The Gallery | ||||||
1953 3/4-Ton Chevy |
||||||
[an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive] |
# 1232 From Rich : It has been almost five years since my truck made her first very conspicuous appearance in my neighborhood, on the back of a ramp truck, late at night. Since that time, I have done a complete frame off (amateur) restoration. It has been a tremendous journey learning all I could about these trucks from this site so I could do all the work myself … from welding and body work, even paint. I am sure I would not have gotten results this good without the expert advice and encouragement and good will of Stovebolt.com. In May this past year, I finished up some wet sanding.
I wanted the truck to look like a work truck that was well taken care of. I sanded with 1000 grit initially and hand compound, then hand polish. My paint skills left much to be desired. A lot of orange peel was coming off. I stood on the frame in the back and used a step ladder for the sides. My new gun is gravity feed which helped. It was very difficult to do this with the suction gun I used to prime it. The can was in the way and that gun has a very limited angle of tilt before the gun stops working.
It was still difficult, especially subsequent coats since now there was fresh paint to avoid as well. I should have had my son do it. He is 6'4" and has arms about 6" longer than mine. This old work truck had her maiden voyage home on June 26, 2010. We went 105 miles back to Cornish, Maine where I found her. She is now ready to live out her retirement riding in parades and going to cruise-ins and small town car shows thanks in good part to the gang here on the site. I’ll tell you … she may not win any trophies but she sure turns a few heads on the road. Thanks a million for such a great web site! I can’t wait to start my next one. When I find her, you will be the first to know. Rich [an error occurred while processing this directive] 27
September 2005 From Rich: Ain't she a beauty? I found her in Cornish, Maine. I have a summer place there but live full time in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Something drew me to this truck but I was too slow and the guy sold it (on a handshake) to someone else. After hoping the deal would fall through for two months (the truck was still sitting there in the yard), I finally gave up. A week later the guy called. The first buyer backed out and I was next on the list. Funny,
once I decided to buy it, I went directly to your site to browse -- but
it was down. I was so disappointed. It is truly a great site with great
members. I'm so glad you're back. I
have posted my question and got 12
response in
less than 24 hours. What a great group of folks you have! I went back to Maine over the holiday weekend to close the deal and bring her home -- provided she runs like I have been told. She is missing a few bed parts and has had work done on the floor and back of the cab. Hopefully good work. It is so much harder to fix someone else's poor work than to do it right the first time. No sleeping in the dog house for me. My wife loves old trucks. Not to brag but she is already talking about the tools I will need to do this right. What a woman! I plan on keeping the restoration as simple as possible. Yeah right! I've read a few stories on Stovebolt to know that won't likely happen. Anyway, I have not done this type of resto myself before but I am the only one of my brothers who has not built a hot rod or restored an old classic. I hope they remember how much I helped them. I will send more pics as I go. So, this past weekend, I got my truck running. I was able to drive it out of my garage and back it back in. So now that I know it runs and the transmission has at least first, second and reverse, I can tear it apart and rebuild. I would have loved to driven it more but it has no brakes (although the let rear wheel feels like the brake is on). I have some frame repair to do which I was not aware of. It's a bummer but it would not have kept me from buying her anyway. Just one more thing to add to the list. Looking forward to seeing her on your site. The
old gal made quite an entrance in my very quite neighborhood when she
arrived by ramp truck with lights blaring and backup alarms beeping at
11:30 PM. They were supposed to come the following morning. I had to
hop out of bed and run out in my bathrobe and move my other truck to
let them in.
-30- |