Day One

After sending Ray pictures and talking over the phone, it was decided that December 5th would be the day. Ray would drive up to Orlando from his home in Stuart and meet us at mom's house to get a look in person. As Ray arrived and started to look her over, I was so nervous. My main concern was what he thought of the frame- was it rusted out? Was it a lost cause? Would it be too far gone and need more money than we had to put into it?

Ray said 'Looks good' and I was relieved! So that meant all systems were go. The first order of business was to get the tires inflated and get her up on the ramps and jack stands to get a look underneath. Up and up and up she went! Dave took the dead battery out and we got it hooked up to the battery charger. Ray wasn't sure we could get it to hold a charge, but it was worth a try.

In removing the battery, we figured out that the driver's seat is broken. Dad had it propped up from the back with 2 small pieces of wood and a towel. I hadn't remembered that there was a problem, so I always figured that the wood was being used as a lumbar support or something like that. Ray determined that the seat is missing some crucial bump stops, and as a result, it leans/lays back farther than it normally would. The seat came out and we found $.30! The carpet is quite dirty, but we'll fix that with a call to Stanley Steamer.

Ray still maintained that the car frame looked good as he continued to look around underneath her. Seems that she's leaking some radiator or transmission fluid and brake fluid, but he didn't seem ultra concerned. Dave started to drain the oil (or should I say sludge- it was totally gross), and the boys removed the spare tire so they could get to the gas tank.

Knocking on the gas tank, Ray felt that there wasn't any gas in the tank, so he opened it up. Imagine the surprise when gas started guzzling out of the tank! I'd say there was possibly a gallon or two left in the tank. Dave got new oil and a filter and got the oil changed (his first ever DIY oil change!), and we added some brake fluid to see if the brake lines were still OK or if they were going to need a lot of work.

I had thought we'd be getting the car running today, but there was enough other stuff to be done first. We moved on to removing what was left of the bumpers. Sure, most of the exterior bumpers had either fallen off or been broken off, but we still needed to unbolt where the bumper attached to the car. This certainly wasn't Dave's favorite job of the day, but once he got the ratchet wrench, work went a little smoother.

The last task of the day was hooking up the battery to check our electrical system. It had been bubbling for a few hours to clean off the plates and now it was time to see what we had. Contacts hooked up, key in the ignition, and..... voila! Lights on in the car! Both window motors run! And best of all? The headlights work!! Since the engine wasn't running, we couldn't use the vacuum system to pop the lamps up, but Ray was able to push them up and the lights are running. I was so happy that I was grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

We cleaned up the garage and called it a day. Looking at Bette sitting there, it's amazing how much we got done in one day. There's a lot more to be done before we're finished, but I know my dad is happy. I'm so grateful to Dave for agreeing to take this project on and to Ray, who's knowledge is endless. I'm also grateful to the many people who I know we're going to get help from as we move forward. I'm not sure when Ray will be back up, but I'm certainly looking forward to project day #2! We have our shopping list and I'm sure Eckler's Corvette will be very happy to have us as a new customer.