Midshipman

It looks like they only have Black and White at all these online sites. I'm thinking we take her into a shop after she's painted and will just have to ask them to do it custom. I called in town today and I got one quote for $700 - $800 Atleast that way we could get a blue that really matched the paint well... instead of just asking one of these sites to try and cut one in blue... and then find out that the blues don't look right together. I'll start saving my money. ::: maybe I should start a new non-profit fund, "Car's for Billies" :::

Well here's an update: All the part's places (including Paddock) that carry Vinyl Tops for the Monte's have two colors. Black or White. So I guess I'll begin a search and scour the net looking for someone who has a blue one... but I have a feeling I'm going to be ending uo with a black top on this baby. Has anyone had any luck finding colored tops?

Well I'm pretty certain that included the material... Or he said he could get it pretty cheap... But I made that call back in December to get that info, and I am desperatly trying to find his number again... I don't know if I'll be able to.

Ok, so $250 for the labor... anybody know hoew much the material costs and where a good place to buy it would be? I'm open to suggestions from the board. ((When I was working on my 57 Chevy, I tended to order all my parts from ClassicChevy.com AKA Classic Chevy International. They're a great club for the tri-fives and have everything a person could want. So I never found all the smaller shops that deal with specific areas.))

Crap! I forgot about buying a new top! Where did Charles get his, I'll call over there and see about it. We're having someone else do the work on that, correct? Or did you want to tackle that as well? I thought somebody said you guys hadn't done one yet and considerign the materials will probably cost as much as just having a shop do it... we might just give it over to someone else. I know there's a guy here in Lafayette (haven't seen his work, but he's apparently got a shop) that claims to be able to do it for $250, and that included tearing the old one off and putting the new one on. :::Guess I'll be living on Mac N' Cheese for the next few weeks atleast... hehe:::

Here's the current cost list:

Here are the pictures so far guys... anyone who is interested and wanted to see exactly what this car looks like now...

Ok Alex, keep me up to date on the cheaper price then... I'll edit this post and put the tracking number up here as soon as I get out of the armory tonight... (7pm tonight or so) EDIT: Here's the UPS Tracking Number 1Z0792230341522879

Yikes... $250 is really a big bite. How important is it that we dip the hood and fenders? I don't want you guys spendin the rest of your lives sanding... but $250 just might break the bank at this point. I've run out of cash and I still have to buy the bearings for the wheels, and groceries for next week. If it is imperitive that we dip, or if it will really make that big a difference in the final appearance of the car... well, what do you guys say? Also, Alex: I spoke to Leo last night and sent him a check for the driver's side mirror. Apparently no Monte's had passenger side mirrors (except for one specialty model in 72 I believe) and so we'll just stick with one. The POR-15 was shipped to your father's address. I called the company before it shipped and they promised me that it was going to 41444 but when I tracked it with UPS this morning it says it's destination is your Father's house. I'm screaming at POR 15 over the phone as we speak, and UPS says we cannot change the delivery address mid-shipment. we have to wait until the driver has made an attempt to deliver. However, since there is no signature required he's just going to leave it at the door, and then we'll never get a chance of redirecting it. So keep an eye out in the next few days for an ignorant UPS guy, if UPS and POR15 keep giving me trouble we may be screwed. Argh, I hate this crap. Thank you for the pictures, I'll be posting them up on here tonight for the world to see. Stay tuned for more details.

OH! Gotcha! Ok, um... i just recieved a rather odd e-mail... This is from Jim @ MuscleCarsonly.com whom I ordered the bushings kit from yesterday... Apparently he thinks I won an auction on eBay from him? The auction can be viewed by clicking here. These are a set of seatbelts for a 68 - 72 chevelle SS (same as a Monte I know) But I did not bid on these... I'm presuming one of you guys did? ***EDIT: Ok, I got it squared away... Just a miscommunication. He just bought those seatbelts on eBay, and somehow accidentally sent the payment request he received to me. Lol. So that's why I was all confused.*** By the way, my seatbelts are fine... Correct? Although perhaps not 100% correct... They look fine and are functional.

