Cool McCool's Garage

I got the original hood ornament back from the platers, in copper, so I could do some hand work and save some money.  Unfortunately, for all practical purposes, they ruined it.  It looks like it got away from them grinding, and there is a huge divet in the base right in a character line.  That’s the bad news.

The good news is that I had an extra, the original, and this replica of an Auburn “Flying Lady” that my buddy “Crafty B” (aka Kirk Brown) made, so I combined them.  I spent a little time yesterday with a file and the die grinder with some flapper wheels cleaning her up (it was a raw sand cast piece) and making it a little more, uh, anatomically corrrect.

I ground the “breasts” a little more distinctly, gave her a waist, hips, and then polished the old girl up.  I still need to get a little piece of aluminum flat stock to make the base where I cut the Diamond T ornament off, but I think the result is pretty good.   With the Auburn rear fenders, Auburn style dash and split windshields, the Auburn Flying Lady looks pretty appropriate.

Around back, I mounted the hood trims (from a 509) on the tailgate along with the extra brass Diamond T hood plaque.  This I think looks stunning, and really makes the tailgate, and entire  box, more integrated with the truck.  It looks like it’s supposed to be on there, and will look GREAT when the truck is painted.

As long as I was mocking things up, I put the grill in (after re-riveting two loose bars back on), and stood back and admired my work.   Actually, I do alot of that, but it  helps keep me fired up about the project!

It’s easy to forget, with a project in a million pieces, what the end result is going to look like.  Putting it all back together helps rekindle enthusiasm, and makes me exctied to see it coming together.  I resisted the temptation to hang the bumper and put headlights in, this was far enough for me to see what I’m working towards.

So, that’s it for now.  I’m trying to balance having some summer fun with the other cars against working on this, and I think it’s coming together well!