The car is packed and Europe awaits

[jack panzica]

This time we are in Northern Germany in the Hamburg area, along with some Berlin fun. About 750 photos are now posted to my website www.corvettevagabond.com.

Enjoy, here are few samples. The car collection belongs to Jens , of Hamburg.

[jack panzica]

This is a post by a Corvette Owner and corvette forums member. I thought I would share it with you. This is a common theme of posts about my trip.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Olustee bus
The more photos I see, the more fascinating that experience must have been. I am still enjoying your sharing it with us.

Take care.

Hi Buster,

The experience was very similar to my 48 State Trip, but different .

It was the difference, that made it so interesting, challenging, stressful and at times, absolutely beyond imagination

The welcome by (Europeans Corvette Owners) and the desire to be part of a journey of this crazy American, (my trip, life style of travel ) that most only fantasize about, was the same as the many US hosts on my 48 state jouney.

Corvette owners, like yourself, who helped me, and doing so, became part of the trip and rode along with "The Corvette Vagabond" on a historic trip.

I am working very hard on the TV and book project. We shall see.

We all will "traveled down the less traveled road" together

Jack

PS Hundreds on photos at this link. You have to wait a few seconds for the photos to load. http://www.corvettevagabond.com/12_C...opean_Tour.php

[jack panzica]

Hi, the sun was out and I am trying to capture the sounds of the car for videos. I kept the car under the speed limit in Germany

Jack

Just click on photo and video will run . Let me know about the sound , thanks

You Tube

You Tube

[jack panzica]

Originally Posted by capevettes

We survived the blizzard here on Cape Cod. 80 mph winds and 17 inches of heavy wet snow. Lots of trees down. We were without power for almost 3 days. Finally back on and cleaning up. The generator and John Deere along with the chain saw are helping. Lots of coastal damage.

How did you fare up there Jack?

We survived, and now it is fun time.




Lots of snow, but the sun is out and off we go . Just click on words , Corvette Vagabond Snow ride on picture

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5tZA62Aafk

[jack panzica]

The sun was out and I thought it would be a good day for a ride in New England. I think there was a little too much sun, well that is what a fire hose is for, to clean your car after a nice February 15 ride in Maine.






If I am not careful, I could wind up here !




Back in the man cave , nice and clean

[jack panzica]

When you are lost and a friend lets you use his house , make sure you know where the keys are !



Vid # 1 just arrived

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pPf6GiI9nc

Vid #2 Where is that key ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5ObCEiiWXQ

Jack

[jack panzica]

Good Afternoon to all,

The weather in Maine is beginning to get better. I thought I would go for a ride.

Club of Norway hat, Corvette Gang France jacket, Corvette Club of France scarf, Corvette Club of Finland shirt, and underwear by Calvin Klein. Car running great , DigitalCorvetteForum members.

[jack panzica]

Hi , I hope winter ends soon.

Most of you are familiar with my trip to Europe last fall.

I had the chance to meet many corvette owners and race teams. One of the teams that I met in France is building a C3 for race competition in Europe.

They asked me to post their site and if any of my US friends would like to comment and or make suggestions on the build, they would appreciated it.

The site is in French and English. More and more US muscle cars are being shipped to Europe and our experiences with these cars will help them a lot.

Here is a link to the site http://corvetteracerteam.com/

Let me know what you think and if they are on the right track

Jack

[jack panzica]

Many of you have followed my travels in the US and Europe over the last 3 years. Last spring I had to replace the windshield that was hit by a stone near Park City UT.

It was the 3rd windshield since car was new. I replaced original in 1976, could not see through (150,000 miles) on car, it lasted until 2012, about 150,000 miles.

In my rush to get the car ready for the European trip, we put the windshield in and followed right away with the trim. In hindsight, not a good idea. Lots of sealer and glue and junk, you are in a hurry and the job did not come out looking good. No leaks , but I was ruff with taking it off, put some bends in it, did not get the front piece centered, etc.

Well I got inspired by 65Rush (Jim) replacement and polish job on his trim.

