howdy

Howdy,

Been a machinist, mechanic, welder, fixit guy for over 50 years of working for somebody else. I have a pretty fair selection of older tools and tooling ranging from heliarc, spot, stick and wirefeed welders, sheet metal shears and box/pan brakes, anvil, a couple pexto bead rollers and various pexto hand tools and benders, shears and punches, english wheel, about half a ton of steel stock. Got a pretty full machine shop, Gorton Milling machine, 3 lathes, surface grinder, support tools and tooling for all these machines. Am able to sew just about anything, got a 29-4 Singer, made my own cold weather clothing for my 10 years of working trips to Antarctica and Greenland, am an Ice Core Driller, drilling and pulling up Ice Cores for scientists to examine the history of our atmosphere going back more than 65,000 years. More sewing: also sewed and jumped my own parachute 274 times, I’ve got 374 sport jumps total. I am a certified Senior Parachute Rigger with 14 saved lives. Built and flew my hang glider, built and sailed my 14 ft steam boat and a 16 ft canoe. Built and drove my race car, a 1981 Dodge Colt, 1.5 liter naturally aspirated gasoline Competition Coupe, and hold a current record with it at Bonneville Salt Flats, H/GCC 144.396 mph two way average over a measured mile. Also built and rode the Salt with a 1967 BSA Victor 441 at 107.396, in the class 500cc MPS, modified partial streamlined gasoline, for a brief moment in time, only 15 minutes, I held that record too. .but a factory effort Buell Blast (blast their hides) ran 11 mph over my record and basically put an end to my BSA running at the Salt, running as I was a 441 cc engine in a 500 cc class and outa hp/rpm to go faster.



I figure that I’m now way too old to start working on one of these trucks, 1947 Dodge pickup model WC. All I got is the rusty dented cab w/rusty doors, rusty dented fenders, dented rusty truck bed, rusty hood and rusty grill. But I am now 3 months into repairing/replacing the cab floor and almost done with the doors, both doors needing the internal hinge support structures replaced/repaired. This truck aint ever gonna be a shiny smooth painted restoration by any means, first, I do not claim by any stretch to be a bodyman, and second, I figure trucks are made to be driven and worked, and whatever it takes to make it do its job is the answer to any question of what to do to make that happen. Plan is to stop the rust best as can be, fix what it needs to keep the rain out, install it on a Chevy S10 frame that I still don’t have, yet, with the Slant6 engine/904 trans that is taking up space of my garage floor. Could put a 348 Chevy in it too, got one of those, but I figure the Slant6 is the way to go.



And seeings how the truck and all my tools and tooling will end up with my grandson, probably in roughly 10 years, maybe a little longer ifn I’m lucky, I’ve begun teaching him to weld and be safe around machine tools, 8 years old and he is doing some pretty good MIG welding, gotta keep the sessions short, he ain’t man strong nor have long term focus yet. But the story I say is: I got my Dad’s hands, my Dad could fix anything, and I can too, so I figure its in the blood, and Grandson will be able to do whatever he wants to, toolwise, so he gets all I can give him, both tools and as much tool knowledge as I can shove at him..

 

A Howdy to you too! Welcome to the HAMB, nice Intro, and I thought I was a busy fellow. But you've got me beat! Good luck on your project. Your 47 sounds very KOOL! I really like that your keeping your son involved. Thanks Ron.....

 

Hi Ron, thanks, but you gotta realize, it took more'n than 50 years to do that stuff.. so it ain't as impressive as it looks.. thanks again and drive careful..