When
we eyeballed it for the first time in early August 2003, it was obvious
there was a lot more required than just a paint job to finish the wagon to
its present state. After sifting through many boxes of pieces, we started to
sort some of the items that needed paint or repairs. We decided to use as
many of our suppliers, both local and afar to help with the rebuild. We
started with parts that were up to it including bonnet hinges, interior
window surrounds etc, being sent to Pomona Sandblasting (07 5485 4404) and
then powder coated in satin black by Page Furnishers in Pomona (07 5485
1888). Meanwhile Wayne delivered the motor and box from Brisbane, both of
which had been rebuilt. There were none of the bits and pieces needed to
join Part A to Part B and hold it in place, so a call of help went out to
Mick from Neal's Extreme Parts in Kunda Park (07 5450 1630) who, also being
a Ford nut, kindly donated a new water pump, alternator brackets, engine
mounts, thermostat housing and other much needed pieces. Together with he
rest of the parts from Darren from Gympie Auto Wreckers (07 5482 2388), the
motor and box was ready to slip into place.
Once
installed the Mickey Thompson rocker covers were touching the power booster.
The steering arms and Toyota power steering box was very low tot the ground
plus there was no power steering pump to the engine. Another trip to Gympie
Auto Wreckers to lean on Darren once again and we had an XP steering column
with column change auto and ZA steering box (non power assisted) and arms
for better ground clearance. With these mods done it was then a case of
reinforcing the firewall and removing the booster that was originally
fitted, replacing it with the ZA master cylinder and a Holden proportioning
valve, once again sourced in Gympie, with a new VH40 remote booster being
sent in from Brissy. The motor was then finally put in its resting place and
the decision was made to leave it there. We then called on Dave from Kunda
Park Tailshaft Specialists to make a new tail shaft which was balanced and
back to us within two days for a perfect fit.
It
was then time to attack exterior body mods. We were given one broken rear
side glass and one running mould of which to try and work out the rear
sliding windows. With a lot of templates, thought and the help from Wally
and the guys at Gympie Autoglass (07 5482 2811) we were able to fabricate
new aluminium sliders and locking mechanisms which ended up looking very
much like the originals. We then adapted the original internal window moulds
to suit. We also called on Gympie Autoglass to supply a new windscreen and
had safety glass made for the front windows. Measurements were then taken
for a set of Boyd Coddingtons Stingray 17*7 billet wheels coming from AJ's
Wheel Centre who had kindly sent up one wheel for us to check the fit. The
wheels were then made to suit.
While
all this was happening the final body work and interior was brought up to
basecoat standard. With Christmas fast approaching the car was again taken
to Brisbane to Tyrepower to check out our front end alterations and to be
sure we could get a proper wheel alignment. Craig also fitted the new
tyres to the new wheels and then it was off to have the extractors made
before being returned to the North Coast. Whilst the car was in Brisbane, we
continued to paint individual parts including doors, tailgate, etc and
decided to have a play on the dash using House of Kolor. We used red candy
with blue marbleizer to create an interesting effect.
The
car was in Brisbane for a total of almost four weeks and when it returned we
were then able to finish off fitting the Aussie Desert Cooler radiator and
condenser. We sorted the thermo fans and got everything bolted up including
a heavy duty Exide battery from Dennis at Nambour Discount Batteries (07
5441 4765). Whilst in Brisbane the basic wiring was hooked up which meant we
were able to fire the engine. Although running a bit rough, it certainly
sounded sweet. At least we were able to move it around the shed and in and
out of the booth.
From here on all the little fiddly bits like nuts, bolts windscreen washer kits battery switches, etc were all supplied by Mick from Auto hardware (07 5493 8874) who was more than helpful in chasing up some of the hard to get items.
All
systems ahead on the paint job as the boys wanted the car to be at the
Brisbane Hot Rod and Street Machine Spectacular. There was a lot of midnight
oil burnt to achieve this. As anyone who rebuilt a car knows, there are so
many little pieces you never consider until the last moment. The paint was
finally finished on the Monday before the show followed by a mad panic to
reassemble and dress the car up as best we could for its debut appearance.
With he help of some extra dress up bits and gauges from Paul Halter
of Nambour Autobarn, the car was starting to look like something, however
the Cruzin boys were starting to worry about what colour it would be and
what wild graphics I was let loose to do. When asked, all we said was that
it looks good in pink ...
In
the middle of all this we decided to repaint my
'34
Ford Coupe with a change of colour, so with all the mad panics of
getting it ready for the show and bolting the headlights back on at two
o'clock on Thursday afternoon, I then jumped in the '34 met with other
Thumpers club members, drove to Brisbane, set up the club display, polished
the '34 drove home at 10 pm to then buff the Cruzin Wagon through the night.
After final touch ups, we picked up the tilt tray from Gympie Auto Wreckers
and delivered the Cruzin Wagon to Wayne and Gav at noon on the Friday, two
hours before the opening of the Brisbane Hot Rod Show, Arriving home, I
realised I'd just done 36 hours straight !
After
the Hot Rod Show the wagon went to be dyno tuned and the upholstery done
before being returned to us in June for completion. We fitted the side pipes
that had been supplied with the car originally - what a hit. When we stood
back we realised there was no provision for a number plate light, but a
phone call to John at John's Rod & Custom (03 9796 2251) soon solved this
with a billet aluminium number plate light arriving in the mail the next
day. The car was then detailed and ready for delivery, 12 months to the day
since we received it last August.
Special
thanks to the Crew from LDI including Michael, Scott M, who helped in the
early stages, and then our current team including Dave Chapman, Brad
Franklin and Scott Tomsett.
Lindsay Houston.
