"The Beater Bee" becomes "The Better Bee"

[A12pilot]

Sometimes cars come along that ignite your soul like a match to a can of denatured alcohol. Why denatured? No reason, except that I went to college and figured I better use some of those words I learned (pronounced...LERR-Ned [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/hmmm.gif[/img] ) Anywho, I'm into the restoration of my A12 Super Bee, affectionately called &quot;The Beater Bee&quot; by the previous owner, and figured I'd better start a thread to show some much needed progress. With the MCACN show looming on the horizon, and several projects that popped up over the recent months, I was forced to delay my unveiling of the Beater Bee until next year's show. I know, I know. Bob was so distraught over this that he almost wasn't going to have the show this year. I told him to buck-up, stop sniveling, and put on the show anyway! After some persuasion, he agreed, so rest easy: MCACN 2016 is on! Whether or not any of that actually happened is speculatory at best. And since speculatory isn't even a word, then I'm pretty sure that previous conversation didn't happen at all. Actually, it went more like this:

Bob: {rrrriiinnng} &quot;Hello?&quot;
Me: &quot;Hi Bob, Dave here. I don't think I can make the show this year. I've had a lot come up like plate tectonics, the Coriolis effect, and did you know the Moon is actually moving away from the Earth at about 1.5 inches per year???? With all that going on, I am too busy to get my car done in time. Can I do it next year? Thanks Bob, [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/worship.gif[/img] you're one of the good ones [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img] ....{click}&quot;
Bob: &quot;Hello?&quot; [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/hmmm.gif[/img]

So, with that, the countdown is on for next year's show!!! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img] To start from the beginning, I was after this car for 3yrs. After many subliminal emails to the owner making small talk and such, finally, my badgering paid off. Hey, how do you think I got Kelly to be my wife!? [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/naughty.gif[/img] [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/whistle.gif[/img] Sometimes the squeaky oil gets the wheel....er, something like that. So here she is and the first &quot;touch&quot;...


And here is after I flooded it, with the Ukranian driver saying, &quot;No have gas, no poomp the pedal, is spark, no have...you see what I'm talking.....&quot;




Cheers [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif[/img]

[A12pilot]

Oh course, what does one do with such an iconic icon of the Muscle Car era? Well, here's what you do!

Phil: {rrring} &quot;Hello?&quot;
Me: &quot;Hey Phil, Dave. Long time no talk man! How's things? How's Lori? Been flying much? Hey, I bought my Dream Bee and wondered if maybe you'd like to bring your COPO to the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals in Chicago this year? Ever hear of it? Probably not. Small, local show. Anyrate, I haven't seen you in 13yrs since we were laid off from TWA, and thought what a fitting reunion![img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img] I'll see you there. I'm sure you'll get the time off. Thanks Phil! You're one of the good ones [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/worship.gif[/img]....{click}&quot;
Phil: &quot;Hello?!?&quot; [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/hmmm.gif[/img]

Actually, the whole thing was in reverse order. Woj contacted me and told me about the show, and a call to Reliable set the transport up after Bob and Ryan agreed to have the car in the Barn Find section at the 2015 show. Here's the Pics from that!
[img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]


Here's my Bee at the set up area for the Barn Find section of MCACN 2015. The cool thing is the COPO right above the hood scoop is Woj's! Had to take another angle on that while the show wasn't fully set up. Really a neat pic![img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif[/img]

Me and my lovely wife Kelly next to the Bee! That was taken by Marc Rozman, who we met at the show. So many nice people!!!

I love this image, and call it, &quot;Bee Blurr&quot;. Kelly took this as I was driving away headed for Reliable. Something about that just sums up the whole show in one picture: As the show ends, stands come down, seats get folded up, cars fire up, Big Rigs pull in awaiting to gobble up acres of iconic juggernauts, and amidst all that flurry, your car and you stay in focus the entire time. Oh man, that's pretty deep....[img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/rolleyes.gif[/img]

Cheers[img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif[/img]

[A12pilot]

Next up was to have the original owner out to see the car and hear the stories. Of course, Kodak stock jumped after my purchase of as many memory sticks as I could to capture the moment! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif[/img] Gary was just ticked to death to see the car. Him sitting in it for the first time was just priceless.


Gary hasn't seen the car since 1991. I'm not sure he knew where to begin telling me stories....


Oh course, what do you do with the original owner of your car? Roast the tires, that's what!!![img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

This is the start of the restoration with Gary helping me remove the first part.

Just like the Bee Blurr photo, this one is pretty intriguing too. I look at this photo and wonder what Gary is thinking about. Just a cool pic capturing a unique moment with man and machine. Sadly, Gary passed away unexpectedly and won't be there to install that aircleaner in 2017 with me But the good news is his Son will fill in his spot![img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

Cheers [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif[/img]

[A12pilot]

So, fast forward a few months and it's on, like Donkey Kong!! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/dunno.gif[/img] Somebody said that once to me and I knew he was serious, so now's it's stuck in my vocabule..vocab...vo..my words [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif[/img]. So, step one, tear the car down and document everything. I found so many cool things with this car. It's only got 53,000 miles but it was a Michigan car, so it's got some rust. But, a few bolts, and it's down the unibody!!



Of course, a propane tourch and a nice tin scraper make quick work of the undercoating. Time to blast and prime!
Cheers [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif[/img]

[A12pilot]

Here we are blasted. I decided on doing both quarters, so I didn't have them blasted. That saved a few bucks. Out comes the gun filled with DP50LF and we have a primed Bee! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]






I felt like someone was watching me the entire time I was doing this, so I figured I'd leave a note in case someone was showing up after hours to look at the work. All previous owners saying &quot;HI!!!&quot; [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

Cheers [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

[Craig_Maiorana]

This is the part of the hobby that keeps me going. The snapshots of the past that these cars all carry with them. The fact that the original owner got to see his car one more time before his passing and that his son will be involved. It's like counting the rings of a tree. Good luck with her .. it seems you are up for the task of bringing that bee back to life

[SS427]

I am looking forward to following this one along. I always loved these cars and took many a cruise in a similar one by best friend had in out youth. (yeah I know, the side pipes suck!) Thanks for sharing it's journey with us.

[Xplantdad]

Cool stuff Dave!

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

The link to the Original Owner is what makes the whole car, RIP :-(

So special that he was able to reconnect before passing on:-)

The shiny metal is great but the history is what it is all about!!!

Keep us in the loop as the restoration continues:-)

Ryan

[Jonesy]

Wow, great car and great story. Having the original owner see and drive it is pretty cool. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/headbang.gif[/img]