Getting some new junk for my trunk!

Hello again everybody! It's me, Mercy! A lot has happened since my last post but tonight I think I will concentrate on telling you about my tush! 99 has been waiting for some decent weather in order to repair me. To do this she had to remove my rear window, take off the back skin, take apart the framing and rip out my old wall.  Well, she did it! There were so many stripped screws and to top that off the sides of the rear skin folded over the the back edge. These fold over parts were full of little tiny nails that all had to be removed before that skin could come off. Here is a photo of me exposing myself....

The curbside was not at all bad. In fact neither was the framing which surprised 99. She swears I must have been stored underneath a roof. The damage to the inside birch was mostly just surface moisture under the window. However, the left side was not quite as pretty. The furring strips needed to be replaced. First, 99 cut a piece of birch to fit across the open area. Once that was in she cut out the window, made sure the window fit, replaced the framing, and replaced the furring strips on that left side. The lower portion still needs to be attached at the bottom but 99 ran out of light and she will do that bright and early tomorrow morning. The new wall is attached firmly in place though and it's not going anywhere until then! I wasn't quite done in the next photo but you get the picture. 99 gets so busy she sometimes forgets to take them so she snapped one at this point before she got back to work.

Like I said, darkness fell. So, in order to keep up with progress 99 continued to work on my rear end from the inside. First, she decided to start shellacking. She had also rebuilt my back shelving unit. She had ripped it out, sanded it, replaced the face on the left side and put in new shelves. It was all sanded and shellacked. That old formica was replaced that was on the top and in it's place will go either a piece of tile that will match the floor there or a piece of birch to fit. She made some new trim for the edges and put in place my original aluminum trim. It's not  attached yet, but it will be tomorrow. Here are a few before and after photos...

 This is the shelving unit on the day I arrived. If you look closely you can also see the moisture damage around the window area.

 Here is a photo of my shelves ripped out with a little bit of sanding done to it...

You can also see that 99 started to remove some of that back wall before she took the skin off. With this NY weather you have to do whatever you can while you wait for a good day.

 My shelves were in pretty bad shape. Sanding was not going to help them, so 99 replaced them with new birch. 

This is what I look like as it stands. It is not attached yet but it gives you an idea of what's to come!

This is a before picture of my back wall area. It's pretty dull and you can also see the water damage under the window and why that sheet needed to be replaced...

This is what it looks like today. 99 says one more coat of shellac and the top and bottom should match nicely. She also tapped out the dings and dents on my window trim and polished it up. This silly camera she is using doesn't do it justice either, but her good camera isn't working right now so thanks for bearing with us. We hope to get up some better photos in one of my final blogs that is more true in the color and detail departments. 

Here is a before and after...

99 also laid out some tile so she could get an idea of how my floor might look eventually. I can't wait for that!!

 And just a few more shots...

It's been a long day! Tomorrow might be even longer. I am going to get my framing tightened up, have everything properly attached and then have my skin and the window put back on! 99 is doing everything she can to get me ready for a new family. She says they will want to add their own special touches to me, but that I am going to be downright solid and ready for them to have at it! I can't wait to meet those new people, whoever they might be. They are going to take me camping. 99 promised me that. That's what I was born to do and it's been so long! I'm starting to believe it is really going to happen and the sooner the better! I think I might make someone real happy someday soon and I just know they will do the same for me. 

I think I will sign off now. I got my rear end kicked today and that's a lot for a New Yorker! Especially an upstater! Before I go I will leave you with this...

Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.

Wilma Rudolph

Keep your dreams alive everyone. I am, and I just know someone out there is going think I am absolutely, totally and unquestionably GREAT!!

See you next time! Merci beaucoup to all of you for stopping in.