The NOVA project part 2

It's been a while since I did an update on the Nova Wagon.  I have been traveling a lot with work, so progress has been slow.  One thing that was driving me crazy, was knowing that the underside of the car was still covered in that good old Austin dirt.

  Nothing I hate more than having dirt fall in my eyes while I am trying to work on something.  SO, I started researching different options and finally made up my mind to use a DIY bed liner spray to finish out the underside of the car.

The first thing I had to do was to sand the underside of the car.  I power washed the car the night before to try and get the majority of the dirt off prior to sanding.

 It was the worst part of the job.

 I used my DA sander loaded with 80 grit to remove the majority of the original paint and road grime.

 I read pages and pages of reviews on what the best bed liner material is.  Lots of opinions out there.  I settled on Raptor.  Made in the UK.

I ordered it from TCP Global via Amazon.  It comes as a kit with 4 short quarts and one quart of activator.  It's super easy, you just split the activator into fourths and add 1/4 to each container, put the lid back on it and shake for 2 minutes.  It makes it easy, because you can mix up a little at a time.

 After it is mixed you just screw the container on the gun and you are ready to spray.  The higher the pressure, the flatter it lays out.  I sprayed at 70 psi, which is the max recommended.

It took 1 kit to cover the entire underside of the wagon from the firewall to the rear bumper.  If you wanted really thick coverage 2 kits would be better.  I spent $105 including freight and the gun.  I am happy with the outcome and it is an excellent sound deadener.

Avalair goes home

It's been a few years since Avalair left Texas, but this weekend it made it's way back to where we found her.  It was a little over 2 years ago we found the Avalair in the panhandle of Texas.  We drug it home on a  prayer, with no trailer lights to speak of and no electric brakes.

This is a pic of the trailer where we found it, Mother's Day 2011.

We decided to head out the Wellington, Texas and visit some friends and take in a concert with legendary blues man, Jimmy Vaughn.  This would be the perfect opportunity to make the journey and revisit Avalair's home place.

We stopped off in Shamrock, TX for the obligatory photo op at the recently restored Conoco station.

So, we stopped off at Bob's place to set up camp.  Then it was off to the recently restored Ritz Theatre in downtown Wellington, Tx.

Jimmy put on a stellar concert, as usual.  amy phone takes pretty crappy pics, but here are a few pics.

 His brass section is pretty impressive.  Having done my time as a band dad, I kept watching these two more so, than most other people probably did.

 He went into a 20 minute guitar solo, completely behind his head.  Very tough to do.

Jimmy and his band dropped by afterwards to shake hands and meet all of my hot rod buddies.  Jimmy is actually a car guy himself.

All in all, it was a good trip.  Short but sweet.  We had a great time and Avalair got to strut her stuff in her old hometown.  People that knew her before, were proud to see her restored to her former glory.