The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Delivery Day

Well, my waiting is over. The transport truck just delivered my 57 Chev LWB to me. I have been waiting almost a month for it to come to me in Florida fron S Dakota.
I live in a deed restricted sub division and wouldn't you know, 5 minutes after the truck pulled up to unload my 57 the neighbor came out and asked WHAT ARE YOU DOING in a rather unpleasent tone.I told her it is going inside my garage and she doesn't have to look at it.The president of the home owners association got two complaint calls within the first 5 minutes, before I got the truck unloaded. He came over and said his father-in-law restores old trucks at his shop and could he help me unload it into my garage! He told the 2 neighbors not to worry, it was going inside and they would not see it.(the truck looks a lot like Tow-Mader from Cars without the buck teeth).
It was on a carrier and had to be pushed backward off the transport. It doesn't run and the rear end locks up going forward. I got in the truck to steer it and the seat had been chewed to pieces by rats or squirrels and there was what looked like a rats nest in the glove box. The trucker gave it a push down the ramps. It took off about 10 miles per hour into my driveway going backwards and I had to turn it 90 degrees into the garage. In it went and uh oh, no brakes. I had figured that may happen so I checked the transmission first,and stuck it into gear to stop it before crashing through the garage wall.
So it is in the garage for now.I bought it from pictures on the internet.Boy, it looked better in the pictures, but it still is in solid shape.I think my estimated year to year & a half just went to 2 1/2 - 3 years for completion.
Bottom line- I have my truck, I am happy and I will have a blast restoring it.( if I knew how to attach photos to this I would. Help?)

Congratulations on your truck!

I'm sure glad I don't live in a homeowner's association like yours! I would last about 3 minutes with neighbors like that!! Someone (namely me) would probably end up in jail!!

Alan - about posting pics - we'd love to see'em, and of course you're welcome to submit some to the editor for the gallery, and you can add updates when ya get'er done!

Bill

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Congratulations on your truck!

I'm sure glad I don't live in a homeowner's association like yours! I would last about 3 minutes with neighbors like that!! Someone (namely me) would probably end up in jail!!

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I don't plan on being here too much longer. I am looking for a couple acres where I can have a garage to do my resto work and not bother anyone.

my neighbor sucks! all neighbor's do i cause a guy grief. come spring a 10' fence is on my wish list!

It does't matter how log it takes to restore it,its the amount of fun you have doing it.Lots of luck and have a good time. Don

Alan - congrats on your truck. I can relate - shortly after unloading my 57 I got a letter from the county giving me 30 days to remove the truck from my property after a complaint from one of my neighbors. It was sitting in my driveway with a car cover on it but the county said it had to run and have a licence or be out of sight within the garage. It's now partially disassembled and sitting inside my garage undergoing the initial stages of restoration.

Spent the afternoon today out on the driveway with the front axle on sawhorses trying to drive the old kingpins out. Of course I noticed several of my neighbors watching me but everything was back inside for the evening so not much they can complain about. Gives them real heartburn everytime I work on it.

Bob

Great news about getting your truck. Living in a subdivision such as yours can be quite stressful. Been there and done that, have since moved and have never been happier.

Looking forward to seeing pictures.

John

Hey Alan,
Good to hear it made it to you and offloaded into the garage OK. Hope you can work on it without the locals playing phone tag with the cops. Keep us in pictures when you get accustomed to posting them....and welcome to Stovebolt by the way!

Alan - Congrats on your new ride!

The rental house I live in doesn't have a garage but the landlord allowed me to erect a 10 X 13' shed out back in the heavily treed backyard. Then, a year later I convinced her to let me add a 13 X 13' "carport" to it. It ain't pretty, but it gives me a dry place to keep my '37.

I trailer it to my brother's house where we have pooled tools & equipment. He started to run out of space so I brought one of his extra vehicles (a '53 Stude PU) down to my backyard (to go with a parts Camaro and a Ranger pickup). This was good for almost a year until I got notice from the city that my "eyesore" had to be cleaned up.

I scrapped the Camaro and sold the Ranger and thought all was OK until the landlord sent me a cease & desist notice. Apparently the city decided that my cleanup effort wasn't enough and, instead of telling me so, threatened the landlord.

I got rid of the Stude and put my '37 on my trailer. The trailer is licensed and insured and so falls within the law as presented to me.

I figure that they'll make another attack in the near future but (like you) I'm looking to move to another location where I can pursue my addiction ;'}

The thing that bugged me wasn't so much that the city was showing zero common sense by going after me when my cars were out of sight in my fenced backyard (while ignoring wrecked & abandoned cars on the same street), but that one of my neighbors (who has never revealed themselves) ratted on me.

Good luck on your new project!

~rocker~

Thanks for the encouragement & welcome's from everyone.
I guess we all can have unfriendly (to say the least) neighbors where ever we are.I grew up in the country and am going to move back. My wife agrees we need to move back to where the neighbors won't gripe about what we do. I can imagine what would happen here if I fire up the compressor & start cutting off rusty parts with an air chisel.
I am going to read through the link Red 58 gave me and try to post some pictures.
I started to strip out what was left of the rotted seat & firewall insulation today. I think this truck has been setting for about 30 years. The tag expired in 1970.I found a couple cans of beer behind the seat and they had the old pull tab tops, so it has been many years since it has seen the road.I can hardly wait to see what the cylinder walls look like.But hey,its a 57 and it can be fixed!!!

