[Shotimes] Titanium......!!!??? or....Update on Lowrider...Week 2 of work

[George Fourchy]

Went to see the car today.  First thing I saw was the cut-off rear clip outside on
the arms of a forklift.  Then I saw the front end of it inside, with the rear angled
up in the air, but out of sight.  I went around to a different door to go in, and
saw the rear of this Titanium LX.....whoops ....it was my car.

I still can't access my website to load the pictures I took of it today (or last
week)...Yahoo keeps bankers' hours!!.   Hopefully they will be on it in a day or
two.   If not, I might ask someone to host them for me, for the time being.  The car
will be done (driveable, but two colors) as soon as this Friday (YAY!), or more
likely, since the main guy is taking Friday off, next Monday or Tuesday, the soonest
I can get it anyway.   Then it has to go to the stereo shop to have all the amps and
rear speakers and alarm sensors reinstalled (this shop doesn't want to try
that...they think they might fry something, and that suits me just fine), and then
to the paint shop, where I'll have to sneak it in for an after-hours paint job (pay
for materials only)....same color as before....homemade pink and blue (over white)
pearl.  Lexus Crystal White is too yellow in the pearl for me.

But it'll be in Madison in July, with bells on!!

They went and got a very low mileage titanium colored LX body for the new rear clip.
 It has a couple of tiny dings under the outer part of the left taillight, but other
than that, it is absolutely as good as new....looks like it has about 20K miles on
it.   That's the great thing about cars out here.....they don't rust (as long as
they are painted correctly!!).   The joints are across the floor, starting in the
center of the rear door floor/jambs and go under the rear seat cushion, and also
across the center of the rear most window pillars.  It's held in place as of today
with just vise grip clamps, but the back doors shut just fine, with their new
titanium jambs.   After it is all welded together, it will be stronger than new,
because there will be extra layers across the pillars and rockers, out of sight, but
which will add strength to the joint.   Pretty darn simple to fix, as long as the
cuts are made exactly in the right places.   And these guys made the cuts in JUST
the right places!!!!

YO, JOSEPH!!!!!!   ........THEY DON"T RUST!!!!!!!!     ;-)

They are using the donor car's suspension, except for the strut/springs and the
knuckles, and I need to remind them to swap the sway bar.  The back part of the
exhaust is still on the clip, but it will come in and go on.  I'm thinking I'm
saving a lot in bushings by doing this, as a small bonus.   (Remember....it's only
going to be on the road for another year.)  They're going to try to get me a new
rear window, since my defroster grid is all dead.  A new one lists for $1,000.....do
you believe that!!?  But they think since they don't move off the shelf, I might be
able to get a HUGE discount, like out the door for $250 or so.   If not, I can fix
mine, which was the original plan, or get a used one for 100 bucks or so.  
Hmmmmm...maybe I should go get another one, to keep for who knows when....!   I'll
keep my old one, too.

I'm going to strip the old clip of everything I can take....Eva went off when I told
her that...."You can't store that junk near MY house!!"   So I just said, OK, OK,
and will get it later and stash it somewhere.  I have to keep that decklid, and the
gas filler door, and the various fasteners and whatever.  It was the Lowrider, after
all.

Bottom line is.....it'll be better than it was before, and it was pretty darn good
then!!!

So far, this shop is THE BEST!!!

Yeah!!!!    ;-D    High Five!!

George