Sorry it took so long to andswer this one, INDY.
There is actually a couple of reasons for the rush on the Plymouth. I know that this is all a bit off topic, but I think that it is a good (although a somewhat sad) story.
The Plymouth was bought new by the Father of the guy that we are doing this for (Bill). When his Father passed away, the car went to Bills brother, who had always intended to fix her up. He just never got around to it. Bills brother passed away two years ago, and the car came into Bill's posession.Bill has the drive, desire, and money to finally restore the car, but didn't have the knowledge to do so. After a recommendation of a friend, Bill sought out Liberator motors (that's us), and after talking with Brad (Fearless Leader) for a while, they come up with a plan.
Normally, a full restoration like this would take about 2-3 years (we have done it in 10 months)... but Bill had an idea in mind. Bill is a Virginia Tech graduate, and has two kids that are currently attending VT. BillsFather was a graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute (now Virginia Tech), so there is a long history in the family with that school.
The idea was to do more of a 'Resto-Mod' with the old Plymouth. Keeping a stock appearance on the outside, while updating things like the engine and the suspension. She now has a 492 Hemi, and a Mustang II front end with Disc brakes on the front, and a beefier suspension. He also wanted to incorporate the school colors of Virginia Tech into the car (Burgandy and Orange) as and homage to his Father. Burgandy Chassis, burgandy interior, Orange pinstriping.
The family, to an extent has been involved in the build, searching for parts, etc... His nephew (who will come back into this story again in a minute) has even come up from Mississippi to do some physical work on the car and add some welds. It was his late father who had always wanted to restore the car, but never got to it, so it is important to him to see this done.
Ok, so this is getting to be a lot more than I originally thought, so lets get to the reasons for the deadline...
There are several reason for the time crunch here.
First reason: Bills son is in his last year at VT, and is a huge fan of their Football team (as is the whole family). Bill would like to have the car done for the last home game of the season so that they can shuttle people back and forth to the game, as well as tailgate in it before and after.
Second reason: Bills Mother has no idea that the car is being restored. In fact, she has no idea that the car has even left Mississippi. She thinks that it is still rotting in an old lean-to down south. Bill is bringing her in for the last game, and wants to surprise her with her late husbands favorite car.
Third reason: Bills nephew, who came up to turn some wrenches and be a part of the build, had recently been diagnosed with a very strange and very odd auto-immune disease. In a matter of days he lost all sight in his right eye, and is down to about 30% vision in his left. Bill is flying him in for the game, and we MUST have this car there so that he can see the car completely finished one last time before his vision is completely gone. This build is as important to him as it is to just about anyone else in the family.
So, as you can see, I think that my reasons for stepping away from The Mark IV, and devoting 12 hours a day, 7 days a week to this project are very good ones. The way things look now, we should make it just in the nick of time.
Wish us luck, think good thoughts, and I'll be back to the Tadpole in a week or so. Thanks for reading, and again, I apologise for getting so off topic.
Steve