For anyone looking for the other project threads:
Project Naomi I : New Project on an Old Favourite
Project Naomi II : Giant Rotisserie Pictures Update
Project Naomi III : End of Summer 2010 Update
Project Naomi IV : Almost Off The Rotisserie
Project Naomi V : Finally PAINT!
Project Naomi VI : IT LIVES!
Project Naomi VII : Coming Home

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It's been five long years since this project began, but the day has finally come to take it home!

Yesterday I arrived at ClassicAuto in the early afternoon and found her sitting outside, all washed, waxed and ready to go. As requested he had put about a hundred kilometers of shakedown driving on it to make sure that it was ready for the trip home.

There had been a couple of small issues - one of the new ball joints had fallen out of its hole on the control arm for example - but it was now in great shape and ready to go.










And true to his word, it survived the whole 600+km drive home with no major issues. A rattle here, a loose grommet there, it really did drive better than I ever remember it driving.




As with any project there are a few tweaks left to do, and the car will probably never be 100% "done" (if it was, I'd have to buy another one just to have a project!). But I'm incredibly impressed with all the work that Joe and the guys at Classic did, and it's a good example of "good things come to those who wait"

Oh, I almost forgot - to answer Aaron's question in the last thread, no there was no champagne but we did celebrate with a different carbonated beverage :

 

The official list of remaining tweaks is:

- Shifter bushings : something went wrong when I installed the new ones and the shifter is loose now and rattles

- The steering column grommet isn't in place at the firewall, it's slid down the column. I tried to slide it into place at the gas station but it's stuck, so I've got to fix that

- The E-fan temp sensor needs adjusting and I want to add a relay that switches on ignition power so I don't run my battery dead with the e-fan running for ages when parked after long drives

- There's a rattling noise in the rear around 90kph. Probably either the jack, spare tire, or the speakers rattling against the metal they're attached to. I have to track this down

- The clock doesn't light up (amazingly though everything else lighting-related works brilliantly!

- I have a stereo surround in a box somewhere that needs to be installed. Right now the stereo is a 1din stereo in a 2.5din hole just sort of sitting there

- Coolant Sensor has some kind of problem. In right-hand turns or at speeds above 125kph the light comes on and the alarm starts beeping. Reduce speed or come out of the turn and it stops.

- The horn only works when the ignition is off. I have no idea why. When the car is running, nothing, but when the car is off it works fine?

- The driver's side power mirror will go any direction but up, the passenger's side one won't go any direction at all. I've got a spare mirror to pull a motor from, or it might be a harness issue.

- The passenger's side window needs a bit of silicon lube in the channel to help it close properly without assistance. I've got a can of it, just haven't had time to do that

- The locks are EXTREMELY STIFF. I'll have to take the door panels off and lube up the linkages.

- The carb secondaries don't seem to be opening all the way. It might be carpet binding, but I think it's actually the wire making the mechanical connection that has stretched or loosened.


Everything else looks perfect. So really, all pretty small things!

 

Congratulations on the "new arrival"..( that is THE CAR..no Babies..lol!).
Be sure to Burp it every once in a while...

 

Nice. Now go forth and enjoy.

 

It might have taken a while, but she's brand new now! Great job Classic Auto has done.
Get out there and enjoy it.

 

Thanks guys! I love the fact that the first thing I did with it was drive 600+km. Cars like these are made to be driven and enjoyed Hey, maybe I'll make it out to MoM this year!

 

Pizza tour??

 

Congratulations, looks fantastic.

you should make it to the montreal fall meet.

 

For sure! Montreal's practically next door to Ottawa, makes for a nice afternoon trip. Do we know when/where that meet is happening yet?

 

Hey neighbors from emerald ��. Congrats on the ride. Its been a couple days i seen it park. Hopefully we'll go for a ride when marco will finish with my fd

 

Looking great! Wonderful to see a project on the road after all this time, effort and expense.

So when the ball joint popped out, did your butt bite the seat?

 

Let's just say a change of shorts was needed! I think it's a fairly common problem with the FBs though because it's not the first FB I've come across that had a ball joint tack welded into place. It really makes me wonder what they were thinking when they decided to just have it press-fit instead of making some kind of retention clip.

Congrats on the new shop/house by the way. I hope things are settling in well.

 

A very common issue when press-fit ball joints have been replaced several times. The control arms stretch out. Aftermarket replacement joints are generally made a little big to compensate. Replacement joints should always be welded in place.