Hi Gang…
As I write this, we have 168 hours until our 1962 Shark Roadster is presented at the 2013 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. Wow! Has time gone fast! This will be the first major appearance of the Shark in over 50 years so we are pleased in every way to be a part of the event. And of course, we are honored and excited that Bill Warner of “Amelia” is giving us a chance to be there.
Thanks Bill!
We’re almost finished within the “90 day” timeframe that we gave ourselves to finish the car. Sometimes, though, I think a few more days or weeks or months or years in our schedule might have been helpful 🙂
Click here to review a recent story about the Shark posted by Graham Kozak of Autoweek
Renderings By Dan Palatnik, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The good news is that our team was up to the challenge and all is on schedule – and we still have 168 hours left. We have to fit the windscreen that was completed yesterday (glory be!) and the belly pan comes out of the mold tomorrow so we’ll fit that on Thursday or Friday with plenty of “hours” to spare. Our new taillights and parking lights were just located in Missouri and are being overnighted to us for Tuesday arrival. It’s looking like the Shark will have its “teeth” when it makes its debut at Amelia.
Right now, the car is in the upholstery shop. Tom Jaudon of “Bay to Bay Upholstery” has been crafting the interior and should be completed by mid-week. Apart from the fact that it’s darn cold today – 44 degrees – the upholstery work is going like gangbusters.
Vroom, Vroom, Vroom…..Saturday, March 9th at 9am our team leaves from Tampa with the finished car on our open trailer. We’re usually the only “open trailer rig” at Amelia. See the photo below of our 2009 delivery of our 1947 Kurtis-Omohundro Comet at Amelia. We squeeze our open rig anywhere we can fit – in this case it’s at Peter’s Point at Amelia Island in 2009.
So let’s take a look at where we are as of yesterday. The photos below show the car and our team in action with the windshield and upholstery. Have a look and let us know what you think 🙂
The Shark was painted by Albert Arsenault and his son Dillan at Augies Body Shop in Tampa, Florida – and what a beautiful job they did. Check out the reflection of the American flag on the hood of the Shark in the photo below.
Shown here is our “Renault engine in process.” Good friend Marvin McFalls, President of the Renault Owners Club of North America, worked with Jonathan Burnette, Renault mechanic aficionado, to locate a gorgeous aluminum finned valve cover, appropriate intake and exhaust manifolds, and other key parts. Jonathan rebuilt the carburetor and both served as consultants that helped make all the right choices for the restoration. Thanks guys!
We were fortunate enough to locate an R8 Gordini steering wheel in Argentina, South America that was fabricated in wood. This was quite a find since my Renault friends have shared that all other R8 Gordini wheels were usually metal with a rubber outer coating. This may have been an after-market Renault Gordini upgrade (the steering center has the Renault/Gordini logo) or perhaps something specific to Gordini in South America. Either way it seemed the perfect complement to the Renault and sports car design heritage of our Shark.
Shown below are Joe Bersano and Larry of Custom Plastic Fabricators of Tampa, Florida fitting the main section of the 3-piece windscreen to my other unrestored Shark. By using the other Shark, we gained some time advantages and continue uninterrupted with work on the Shark being restored.
Here Craig Johnson and Mike of M.I. Productions in Pinellas Park, Florida do the build-up and finishing touches on the newly restored/created belly pan for the Shark roadster. This was a lengthy process that begin with the restoration of the piece, creating a new mold, and the production of the new fiberglass part – the first new Shark belly pan in over 50 years!
Shown below is the Shark at the upholstery shop. Tom Jaudon of “Bay to Bay Upholstery” of Tampa, Florida has been crafting the interior and should be completed by mid-week. Go get ’em Tom!!!
Summary:
Oh….and by the way….the photos of the windscreen in progress show my other Shark roadster. That’s the first roadster ever built – #1. I found that car and returned it from California to Tampa in 1984 which means I have owned my first Shark for 32+ years (the one we’re restoring) but just 28 or so years on this unrestored Shark.
We used the other Shark to fit the windscreen so that work could continue uninterrupted on the “Shark in progress.” Shown below are photos of my unrestored Shark gazing longingly – and jealously – at the Shark being fitted with its new interior at Bay to Bay Upholstery. Don’t you want to come to Tampa next year and help get this Shark back on the road too??? 😉
Anyone want to help restore my other Shark? To entice you, I’ll plan the restoration in 180 days to make it easier. Wasn’t there a book by that title somewhere out there????
Hope you enjoyed the story, and see you at Amelia!
Geoff
Hi. I was reading the article, I was looking about this car, after seeing an old photo. First of all, congratulations on the job!. As for the steering wheel, it belonged to a model in Argentina will call \”Renault Gordini 1093\”, a sporty version of the Dauphine. It (the wheel), was manufactured by the company \”Sandrini,\” which was dedicated to the manufacture of sports steering wheels based models Nardi. Greetings, and congratulations again.Juan Pablo
Hi Geoff,
very beautiful resto, wish you all the best with the other one Congrats .Thank’s for the pictures and the progress of this task .
Guy
Wow..as a old car nut..and I love em all..well maybe not Ladas..lol…but when I was reading the story this morning on the red 1957 LaDawri..a great read was had..I never knew or even thought how crazy you guys where in fiberglass,lol..I love it..there will be a lot of stuff around the house not getting done now as I m about to embark on reading everything on this site…one last thing,the LaDawri looks okay with the mags on it..but I do think it looks far prettier with the whitewalls and period hubcaps..thanks for nothing guys now as I will hear nothing but ..are you still on the computer…women…MJ
Great job, Geoff! The Salisbury Concours d’Elegance board members are watching your progress and cheering you on!
You guys just don’t savor the project phase, do you? 😉
Geoff,
Good luck at Amelia! I am sure everyone will be excited to see the Shark. Wish I could have stayed another week. Great stuff, you should be proud.
Lester
Geoff,
Thanks for sharing the progress of the Shark. I know you and the team have been working hard and you’ve all done a great job to getting it ready in such short order,
I anxiously await photos of it making a grand appearance at Amelia Island.
Wishing you safe travels with it.
Darren
Just goes to show what capable project management can accomplish…….assuming you have equally capable and skilled team members who can execute at a very high level…….and, of course, a fearless, some would say down right brazen, team leader who can create the vision and command the troops. All of this is important to the outcome, but absent leadership, it’s just another great story of what might have been. Way to go Geoff! Hats off to you and your talented team!
Geoff and Shark team,
Amazing job in the restoration of this forgotten classic. It’s really beautiful and I’m glad you are making it more accessible for others to enjoy.
Nice job.
Hi, Geoff… thanks for the play-by-play.
Looking forward to the competition version.
Rod