The Wrenchette: A Girl Builds a Roadster: September 2011

I have finally worked my way through all of my FFR boxes and taken inventory on all parts. I unpacked each box one at a time, checked off the items on the packing list, taped the boxes back up, and labeled the outside of each of what is inside so that it is easier to identify each box.

(Click each photo to enlarge).

Part inventory complete.

I also removed the hood, doors, and trunk, and unpacked the hood scoop. The main body will be stored outside in the heat on a body buck, but I didn't want to worry about the hood and other loose parts blowing away in high winds. So those parts moved upstairs into the attic of the garage. It gets nice and toasty up there, so it will work well as a bakeout oven.

Removing the doors.

Shoving the hood up the attic ladder.

Hood storage.

Fiberglass storage. That's old motorcycle racing fiberglass that the panels are stored next to.

The chassis will need to move in and out of the garage while we finish a section of flooring, so I wanted to get the chassis off of the jack stands and build a chassis dolly. We had an old cart that belonged to a welding table that we purchased at a surplus sale. The welding table is planted on the floor of the garage, so we decided to turn the leftover frame with wheels into a chassis dolly.

The circular cutouts are lined with carpet to protect the powdercoating of the frame. All 6 wheels lock, which keeps the chassis from drifting on the floor. The floor isn't exactly level, so having 6 wheels works nicely. We've wheeled it around, and it's quite stable.

The next step was to build a body buck from the plans provided in the manual. Zac picked up some wheels from Harbor Freight so that we can easily move it around in the back yard, and helped with the layout.

Yeah, this thing takes up some space, which is why it will live outside.

Temporary storage inside until I get the body off.

I'll add some insulation to protect the underside of the fiberglass where it contacts the buck, and then it will be ready for the body to be installed. Removing the body from the chassis and getting it on the buck and into the back yard will be a 3 person job, which I'll save for next weekend.

Today my kit arrived! I was sweating the schedule a bit on my kit delivery. My kit was scheduled to be completed on 9/3/11, with Stewart Transport picking up at FFR somewhere between the 6^th and 9^th. Unfortunately I had to go on travel for work the 12^th – 15^th, so that would put me in the red and the car possibly arriving while I was gone. I did NOT want to miss my delivery day! I called FFR early in the first week in September and they verified my kit was done and ready to go. I then called Stewart Transport, and they were scheduled to pick it up on the 2^nd, which was earlier than expected. They anticipated it arriving in Tucson the weekend of the 9^th. I’d be cutting it close, but it was possible that it could all work out.

My Stewart Transport driver was Bill (I kept joking that Santa’s name is now Bill) and he called me on the 3^rd to say he was on the road and left FFR with 9 cars, and I was 5^th in the delivery line. He was dropping them off and making his way across the country as quick as he could. On Thursday the 8^th I found out he was in Kansas, on his way to drop off a kit in NM, then would be making his way to Tucson.

Saturday morning Bill called to say he had dropped off in NM and was now headed to Tucson. It’s about a 5 hour drive from where he had dropped off, and he mentioned he could possibly drop off that evening. I called and left him a message that Sunday morning would work, as my husband was finishing up drywall work in the garage. About 5:30 PM the wind and rain hit, and didn’t let up until 9 PM, so it turned out to be a good thing to wait until Sunday morning. Bill said he’d plan for a 9 AM drop off.

I woke up at 6 AM, too excited to sleep. It was Christmas morning and Santa was on his way! ;) I had all sorts of excited energy, and the waiting was killing me. I even resorted to cleaning the house to take my mind off the waiting. My husband Zac came in the house at about 8:50 AM and said “There’s a big truck outside” and sure enough, it was Bill from Stewart Transport. My kit had arrived!

I called my friend Ryan, and he came over to help with the unloading. I had the chassis with the body, and 23 boxes to get into the garage. Bill called out the box numbers while I checked them off the list, and we loaded them onto his cart and wheeled them down the driveway and into the garage. Finally it was time for the chassis and body to come out. Stewart Transport has a very cool crane system that easily lifts the entire thing out of the truck and onto the cart. All sorts of cars were driving by slowly as the Roadster crept out of the back of the truck and onto the cart. After the car was securely on the cart, Zac and Bill rolled it into the garage, and Ryan helped with getting it onto the jack stands.

Bill and I finished up the paperwork, I sent him on his way with a tip for taking care of my car, and I began unpacking boxes to inventory them. I’d unpack, check the items off the packing list, then repack and label the outside of each box. I also pulled the duct tape off the body right away, to prevent tape residue from welding to the gel coat. I actually don’t have too many items on backorder, and already have an email that one of the items has already shipped.

Up next on my to-do list is to build a chassis dolly to wheel the car in and out of the garage, as we still have one section of flooring to finish and I’ll need to move the car out of the way. I’ll also build a body buck to store the body outside while the kit is being built. I don’t have a timeline that I’m building to, as I’m focused on taking my time and enjoying the build.

Thankfully the entire schedule that I was sweating worked out. I had just enough time to get the kit in the garage and the boxes inventoried before heading out of town for the entire week. But when I return, I’ll have plenty to do on the car.

(Click on the photos for a larger view).

The Stewart Transport truck arrives: