06-13-18, 12:16 PM
Hope everyone's summer has rocketed off to a great start and you are enjoying your Coronets as much as you can. Even though mine isn't on the road yet, it is closer and closer every day. When I pulled the convertible top mechanism out of the shed to prep for install, I found the rear tack bow to be completely rotted out in one corner. I was sure I was in for a long road of trying to find one, and not super confident I would be able to fix what I had. I spent most of a day restoring the header bow...cutting...welding...grinding...making the corners acceptable for the top pads. The mechanism was installed after paint...but still missing that rear tack bow.
As June 2nd neared, I was preparing for a weeks vacation with my girlfriend. We were going to head north to our cabin to install a kitchen and some new flooring. I knew Midwest Mopars in the Park car show and Swap Meet was going on in Farmington Mn that weekend and asked if we could stop there on the way to the cabin. I told her I wanted to hit up the swap meet to see if I could find the rear bow I needed. She agreed, but both of us thought it was going to be a tough find. I then proceeded to tell her I was going to wear a sign indicating what I was looking for....'66 B-body convertible parts....YIKES! she laughed at me..said I was going to look silly and there was no way she was gonna walk around with me, wearing a sign on my body at a car show. She about talked me out of it.
On the morning of June 2nd, we had both of our vehicles loaded and ready for the trip north. My veggie oil burning Super Duty diesel was hauling cabinets and tools, her Jeepster was pulling an empty 4 place snowmobile trailer. We had 3 stops on trek north.......Mopars in the Park, Lumber Liquidators and private residence to pick up 80 feet of dock. Needless to say, I hadn't made my sign...........She asked if I was gonna make one before we left, almost giving me her approval...So I did, to her dismay. She laughed as I was cutting vinyl on my plotter and installing the vinyl to the substrate making my 5 minute sign. She then reluctantly helped me string it up to hang on my body. OFF WE WENT!
On the way, I called a friend who works for Metro Rubber / Super Soft Seals who always has a booth there. In fact... he is at all the big shows representing. Some of you may have talked him and purchased there. Anyway...he advised me it was pouring down rain and I should come the following day. As we neared Farmington, it looked as if the rain had let up....it had. It was dry, so we decided to make the stop. I promised her the stop would only take an hour, even though I would have stayed all day given the opportunity.
I donned the sign.....again with the laughter. She told me she would stay with the dog at the vehicles, but then last minute decided to tag along. Walking down the rows of parts (HEAVEN), quickly looking for anything convertible I was noticing that this sign was the ticket...not only were vendors reading it, others were commenting...."great idea," "nice sign" or they were just looking at me funny. my girlfriend, the heckler, says to me...."Hey, B Body convertible trim." She had spotted windshield trim on a table that was marked "66 B-body Convertible".
As I am looking at the trim on the table, a guy comes up behind me and says...."I'm your huckleberry." He proceeds to tell me he had parted out a '66 Coronet Convertible...exactly what I wanted to hear! He asked what I was looking for. When I told him, he seemed disappointed. He told me he had brought the convertible top mechanism last year and it didn't sell. Being it was so bulky, he decided to leave it at home this year. Turns out his home was right on the way to the cabin. We made a deal I and stopped there on the way home. I ended up buying the whole mechanism from him for what I figured was a pretty good deal. The rear tack bow.....along with the header bow......were in GREAT SHAPE! Nothing a little paint wont take care of.
Enough of my story......IMHEADINGOUTSIDETOWORKONTHECAR!
11447
As June 2nd neared, I was preparing for a weeks vacation with my girlfriend. We were going to head north to our cabin to install a kitchen and some new flooring. I knew Midwest Mopars in the Park car show and Swap Meet was going on in Farmington Mn that weekend and asked if we could stop there on the way to the cabin. I told her I wanted to hit up the swap meet to see if I could find the rear bow I needed. She agreed, but both of us thought it was going to be a tough find. I then proceeded to tell her I was going to wear a sign indicating what I was looking for....'66 B-body convertible parts....YIKES! she laughed at me..said I was going to look silly and there was no way she was gonna walk around with me, wearing a sign on my body at a car show. She about talked me out of it.
On the morning of June 2nd, we had both of our vehicles loaded and ready for the trip north. My veggie oil burning Super Duty diesel was hauling cabinets and tools, her Jeepster was pulling an empty 4 place snowmobile trailer. We had 3 stops on trek north.......Mopars in the Park, Lumber Liquidators and private residence to pick up 80 feet of dock. Needless to say, I hadn't made my sign...........She asked if I was gonna make one before we left, almost giving me her approval...So I did, to her dismay. She laughed as I was cutting vinyl on my plotter and installing the vinyl to the substrate making my 5 minute sign. She then reluctantly helped me string it up to hang on my body. OFF WE WENT!
On the way, I called a friend who works for Metro Rubber / Super Soft Seals who always has a booth there. In fact... he is at all the big shows representing. Some of you may have talked him and purchased there. Anyway...he advised me it was pouring down rain and I should come the following day. As we neared Farmington, it looked as if the rain had let up....it had. It was dry, so we decided to make the stop. I promised her the stop would only take an hour, even though I would have stayed all day given the opportunity.
I donned the sign.....again with the laughter. She told me she would stay with the dog at the vehicles, but then last minute decided to tag along. Walking down the rows of parts (HEAVEN), quickly looking for anything convertible I was noticing that this sign was the ticket...not only were vendors reading it, others were commenting...."great idea," "nice sign" or they were just looking at me funny. my girlfriend, the heckler, says to me...."Hey, B Body convertible trim." She had spotted windshield trim on a table that was marked "66 B-body Convertible".
As I am looking at the trim on the table, a guy comes up behind me and says...."I'm your huckleberry." He proceeds to tell me he had parted out a '66 Coronet Convertible...exactly what I wanted to hear! He asked what I was looking for. When I told him, he seemed disappointed. He told me he had brought the convertible top mechanism last year and it didn't sell. Being it was so bulky, he decided to leave it at home this year. Turns out his home was right on the way to the cabin. We made a deal I and stopped there on the way home. I ended up buying the whole mechanism from him for what I figured was a pretty good deal. The rear tack bow.....along with the header bow......were in GREAT SHAPE! Nothing a little paint wont take care of.
Enough of my story......IMHEADINGOUTSIDETOWORKONTHECAR!
11447
