Time to Shine

We had a bit of a break in the hot August temps, so I took advantage of the opportunity to do some upgrades and take Pearline on a couple of rides.

On one of my trips a few weeks ago, I lost my ball cap to the wind. I pulled over and walked back 200 yards (190m) to get it. I decided it was time to look into getting a rear wind blocker. This is a Plexiglass shield that forces wind to flow over the passenger area rather than just over the windshield. It bolts into the same holes that the convertible cover uses.

Both Moss and LBCarCo sell them, but Jeff@LBCarCo is almost always cheaper. In this case, about $80.

The package arrived on an unusually cool August Friday afternoon. I finished work about 3PM and decided it was a perfect time to work on the car. It took about 15 minutes to get the convertible scissor-frame top off the car and another 15 to put the new wind blocker on.

In my previous post, I mentioned getting the radio installed and working. I still have a plan to do that, but until I am ready to delve into that, I bought the blanking plate that goes where the radio normally would. While installing it, I had a flash of inspiration and tested the hole above the radio slot to see if my Bluetooth radio control would fit there. That hole was originally a map reading light, but it hadn’t worked in the 25 years that I’ve had Pearline, so I removed it. I thought to eventually replace it with an LED, but I like the look of this.

After installing the upgrades, I drove to the local car wash and gave Pearline a low-pressure bath. Then some buffing with a chamois. Back home in the driveway, I gave the interior a good go-over with Armor-All wipes and plastic reconditioner. I applied some Maguires tire shine to all the wheels and then SprayWay glass cleaner on the chrome and glass parts.

At that point it was almost 5:00 PM and Angie was home from work. We took a nice ride to our favorite taco place about 15 minutes away. Going over, I took I-40 and the blocker definitely made an impact on the wind. Returning home, we took Route 66 at a slower, more comfortable pace.

Today, I drove Pearline to Walmart. Both trips this weekend have been about 30 minutes driving. The engine temps are holding nicely just above the “N” mark on the dash gauge.

I’m thinking that I might get to the OKC coffee and cars meeting in September.