Installing luggage straps

Looking good, Dave!

Are you bringing the vintage gas pump with you so we all benefit from the cheap gas? LOL!

@DannyP posted:

Looking good, Dave!

Are you bringing the vintage gas pump with you so we all benefit from the cheap gas? LOL!

Ha !! I would need the put a trailer hitch on the speedster and some heavier straps. So No, it stays put. I'm still working on that BBQ and steak thing .............

Very nice luggage compartment.  I could have used straps like that to hold down our two Jack Russells!

Usually, they would just burrow under the two dog beds we put in the back, so if you looked for the dogs, all you saw was a pair of Jack Russell butts poking out from under the beds.

Where did you get the straps?  They look pretty nice.  I had similar designs, and recalled how my old steel 356 coupes did it.  By chance indescribable, only a very few parts from those old coupes has survived to the present day, and two of those were the tie down brackets for the leather straps.  As I needed four, two more were purchased from Stoddard for an outrageous price, and all four installed, much as you have here.  I got stalled on the leather straps.  Sticker shock I guess.  Spoke to now long lost Dusty (?? last name), a Speedster guy who operated a horse ranch in Colorado, as I recall, who made saddles as a professional, and could and would do the strap thing.  we never hooked up on a deal, and one thing has led to another . . .  So, what I have is a work in progress.  I am inspired anew with your masterful work here.

I think having leather straps and gaskets on these cars adds charm and character far out of proportion to their cost.

@Butcher Boy posted:

Ha !! I would need the put a trailer hitch on the speedster and some heavier straps. So No, it stays put. I'm still working on that BBQ and steak thing .............

I've got a Weber tailgater and a couple small propane cylinders. I'll bring it if asked.

As I mentioned yesterday I was adding some aluminum strips to the rear compartment. Tonight I started working on them. McMaster-Carr came early today so I got busy cutting the pieces and coming up with a nice pattern. After an hour and a half of grinding I had the ends the way I wanted them. Next to the drill press and drill the holes to fasten the strips to the rear pad. After some adjusting and measuring I drilled the holes and fasten the strips to the pad. Before I mounted them I took a green/ blue scotch pad to the aluminum to leave a semigloss finish. I figured no need to mirror polish them as they will get a work out anyway. I can always do that later if needed. Anyway it came out looking rather good for a quickie. The weekend is coming soon, I'll see what kind of stuff I can add to the speedster. That's all for now.

@El Frazoo posted:

Where did you get the straps?  They look pretty nice.  I had similar designs, and recalled how my old steel 356 coupes did it.  By chance indescribable, only a very few parts from those old coupes has survived to the present day, and two of those were the tie down brackets for the leather straps.  As I needed four, two more were purchased from Stoddard for an outrageous price, and all four installed, much as you have here.  I got stalled on the leather straps.  Sticker shock I guess.  Spoke to now long lost Dusty (?? last name), a Speedster guy who operated a horse ranch in Colorado, as I recall, who made saddles as a professional, and could and would do the strap thing.  we never hooked up on a deal, and one thing has led to another . . .  So, what I have is a work in progress.  I am inspired anew with your masterful work here.

The tie down brackets from Porsche are crazy money. I passed and found something similar. They are called a "footman loop" and I found several on line and ebay. I went with a guy that sells them for VW vans. They are made of stainless steel and were way less at $4.00 each. They are a different design than the Porsche ones, but I don't care. I just wanted a nice looking bracket. The leather straps were $150.00 on Ebay from Woody's Custom Shop. They are first class and will last 2 lifetimes, so I thought they were worth it. I ordered them a while back and now I find out that Troy Sloan's wife now makes leather straps like Dusty did. In the past I would go to a western store and fine the longest leather belts I could. I'd buy 4 all the same length and make them work. But even those are expensive now, so I just bought them from Woody's. They are raw leather, so you need to finish them to make them last. You can stain them and add mink oil or do what I did and just oil them. I lucked out that the oil treatment made the belts the same color as my seats. That was a plus. Hope this helps you.

I REALLY like those strips. The straps are nice too, but the aluminum strips are the bomb.

@DannyP posted:

I've got a Weber tailgater and a couple small propane cylinders. I'll bring it if asked.

