 35	Week 42	Week 49	-
Year Two:
Week 53	Week 60	Week 67	Week 74	Week 81	Week 88	Week 95	Week 102
Week 54	Week 61	Week 68	Week 75	Week 82	Week 89	Week 96	Week 103
Week 55	Week 62	Week 69	Week 76	Week 83	Week 90	Week 97	Week 104
Week 56	Week 63	Week 70	Week 77	Week 84	Week 91	Week 98	-
Week 57	Week 64	Week 71	Week 78	Week 85	Week 92	Week 99	-
Week 58	Week 65	Week 72	Week 79	Week 86	Week 93	Week 100	-
Week 59	Week 66	Week 73	Week 80	Week 87	Week 94	Week 101	-
Year Three:
Week 105	Week 112	Week 119	Week 126	Week 133	Week 140	Week 147	Week 154
Week 106	Week 113	Week 120	Week 127	Week 134	Week 141	Week 148	Week 155
Week 107	Week 114	Week 121	Week 128	Week 135	Week 142	Week 149	Week 156
Week 108	Week 115	Week 122	Week 129	Week 136	Week 143	Week 150	-
Week 109	Week 116	Week 123	Week 130	Week 137	Week 144	Week 151	-
Week 110	Week 117	Week 124	Week 131	Week 138	Week 145	Week 152	-
Week 111	Week 118	Week 125	Week 132	Week 139	Week 146	Week 153	-
Year Four:
Week 157	Week 164	Week 171	Week 178	Week 185	Week 192	Week 199	Week 206
Week 158	Week 165	Week 172	Week 179	Week 186	Week 193	Week 200	Week 207
Week 159	Week 166	Week 173	Week 180	Week 187	Week 194	Week 201	Week 208
Week 160	Week 167	Week 174	Week 181	Week 188	Week 195	Week 202	-
Week 161	Week 168	Week 175	Week 182	Week 189	Week 196	Week 203	-
Week 162	Week 169	Week 176	Week 183	Week 190	Week 197	Week 204	-
Week 163	Week 170	Week 177	Week 184	Week 191	Week 198	Week 205	-
Year Five:
Week 209	Week 216	Week 223	Week 230	Week 237	Week 244
Week 210	Week 217	Week 224	Week 231	Week 238
Week 211	Week 218	Week 225	Week 232	Week 239
Week 212	Week 219	Week 226	Week 233	Week 240
Week 213	Week 220	Week 227	Week 234	Week 241
Week 214	Week 221	Week 228	Week 235	Week 242
Week 215	Week 222	Week 229	Week 236	Week 243

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