I left this morning about 6 and took a leisurely drive up arriving around 9. Not bad for a normal 21/2 hr trip! Everything was uneventful and I got to spend about an hour with Ricky and his welder. We unloaded the car and I left it on my rotisserie as well as the bonnet on my big dolly and they wheeled it inside and covered it in plastic wrap. He told me about his process and I'm very comfortable with what he's going to do and the plan is this: He uses the paint and materials of his choice since he is familiar with them. The car will be media blasted, bodywork and welding completed, epoxy primed, primed again with a filler/ high build, blocked, repeat primer, etc. I'll plan on a visit at this stage to inspect and make any changes necessary. The underside will be treated the same way, but he will use a 2k bedliner material tinted to Iris Blue where undercoating was originally used. I'm also going with a modern paint...base/clear with the last few coats wet sanded and a couple of coats of base/clear mixed together. I looked at some of the cars he had done this way and I'm happy with the look and it's very tough. It will take roughly 10-12 weeks to complete, so it will be a nice fall/winter project.
We had time to talk about Tony and his various projects as well as Jack and Miss Agatha. Tony would do the 'loop' thru Owens Crossroads for lunch every other day and stop by the shop to check on his Corvette which was in process of paint and body. Ricky said Tony would have been very proud of the car since it started on first crank when the estate was settled. There's even one of Tony's business cards still on the bulletin board in Ricky's office.
All in all a really good day and I've got to develop some patience so I won't bug Ricky too much, but I can't wait!
Rut