That might work Danny !! I can have some steaks shipped to the hotel for a BBQ one night. I need a head count to see how many to ship. Ribeyes, NY steak, Porterhouse, you tell me. I will eat almost anything .............ha. The rest of the stuff we can get locally.

@Stan Galat posted:

I REALLY like those strips. The straps are nice too, but the aluminum strips are the bomb.

Thanks Stan,  A few hours of work and wala....... more jewelry for the car.

No problem, Dave.

I'll bring the grill, it doesn't weigh much.

My favorite is Filet Mignon w/garlic, butter, and rosemary in a cast iron pan. Sear first in grapeseed oil, baste, then finish in the oven. But that ain't happening on this trip. Any of the above listed options are fine with me.

Let me know what spices are needed other than salt and pepper and I'll pack them.

@DannyP posted:

No problem, Dave.

I'll bring the grill, it doesn't weigh much.

My favorite is Filet Mignon w/garlic, butter, and rosemary in a cast iron pan. Sear first in grapeseed oil, baste, then finish in the oven. But that ain't happening on this trip. Any of the above listed options are fine with me.

Let me know what spices are needed other than salt and pepper and I'll pack them.

I can add Filets for you. And you're right this will be very simple grilling. Salt and Pepper is all that's needed. The side dishes can be as simple as a salad and bread or rolls of some sort. Everyone should bring a knife and fork. Paper plates, {the good ones} will work in a pinch. BYOB of adult beverages. Sounds like a plan.

Farm-fed flatlander from flyover here:

*cough* _Ribeye *cough*

There's no finer cut.

Curios as to the two knobs mounted on the rear bulkhead,  I see that you use them for your top.

No filets needed. Ribeyes would be awesome.

I'm good with whatever you want to bring, although I have to say that Danny's concoction sounds spectacular.

Love steaks. My order of preference

Bone in filet

Filet

Porterhouse

Bone in strip (KC strip). T-bone is very similar

New York strip

Ribeye

Sirloin

But hey I’ll eat anything. I’m sure Dave will correct me on my steak anatomy if I’m wrong. But steak night sounds great. I’ve been drinking this great cheap wine with steaks lately. The Josh Hearth Cab Sav is incredible for the price. It’s a little jammy and taste a lot like a red Zinfandel.

@Lane Anderson posted:

I'm good with whatever you want to bring, although I have to say that Danny's concoction sounds spectacular.

It really is. I made it for LennyC and Pat, Chris and Karyn, and Max and Toni one time.

You sear it on HIGH heat for 3 minutes a side(do not move it around), then 7 minutes at 425 for a 2" cut.

Melts in your mouth.

My rules for steak: Buy the best cuts you can. Let it warm up to room temp for at least 30 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook however you prefer, but it will always be better if you do the above first.

@MikelB posted:

Curios as to the two knobs mounted on the rear bulkhead,  I see that you use them for your top.

Mike those knobs are for my hard tonneau cover. If I change out the rivnuts I put in, I'll be using two of them for my top install. There are 1/4-20, the studs that came with the top are 8mm. I'll know maybe this weekend if the 1/4-20 will be beefy enough to hold the top. The reason I'm not just attaching the top with the original hardware is I want to use the top maybe a few times a year. It will be easier to just unscrew the knobs and take the top off and install the tonneau with the same knobs.

@DannyP posted:

No problem, Dave.

I'll bring the grill, it doesn't weigh much.

My favorite is Filet Mignon w/garlic, butter, and rosemary in a cast iron pan. Sear first in grapeseed oil, baste, then finish in the oven. But that ain't happening on this trip. Any of the above listed options are fine with me.

Let me know what spices are needed other than salt and pepper and I'll pack them.

Danny, depending on the size of your grill and the number of people, we may need to hillbilly a grill with 4 large rocks, 2 turkey roasting pans, charcoal and a refrigerator grate. I have done this the past when I was on a race crew at the Bonneville Salt Flats. The only drawback could be the rules at the hotel. Maybe I can add a few steak for them ............!!

That's a good point about grilling at the hotel.  @550 Phil, did you ask the hotel if we could have any sort of outside fire or if they have a grill?

