One big implosion!

What a mess I have. There are Coralee parts everywhere! A pile of aluminum here, a pile of cabinets there. Today I took Coralee's frame to get it powdercoated. He's is only charging me $300 to sandblast her and coat her a cream color. I could have had it done in coral but it was special order and $100 more. So back to the implosion. Coralee has been completely disassembled. We have been working on the wood framing all fall, redoing the bad and adding a little extra here and there for support. I have also been sanding her cabinets. I went down  to my local independent lumber supply and found I can get 1/8" birch for $19.00 a sheet. I'm thinking 15 sheets should do all I need to do inside with a little left over. She is alot of work but my Dad (Good ol Dad) is retired and its giving something to do. He's an awesome wood worker so ahe's right up his alley.I will try to post pics soon!

Looks like an implosion happened here!

Well slowly but surely Coralee is getting tore apart. It looks like shes been imploded, poor thing. We now have all her aluminum off her. Removing and replacing rotten wood ( boy is there alot of it) and adding extra for support. There must have been alot of drinking going on at the ole Shasta factory. I am amazed at how nothing lines up. "Close enough" must have been the motto of the day...LOL. We have had a small set back. My Uncle Bob passed away two weeks ago. He was helping my dad with the woodwork. Soon we will be back at it, going strong. Uncle Bob loved to travel and he liked Coralee, so I have decided that as soon as she is done my dad and I are going to see about taking her to Bodie, Calif. Unc loved that old ghost town and wanted to go back there. We will be taking some of his ashes with us. Wanderlust runs in the family so the 1000 mile trip wont be a problem. Lots of ghost towns along the way...Will try to some pics up soon!

Coralee's Christmas gifts

Coralee was so happy that everyone thought about her for Christmas. She got some neat new vintage stuff. Her Grandma Kathy got her a couple of vintage confettie Melmac Bowls, Grandma Bobbie and Grandpa Art got her a percolator clock, sugar dispensor, and a cool set of plastic glasses NOS. I got her and couple of burlap coffee cups, chicken timer (couldn't help myself) and ketchsup and mustard bottles. I love vintage so there will be alot more to come. Antique store are my best friends!

Wierd looks from the people at Home Depot

Well my coral boomerang formica came in. When the lady called she wanted to know just what I was using it for. I guess it's not everyday someone orders such a finely colored countertop. When I told her it was for Coralee she understood...I think. I did have to explain what Coralee was. She wasn't impressed. Some people just don't get it. I'm sure they're all waiting to see if I have orange colored hair and look a little freaky...lol. We'll find out tomorrow.

Buying, buying and more buying

Well yesterday I ordered the formica for Coralee 's countertop and dinnette table. She will be Coral colored boomerang. I was lucky to get it since I read a couple weeks back they were discontinuing it. Called Formica and they still had a few sheets in stock at the factory..Yea!!!  She'll be soooo pretty. Can't wait to get to the point I can put her all back together again. It's been hard to work on her recently since it hasn't been above 30 in a couple weeks. I guess it's time to invest in some long johns.

What the hell was I thinking! Oh yeah it was love at first sight....

Well as we started to take Coralee apart it has now become apparent that the old girl needs most of her wood replaced. She was definitely built very late in the day on a Friday. What the hell were they thinking!  I don't do wood, but even I know that corners and joints need to match up. And what the hell is with using strips of particle board as a spacer. Someone must have needed a beer bad. She has been jack knifed in the front and somewhere along the line hit in the rear lightly. Most of her wood below her windows is rotted. I'm not real sure what held her together. Must have been dumb luck.It's a very good thing my dad is a patient man, and very good with wood. All he can do is look at Coralee, shake his head and say " This is going to take a while". Yep she's going to take a while. I was prepared for that, but I think I was the only one.

EWWWWW! Bugs! Stink bugs that is

Well we thought we would see just what we got ourselves into today. Dad and I each grabbed a screwdriver and went to town. We decided we would start curbside and work our way around. First off let me say whoever had Coralee before was a baaaad person. I don't think there was 2 screws alike in her. I think they grabbed whatever was next to them and put in her no matter what the size or head. No wonder she hung her head low. We took her vent covers, drip rails, storage door, and windows off. The door was in real bad condition and will have to be rebuilt. For the most part everything was good but the wood underneath. Most of the wood around the door and diner window will have to be replaced. The door mostly because the PO took it upon themselves to "remodel" where the closet was and took most of it out. This resulted in a weakening of the frame next to the door. You can literally move it back and forth. Bad, bad, bad. The closet will be going back in. We did find where all the stink bugs were living. They crawl into the damnedest places. My poor dad. All he can do is look at her and say "boy is she going to be alot of work". Duh, I knew that when I brought her home. I look at her and know that its going to be ok and she will be beautiful in coral and cream.