Thank you for all the comments and compliments.
I am learning as I go. My small welder was giving me fits as I was trying to tack weld it in. I'm still making very small adjustments to get it dialed in. It's a Lincoln Handy Mig and can do gas or flux. I like that it has a very low voltage/amperage setting for the thin sheet metal. My other welder is the Pro Mig 180 and would blow holes through the thin metal if I tried using it. The floor replacement is sort of my practice to get ready to do the rear quarter patch panels.
I'm going to build a roller frame/table to put the body on so I can take it outside for some media blasting. I'm hoping to get to it before any freezing temps get here so I can do the bodywork in early spring. I can still bring stuff inside and to the basement if it gets too cold.
Short Story.........kinda
I was 13 at the time and we had just moved into a fairly new neighborhood in Cedar Hill, Texas. The yard was still dirt. And it had rained most of the night. It was around 9:00 am and mom and dad were both at work. A friend of mine came over and was bored and wanted to go do bro stuff. I told him it was too muddy to go hiking up trails or running the creek. You see, it was 1974 and we didn't have all those fancy tech gadgets we have now so we were always outside doing something. Anyway, after much thought, we decided to have a mud fight. That's right.......an all out war. We figured since all we had to do was wash off with the garden hose....Why not? He went to the other side of the street, because that yard was also mostly dirt. And we started hurling mud bombs back and forth at each other. Hitting the house, the garage doors, front doors....if it was in range it got mudded. After a few minutes of mud war two more friends showed up and now it was 2 on 2. The battle was on.
Soon, one of my friends needed to go pee so I told him to leave his mud covered shoes at the door and try not to get any mud inside. My sister, 9 years old, had other plans. She wouldn't let him in. And when he tried to push past her our cocker spaniel nipped at his ankle and he used his foot to push the dog away so he could get back outside. He finally just went around to the side of the house and took care of his business. When he came back we started the mud war again. We were probably into this for about 15 minutes when all of a sudden we heard this tire squealing. It kind of sounded like someone was either drag racing or doing burn outs. Nope. It was my dad. He had just bought a new 1974 GTO, about two weeks ago, and that thing came hauling ass sideways around the corner and into the driveway. (After the little incident with my friend and our dog....My sister called dad and told him that my friend had "kicked" the dog and he was rude to her) He looked at me and said "In the house". Well, needless to say, the war was over. And so was my hide.
Getting more to the point......Ever since I saw that red GTO come around that corner like it was in a high speed chase I fell in love with the shaker hood. It just looked so bad ass with that spectacular view of the angle it was headed. I still have it etched in my mind. And it didn't take long when I noticed the Trans Am. I believe it was a 1974 Trans Am that I saw for my first time. I remember it had the large hood bird. I wanted one but I just couldn't afford it at 13 years old.
I retired May 10th this year and now I have plenty of time to work on this project. When she lets me.