I can call but this place is very close.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/dzjaa4...le.maps.preview.copy

Might need similar permission there.

Leslie, the manager at the holiday inn said we can bring a grill and have a cookout

Dudes, you're both old enough to know better.

ALWAYS ask for forgiveness rather than ask for permission.

Stunning work, Dave. You're really putting some classy finishing touches on that beauty!

CALL THE HOTEL?!??

In my opinion, we absolutely should not. When you ask, the answer is almost always “no”. If we just light a fire in a BBQ or reasonable fire-pit, nobody will say anything  If they do, offer them a steak and they won’t say another word about it. They might even pin a medal on your chest.

If you recall, we went through this hand wringing before we just bought a fire pit and lit a fire in Brevard. We're not a bunch of high-school hooligans.

We're good if we just do our thing and are kind and respectful.

Mr. ButcherBoy: found them, ordered, done. Txs for the kick in the butt.

But she said yes. Yes I know it would have been more fun doing it without permission. 😈

@550 Phil posted:

But she said yes. Yes I know it would have been more fun doing it without permission. 😈

That is absolutely NOT what my stance is about. If she said no, or I'll check with corporate then we'd be screwed.

I got out of work early today and after my dream last night, about driving my speedster,[ thanks Stan] I woke up and realized I don't have anywhere in the speedster to put my sunglasses or the like. So after some time looking at speedster pictures I when down the rabbit hole of Pinterest. I saw where on Porsche's, mainly coupes, have a storage or map pocket in the cowl area. So I got busy drawing up a pattern. I had some sheet aluminum and figured it would hold a shape and I could cover it with some matching carpet and trim it with my spare vinyl. The hardest part was hand sewing the carpet and trim together. This is when I wish I had an industrial sewing machine. I sprayed both the carpet and aluminum with contact cement and joined the two together. I attached my new panels with  velcro and a couple of screws. It should work and doesn't look too bad ............

Dave, you are the man!

@550 Phil posted:

I can call but this place is very close.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/dzjaa4...le.maps.preview.copy

I was also looking for a spot too, just in case there was a BIG NO.......  Glad to see she is ok with the BBQ.

Nice little pocket, Dave.   Got me thinking and I may have to do something similar.  I don't see how it's attached to the cowl, tho... Screws?   I also need a place to put my registration, other than under the driver's carpet.  At least it is hidden under there.

Do you have cup holders??  

@Gordon Nichols posted:

Nice little pocket, Dave.   Got me thinking and I may have to do something similar.  I don't see how it's attached to the cowl, tho... Screws?   I also need a place to put my registration, other than under the driver's carpet.  At least it is hidden under there.

Do you have cup holders??  

Thanks Gordon, I attached them with heavy velcro on the back that sticks to the carpet really well. I also added two screws to the front end of each panel. I don't have cup holders but now I can hang one off the edge. I have pockets on my doors, but they are not convenient to get to. That is where I keep my registration and insurance papers. They were pretty easy to make Gordon.

I took a cue from my bow-rider boat and added a couple of folding Marine cup holders at the bottom forward corners of my doors.  I had the plastic version for a few years and while they looked and worked OK, they don't last so I got a pair of the stainless steel versions.  They look good, flip up when not in use and can hold my Yeti tall mug without fear of it falling over.  Plus, in that lower corner of the door they're super handy while being out of the way.

https://www.amazon.com/M-ARINE...ps%2C104&sr=8-10

@Gordon Nichols posted:

I took a cue from my bow-rider boat and added a couple of folding Marine cup holders at the bottom forward corners of my doors.  I had the plastic version for a few years and while they looked and worked OK, they don't last so I got a pair of the stainless steel versions.  They look good, flip up when not in use and can hold my Yeti tall mug without fear of it falling over.  Plus, in that lower corner of the door they're super handy while being out of the way.

https://www.amazon.com/M-ARINE...ps%2C104&sr=8-10

Those look cool Gordon, thanks for sharing

@Butcher Boy , I mentioned the cup holder I have (coffee cup with Speedster picture and Velcro on the bottom) in another thread.  It works well and is easily removable.  I can bring it to the Tour de Smo' if you want it as I have no more need of it.