I agree, Guilio, would love to get together once the Spider is road-worthy.

Latest happenings......

Front end rebuilt....


New wheels and tires....


The suv stance is because it is still on the stands. I lowered it to the ground and it was still pretty high. I guess the combined weight of the hood, doors, cowl and bumpers will lower back down to normal.

Still have to bleed the brakes, finish the sway-install (any tricks on compressing the brackets together over the poly so I can start the nuts?), and roughly adjust the toe-in.

My dad is coming in to town soon and I have several days off of work, so I'm expecting more progress soon.

Later...

NCArachnid wrote:any tricks on compressing the brackets together over the poly so I can start the nuts?),

Yes, get a couple of "C" clamps to hold the brackets together...

Looking forward to it Jon. Car is looking good!

Some more progress.... My dad is in town so we are making large strides. Got the front suspension buttoned up (just need to torque the a-arms when the car is back to cruising weight). Pulled the tank, replaced all the fuel lines, sanded and coated the trunk, installed the hood, and installed the rear lights. New tank in tomorrow along with deck-lid and hopefully the doors.

Ok enough talk. Here are some pics.

Trunk and rear lights....



Hood....



Hood hardware and pad....



Back on all 4 feet....


More to come...

Looks fantastic Jon!! Nice progress!

We are scheduled to be in Charlotte to visit my Son in late September. I'd love to stop by, meet you, and see your great work in person. I'll shoot you a PM when the time grows near. Wish I could bring the Spider with me but that's not going to happen.

Car looks great.

Is that the AR hood pads? Mine are in a box. Any installation tips?

Another flurry of activity today....

Finished installing the new gas tank and hoses.



Installed new trunk seal and deck lid.



Installed the passenger side door.



Sounds great Doug, send me a pm.
Those are AR hood liners. The '72 doesn't have a space between the hood bracing and underside of the hood to tuck the pads into. What we did was trim the foam at an angle and glue the edges down to resemble the tucked look. We attached them to the hood with DAP contact cement. Would be easier on a later model hood where you could tuck in the edges but I like the result we got from improvising. I don't believe the early cars ever had liners stock.

You go boy! Can't wait to see her in person.

I enjoy following builds such as yours. Keep up the good work! You're moments away from tearing up the open road!

A little more progress today. I need my Dad to stay in town indefinitely and need to retire now so I can get all my projects completed!

Left door installed, both door handles installed with working locks....


Installed the rear rocker panels and license plate....


Installed the center rocker panels....


Next up: lube up the wiper motor and linkage, reassemble the cowl and install on car.

Thanks for all the well wishes and encouragement. After nearly seven years, the light at the end of the tunnel is gleaming bright.

beautiful!

Looking fantastic! Are you running later model springs? The ride height looks too high even allowing for the parts still to be re-installed.

Yes Perthling, I thought it looked a little high as well. I haven't changed out the springs since I bought it in 1997. But you never know what the PO did. The springs are seated correctly in the lower a-arm and in the upper cradle. The only thing I've done that could affect the ride height is to add GS-2 shocks in the front. I have them for the rear but haven't installed them yet. I'm planning to just drive it for a while and if I want it a little lower I'll swap out the springs.

Here are pics from the first test drive.




She ran like a champ. New brakes worked great. Alignment must be in the ball park. New tires grip well. Engine ran cool. Heard a strange clicking sound from the trans. It was constant and increased with speed with both the clutch in and out... Likely the known broken speedo gear.

Looks amazing Jon!!!

it does look really great ... really really great ..love the color .... the hole deletes front and back look awesome. jealous eggs for breakfast as i do my morning check of recent builds on the forum .... without the top and hardware it almost looks like a real back seat ... i have often thought about making mine a fair weather car and deleting the top and associated hardware .... but mine is my daily driver and sometimes i need the protection ... will you be putting the top back on????