7 February 2006
Not too much action for Betty at the beginning of '06. Besides the usual comute to work and home every day. Gave her another oil change and then on the 11th Rob and I changed the rear spring bushs from the sagged out rubber ones to beaut blue poly ones.
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12 February 2006
Another chance to go around the skidpan. Awesome fun as usual. Drew came on board to get some video footage. We'll have to speed the final result up so it looks like we're actually going fast. Carlyn came out for a look too, and I got her to jump in for a couple of laps as well.
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14 April 2006
D-day had arrived. Old Betty was driven up to Newcastle to be handed over to Grant for a fresh coat of paint. I left really early on the Friday morning. We crusied along and made great time with no drama's at all, even when the F3 freeway north of Sydney blocked up and came to a standstill. I left the car with Mark, and he was going to deliver it to Grant for work to start.
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12 May 2006
Grant thought it was just going to be a simple strip and spray job. But it turns out the basecoat that had cracked the old paint was acrylic, so paint stripper wouldn't get it off. He had the unenviable job of sanding it all off by hand! So progress was slower than expected, but as long as the job was done well, I was ok with the delays.
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16 July 2006
After months and hours of prep work she was now ready for the topcoats. Grant had taken out all the minor dents and scrapes and the body was super smooth. The roof was redone in white, then the new 2-pac brown went on. The blackouts around the windows were also refreshed. She looks a bit bare in her new paint, but with all the bits missing.
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23 July 2006
And now after months of waiting it was time to head to Newcastle to pick her up. It was a very exciting time, I didn't know what to expect, and when we got to Grants place and the roller door went up I was gobsmacked. I've seen beaut clean cars before, but they weren't my own. We drover her out into the sun and she just sparkled. Welcome the new Betty!
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28 July 2006
The first wash for new Betty. I was very nervous about touching her as I didn't want to do any damage to the fresh new paint. So it was a quick hose-off and a chamois (with a brand new chamois) and she was all clean again. She'd gotten a bit dirty on the drive from Goulburn to Canberra.
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30 July 2006
And then she was rushed into her first car show. The CACTMC display at Woden hospital. Me, Drew (in George) and Allan (Mk2 Capri) went along to that. She was looking super in mid-winter sunshine. We cruised to old Parliament house for a few happy snaps afterwards.
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6 August 2006
It was then up to Sydney for the '06 All Ford Day at Warwick Farm. Carlyn and I drove up to Pete's place the night before. On the way up she got her first stone chip. That's the trouble when you're getting passed by trucks all the time. I displayed with the SFCC of NSW and there was a huge turnout of cars. Lots of Falcons though. But a few people stopped and had a chat, and a lot of them said they used to have one just like her.
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14 October 2006
What not to do with your freshly painted car. Take it on the skidpan with its dirty water mixed with concrete dust and rubber. As usual it was a blast chucking her around sideways, but the cleanup after was painful. It took 2 full washes to get the greasy residue off. But it sure was fun!
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24-28 October 2006
There had been some play in the steering rack for a while now, so it was time for it to come out for a reco. Capital Steering at Fyshwick was able to rebuild it for me and didn't break the bank. At the same time the slightly shoddy old carpet came out too. I'd order a new set but the first one didn't have a hope in hell of fitting properly. So I ordered another set that fitted much better. By November 9 it was finally all in and back together. Just in time for CCC7.
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11-12 November 2006
November saw the ASFOC's annual Capri Muster and Classic Small Ford gathering. Due to helping organise things I had to miss the obs run, but I did enter the Show'n'Shine out at Bungendore. The new Betty also picked up a trophy for best Classic Small Ford. Very excited and unexpected that was. Sunday saw us cruising out to the motor museum at Binalong, and then on to the lunch redezvous at Gundaroo.
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19 November 2006
The last show of the year was a hot one. Marques in the Park at Belconnen. I parked next to Drew and the Mazda club as there was an almost non-existant showing from the ASFOC crew. Lucky the Mazda guys had got in early and grabbed an excellent spot in the shade. The traditional Drew & Hak cruise to Kingston pub for a beer followed this event too.
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