I got the new tires mounted, the tune up done, the new air pump installed, brakes done, new wheel trims on and most of all, I finally got the right paper work and Nemo is now road legal! For not being on the road in 20 years he runs great. Still needs a front u-joint so he clunks a little when shifting but I was really impressed with how power the little guy has.

I got the paper work from Rhode Island on Saturday and low and behold it had the engine number on it, still. So I made some phone calls to the NJ State Police and eventually got a detective in the auto unit. He ran a check on the vin and engine number through the National Investigators Crime Bureau and found the my car had not been stolen and that engine number does in fact match the vin number of my car. I then called Rhode Island to tell them what I was told and asked if they had access to the same database so they could send me corrected documents (at this point I think I'm just wearing them down). The lady there said she would meet with her supervisor and call me the next morning. When she call the next morning, I told her I also now had me British Heritage Trust Certificate certifing that the engine and VIN numbers were in fact for the same car. She told they would UPS the documents out so I can make the Hagley show in Sunday.

I took the paperwork to New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission to get Nemo licensed. Since the car was from Rhode Island and too old for a title, all I had was the bill of sale and the registration from 1981. Now for the problem. For some unexplictable reason, the state of Rhode Island in 1981 registered Nemo using the engine number instead of the VIN number. So there I was with a registration with the engine number and a bill of sale with a VIN number. Do you think soneone could walk out the door and verify both numbers were for the same car? Of course not. "You'll have to go to Rhode Island and have them issue a correct registration" I was told. "We can't accept incorrect documentation. The issuing state will have to fix it." So I called Trenton MVC and told them of my problem. They told me the same thing. So I asked "If I were to come to you and tell you I had a car from New Jersey that hadn't been registered in 25 years and that the old documentation was wrong and I needed you to issue a registration with a correct number on it for a car you can't see to verify that the numbers are correct. Would you do it?" "No." "But yet that's what you want Rhode Island to do?" "Yes." They did tell me I could mail everything I had in and request an execption and they would review the case and see if the documents would be accecpted, but probably not. So I called Rhode Island (At this point what did I to loose?) I talked to a lovely lady named Susan and explained my problem. "Why not just go to the seller and have her issue a bill of sale with the correct number on it?" "You don't understand. The bill of sale has the correct number. The Rhode Island registration has the engine number instead of the VIN number." "Why did we do that?" she asked. My point exactly. She told me to mail her everything I had and they would issue a notorized certificate of registration that would be good in any state. Whew! I might the Hagley Car Show on the 17th after all.

Follow-up: I got the letter from Rhode Island today and can you believe it? Both of their forms have the wrong number![/b] Guess I will be making another call on Monday. I wonder how fast they can send the paperwork with the correct numbers.

I ordered a fuel float with the pick-up tube from Moss and got it installed in the tank. I did have to do some modification since it was too long fit in the tank correctly as bought (I knew that going in but it was better than replacing the tank). Nemo fired right up and after warming up, ran perfectly. I also got another rebuild kit for the rear brake cylinder from Victoria British. This kit still did not have the corret parts in the bag. I decided to fax a picture of the correct parts and they still sent me wrong ones. I know the right kit exists since one of the first kits was correct. Finally they sent me a rebuilt rear caliber. Now on to the bleeding of the brakes. I could not get anything out of the rear calipers. I decided it would probably be a good idea to rebuild the master cylinder so I order a rebuild kit from an eBay auction. The kit was fine but when I disassembled the master cylinder, the rear brake piston would not come out and the bobby-pin looking thing that holds the piston assembly together was broken. I tried everything I could think of to get the piston out so after a couple of hours...Yep, you guessed it, I ordered a master cylinder from Moss. The new master cylinder went in without a hitch and the bleeding took no time to finish. After the brakes were done I bleed the clutch and it too is now working fine.

On Saturday, my daughter and I spent the day together working on Nemo. I was hoping to get the brakes finished but I found that one of the rebuild kits I had for the rear did not have all the correct parts. We did get the front rebuilt and Sarah was very excited to be working on Nemo with daddy (She just turned 7). She put the outter calipers on and was a very big help when it came time to bleed the brakes. She did a great job. Since I couldn't finish the rears, we called it day and spent the rest of the day coloring and floating the pool. On Sunday, I decided to move on to the fuel pump. It went without a hitch. I went to the local auto store and picked up a battery and got it installed and was very happy to hear the pump when I turned the key. Unfortunately that and the engine cranking was all I heard. Nemo still would not start. After checking that the pump was connected correctly (it was) and blowing some air through the lines I found the culprit. The pickup tube inside the tank was (and still is) clogged. I tried blowing 100 psi of air in and it did nothing. I decided to pour some WD-40 down the line (after draining the tank) and we'll see if that does any good (I doubt it). Looks like I might be replacing the tank after all. Oh well, them's the breaks....

I started rebuilding the brakes today. I thought about replacing the brake cylinders but I want to keep the car as original as possible. I know, "Who's gonna see them?" but... Anyway, I pulled the rear wheels and drums off and the brakes were in pretty good condition considering they haven't been unsed in 20 years. I did have to do some real fighting to get the cylinders apart. Now comes the cleaning and rebuilding...