Frame getting a prime of paint!

Jerad has almost tackled the entire frame. It has taken several days, but he has sandblasted, sanded, wirebrushed and gotten the frame cleaned up and primed. There are still a few spots that need sanded down, but has knocked out most of all the clean up on the frame itself. He brought home some black paint tonight to get ready to paint the frame. It seems like the work isn't going as fast right now, but believe it or not he has actually worked more on it as of late. He is constantly researching on parts and pieces and "how to's". He and his little helper have spent many hours out in the garge. For the first time this last week his little helper was gone with Nana for a few days and he dearly missed her presence while he was working. Here are a few pics of the frame with some primer on!

Some work on the cab

Jerad spent last Sunday working on the windows in the cab of the truck. He said the curved windows on the side actually came out easier than the other windows. We only have two windows that are broken. I'm hoping we can salvaged them, but we can't tell what kind of shape they are in until we clean them up.

Cleaning up the frame!

Now that the engine and transmission are off the frame Jerad & Bob are working on cleaning up the frame. First line of business was a good ole' power washing. It knocked alot of the junk off the frame. Then Jerad began blasting the frame with some sort of sand blaster. Doesn't he look cute in his face shield and protective jacket?

We've got FRAME!!

The engine and transmission have been pulled and we are down to the frame.

Chassis, Engine, Transmission..

Next steps are removing the transmission and the engine. The frame is looking pretty bare. Once Jerad gets the engine and tranny out then he can start on cleaning up the frame.

The cab comes off!!

Naked - cont'd

Gosh she's almost NAKED!!! YIKES!!

Tonight when I got home Jerad had already torn the doors off and I barely got a chance to take pictures and when I went back out, he already had the bench seat removed & the transmisison coverplate pulled out. I said "slow down...I can't keep up with you!" I wanted to post some before and after photos side by side....apparently even being a photographer I can't remember where to stand to take pictures. So I'm going to post a few from earlier tonight and then I'll add additional ones in another post. It will only let me put 4 pics per post I think. Had to get some shots of Dayton. She has not left her Daddy's side while he is out there working. Sometimes she helps, sometimes she makes messes in the garage and sometimes she just rides her bicycle in circles!!!! I'm sure my car will have a scratch from a bike before too long. By the way - have you noticed how little room is left in my garage? All these old Chevy pieces are everywhere!!

I took a picture of the piece Jerad bead blasted and primed so it's pictured as well. The hood, Dayton, etc...just some pics of everything that has exploded in our garage!

Jerad's hot buys!

Jerad lucked out last night. When he called to inquire at a local supply store about a cherry picker they did not have any in stock. However, the clerk did! So he picked up a cherry picker, engine stand and some sort of lift for $180. He said the cherry picker alone was over $300 so somehow "someone" knew what he needed and made it all work out. I've captured a few shots of his new tools of the trade!

Piece by Piece

She's coming apart! Jerad and Dayton once again have hit the garage the last couple of nights and are dismantling the old Chevy. Jerad got a cherry picker today and he now has the bed off the truck and some other miscelleanous pieces. They have also pulled some more stuff off the front end. I wasn't home tonight to witness all of this, but I took pictures when I got home.

First things first

As much as we'd like this to be an overnight project it's not!! But Jerad & Dayton both have spent a few hours the last few nights in the garage pulling parts off. Jerad already has one piece bead blasted and primed. I forgot to take a picture of it. Dayton has helped take bolts off and keep them separated into "good" piles and "bad" piles. She originally stayed perched upon the fender, but as you can tell their gone now. We think the front fenders may be able to be sanded, primed and painted. However, the underneath was not as in good as shape as we thought. So we'll have to see on that.

Jerad's plan is to get all pieces off the main the main chassis and then begin re-building springs and parts and build it back up. Anyone have a cherry picker? We are going to try to locate one to pull the old engine out. We will keep the original engine so that we have the parts, but will replace with another engine. We have located a few online vendors that have parts for the truck. So once we get down to the bottom we will start adding pieces at a time.

I'm wondering if we should have a poll to chose the color. We have discussed original green - chevy orange - my personal fav seafoam green and a host of others! Of course we are a long ways from having it ready to paint, but you gotta dream right?

Here are a few more pics from Dayton and Jerad's work the last few nights.

Old Chevy - LIKE A ROCK!

The old chevy made it to the garage this week. I took several pictures so we could document how it looked upon arrival. Dayton came a hollering in that Dad brought "an old, old, old old, truck in the garage!!!" We told her it's going to be her first vehicle. She's ok with it now. We'll see how she feels in 12 yrs bout driving the old truck. I'm sure that will change.

The truck has been passed around a bit over the last few years. It was originally purchased by my Uncle Bob as a restoration project for himself. Sadly, the good Lord called Bobby home before he could start his project. The truck has had a few resting places between the first day Bobby got it and where it sits today. Collecting a little dust and rust along the way. Grandpa Les and my husband, Jerad, discussed the truck and restoration project many times over the last few years. I'm guessing if they had worked on it as much as they talked about it -it'd be near completion by now!!

Confused upon the year of the truck, title says 1951, VIN indicates 1953, and we thought it was a 1952. Would be neat for it to be a 53' as that is the year my folks were born. I think that might be why Bobby originally purchased the truck b/c of a birth year. I'll have to re-visit that with Les sometime.

We are honored and thankful to have the Chevy resting here awaiting restoration. We have a lot of family who have generously supported this transition and we thank them all!! We hope in time to make Bobby smile that his project is underway!

Just a couple of pictures of the truck after pulling in garage. I took several of each angle, but to spare everyone I've just posted a couple so you can see.

HOME!!!!!!!!!!!

"you have reached your destination" boy we were excited to hear that!!

St. Louie here we come...

we didn't stop in St. Louis, but I grabbed a couple of pics on our way thru... the kids were sleeping this time around...i think...Jerad took over driving again and I slept almost all the way to Joplin with only a couple of times being awaken. We stopped In Joplin to eat and then headed home. The kids were clapping and excited when we saw the Welcome to Fredonia sign and we no more than hit the garage and they were at Mimi and Papa's breaking the door down! We were all very happy to see them and HOME!!!

Dalton called last night. He is doing fine. Making friends and has gotten started in school. He said they keep you very very busy and it's hard to have a free moment. We miss him terribly, but we know this is a wonderful opportunity for him!!

Creekin Pics & Trip Home

Sunday June 15th - Happy Father's Day!!!

Sorry I haven't posted. I have had no internet access for the last couple of days. Sunday we took Dalton to IHOP to eat a big breakfast and then checked him in. We took lots of pictures, shared some hugs and waited around a little bit. Then we headed on out. It was so HARD to leave him, but we did it. He called while I was still in the elevator and we offered to stick around, but he said no. So we pulled on out and headed where Tom Tom said to go, ended up not being the route we wanted, but we made a pit stop in Mt. Airy (Andy Griffith's hometown) and visited. Most things were closed b/c it was a Sunday, but I took a couple of pics and then we headed on out.
We stopped in Hiddenite, NC at the Emerald Mines. Dayton and Dayne really enjoyed it. I think mom and dad did too. We found garnet, amethyst, pyrite, blue and green adventurine, rose quartz and tons of little tiny pieces we still haven't identified. We went creekin' where you go down to the creek and dig for gems and then we sluiced as well. We were a bit dirty by the time we left, but a good time was had by all. We then hit the interstate and headed towards home. Jerad and I both were ready to be "home" at this point so we decided to give it a shot and see how far we could get. We stopped around Hickory and ate at McDonald's let the kids climb on the play yard and then hit the interstate.