Gray Pinstripes Complete the Look...

After changing the fender color to red, we needed to tie-in the fenders to the body. The car came from the factory with red pinstripes hand-painted on the body to compliment the interior color. Mario and I researched all Clenet pics we could find published on the Internet. The one photograph we kept coming back to was the 3/4 view of Jerry Capizzi's wonderful Series I with burgundy red fenders and sand-colored body. I enlarged the photograph and we both decided the pinstripes were exactly what we wanted on our car.

Back in early April I found a guy here in the Chicago suburbs who specialized in hand-painted pinstripes. His website had many pics of his work and I knew he was the pinstripe artist who would finish our car. He and I spoke several times over the next few weeks and we agreed that the next time the Clenet was brought to Chicago, that he'd come downtown and stripe the car in my parking garage.

Mario and I wanted the car striped before we left for the LCCI grand invitational in Saint Louis. The day was set as Mario needed to attend a meeting at their Chicago headquarters. He drove the Clenet to Chicago the night prior and spent the night at my place. The next morning our pinstripe guy arrived with Mario eager to get him started. He set up shop in the parking garage and went to work.

When I arrive home after work, the car was complete and Mario was already on his way back to Michigan with his business partner. The Clenet would stay in Chicago another night before we would leave for Saint Louis. I couldn't be happier with the stripes and took the car for a quick drive through the Gold Coast, Lake Shore Drive and the South Loop. The car looked wonderful and complete.

Winter Updates...

The Clenet has been getting some updates over the long winter hibernation, one being swapping out the vinyl spare tire cover with an original metal cover painted to match the fenders. We found one through fellow Clenet enthusiast Len in Washington State. When Clenet did a two-tone paint scheme, typically the spare tire cover matches the fenders along with the interior and top. Given our car has a red leather interior, we chose to repaint the fenders red which gives the car a new look without any of that 70's garishness some manufacturers chose to do.

The three-piece cover arrived primed and ready for paint about three weeks ago. Mario and I took the cover to the bodyshop in Union Pier where the car was repaired compliments of last summer's collision. Mike at the shop had copious amounts of paint leftover from the fender repair/repaint and we gave him the task of painting the cover.

Mario retrieved the painted cover a few days ago with the intention of us installing it onto the spare tire this weekend. The car is currently at Ken's house instead of the garage we are borrowing for the winter in Lakeside. At my request, Mario brought the car to Ken's last Sunday during a mild sunny winter morning. Within hours of Ken and I taking the car out for a winter drive, Lake Michigan coupled with western winds brought us heavy lake-effect snow that caused us to quickly abandon our jaunt and get the car out of the falling snow. There wasn't any time to return to Lakeside. The XK8 was quickly removed from its winter storage and the Clenet now has that space. No worries, we took the XK8 to Lakeside where it will remain until the roads are clear and the two cars can be swapped back.

Friday evening, Mario and I ducked into the garage to install the tire cover while Ken was preparing dinner. I removed the original vinyl tire cover to test-fit the new hard-shell cover. We were both very perplexed when the cover would not fit over the spare tire. Everything we tried, including letting the air out of the spare kept us from getting the cover over the tire. Darn it! The tires we had installed last summer are obviously just a bit larger than the originally fitted tires. Being disappointed, we decided to reconvene Saturday morning to address the problem.

After breakfast the next morning, Mario and I removed the spare wheel from the car and took it and the new tire cover to Sears in Michigan City to purchase a replacement spare tire. The goal was to find a new tire that would fit into the hard shell that was a similar in size to the Coker's on the car.

About a hundred dollars and two hours later, we now have a spare tire mounted on the wire wheel that allows us to utilize the new cover. The red cover completes the new two-tone paint scheme and gives the rear end a more substantial look.

The next addition will be hand-painted gray pinstripes along the fenders and encircling the spare tire cover to balance the gray body color.

We're still spending time with Cleo...