Well a hundred dollars for two fenders and the hood? I suppose that isn't too bad... Let me see if I can rustle that up (give me a day or two). If you guys think thats the better route, let's do it. I am pretty definate that I can cover it. Quote: i have a speedo we could use(gonna be replacing mine with a new one anyways. we will track the electrical problems down.... That is just awesome! One quick question though, what's wrong with it that you're replacing it?

Wow, that would be fast turnaround Alex... Let me know how pricey getting em dipped would be. Also, with the problems we have tackled thus far: What is our ETA without the dipping? And what would it be with the dip? I doubt I have the cash on hand to do this... especially since the meager funds I'm trying to scrap up ontop of my $1000 budget could probably be better used towards fixing my Speedometer, Tach, and dash lights. Because I have a feeling I may need a new speedo, or it might be a rather exhaustive search for that electrical problem that is the root of our Dash-Light Evil... And is there any word from Charles buddy on fixing that headrest and the fabric under the rear window? ** EDIT: The Bushings have been ordered **

For $80 lets just do it and get it over with. That's only a weeks pay for me Can we get those at AutoZone? If not I'll order them online, but figured we might save on shipping if at all possible...

Can we get the wheel bearings at NAPA or PEPBOYS... Or should I order those someplace too? And how much will body bushings be... It'll be easier to do it now I know. And my 21st is in 2 weeks... Maybe I can hit up gramma for a cash present this year...

Ok, the paint is paid for and awaiting someone to pick it up. It's under my name. Total for everything was $261.13 and I bought the medium hardener becuase that's what the guy recommended for these temperatures. I presume we need two Brake rotors? We better, because I ordered them and their being shipped out tonight to Alex's house. Brake Rotors cost a total of $115.21 with Shipping.

Ok, do you want me to try and order that? And if so, from where? Or are you guys gonna pick it up and I'll write you a check?

Ok, here is my cost so far: $51.23 for POR-15 $27.14 for Battery Tray $483.00 for all the lines and shipping ~$40.00 for the Driver's mirror I bought the vapor lines too. So my total cost so far is just over $600 Also, a few things: I noticed I do not have a Passenger side rearview... how difficult would it be to put one in? (doesn't have to be remote) and do you guys have one or should I talk to Leo about that? Also, I'm not sure exactly which blue we decided on... But I want the Fathom Blue, I finally made up my mind.

Well I have ordered the lines. They should be arriving at your house sometime in the near future, Alex. I still need to make contact with Leo, and I've contacted POR-15 and redirected the order. If it's just a few can's of cheap Aerosol and you guys don't mind, I guess we'll paint the engine.

I'm a bit overwhelmed here... you guys are doing so much for me, and so quickly... and asking for nothing in return... This is like a dream! If you guys are willing, please do paint the engine and firewall. I'm putting you all on my christmas card list.

VooDoo... AS far as painting the engine goes, that'd be nice. But right now that is at the bottom of my list. I'll look into a battery tray and call Leo about the mirror tonight. I told Alex what my budget is at the moment, so as long as we can keep it around that I want to do AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. As far as parts not being 100% correct on the car, I can fix those later I believe. I'm not too worried about her being that purist stock. If we have correct parts lying around or can find them cheap enough let's replace them. But right now I'm thinking we direct most our energies to the driving/paint/bodywork problems. Painting the engine and firewall would be nice though... we could go forever fixing things, and I would sure like to do them all... but Alex knows my budget. If he says we can do all that and still keep me out of debt, then I'm all for it. Also, I tried to ship the POR-15 to Alex at the address he gave me, but I must have mis-heard him on the phone. I looked him up in the phonebook and had it shipped to All the address info he gave me... but I used the street address of 41294 E 100 North Rd I had written down 41444... so please verify this is correct. If it isn't I'll call and try to redirect the order. **EDIT: P.S. I think I'll pay the $9 shipping fee and have it sent out. Because it's an hour and a half drive from here to Paddock and then another hour and a half out to you guys, and another hour and a half home. So that's 4.5 hours drive for me, and I can gaurantee I'll burn more than that $9 in gas. Please let me know if we need anything else from them and I'll have it all sent out on Monday.

