The holidays are behind, and 2010 is here. My goal is to have the '61 ready for the summer show schedule, so it's time to get the project rolling again. Last week, I took some of my Christmas cash and bought a stud welder from Harbor Freight to start working out the big dent on the rear driver's side. The tool did great welding the studs onto the bare steel, but the slide hammer that came with it was absolute garbage. It was the roller-wheel type and it was worn out after banging 5 studs. I ended up taking it back and getting a refund. I'm now watching ebay to pick up a package that includes a top quality slide hammer. I'll have to spend double (probably $200) to get a decent one, but it will be worth it. I don't need it immediately so I can be patient. Here's a few pictures of the studs welded on.

Wade had the largest present under the tree on Christmas morning. So big, in fact, that Santa had to leave it NEAR the tree rather than under it. Wade was virtually licking his lips to open that one, and finally the moment came to unwrap the big box that was nearly as tall as him. The paper was ripped off, the box was opened, and what did he find inside??? A VW fender. What?? Is this for real? All that anticipation for a car part?? To add insult to the injury, as he was pulling the fender out of the box to inspect it and show everyone, the sharp metal edge cut his finger open, and began to bleed a little. Surprisingly, he didn't want to spend much time playing with that present. He began to hunt down another almost immediately :)

The boys must have been good this past year as Santa left a few presents for them on Christmas including a couple of parts for their VW. Josh was the first to open his present, and he was curious to find out what was wrapped inside the large box. I think it took a few moments for him to figure out that the big metal thing was an ugly, scraped, greasy used VW rear apron. For some reason, he didn't seem terribly excited. Luckily, the PS3 saved the day. Funny, the apron seemed a lot more interesting to me.