I Have a Plan

After Wednesday’s disheartening post, I’m much more upbeat. My change of attitude came, mostly, because of a phone call with my car-buddy Bill the next day. We went back-and-forth about what made the most sense for me at this time in my life; how I’d feel if, after 30 years, I get rid of the LeMans; is Mikhaila really going to find the time to help me get her Corvair on the road; are there any ways I can carve out more time in the garage. With his help, I came up with the following plan which really wasn’t any of my presented options.

1. Don’t sell the LeMans.
2. Finish the GTI’s clutch job ASAP and get it out of the garage.
3. Roll the LeMans, minus its doors, fenders, wheelwells, hood, and trunklid, out into the driveway and cover it with a tarp.
4. Put the GTI back in the garage and replace the leaky heater core and get it on the road.
5. Clean the MX-3 and sell it ASAP.
6. Move Mikhaila’s Corvair into the garage.
7. Put the LeMans back in the stall behind the garage.
8. Use my car-time to work on Mikhaila’s Corvair when she’s available and the LeMans body pieces when she’s not.

Yeah, I hear you. Adding a car project right after complaining that I don’t time for the LeMans – that is dumb. Here’s the reasoning behind the new plan. As I’ve whined about countless times, the LeMans is taking much longer than I’d expected. As Mikhaila gets older, her car-time availability is shrinking. I‘d better snag it while I can. Also, since I’m focused on the LeMans’ body panels I don’t need the rest of the car in the garage while I’m stripping, priming, straightening, and painting the removed panels. The Corvair is significantly smaller than the LeMans, so I can better work on the panels than I currently can.

Does this mean I’ll be maintaining two blogs at once – Tom’s LeMans and Corvair Fleet Maintenance? Definitely. Will I also be shooting Corvair video and posting it on YouTube alongside the LeMans Restoration video? Probably. Only time will tell.