Well had a nice warm evening here Bob..went and grabbed my 13 y/o twin nephews...it was a surprise visit and as soon as I pulled up they came running out of the house.
Nice. Your truck looks fantastic, and I love the new wheels. I'm also glad to hear about the fouteen-year-old working on his first truck. I'm currently driving a '62 that will be a first truck for a fourteen-year-old, though he won't get it until he gets a license. The truck belonged to my best friend, who sadly had a stroke and died at age 51, leaving an 11-year old son, who is now fouteen. His wife gave me the truck for now, and I've pledged to keep it for the boy, so he'll have his dad's old truck when he can drive. I've been making improvements to the truck, and clearing them all with the boy, so I don't do something he won't like. Sadly, he lives in Oregon now, so we don't get to work together on the truck. Thankfully, the boy and I have similar taste, and we both love the current ratty look of the truck, so the well-worn paint will stay, while we slowly make it mechanically reliable. We're doing well in that regard, as I drove it to Wyoming and back last month, with only minor glitches that were easy to fix. I'm looking forward to a weeks-long visit from the boy this summer, so we can spend time working on it together. I really like the kid, and I miss his dad terribly. We're both sentimental about the truck, but I'm even happier that I'm helping to bring another old-car lover into the fold for the future. Here's the boy and his future truck, as I loaded it on a trailer after his dad's funeral. And a couple better photos of the truck, to show off the patina that the boy and I both like: I'm happy to report that those terrible bucket seats were the first thing to find its way into the bin.
Today made some progress- two steps forward and one back but still progress- doing trouble shooting of wipers- horn and turn signals- tried the easy fix without success- got a couple boxes from FedEx and UPS- little stuff- grommets- rubber bumpers- etc.- got that put on- put on the beauty rings to finish rims- got the grill installed- waiting for bezels- may leave it full chrome and not do any black trim around bezel as factory- having fun-
Overall plan is to keep the feel of the Hillbilly truck as it was when it came from CA- paint will mostly stay as is with touch ups where really needed- but still retain that 52 yo aged look-
Cleaned and sanded the inside of bed- primed all areas that needed it- put 2 coats of paint on- POR15 in black on door sills and cab floors- painted the sills white as stock- got another box of stuff- headlight bezels- so grill totally done- moved the spare tire holder- it was the farmer built one and at rear of bed- I moved to just behind cab- going to just get a 4 x 8 rubber mat for bed- was under the truck- and hardly even any surface rust- unbelievable condition- truck has very little storage in cab- either under seat or behind- going to get a tool box and bolt at rear of bed where spare was so have place to carry a few tools and oil, etc.-
I noticed that too. We're sure spoiled by all the storage space in modern cars! Progress on the truck looks great! I love the simple wheels and trim rings.
Dang Bob....out trade spawned a featured thread...had the 61 out tonight for a couple hours...such a fun car..
The Jalopy Journal
