First Car Show!

So This Sunday, the last weekend of May 2011, Mr.Frosty will be in his very first Show n Shine. True, he has a long way to go before the lights of camera flashes will glorify his bold lines, the polished chrome and the trophies piling up at my door step, but, you gotta start somewhere;)

Having a parking lot, not a hell of a lot of money and time, makes for a very slow process to restore a vintage car, not even considering the fact the parts are almost completely not available this side of Manitoba, as any old steel is easy to work on closer to Detroit.

so, for any of you who are needing to see a slower change of pace this weekend, and be it motorcycles with sidecars, choppers with forks so long you could trip over them or four wheels of pure joy lines, then make your way to the Whip Gallery and Pub, the food is amazing, the beers and drinks are always great and the people, are the true reasons i have been going for well over four years now!

Time:	Sunday, May 29 · 11:00am - 5:30pm
Location	The Whip Gallery Restaurant 209 East 6th Ave. Vancouver, BC

Show n Shine showcasing local vintage, chopped n restored vehicles Boasting BBQ, BANDS, BABES, BOOZE (inside The Whip :P ) Bands **BATTLE SNAKES **DEAD VOICES ** THE VALUABLES Viewers choice awards complete with custom trophies by TURBO.inc ATTN vehicle owners - min donation to park/ compete >>>>>>$5 two wheels / $10 four wheels - $$$'s donated to REd Cross - EAST VAN 4 JAPAN <<<<<<< Please email Rose@TheWhipRestaurant.com for more information

Frosty Wagon on the first day of 2011!

First day of the new year, and after a visit home with Family and seeing my nephews Model Car collection and my Uncles Building of my Aunts 41 Hudson, well, i am freshly inspired to work on my Wagon once again as our fairly light yet damn and crispy winters come forth. Currently have my seats and the back bench seat in my apartment, along with the Grill to get access to the headlight assembly. Seems previous owner of one generation thought welding the housing would be a good idea? Fun fun fun.

DLK2 Door locks in 3-ish easy steps.

For the first time in since i bought my wagon i took the time and money and put it aside, to start my restoration.

Back in 2003, an old friend Keith basically broke into my car through the back window by forcing the roller and then pushing the window down as the rest of my group wandered over from an animation Seagraphs awards special at the new Vancouver Film School's studio. Well he boldly claimed "it's an old car, like it matters?" Well needless to say it has still yet to be fixed, and the existing door locks were pretty much worn down anyway, but, to this day, i still have yet to get the back roller to engage the window until to actually roll:( since then the wagon has had many dings and dents, and even a door being wedged out by random passers byes and even people i have offered rides to when stranded. It will be a constant restoration as i see it, due to the humans ability to have no consideration or fess up to responsibility, but one of a very interesting journey of boyhood dreams, and realizations (yes, Women really do dig nice and interesting Cars;) and yes, they do take a lot of time to do right.

With that, i began to work at Lordco, in order to gain knowledge of my wagon and to get parts at a great discount. Well, as it turns out, the job pays barely minimum wage, and at the time of my first 5 months, i needed even that on account of my Mac being down and design was no longer working. Well one great month, a fantastic offering came my way. A Mac Powerbook G4 was given to me by a photographer and since then things are picking up and back up the road. So with a new roommate on the future road, and the old ones mess smell at my doors edge, i can now begin a new brighter future of restoration, design and art work, all such great energies, and with it, my door locks are the first to be installed.

Door Lock Cylinder model: BWD DLK2

So, basic tools you will need (assuming door panels have already been removed):

Rubber mallet (always use when needing to tap and not dent).

Long Flathead screwdriver

Two needle nose; Long nose, and Beaked.

Hobby file set.

Now, to begin, always think of where things came from, so keep on side together never do anything doubled up unless you know exactly where things go, this i learned years ago while being involved with RC cars;) Lay out the parts as you open the box and set them basically on display to reach for one by one as needed.

Now, begin disassembly of door one in three easy steps.

1. Reach in with a long screwdriver and simply slide the retainer back out and catch it as it falls.

2. Disconnect door lock engaging unit and slide locking cylinder out on outside of door.

3. remove engaging unit by removing the locking c clip, but YOU MUST NOT damage it, unless you have extras already knowing how delicate this are. Parts as you know, are not easy to find. this is where you the beak nose needle nose came really handy, use em.

All done! Now, i take the time to clean everything before assembling the new cylinders with a basic woolen polish like NeverDull™.

New Lock cylinder Installation:

1. Reverse the removal basically at this point, but when you get to the c-clip, this is where the double needle nose pliers are needed. If you noticed, the clips came out with an angle to them, they need this to be functional. the intercept the cylinder and then hold on so it doe snot slide around, but, due to this are a bugger to install. I honestly found this the trickiest part of the whole job;) I used the files here to clean up any burrs or rough edges. The c clip need some work on both sides to slide back into place.

2. insert seals that came with the new cylinders if needed (mine would not fit, most likely due yo paint build up on exterior, so i kept them for future use.)

3. Install unit back in and so it engages lever.

4. Replace backing clip if useable, or use new one that came with the cylinder. i used my old one as the new ones were rather soft.

There you go, step back and look at how easy that was! Repeat steps for door two and you're done.

Now all my work is being done without a garage of my own, so I am more of a renegade mechanic when it comes to working on my car. I installed a horn while sitting at Kits beach once while it was pretty chilly outside- not recommended unless you like the attention and scenery;) Now if if i had a shop, and a basic vise stand, drill press, table double grinder- a lot of this restoration i am sure will be a much easier and faster process.

Next on the line up, Rebuilding my Dashboard and Gage console before installing my Painless Wiring 12 circuit system (the big cheese of the whole car next to engine, body and paint! ).

