First Gear - Another Bump in the Road for Project Shovelle

Mar - 01 | By: Performance Plus | one comment.

Filed under : 1. Jan / Feb 2010, First Gear

Well, mom always said things are never easy, and she was bang on when it comes to our first-ever budget project. You may recall a few months back that we got word that we were not going to receive the crate motor we were promised from a large parts supplier (that will go nameless), as they had to tighten their belts last year. This was, of course, a setback for us, as we had to secure a different engine which I am happy to report we have.

As covered in our last issue, we have taken the wiring as far as we can go until after we send out the car for paint, so it was off to ABC Auto in Maple Ridge, B.C. for some minor bodywork and paint. The schedule at the shop saw us cutting it close to hit the deadline for this issue, but it was workable. Then the unthinkable happened. The car got damaged in the shop!

In a fluke accident, Project Shovelle’s front end got to know the workbench, causing damage to the front clip including the driver’s quarter, nose and grille. The good news is it is completely covered under the shop’s insurance policy; the bad news is it took awhile to get the claim going for various reasons, causing us to miss our deadline for this issue. One more setback in the process, but it’s the nature of the way things usually go when doing any sort of renovation or restoration.