Upholstering the Graham Paige

Upholstering the back of the back seat in my 1929 Graham Paige model 612.

Finding a Graham Paige at the Old Car Festival!

Mandi and I always enjoy attending the Old Car Festival in Dearborn Michigan at Greenfield Village.  It’s a park started by Henry Ford himself to honor the old way of life in America.  You can see the Wright Brothers bicycle store, Thomas Edison’s workshop, and many other famous buildings.  These are not reproductions, but the actual structures brought there by Ford.  Every  year they have a car show devoted to pre-1934 vehicles.  For the last several shows, I’ve been trying to see a Graham Paige there with no success.  This year there were two! Here I am with the owners.

This is a 1928 Graham Paige Model 610.  Very similar to my model 612.  The couple that owns it are from the Detroit area and members of the Graham Paige Owner’s Club.  I had a nice chat with them about the car and took pics for reference on mine.

One of the main differences with their model is the brakes.  There’s are a band type around the outside of the drum while mine have calipers inside a drum.

Here is a GP coupe.  I didn’t get to talk to the owners though.  A very nicely done car.

This gives me more inspiration to finish the car and get her on the road!

Brakes working on my Graham Paige!

Donald Duck Statue!

My good friend Dean found this Donald Duck statue in Hamilton at an antique store.  I was looking at this on ebay before and it was selling for over $400 US!

Tool Storage!

Garage Organization

Building a new tool organizer in an attempt to improve the infrastructure of the garage…

Adam Savage is right.  Drawers are where tools go to die.

I’m tired of rummaging around through my rolling metal box to find things.  I built this organizer similar to his basic design.  At the base is a rolling cart I bought at Harbor Freight tools for only 15 US bucks…

I still need to add several options but it’s coming together nicely.   Do yourself a favour and build one of these.

Spring Garden Tour

A little walk through our garden early this summer including my Mikey Mouse topiary.

Gramophone!

I found this gramophone at the”Restore” in Fonthill.

With a little TLC she came back to life. It just need the needle arm  lubed and some small repairs. Sounds great and was less than a hundred bucks.

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New Outdoor Cushions!

I wanted to replace out patio seats cushions with new ones and see them myself. Mandi and I found this cool outdoor fabric in Hamilton on sale. It fits in with the “Tiki Room” theme.  After several frustrating attempts to see them with my old cheapie sewing machine I finally gave in and bought a new (old) machine:  a Pfaff 230 which is very sturdy.   I don’t need a lot of fancy features but I wanted a machine that would go through stiff fabric since I’m going to be sewing my car upholstery as well.

Magic Kingdom Gate Sign

I finally got to mount the Magic Kingdom sign I bought years ago on ebay.  It looks great on an arch I made over my entrance gate.

Mickey Mouse Gate

I was constructing the new fence in our backyard and decided to add something special to the gate.  This was a simple thing to do but looks great.  I just bought some soft aluminum metal from Home Depot and bent it into shape using a paint can as a guide.  I put it up against the gate and traced it’s shape then used a jigsaw to cut it out of the wood.  Some brown caulking around the edge makes it look more fitted.

Tiki Room Roof Complete!

I added the purlins (cross-members) to my pergola and finished off with sheets of corrugated polycarbonate sheets.  This stuff is super tough, lets the lights through, and also protects the furniture from UV light and rain.

I finished just as the rain/snow(!) started flying.  Now on to the deck boards, fence, etc.