Tony's "Red Rocket" gets repainted

(click on thumbnails below for larger picture)

I met a body guy in early 2003 who promised high quality body work and a top notch paint job for $3000 to $3500. I stripped the car, and picked out paint. Meanwhile, the body guy kept delaying my entry into his garage. At the end of May, he told me that he wouldn't be able to paint my car and get it ready in time for the 2003 season. What a blow! He referred me to a body guy in Geneseo who did a decent job on the body work and got shiny paint on the car. It cost considerably more than I originally expected, but the results are quite good. Here's some shots of the bodywork and reassembly.

In Paint Shop:

I retrieved the car from the body shop Saturday morning 6/7/03. I have the weekend and 4-5 weeknights to assemble the car in time to get it on the dyno and do a shakedown run at Blackhawk the weekend before the Mosport race. (I'm at the Ford 100th Anniversary for a week in between.)

Assembly starts Saturday morning, 6/7/03. JK Jackson signs his gearboxes! (3rd picture) Many parts on the shelves.

Things are looking up on Sunday. The radiator and other wiring and plumbing are installed. Shelves are getting bare. By Monday, the grille is installed. While I'm in Michigan, Jack gets the fenders and beading fully installed.

I get back from Michigan we put the hood and graphics on the car, finish up the re-wiring and load it up for the dyno session to dial in the carbs.

Here Irv and I are at Blackhawk at the shakedown run. It turns out that I run hot, and we (mostly Jack) end up putting in an aluminum radiator before leaving for Mosport on Tuesday morning.