Hi Gang…

Let this be a warning to any of you who want to visit ground zero of fiberglass research in Tampa, Florida.  You are welcome any time, and you can crash at the ‘Glass House, have free food…..wine, women, and song.  Ok….maybe not the “women” part of this – but the rest is true – but there’s a catch.

I’ll probably put you to work 🙂   Just ask Joel Driskill.

That’s what happened in September when good fiber-friend Joel Driskill paid a visit to us, and wanted to check out a car or two that we may swap, sell, or other.  It just so happened that the weekend Joel planned to make it was the same weekend that I was put into action with my car trailer to pick up a car just purchased by good friend Tim Masters – a 1941 Dodge Business Coupe.

Picking Up Tim Master’s Car:  A 1941 Dodge Business Coupe Finds A Home

With great planning, I figured out the following:  We would all meet at my house early Saturday morning.  Head an hour north to pick up Tim’s car, and then head back another hour or so to Tim’s house to drop off the business coupe.  At which time we would pick up another of one of Tim’s cars and take it to Fiberglass Farms – click here to learn more about Fiberglass Farms.

And since Fiberglass Farms was our ultimate destination that day, Joel was kind enough to join us on our adventure.  Here are some photos from that weekend.

 

Joel’s Progress on His Manning Special

Some of you may remember that Joel is well on his way to creating a clone of the original Manning Special.  And, he’s impressed all of us with his research skills, tracking down the nephew of Chuck Manning and gaining access to original photos and drawings all of which are of great help in recreating this special car.

Click here to review one of the original stories on the Chuck Manning Special

Click here to review lost publication from Chuck Manning on a proposal to build his sports car

Late in 2012, I received the following e-mail from Joel about his progress:

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Geoff,

 I have still been trucking along…… okay, okay, slowly crawling along but moving forward none the less on the Manning build and research.  I don’t remember if I got to tell you that I made it up the New Hampshire and got a ride in a Manning Special that Manning himself had some involvement in. 

While I was there I also go a nose made from the molds their dad pulled off of Chuck’s car.  I also got to see some more photos of Chuck’s build that they had. Good stuff. I have also been making some strides on building the frame. Attached are some photos for your viewing. 

Hopefully things are going well with you. 

Rock on

Joel

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And here are the photos Joel attached to this e-mail for your review:

Summary:

Before Joel left Tampa for home, he had a surprise to share.  He had brought along the nose of the Chuck Manning special to share his excitement on getting closer and closer to having all the parts to build a running car.

Check out the photo below of Joel Driskill and the nose of his Chuck Manning Special – ready for prep and paint.  Way to go Joel!

Well keep you posted as Joel makes progress on the build of his car.  More stories and more history of the Chuck Manning Special are on your way – courtesy of Joel Driskill – here at Forgotten Fiberglass.

Hope you enjoyed the story, and until next time…

Glass on gang…

Geoff