Happy New Year

Here's a pic of John's Old Truck when it was still Pete's Old Truck, shortly after he drove it home from Missouri in 1981. Snapped this pic of a pic (in a frame behind glass, which is why the resolution is not very good) while over at Pete's for the annual family Christmas soiree last week. With a little luck (okay, maybe a LOT of luck - lol), 2014 will be the year we finally get the old thing looking a little more like this again...

Thanks so much for hangin' with us! Here's to a happy, healthy, safe and prosperous new year for all...

J


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Heads Up for Santa

Dear Santa,

Please don't worry about getting that garage I asked you for down the chimney. No need to wrap it either! Just leave it out in the driveway... That way you won't have to worry about getting the rear stake pockets, front bed wall, brake drums and mig welder down the chimney either. Just leave 'em all in the garage! Makes your gig a little easier, huh? Hey, anything for my favorite sleigh drivin', pipe smokin', gift givin', milk and cookie lovin' dude in the big red suit!

Thanks Santa, you da man!

Your Pal,
John's Old Truck


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This was one of those weeks. Sometimes you just wonder how in the world it's ever gonna get done. Blew all the leaves from around the truck today, trying to make it at least look like something's happening... No response from the local railroad people I sent an email to last week, asking if they might have any usable old ties they wanted to get rid of. Need a bunch to build a retaining wall that I can then back-fill to create a parking spot. I know we'll get there eventually, but it would be nice if we could pick up the glacial pace...


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Yes, there IS a bed...

Taken this morning... Yes, John's Old Truck DOES have a bed! It's just still in pieces, where it will stay until I can spare the cha-ching to get the two rear stake pockets and front bed wall we need. Hopefully that new finish I put on the wood last year will still be good when we're finally able to take this thing down the road... lol




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Remembering Mom on Her Birthday

Her memory is the inspiration behind this project, as anyone familiar with "The Whole Story" here knows. She would have been 82 today. I have no doubt that she'll be ridin' shotgun when I finally drive this thing, and that will be a great day. This is the thought that keeps me going, however slow the pace may be...

Happy birthday, Mom! Love you and miss you every day...




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You Can Never Have Too Many T-Shirts

As it usually goes with amateur projects like this one, money (or lack thereof, more accurately) is always the biggest issue. Finally working a day job again, but still running in the red just trying to keep the day to day stuff taken care of. Forget having anything extra to put toward the truck. Of course, many others are struggling similarly in this economy. But we can't let that keep us from pursuing our dreams. The steps may be pretty small these days, but as long as they're headed in a positive direction we can still call it progress.

To be honest, I never felt quite right about the donation link. There are so many causes out there in far greater need of help than some schmuck trying to restore his old truck. It hadn't brought anything in anyway (unsurprisingly), so removing it was not exactly a tough call.

This week I have spent every spare minute (including about 12 straight hours yesterday) updating the John's Old Truck Shop with new designs and a new layout, and creating an entirely new Cafe Press shop called Uncle John's Tees, which is aimed at a more general audience. The new shop does feature one "Old Truck" design, which serves as a link to both the full Old Truck Shop and this page. I have each shop set up with a 10% markup.

If you see something you like and can spare a few bucks, I would sincerely appreciate the help. But you can also help without spending a dime, by simply sharing the links with friends. Of course, that also would be greatly appreciated. We're agonizingly close to putting this thing on the road, and with a little luck I will finally drive it for the first time come spring 2014. I rode in it many times when my brother owned it back in the early 80's, but never had the pleasure of being behind the wheel. That will happen soon enough though, and it will be a great day...


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Update On a Gorgeous '57 Chevy Truck

I was driving by a few weeks ago and stopped to take some pics of it... Today I drove by to see a big FOR SALE sign on it, so I stopped in to see it up close and speak with Lew Lombardo, the owner of Ultimate Restorations on Triangle Street in Danbury, CT, where the truck sits. This thing is mint from the ground up. Full restoration a couple of owners back. It came in to have some work done and Lew ended up buying it...

