(More and bigger pictures are here: http://www.millertwinracing.com/BELFRY2 )
Holy Schnikes!
That’s the only thing that comes to mind when the transport turns the corner and I get a good first time view of Belfry. I get a feel for just exactly what a 66 Cadillac 75 body Procar means.
It means my wife got a HELLUVA good price per pound. (about $1.33/lb. by my calculations)
One of my big concerns was just how rusty WAS the car. In looking through the paperwork, it looks like it came from Allentown PA, down to Ft. Myers Fla , two places with a high tendency for corrosion. But from what I can see, the car’s not _too_ bad. Certainly not ‘replace 80%’ bad. And based on the fact that it’ll never see snow, and Colorado’s not a hotbed of rust formation, I suspect the car will be fine…practically forever. I can’t see doing a full frame off restoration, if only because you’d need an area the size of Coors Field to spread the parts out.
We shuffle toolboxes and bits n pieces thinking the car CAN’T POSSIBLY be THAT big…but it is, and then some. The thing to take away from the picture above is: See the corner of the lift? it’s not as far out into the garage as the car that’s on it. And the Hearse is further back into the garage than that. The hearse isn’t a car, it’s 1.33 cars. (like its price per pound. Coincidence?)
Once you wrap your head about the gravitation-altering mass of the car, the next thing you notice is: This is a 40 year old new car. Not the paint, which needs help in a place or two, but the interior, and the 4765 sq. ft. top, and the weatherstripping, and the wood paneling, and the area behind the bench seat…it’s all FREAKING NEW looking. The cloth is clean and supple, the chrome shines up bright. Heck, if you can get past the whole ‘final ride’ part, it’s one hell of a classic car. (Perhaps hell isn’t the best word to describe it.)