Correct-a-mundo Also, Alex, if you read this: I have talked to Leo and here is his response to the parts you said to ask about: Quote: Yes no problem , a drivers remote complete is 40.00 , I also have cables and parts to repair yours, the fender extension is 20.00 Leo So let me know if we're gonna need that fender extension and I'll work out the details with Leo.

Well that's not bad at all for paint and materials! I do like that blue... But how expensive would the blue they use on todays Dodges be? I really like something like that... A really blazing eye-popping blue... What do you people think? (Anyone... The astro-blue, a real bright dodge-like blue... Maybe just black??) And with all the problems Alex listed earlier... What do we expect this is going to take? I'm only trying to plan it out... Keep me posted, and thanks again guys!

Hi Alex! Well that's a ton of bad news in one sitting, but I think I'm still standing. I knew something was wrong with the brake's when I puleld her out of that trailer.... Yikes... Well, here's another chapter to my Odyssey: So last night as I'm cruising along on I-74 from Champaign back towards West Lafayette... my Toronado started to suddenly make this weird clanking noise... it was tied to my speed and I thought something was wrapped around my rear wheel... but I couldn't find it. So I pulled off to try and find a gas station near Attica, IN and about a mile off the main highway the clanking stopped and i heard "SWOOSH! Fwapa-apa-apa-apa-apa-apa" And I then knew I wasn't driving anywhere... So, I pulled into the parking lot of the Jehovah's Witnesses' Kingdom Hall... and began to change my tire! Well, that didn't work out, because the chuck for my locking hubcaps was MIA. Fudge! So aa quick call to Triple A, and three hours later I had a tow truck who told me he could tow me anywhere I wanted, for $2 a mile. I was 45 miles from home. Damnit. Well, I greased the wheels a little, and with a rather big tip, he agreed to drop the car off in my parking spot infront of my apartment on campus. So now, I get to spend the day trying to figure out how to change this tire! WooHoo! I finally got the tire off, and now I'm calling my friends with cars to see who wants to give me a ride to walmart for a tire plug kit... Isn't Life great!! I'm still optimistic that all this trouble will lead to me having one FINE [censored] car. Thank you again to Charles, Charlie, and Alex for all the help they are about to give me... these guys are awesome. I wasn't sure who I was going to meet out there, but they were all a friendly bunch and I'm going to really enjoy being a member here. Alex, I think I'm gonna give you a call when I call in all my loans and figure out how much liquid assets I have on hand to fix the problems you discovered. And I have to say, I was not expecting you to jump in on it last night! You are one of my new best friends! A quite contented Odyssian, Billie P.S. Here are some pics of the car as we took her off the trailer over in Champaign:

VooDoo427, please check your e-mail and call me... 765-743-7962

Quote: * * * * UPDATE * * * * Well, My father has borrowed one of my relatives Trucks and enclosed trailers to go pick up my baby. I couldn't get away from a few obligations and my dad is just an awesome guy who volunteered to do this for me. He's 200 miles north of where my car is now, and the transmission on our borrowed truck blew out. So there goes my money for the paintjob. I'm going to need to pay for the repairs to my uncle's truck. Now my dad is stranded down there until we get it fixed, good thing he's retired! On the bright side, the guy who was supposed to be working on my car called last night. He was very apologetic and sorry for the way he had reacted and seemed sincere. I'm still getting my car out of there, though. Stay tuned for further updates.