Project Free Bird: 1929 Six-81 Victoria

Onwards and downwards to part two of this tale of dispair. Remember, I bought this car to drive and tinker, not to strip and rebuild. That's a key ingredient to this recipe.

Ok, where were we? Oh right, the maiden voyage around the block that was a complete disaster.

Well, once the one brake shoe was subjected to Thanos' finger snap, it was decided I should maybe go over the car just a bit deeper than originally planned. At this point we began to uncover all the goblins.

Let's start with those brakes, shall we? First of all, the pedal wouldn't return because the spring pulled an Amelia Earhart and just disappeared. The master cylinder was also filled with more rust than fluid, so there's that.

The wood wheels were decrepit. Several studs for the hub/brake drum were broken or missing. Radiator was Swiss cheese. Fuel pump was cracked. The conversion to 12v was done by a grade 2 class. Oil filter return port was just...open to the world. Carb was leaking. Steering box was loose. The brake line was sealed to a cylinder using a penny with a hole drilled through it (not up to the Peerless standard...maybe should have been a loonie, at least). Wiring was not covered, some missing. Fuel system more closely resembled bubblegum than anything else.

Here's where it gets scary.

Remember the whole, found in pieces and put together to be sold? Well, the car is held together by 30% of the fasteners it should. Started with the fenders and bumpers missing more than a handful of bolts, and has since grown to the body being united with the frame using nine total Home Depot bargain bin bolts. A Model A has nine down each side (or at least that's what I think I counted in diagrams).

This revelation was the moment I realized nothing that had been done to this car previously can be trusted.

"Runs and drives well."

Sadness hit. This car was further away from a cruise night than my Willys, which I sold for that very reason. Just too damn busy for this level of work at the moment.

But this is a Peerless. I'm never going to see another one of these locally. I'm the only one. And that, apparently, carries some weight because I haven't listed this bucket of, well, not bolts because it's missing them all. Have I considered it? Oh, without a doubt. But but because of what it is, I've sorta bought into it.

Up next: Part Three - What's missing and how I got lucky...with parts.