Monday, October 22, 2007

My Camaro relocates

Funny how things come about some times. After a few years of apartment living after college, I bought a house. First on the agenda was to tear down the garage and build new. That way, both of my project cars (my Camaro and Challenger) would start to see some progress.

As it turned out, I did move the Camaro up to my new garage shortly after completion. Another year or so passed before I had electricity installed in the garage. Only then did I actually get around to working on the car, though the only work consisted of further disassembly. With everything disassembled, the only direction left to go was progress, yet time and money dictated neither one happening. A major part of it was buying a nearly 100 year old home. Owning an old house is a lot like owning an old car, in the sense that there always seems to be some sort of maintenance needed. The house work took up whatever free time I thought I would have to work on the car, with no end in sight. Then came another variable, a serious girlfriend.

I'll admit, I didn't really like her having to park her car outside on the street, and if not for my Camaro, I'd have room in the garage for her to park. Part of me was sad to see the car leave, but the reality is, no work was going to be finished on it anytime soon. In addition to the old house, I made a serious change in careers recently, saying bye-bye to the auto industry, and hello to law enforcement. I'm in the midst of the academy, 1 month in, and will last for 6 months, and will consume pretty much all of my spare time. So much so that the only house work getting done lately has been thanks to the help of my dad.

It wasn't all bad to move my Camaro back to my parents', well, actually to grandma's this time around. There is some body work that needs fixing before it sees the road again. A few spots in the paint popped, a couple dings have occurred, and plenty of burnouts have left the quarter panels peppered with stone chips. All of which I would like fixed prior to putting the car back on the road. Since my painter resides down where the car is now, it makes the most sense.

I've been eyeing a hoist for the garage for a few years now. I will likely try and install one prior to bringing the car back up here. In the mean time, I have the full powertrain, electrical, interior, and all major components still at my house, so I'm hardly at a loss for things to work on when the time comes. I now fully understand how car projects quickly turn into 10-15 years, as mine has already been off the road now for 6 years! Last time, while in college, I completed a full frame up restoration in less than 1 years time. Things change as you get older, as do priorities, as I've come to realize in recent years.

In the mean time, the girlfriend is happy to have a spot in a garage to park for the first time in her life.