The Space

It's been awhile since I tapped my fingers across the keyboard to talk about the Wagon or my blogging in general, so I hope with the warmer weather I jump right back in.

In my past blogging I mentioned and placed an advertisement so I could find a parking spaces my slumlord of a building owner does not want my wagon in the back, insured or not. He never gave a reason, other then "just because". so with this I began my hunt. At first I found a spot far off, roughly 11 km away from my door as my speedometer suggested and it was uncovered with a very exposed area, that one particular gentleman decided it would also make for a great place to nap, on someone's car. I paid the man, a Polish Man who was rather nice, but after thinking on it some more, and even with the Wagon just sitting on the street illegally, I decided to not follow through and just let him have the months rent for honor's sake. so once more, the ads went up. Almost a month later, so December of 2009, I get a call form a man who saw my add in a coffee shop. He offered a great spot for $40 a month and it was only a few blocks away, in a great area (even with a gas station right next door;) and in a new Condo with clean indoor parking. 

I have to say, owning an old vehicle, people love to see it, comment on it often, but when it comes down to it, the average person seems to have an almost annoyed reaction when they see a vehicle not being driven, especially when you have no other vehicle, so finding a parking spot in Vancouver, right before the Olympics where some people are boldly charging up from $65- 300 a month for parking, and would you believe during the evens, in event based parking zones, up to $90 a day! I never thought a parking space would be such an adventure;)

So now Mr. frosty is warm and cozy and already the first project went well and then next one, budgeting allowed, will be active and posted before spring- a complete Painless™ wiring kit installed!

What's in a name?

With a name like mine, I always get a lot of interesting responses, with either my first of last name. The first, is known to be a females and the last is known more for it's social class (in a negative) then the value of the work and history of how it became a social class in the first place. the cool thing is, both are connected to the Auto World, and one specifically to my Wagons' name. Bourgeois is in fact, Acadian on Canadian Soil, in detail, one of the first to land and make it their home. Dating back to the 16 hundreds, a very dynamic history in the names creation and the variables that came after. Below are a few of the sites with detailed history and information.

http://www.houseofnames.com/xq/asp.fc/qx/bourgeois-family-crest.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acadians

Dana Chevrolet

Owner Peyton Cramer and manager Dick Guldstrand of Dana Chevrolet were very involved on the racing scene in Southern California. As racers, they saw the need for special built high performance cars. Thus came the "Dana" cars. Dana cars can usually be identified by their distinctive dual scoop fiberglass hood. Other options available included 427 engines, headers, open element air cleaner, suspension and ignition upgrades, and about anything else the customer would want. Most of the Dana cars were '67 and '68 Camaros, with a few '69 Danas known to exist. If you raced in Southern California and saw a car with a chrome plated Dana emblem, you knew not to mess with this machine--unless you too were in a Dana! The dealer was located in 9735 Long Beach Blvd. South Gate, CA.

Other Dana connections. My very own Rear End!

http://www.dana.com/

The icons that make it all to great.

Parking Space Needed!

Sadly my Wagon was evicted from my current home due to it not being driven everyday, or moving from one spot to another daily, as most cars do. I have a strong idea that no matter how Green we state ourselves to be, there will always be those who only see the green of sorts, and the currency it entails, with far more interests then saving the Earth. the Wagon is old, but the metal is already there and not much not bio plastics and chips to make it run or lease programs to renew every so many years with yet another new vehicle, that will run for another four-10 years maximum. 1962.5, and still going strong:) Now, if only i could find a parking space;)

The Travels

Well it looks like my Mac is back up and running fine for now and hopefully will pull through with a little love and shine until I can pick up a new one. So that no longer being an issue, I can now get back to blogging my Wagon's activities and hopeful restoration:)

Since i bought the wagon back in 2003, i have been stopped and shouted at almost every time i drive him. From the homeless, to the house wife and of course the classic car guys who know a good project when they see it. Notorious for weak front ends, the Nova and Acadian series were almost always rebuilt as soon as one picked it up with a plan, to either make it a driver once more or for much more power. The base package on this particular wagon is as basic as you can get, what with the lack of a radio, power steering or assisted brakes and the most obvious of all, no seat belts! Along my first trip to the Squamish Reserve i was pulled over by an RCMP and he just looked inside and exclaimed, "do you even have seat belts?" With a smile i responded "1962.5" and he just laughed saying i really should get some put in. I enjoyed the first trip as it was a long and windy logging road that actually vibrated the light loose on one side leaving a frankenstein like effect with such bold lines to show itself off as we arrived in the glacier valley known as Mile 36. This was my first true test of what the Wagon could handle and I decide to avoid any logging roads after that.

The Funny thing about travels is you can make a promise and find yourself in a bind where you have to make a choice. This choice ot go to yet another event call Soundwave was not an easy one, as i was warned about the road to there being worse then Mile 36, but was faced with no ride last minute and had to find my way. So once again the MrFrosty gets his boots and wheels dirty and ready for a long road trip to the Island and beyond. One of the windiest roads i have ever come across in my life, the # 1 highway stretches one final time from the mainland to Tofino, BC. and a skilled driver with good brakes and a steady mind would be the best way to say what is needed. We made the trip, my guests and i, very slowly but with many stops along the way to truly enjoy the fantastic variety of views, smells and landscapes.

With no radio, Mrfrosty is something to get used to as you hear and feel everything along the way but i have found it adds to the experience of driving an older vehicle. I am looking forward to it being insulated and knowing it is a safer ride with sweet sounds to hear as I cruise around with it's modest straight 6 250, but will enjoy the rustic feel and simplicity as others stare at the complete lack of technology when I open the hood or doors to expose the framing and electrical dangling;)