It's been a while since I updated this Blog, simply because there was not a lot to report. Sure, I could have provided step-by-step progress reports over the past seven months, but that would be boring. Things are coming together, albeit a bit slower than I hoped, and we are about to come to the great unveiling. That doesn't mean all is finished by any stretch of the imagination. There will be the dash and wood trim to do in the future and a number of details to address over the next several months, not to mention normal service requirements, which will be more along the lines of Bimmer Guru Mike Miller's Old School BMW Maintenance Schedule© than anything you see coming out of a Merceds-Benz service manual.
There are a number of reasons the car took seven months to get where we are today. First and foremost I take full responsibility for the amount of mission creep, which added to the timeline. If you don't know what I mean by mission creep, it is a well known term in military planning and execution where the expansion of the project, objective or mission expands beyond its original goals, usually as a result of early successes. Well, once I saw the how rapidly things were improving I could not help but to ask for more and Simon, Ian and their team at Auto Haus, Williamsburg were ready and willing to deliver. I'll detail all jobs in a future installemnt.
Simon did take several weeks off during the height of the summer to go back to Austria on "Holiday," as they say over there, which resulted in about five or six weeks of downtime. One other leading setback was the headliner. It took a while to get the car into the upholstery shop and when it came out I was not thrilled with the look of the material they used. The lesson learned here is to make sure everyone is on the same page, including the sub-contractors prior to executing the work. In this case I just trusted all would be okay so I was not too specific about materials. The shop installed an Alacantra type material, which did not look at all original and to my eye was a bit untidy and low class. After much searching by Ian and myself, we came up with a better solution. It is a material that looks far more original and has a clean, sharp appearance. All that took time and when the car came back from the upholstery shop the second time there was a problem with the sunroof opening without binding. It appears the shop simply covered over the previous fabric thus making the assembly too thick to slide back into the roof. Back to the shop the sunroof cassette went and that is where we are today. Holidays being what they are I don't expect to see the sunroof cassette assembly back until sometime next week. Another minor setback is the radio. It turns out when I sent the radio Malcom gave me gratis (thank you again Malcolm) to Becker they sent back an off the self replacement Model 754. The problem is the radio changed from the Model 754 in 1987 to Model 780 in 1988. Who knew? Simon apprised me of this after he tried to install the one I provided. Diligently, Ian found the right numbers and after a bit of investigation I called Becker and explained what happened. Tom at Becker Auto Sound, LLC was extremely helpful and they will take the radio back in exchange for the correct Model 780, with only a small up-charge for the extra amplifier connector that is intrinsic to the newer radio.
BTW, the new grill Simon installed looks fantastic and Reflections Detailing on 2nd Street in Williamsburg did a sensational job detailing the car after all the body and interior work, including the engine compartment, which if you know these 560 SEC is a major league PIA to get clean especially if neglected over time.
So there we have it. There are just a few more niggles that Simon will address, including alignment of the trunk lid and replacement of the upper brake light housing, but then all should be well and we will finally be ready to say: "Hereee's Johnny."
Kind of like waiting for JC to step from behind the curtain on the Tonight Show.
License plate number is the same as Mr. Carson had on the car in California.
Right side of the trunk lid is just a wee bit lower and in need of further adjustment.
Here's looking at you kid.