I called over a friend and in less then an hour we had it off. The biggest mistake I made , and maybe others that have problems putting trim on , is too much sealer when installing windshield. Over concern with sealing everything. (too much around clips) etc.

Taking off trim is not hard, just have to do it in the right order. Take out every screw first that hold trim, latches, mirror etc. Trim screws, do not have to take off trim in front of pad.

Take off inside piece first (mirror) part, next top piece after gently pulling side pieces away from cage. (4 5/16 speed nuts 2 reg nuts hold trim) You must take of side pillar rubber first and mounting plate for trim.

You can then side out side pieces from front trim, next release the front trim with tool

I will post tomorrow a few pictures of the tool in action. Most have problems because they do not understand how the tool works to release trim.

Installation , have to wait until trim is done but....before putting trim on. I will talk about a order of installation later.

It is important to make sure the clips are free of sealer so they can grab the trim around the front windshield. Also , I found the grove of the front trim to be clogged with gunk, gunk in the grove, keep the clip from locking in place.

I am debating doing the polish myself, but don't feel good about it.

I hope this helps some of the new members who may be thinking of doing this job

Jack

Pictures

Trim off ready for repair and polish



Birdcage too much sealer






Before defects

[jack panzica]

The trip to Le Mans is shaping up. A little background; Ruud Zeller, a member of the Dutch NCRS Chapter, had generously offered me a ride to the races in his beautiful '63 roadster. Due to timing, I was not able to accept, and of course, another lucky person will be riding with Ruud.

In the meantime, the Corvette Club of France extended me an invitation to the race, including a prime parking spot.

In the spirit of Corvette fellowship, Andre Boer of the Netherlands and owner of the famous "Dutch Collection" has helped sponsored my return to Europe and to drive one of his cars, a C-5 from the Netherlands to Le Mans. (home cooked meal included)

This gesture exemplifies the passion for Corvettes in Europe and the USA. Cooperation like this will keep the 60 year Corvette legacy going well into the future.

Check-out Andre's collection (link here), I guarantee you'll want to go along for the ride.

More details to follow.

http://www.autobedrijfandreboer.nl/

http://www.corvetteblogger.com/2012/...ropes-largest/

Andre 2012 Corvette Vagabond European Tour





Next Generation working on Corvettes son Johan and Grandson

[jack panzica]

I would like to share some photos of the Corvette Club of Norway Magazine. Great photos of activities in Norway and a little article on my trip to Norway last fall. Thanks to all the Vikings for their wonderful hospitality and a lots of 700 hp blown cars.

Many are coming to America July 1, 2013. Over 100 vintage American cars are being shipped to NYC USA for a Lincoln Highway Tour, from Times Square NYC to SF, California on the Lincoln Highway 100 year old celebration.

I hope to be back from Le Mans on June 26, and drive from Maine to NYC to lead them out the Lincoln Tunnel to New Jersey. On their own in NJ.

Jack

Here is a link about the trip. I am sure they would love to have you join them along the way. More details later.

Official Link www.lh2013.com

Press Link

http://brianbutko.wordpress.com/2011...-highway-tour/


Now if I could only read Norwegian :rofl:

[jack panzica]

Some added information. Most of the Scandinavians are "not" retired. They get 5 weeks of vacation a year and this trip will be 4 weeks long. They will be drivings a lot of wonderful Caddies, Lincolns , and other 40's - 80's American muscle and luxury cars.

They are always on the look out to buy more. If you have an interesting car, does not have to be rare, but is unique, old tow trucks, or work vehicles . You can check the route and contact the group as they move across the country.

They are a fun bunch of men and women and kids, and you will enjoy meeting them.

Jack

[jack panzica]

I have been honored with a article in AMCAR Magazine, leading lobbying and American Car owners organization in Scandinavia. Thanks to the many Norwegians who made my visit unforgettable, well somethings I may want to forget....not many...

http://www.amcar.no/




Jack

[jack panzica]

Originally Posted by jack panzica

Many of you have followed my travels in the US and Europe over the last 3 years. Last spring I had to replace the windshield that was hit by a stone near Park City UT.

