Over the weekend, I spent a couple more hours practicing welding. I have gotten quite good at doing plug welds. However, my ability at doing butt welds/lap welds is poor. I either end up blowing through the thin sheetmetal, or getting poor penetration when I turn the voltage down to compensate. More practice is definitely needed in this area before I'll feel confident. I ordered Welder's Handbook by Robert Finch, on the recommendation of several reviews. No book will substitute for hands on training and practice, but it may be able to give me some tips to help flatten the learning curve.

I've been expanding my search for a different engine for the car. A bit premature, what with the body of the car not being nearly done, but I'm very interested in working on an engine rebuild, and I have no interest in disassembling/rebuilding the current 1600 normal motor. 912 engines are in seemingly greater supply than C/SC motors, and I have a couple of leads. I'll post an update if I make a deal.

I did talk to Frank at Amick Motors, he argued/reasoned with me that after I get most of the undercoat off, I will be much more pleased with the final results if I have the remainder of the undercarriage sandblasted and then have the rest of the body and interior media blasted. He suggested Ellis Media Blasting in Greensboro, NC. It will cost a few hundred dollars but I think he is right. Enough waffling on that area of things already!

Here is a link to lots of pictures from Dunkel's Swapmeet that took place last weekend in California. Lots of great pictures, lots of ideas for how I want my car to look.

On a closing note, I've resigned from my job for a whole variety of reasons. Time to do some thinking about where my life and career are headed. In an unintended but pleasant fashion, this will provide me with a lot of time to work on the car in the next few months.