Day 10: Progess, Progress!

Day 10
Luke Kirchner
Progress, Progress!


Well, here we are - the last day of A-term! I look at the car we have now and I am in shock. Never would I have imagined making this much progress and for it to look this good. Look at just how far we have come from only weeks ago! 



Ok well, that first photo was taken years ago.... but you get the idea. Today's final schedule included fastening the fenders down for the final time, installing the grill and headlamp, and putting on the side badges. We started by gathering the headlamp trim and lightly polishing the headlamp compartments until we put the bulbs in. Getting the brackets to successfully fit the grill was a bit of a struggle, as the metal could be positioned in many ways and we had to find the right one. Eventually, we got everything to fit and tightened up the front end! 

Installing the grill

Although the headlights don't turn on yet, the front end of the car is almoooost complete. The very last exterior pieces (outside of the doorknobs) were the side badges. We wanted to start with 289 badges on the sides, representing the 289 cubic inch block that the motor is. What's quite funny, however, is that the engine is now a 347 stroker.... so the badge will fool anyone trying to race us at a stoplight. One challenge that we encountered was that the pushpins for the holes were too big. We tried squeezing them down with pliers, to avoid drilling into the paint to open up the hole, but it didn't budge. We did have to end up drilling into the existing holes, but luckily the badges slipped right in afterwards! 

289 Badge

Since our workday was coming to a close, we decided to do a walk around the car to take a look at what was next. Our checklist was now about 80% crossed off. We looked in the garage and saw only a handful of remaining parts. Although the car isn't totally drivable yet, the progress we made over these 3 weeks is actually incredible to think about. This project was something I have wanted to do for so long and am grateful for the opportunity to have bulk time to knock out many of the major parts on the car. I learned SO much over these last days about engine mechanics, car maintenance, assembly, and sheer patience. Our goal is to get the car running over the summer and to have a Route 66 road trip before I go off to college!

The Falcon project is not over!
Thanks for reading!





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