Hey allen I feel the excitement from your story . Makes me think I was there yellin stop !stop ! Ha-ha As far as the home association goes, They can not discriminate against art as it is in the eye of the artist. There was this guy who built great big Rockets in his front yard out of his stuff they were complaining about. Painted some pink and everything. It was way worse than what he had before but leagally nothing could be done. Just a funny story to make you smile . Can't wait to see the trucks progress.

Alan,

Congrats on your "new addition"! From the pictures it does look fixable, and know you will get lots of enjoyment out of the restoration. I too live in a subdivision (and county) that don't allow unlicensed vehicles, and I do understand SOMEWHAT why this is enforced. A few uncaring neighbors can turn your subdivision into a junkyard real quick, and lower your property values, if not controlled. I too came home with my '56 in not a whole lot better shape than yours. It did run, and was licensed, so not a whole lot was said. When I did get ready to have the restoration done, the truck was taken to a shop in another county. After a couple years, it came home looking like it drove off the assembly line, and NO ONE has complained about the "old truck" sitting in my driveway. The neighbors are in "awe" that it's the same truck I originally came home with. Wish you lots of luck with your truck, and will be looking forward to pictures as it goes along.

Brian

o.k., here is my first try at attaching photo links.
I know a lot about cars & trucks, but the oldest I have ever worked on was early to mid 1960's.
I will show my ignorance here and ask this: What is the pedal on the floor to the right of the gas pedal? My father had a 1950 F**d 1/2 ton, but I don't remember that on the floor.
Look in the glove box in the interior photo and you can see the rats had a field day in there. I probably just destroyed the birthplace of hundreds of field rats.

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p199/johnmarkp/1-6-07001.jpg

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p199/johnmarkp/1-6-07007.jpg

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p199/johnmarkp/1-6-07008.jpg

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p199/johnmarkp/1-6-07010.jpg

Wow what a beutifull truck ! I love the superman speedometer (ha) I have never even seen that shape before. I was talking with my neighbor and he was telling me about high low gears and how mine was an eight speed instead of four ? Maybee that is what your fourth pedal is for? High -low gears. But one of the seasoned stovebolters would know better than I. Sure is a great truck Alan.

That fourth pedal would be your starter button. Your '50 F**d had a push button on the dash, but Bolts used the foot starter until at least '59.

I told you so alan, Rich new it right off. Now as I see your truck and I have been negotiating with a guy about my truck trade. I have a ford 390 brand new rebuild that before I found his chevy I was looking for an old truck to plop it in as that is what it came out of (a truck). It has a double timing chain hydrolic cam and I switched the manifold from 2 barrell to 4 with a brand new 6500 series idlebroch and 1" spacer. It has 250 miles on it now and is pushing 415 horse, I am sure I could give my flatbed owner 2000.00 cash and he would still let me have the truck .(engine cost 2500.00) so Its just a thought. You would be 1/4 of the way done with your resto. I guess this should be moved to the sell forum but it is still in the works. Check it out as the engine came out of a truck... http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=14600923&uid=7729391

That's a great story, Alan! And what a great truck!

Everyone is right ... it don't matter how long it takes -- if you finished it too soon, you'd be jonesin' about starting another one anyway!

I remember the day mine got delivered to me in Central Jersey from Humble, Texas ... man I was so excited and happy I coulda burst! I had one neighbor ***** at me because the truck was loud and I revved it up in front of his house late one night. But then I did him a big favor and he smiled ever after.


You're gonna love every little thing you do on this truck, Bro'! Every improvement is such an exciting experience it's just unbelievable. I'm finally getting around to doing some interior work on my '54 ... nothing original -- all custom stuff by yours truly. I bought a moose hide and started covering my '75 Cadillac steering wheel -- check This out.

Thanks Rich for the info on the starter. The more I learn the more I find out I need to learn.
Nice looking power house there JoeJam2. I am going to try to keep the truck original and see if I can save the 6 cylinder it came with. The odometer says 99 thousand miles, so maybe I can make it live again.
Alan H., thanks for the words of encouragement.Must be part of your ministry, edify & encourage. Is that real moose hide leather? I have never seen any before.

Hi Alan, It's a shame that Florida is getting so crowded that a guy can't even have a little fun!
I'm over at the intersection of Hwy 60 and 27...our little burg is still fairly tolerant of guys who want to tinker with their toys.

Looks like you've got your work cut out for you.
Ignore the grouches and have a ball.

Hey, Alan

You pegged me, Bro' ... my music has always been just that; to encourage ... and it is my nature, for sure.

Yes, that is a real moose hide ... there is a battle scar in one spot that I want to put in a visible place and the texture is so unique, I can't imagine *ever* using vinyl after this first-time experience. It's a lot more work than vinyl would be but the difference is obviously worth it! Look at that picture I linked to in my post above -- have you ever seen any vinyl that looked like that? I can't wait to finish the whole steering wheel.

dont feel bad in my area there even going after country areas no none running cars and trucks they all have to be hidden.times of change

I was just talking to a guy yesterday ... here in NJ, it's illegal to do as much as change your spark plugs on the street -- the vehicle has to be inside the garage! I never heard of that before and I'm sure no one would enforce penalty for such a simple act ... unless you were doing too much; they have their butts covered.

That hide looks real nice Alan.It will make a great added touch to your Caddy.

Thanks, Bro'.

I wanted to get rid of that Caddy steering wheel ... but after I'm finished with it, it's gonna be one of the nicest things about my truck!

I'm *finally* starting to do the interior in my '54 ... it's going to show off what I love doing most -- all hand-stitched leather work -- and this moose hide was a real surprise; I think it's nicer looking than cow hide.