Projects Parts & Projects Winter SNOW on the Ground Deals

There is something special picking up parts and projects with snow on the ground, brings back memories of looking at a T touring back in the late 1960's. Got to deliver these T wheels this afternoon, what have you found in the snow? Bob

 

One time I had to wait til a lot of the snow had gone to get the front axle off a 50's Chev pickup.

 

Some guys name in yellow!

 

Several years ago camping in the '57 Shasta camper and woke up to snow. COLD! HRP

 

I bought a 59 Biarritz in Winterpeg after the car got snowed in after being pulled out of the barn awaiting a NY buyer to come collect it. It was 4 months before it thawed enough to get to it. The deal fell thru and I brokered a new deal to collect it in warmer times.
Don lived in Hawaii in the winters and he flew over from Hawaii, I flew over from Sydney and he and I spent 3 months on the road trailering one of his 49Hudson convertibles from Seattle back to an Iowa farm where he had a further 30 Hudson’s and then trailered the Cadillac to LA via the Cadillac Nationals in Dallas and then went and picked up a Metro cosmopolitan in Phoenix and took it to Iowa. Eat your heart out Kerouac.

 

The last winter season my A chassis had to sit in the snow.

 

Thanksgiving day 1971, my second car in high school, a 57 Bel Air 2 door hardtop, I had finally gotten the new Hurst Comp Plus shifter I had been saving up for, I had acquired the B/W T-10 4 speed some months earlier and I couldnt wait to get the old three speed and Fenton shifter replaced.
I was not going to let the ice on the half pavement/half packed gravel driveway deter me and the turkey my mom was baking would have to wait.
I'm laying directly on the cold ground fighting to get the transmission started in the splines of the clutch disc (by myself) and my back goes out, by the way, have you ever rested a transmission on your forehead, don't do it, let it drop.
That was tough to admit to the chiropractor why I had two dents in my head, one from the transmission on my forehead and one on the back of my head from a piece of gravel.
I ended up calling my pal and he came over and finished the job, the most painful part was not being able to test it out for over a week.

 

Years ago the Bickleton Garage across the road from the Bluebird Inn cafe in Bickleton WA (bar/tavern depending on the time of day) had a bunch of old cars laying out back including a wrecked 51 Merc coupe that was laying on it's roof. I got Vince Alcott to take his roll back up there (That crotchety old bugger who sold tailight lenses and small items out of his bus at Turlock) and pick it up after the garage owner told me if I wanted it load it up and get it out of there. The weather wasn't bad here but when we got up there it started snowing sideways and we backed up to it and pulled it on the roll back on what was left of it's roof and strapped it down and headed to the cafe for hot coffee and lunch and then hauled it back to my place . The dash and door went in my 51 along with one lower quarter panel and the rear bumper. The rest got sold to a guy in
Canada and Vince hauled it up there for him, this time right side up.

 

20 years ago the day I went to look and possibly buy what is now my coupe it was snowing hard, and the roads were bad. When I got to the guys place he looked at me and said, you are crazy driving up here in this, I like that. Needless to say, a deal was struck and I made plans to haul the coupe to its new home. Mine.

 

dang.....I have lot of snow pics.....most OT...........see what I can find..........

 

"Hey, can you run out to the car and..."

 

Snow? Is that what that white substance is? Thank GOD....I seldom see it! I hate that crap.

 

shoppin' don't stop just because the ground turns white...

 

Hello,
With this recent cold, So Cal rainstorm, the snow levels are supposed to drop down to 4500 feet. The ski resorts are in the 6500-8000 range and will get tons of snow. A similar storm happened in 60-61 during our teenage years. In one of the after Christmas, teenage, high school road trips to Big Bear Lake and surrounding areas, there was snow on the ground. But, it was not falling on us, trudging up the long road uphill. The carbs were already adjusted, so the 348 was running just fine, no sputtering or stalling in the thin mountain air.

It was fun to have one of the only hot rod/cruisers to have a good running motor. Our family mechanic told us to adjust the carbs for smoother running in thin mountain air. Most everyone had their air cleaners in the trunk and the whole area sounded like a bunch of snakes having a bad day, SSSSSS. The removal of big air cleaners help a little, but not like adjusting the carbs.

Once we arrived, of course the first thing to do was to cruise the main drag. There were a lot of hot rods we had not seen before from the Long Beach areas. (it was traditional for teenage high school kids to come up to Big Bear on the day after Christmas and stay until New Years Day.) So, it was a field day to give looks and get the mean stares from other hot rod guys that thought they were the coolest people from Long Beach.

Our tuning was just fine, but back then we used 30 wt. Valvoline and that was not good for cold to freezing, early morning start ups. Especially, if the Impala was covered with a blanket of snow from overnight outside parking. The motor just would not turn over fast enough to start. The colder it gets, the thicker the oil gets, making the motor almost impossible to turn over and start.

Jnaki

Luckily, our cabin was within walking distance of the girls’ cabin and they welcomed us to a great breakfast. A couple of us were supposed to take some girls out to breakfast in town, but it was driving distance, not walking, especially on snow covered roads. So, it all worked out fine for everyone. A couple of guys in a cabin full of girls from our high school? Being served breakfast by teenage girls. What was not to like?

After the snow stopped and the sun came out, it got warm enough to start the 348. It was the start our daily cruising, down the main drag, past tons of other teenagers just looking at the cool lineup of hot rods and cruisers. We were part of the daily show in town.

These days, the multi grade oils do a nice job of working in all sorts of weather.

 

One of my past winter projects that now has a new home.


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Was the buyer named Buddy and sport a green jacket ?

 

A '59 Caddy from Winterpeg?? That's my home town. Awesome! (CadMad) and another '39 Chev (Rusty1) Sweet! The best part about the snow is I can see what's hiding in the bush and actually walk in places that are too hard to get to other times of the year. The flip side of the coin is by spring/summer I've forgotten where I found these things because it all looks the same with full trees. On the other hand-- the cold slows down the rust process, preserves the relics for half a year, and slows down the thieves and scrappers so I can discover new treasures. It gives me a chance to work on the parts I've collected throughout the warm months so when it warms up those parts are ready to be used. Sloppy Jalopies and Ralph: the pictures you posted with the pickup in the bush and model A just above would make a really nice picture to frame - seriously I'd love to hang the pictures on my wall - that's art.

 

"he was a large, bulging man...a real cotton headed ninny muggins type of character."

 

The little blonde "Christmas Caroler" would look nice riding shotgun in that buggy...

 

A few years ago.

 

I stuffed a '29 sportie cum cabbie body in the brush... too far in... can't see it in the summer tall grass... winter too much snow... jack it up on cement blocks next summer...
.

 

Here’s another one that I found.
Found on my property when the snow started melting.
Storing it for a friend.


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Cheap Rent Inc.

 

I just pulled this tank...

... off of this monster

 

Almost bought this...

 

Bought a 33 Dodge sedan and parts from northern Minnesota in mid-winter. The body and fenders were inside. Had to come back to collect the frame that was outside.

 

Bought a barn