It was the 3rd windshield since car was new. I replaced original in 1976, could not see through (150,000 miles) on car, it lasted until 2012, about 150,000 miles.

In my rush to get the car ready for the European trip, we put the windshield in and followed right away with the trim. In hindsight, not a good idea. Lots of sealer and glue and junk, you are in a hurry and the job did not come out looking good. No leaks , but I was ruff with taking it off, put some bends in it, did not get the front piece centered, etc.

Well I got inspired by 65Rush (Jim) replacement and polish job on his trim.

I called over a friend and in less then an hour we had it off. The biggest mistake I made , and maybe others that have problems putting trim on , is too much sealer when installing windshield. Over concern with sealing everything. (too much around clips) etc.

Taking off trim is not hard, just have to do it in the right order. Take out every screw first that hold trim, latches, mirror etc. Trim screws, do not have to take off trim in front of pad.

Take off inside piece first (mirror) part, next top piece after gently pulling side pieces away from cage. (4 5/16 speed nuts 2 reg nuts hold trim) You must take of side pillar rubber first and mounting plate for trim.

You can then side out side pieces from front trim, next release the front trim with tool

I will post tomorrow a few pictures of the tool in action. Most have problems because they do not understand how the tool works to release trim.

Installation , have to wait until trim is done but....before putting trim on. I will talk about a order of installation later.

It is important to make sure the clips are free of sealer so they can grab the trim around the front windshield. Also , I found the grove of the front trim to be clogged with gunk, gunk in the grove, keep the clip from locking in place.

I am debating doing the polish myself, but don't feel good about it.

I hope this helps some of the new members who may be thinking of doing this job

Jack

Pictures

Trim off ready for repair and polish



Birdcage too much sealer






Before defects

I got home and unwrapped the polished trim. I will do a post on Back Bay Customs, a great mod-hot rod shop, that helped me out with polishing.

I wanted to trial fit the trim. The front piece must be placed so that equal distance of ends are under side trim , for trim to fit in corners.

I put on the top piece first, followed by the outer side trim only, with only one screw to hold it to birdcage loosely.

I put one end of front trim into side piece to get right distance under trim. I clipped down 1/4 of front so I could mark trim and having marked windshield , I had a mid point to always line up front piece for later final fit.

I had no trouble with clips catching as I cleaned out the space between rubber and front fiberglass, as stated in earlier post.

There still is a slight problem in the corners , as the rubber does seem to bow out a bit, pushing the trim away from the body, the clips catch but there is a gap. I am not going to fix the rubber. no leaks in windshield. I will fill it with a flexible sealer.

I hope this helps others in trim work. Total time to put trail fit about 1 hour. Should take about the same for final fit. It helps to have two people , one on each side to slide side pieces into place with front at same time. Or, if you start on one side as I did, get two or three clips to catch, then go middle an lock down center two clips , go back and finish one side and work your way to other side, stop about two clips from end, side in side piece with front, push together and down, screw in side piece , all should be clipped.

Again, there must be enough space between rubber and fiberglass to push trim edge in far enough to catch clip. With new clips, get one to catch , look at it , and see how it catches. You must get it in same position alone the front for clips to grab trim. I have original clips , so it was lack of space , that would hinder clipping, not clips.

Now I have to take it all off, side pieces first, slide them out from front trim, get first clip to release and off you go.

I will post pictures of removal as I have to finish cleaning up excess sealer from the windshield install last year.

[jack panzica]

I am, as the Corvette Vagabond ,proud and honored to announce that my post "Visit to Finland with a C-2" is at almost 50,000 views on the Finnish corvette forum. Hard to believe such a response in a country with only 5.5 million people. They truly enjoy life, hard work, and of course "Corvettes"

http://finnshark.com/forum/index.php

I have heard from some members of the German Corvette Forum , that I should mention my post on their forum.

I am very proud to announce the the Corvette Vagabond has had over 50,269 views of my European Trip. Many thanks to Yankeededandy (Martin) on the forum for introducing me to a great group of Corvette enthusiasts.

http://www.corvetteforum.de/thread.p...adid=52062&sid