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Boy does time fly... A lot has been going on: some good, some bad. The bad? My bud Tommy died of cancer. If you recall, Tommy was helping me out with some expertise and advice. Photo at right of Tommy power washing the frame. The good? Been making some good progress on the car thanks in part to getting a bench-top bead blaster and in hooking up with Bruce Fullerton. Bruce lives here in Austin and is in the process of doing a beautiful restoration on a '57 slider. We are at about the same phase of restoring our cars and our cars are in the same (bad) shape. Having someone to yim and yaw about this or that part and where to take it has been a big catalyst for me to get yippin on the car.

bruce on the left, me on the right, tellin tall tales...

Oh yeah, the car...  Went to a car show and met someone who could media blast my body and powder-coat various parts. So I had my egg hauled out to this guys place: not easily done. I don't have a truck and had to find someone to haul it up to the bead-blast place. I called around, but most towing places wouldn't touch my car because it wasn't a rolling chassis. 'But you don't understand!' I would plead. 'Sorry sir.' would be the reply. As I improved my verbal approach (Two people can carry the body! I can carry the frame!), I finally convinced someone at the third place I called to come and at least look at the situation. The truck pulled up, I escorted the driver to the back yard, and, wa-la, I showed him the car. 'What the hell!' was his reaction. 'That's a car!!???!?'

We loaded up the little booger and headed north. The guys did a great job blasting and powder coating selected parts. The owner of the blast shop called in his right hand man, Ron, and said: 'You know what one of these are?' and without blinking an eye, Ron replied 'That's an Isetta!' As it turned out, Ron just bought a fixer-upper the week before! What a coincidence! Ron had a friend out by the lake with a welding shop. Years ago, someone came by with an Isetta (sans motor and tranny) and wanted him to chop the top off and make a trailer out of the car. Having a big heart, he said 'How 'bout if I just make you a trailer and you give me the car?' He had plans to fix it up, but alas had never found the time. Ron had been bothering him for years about the car and the welding-man finally relented.

blasted and powder coated....

I then went through the wash cycle of having a body man look at the car. The blasting man recommended a friend who worked on sport cars to do the work: high quality and reliable pricing, but picky. He came out and looked at the car and said he would do it in the $1,500 to $2,500 range, with paint. I said 'OK' and, after some discussion, decided it would be best if I ordered a new floor. After I got the floor, I mosied out to his place with the floor. Unfortunately, after one of the strangest discussions I've ever had with a human being, he decided that he didn't want to work on the car (during the conversation, he bounced back and forth). Not only that, he concluded (after bouncing back and forth) that the car wasn't worth fixing up! Blasting revealed some additional body damage that would be a challenge to repair. It was a sad and long trip back to the house. I had to drink a Kahlua and milk to settle my stomach (mighty tastey!).

The next day, instead of working on the car, I decided to clean my goof room (where I sit typing this) and came across pictures of my egg on the day I bought it. I couldn't believe that my egg couldn't be put pack together again. I told myself that if I saw the darn thing again, I would still buy it. Bruce similarly weighed in. So.... I'm gonna get a second opinion. Surely someone can fix the darn thing. However, I'm going to wait until I have a rolling chassis before getting another quote.

With the bench-top blaster, I've been able to clean up a bunch of parts. Next time I'll have photos of the frame getting put back together, the assembled steering knuckles, and misc. other parts I've boughten or traded for over the past several months. I am in the process of rebuilding the chain drive and have started working on the engine and tranny. A lot of work, but a lot of fun too!

scrub behind yer ears!

...and room for a caddy!

Ron with a spread of isetta parts waiting to get blasted...

a new floor for an old Isetta...

enter sandman

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