Thurday, May 1st
I traced the problem to the high beam relay. When I pulled the relay out and checked to see if there was current going to the low side, there wasn’t any. That was good since the switch was off. I plugged the relay back in and everything was fine. I hate electrical stuff. My Locost sits next to my Mini so maybe Joseph Lucas was playing tricks during the night.
The inspection guy looked at the pictures that I sent and said that they all look good except that I need to have the boot covered. I had planned to make a tonneau for it but not right now.
Friday, May 9th
Tonneau is a no-go. My wife’s heavy duty sewing machine will not handle the material that I bought. On to the backup plan, a hard cover. I will use the same hardboard that I made the interior panels from then cover them with marine vinyl from Jo-Anne Fabrics. I’ll make the trunk box from the same hardboard and cover it in the carpet that I used on the floor. I’ll screw the cover parts into the trunk box to make it one piece when installed. Not as nice as the tonneau but should be OK.
Sunday, May 11th
I wanted everything to be done by Monday morning so I could arrange for the rollback but the box is taking longer than I can work. I’ll finish it Monday night and get the rollback for Tuesday.
Monday, May 12th
The weather forecast for this week is rain starting early this evening and on and off all week. They will keep my car inside so once I have it there things will be fine. I decided to call for the truck this morning even though the trunk box wasn’t done. The cover is in place so it is inspectable. The service manager, Dave, looked over the car and my document package. He said the car looks good and that the people in Harrisburg will be happy with how organized all of my receipts and forms are. He thinks I’ll get through the system all right. I hope so, PennDOT is not known for being easy to deal with.
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Oh, and that comment about Joseph Lucas two weeks ago was nearly right. As we loaded my car onto the rollback the driver spotted a coolant leak that wasn’t there the last time I drove the car. My Mini has a small coolant leak that I have never found. I have replaced the hoses, radiator, pump and thermostat and it still has a leak that comes from nowhere in particular. The locost is leaking from the lower radiator hose clamp so that will be an easy fix. Still it was uncalled for and I’m sure the Mini had something to do with it.
Here is the bad Mini. Looks too cute to be a bad influence doesn’t it?
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Thursday, May 15th
Got a call from Dave telling me the car was done. A big storm was in the forecast so I had to scramble to get the rollback lined up and drive 40 minutes to the dealer. Everyone was very complimentary of my build and Dave said that my document package was the best he had seen. He said he gets people with a shoebox full of receipts. I had scanned all of mine, made up sections, made a spreadsheet and put it all in a report folder from work. The rollback pulled into my driveway 10 minutes before the sky opened up.
The total for part 1 of the title adventure is $474. It was $142 each way for the rollback and $190 for the inspection.
Thursday, May 16th
I drove back across the Suzy Q to Elizabethtown to see the notary. In PA the notary is the intermediary between the citizen and PennDOT. The one I’m going to has experience with the Specially Constructed Vehicle category so I stand a better chance of getting through the process with him. He caught a mistake that the inspector made on the form and sent me back to get it corrected. He then took apart my book and threw out about a quarter of it. I’m OK with that as long as my paperwork goes through first time. I picked him because he is supposed to know how it goes. Including drive time I spent almost 4 hours getting the paperwork submitted, that and another $457 in taxes and fees.
Monday, May 19th
I called Hagerty and talked to a person. She was actually pretty helpful and was not surprised that I had built my own car. She emailed me forms to complete along with a quote for $228 for one year of coverage. After reading the forms I think I can knock off $50 for the roadside assistance which is a duplicate of the AAA that I already have. I can’t send the forms in until the state sends me the new VIN number but at least I’m ready to go when the VIN arrives.
Tomorrow - Waiting