.This past Saturday, Mario and I spent a few more hours with the Clenet. We were lucky that the temperature in Lakeside climbed well into the mid-30's giving us a "warmer" garage to do the work. The only task we chose to complete was installing the rear fender-mounted tail/stop lamp assemblies.

The original pieces sourced by Alain Clenet on the Series I Roadsters are actually from Harley Davidson. Last Summer I had posted an entry on this blog where Mario and I added chrome sleeves on the rear tail/stop lamp assemblies. The chrome sleeve added a bit more chrome to the rear fender to help balance the sheer amount of chrome up front and the sleeve helps cover the clear window on the lens that is originally used for the motorcycle rear plate illumination.

Reattaching the tail/stop lamp assemblies to the rear fender is not merely tightening a few screws and wires. The task is just a bit more involved and requires an added ground wire and copious amounts of RTV silicone sealant to ensure the assembly and wiring are watertight.

The process began with us raising the car and removing the rear tire to gain access to the underside of the rear fender. Mario chose to work on the underside while I worked on the outer side. In tandem, together we accomplished our goal in about three hours.

We will most likely spend more time with the car before the spring season arrives here in the Midwest. We are hoping to upgrade the original roll-up windows to power and are awaiting an original metal spare tire cover for the rear continental kit. That will be another blog entry!

The car is now road-worthy and we are eagerly awaiting a clear spring day to take the Clenet out on a leisurely drive!

Another 6 hours...

Yesterday was a wonderful day in S.W. Michigan. We had a daytime high of twenty degrees and some sunshine to give the illusion of warmth. After having breakfast with friends at Bailey's in Three Oaks, Mario and I headed back to Lakeside to resume where we had left off last week. While Mario worked up front, I worked on the teak/stainless rub-strips on the running boards.

We are getting close. All of the accessories and electrical work north of the cowl are completed. The rear fender-mounted stop/tail lamps are the only pieces that remain to be reinstalled.

With so much of the trim reinstalled, I am appreciating the new color of the fenders.

Slowly, it's getting there!

Some minor changes...

My brother Mario and I have been tooling with the idea of making some minor and one major change to the car.

The minor changes include exterior and interior lighting. The one and only element on the car that we think could have been better executed are the exterior turn signal lamps. We both agree they seem too large and flat, especially the front indicators. We would prefer smaller, chrome bullet style indicators that would mimic the shape of the driving lights and headlamp pods.

As for the rear turn indicator lamps, we are both in agreement they should be chrome bullets with a square lens as all other rear lighting lenses are square when viewed from behind.

On a recent weekend trip to visit our niece at her cottage in rural Illinois, we came across the retail space for JC Whitney auto and cycle parts. I found several bullet style lamps that could be used for either hot-rods or motorcycles. We purchased a few varieties for both the front and rear of the car and will make the decision to swap these out from the Yamaha cycle indicators that Alain originally used.

All original parts and pieces will be stored safely at Mario's home if we ever need to put the car back to original condition.

As for the interior lighting, while driving at night, the lower dash beneath the tray is not lit very well. The two small pivoting lights buried in the floor carpets between the seats do not illuminate the lower dashboard as planned. To bring more light onto the lower dash, we found a few small chrome lamps that can be mounted to the underside of the dash tray and attached to the dash lights. This will require some planning on our part for the aesthetics and electrical work required.

Now...for the more drastic changes...
We recently received word from our adjuster and appraiser from Hagerty Insurance regarding the collision repairs that are necessary from last month's little fender-bender. Both fenders need to be removed from the car to ensure a proper repair. With both fenders needing to be removed, repaired and then subsequently repainted, Mario and I are toying with the idea of changing their color from dark gray to deep red - to match the leather interior. We've seen similar color combinations where the body is light with dark fenders and alternating painted pin-stripes to coordinate the two colors - something like Jerry Capizzi's former Series I.

We are both intrigued with the idea, however we also realize the original gray on gray color combination is truly a classic design and should be honored.

We have a few months to think this change over as the car will be going into the body shop after we are done showing and driving the car this season.
-Ron Zarantenello