Thanks Joel,
It has been an interesting journey, and I'm glad I've been able to share it with her.

When the hood was first bolted on, I purchased some lightweight springs at the local hardware store, and they held it up just fine. Bolt the scoop to the hood however, and the combination overpowers the springs! We ended up using several different impromptu prop rods all through Drag Week, with less than pleasing results, so stronger hood springs are on the new "To do" list.

I finally decided the bundle of wires was never going to lay out for easy taping as I had planned, and I connected the last three, and wire tied them out of the way. Rachael and Skippy bolted the driver's seat back in place, and it was the moment of truth.

We rolled it over for a few minutes before I realized the coil wire wasn't in the distributor. It fired up and sounded great, but the oil pressure gauge didn't work, and the alternator wasn't charging! Before I had the opportunity to really dig into it and troubleshoot the problem, James showed up, and started welding on the Gremlin for Dale. Then Robert showed up, and visited for a while, and finally John and Opal showed up, and parked their rig in Dale's back yard. I was not in the mood to admit that I had a problem, especially with all the company!

John was dead tired from the long trip. but still his usual perceptive self. "What did you screw up?" He laughed as he stood beside me in front of the Belvedere.
"I didn't say there was anything wrong."
"Didn't have to, it's written all over your face! Let's tear into it and figure it out."
"Well...I'll look at it tomorrow, not interested in messing with it any more tonight!"
"Ok, ok...when are you guys going to start in the morning?"
"I'll be out here around 6:30 or 7...I want to leave around two in the afternoon."
"Dale said you guys weren't heading to St. Louis tomorrow until around midnight!"
"Ha...not me!"
"Ok, we're going to the motel, and I'll be back around eight in the morning to help you with this thing."