Original V8, except for the valve covers. 3900 miles on the odometer, which I'm guessing is on a rebuilt motor. Not sure on that. He wants 25k, which is pretty much mid-range of what trucks like this go for on the private market. Someone looking to flip it could potentially make a nice profit if they wanted to go the auction route...

Would I buy it if I had the money and my '49 was done? Absolutely. But since that's not likely anytime soon, figured I'd throw it out there in case anyone else might be interested...




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Other Trucks

Hoping to soon have the $$ for the rear stake pockets and front bed wall we need, so I can at least put the bed back together and back on the truck. It would be nice to have at least SOME progress to show... In the meantime, I'm always on the lookout for inspiration. Here are a few of the discoveries I've come across in my travels. All pics taken by yours truly...


Here's a local '53, nicely done with an original look




Right around the corner from the house - 1964 Ford, 46,000 original miles. Saw it several times out by the road and suddenly it was gone. Figured it would sell pretty fast.




Gorgeous '57 Chevy in Danbury. Another one done up in great original style




Here's a great looking '37 Ford with some modern touches




More "trucks from my travels" to come in future posts...


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A Bittersweet Anniversary

Sorry I haven't been posting much lately, but the empty wallet has prevented me from getting anything done to talk about. Hoping that will soon change with the start of a new job this week.

I wanted to make sure to post today though, because as I was driving to the new job this morning I realized something... 32 years ago today I saw this truck for the very first time. The reason I can recall the date is a sad one, as anyone who has read the "Whole Story" post here understands - it was the day after Mom died.

As I have said before, this project is a labor of love devoted to her memory. The only thing I can't say for sure is when, but believe me when I tell you it WILL be finished and I WILL be like a kid on Christmas morning when I finally drive it for the first time. I rode in it many times when my brother had it back in the day, but I never did drive it - no doubt because he didn't trust his teenage brother!

Many heartfelt thanks to all for stopping by this page to take a look. If you know anyone who's into old trucks 'n stuff I hope you'll share!

Thank you again...

JPS

Stopped by the Sycamore cruise night in my hometown of Bethel, CT last night... The place was PACKED with all kinds of awesome machines! Caught up with Ed, another Bethel guy who owns this beautiful '48. I figure the Sycamore cruise will be the perfect first stop whenever we finally get John's Old Truck on the road...

Happy birthday to the guy whose help was the key factor in getting this truck running again! That's him below, leaning over the fender... You da man, Jim! Have a great one!

Frame Fixed!

A little trip to get the frame fixed, then back home... Thanks again, Steve!

A little more prep work on the frame today, getting ready for the welding fix...

This entire gusset piece needs to be out of the way so the fix can be made on the frame rail...

If the rivets on the Titanic were this tough, I think she might still be floatin'... But we got 'er done!

And here's what's left of the piece. Some rot on the underside of the cross member as well, as you can see... Now we can get that frame rail fixed...

Getting the frame ready for the fix with a little prep work...

Steve came by to check out the truck today. Great meeting and talking with him. I've got a little prep work to do on the frame, so he can just jump in and weld up the bad spot when we get it over to his place. Turns out we'll most likely be putting it on a trailer instead of having to use the tow bar, which is good. Very appreciative of his willingness to help out. One step at a time, this project is moving forward.

Nothing new on the job front. I thought last week's interview went very well, but I haven't heard anything in response. Not usually a good sign, but you never know. Test next week regarding another job possibility...

Sometime in the next couple of weeks, this old truck will move for the first time since we parked it more than three years ago... It will be hooked up to a tow bar for a little trip over to Bethel, where my new friend Steve will put his 30 years of welding and fabrication experience to work on the frame. An easy fix, he says... And all he wants in return is lunch! How cool is THAT?!

ALSO: Interview today for what will be a great job if I can get it. With a little luck, we might just be driving John's Old Truck this summer after all...

I don't often check my horoscope, but when I opened the section of this morning's paper that contains the employment classifieds, there it was staring me in the face:

"The problem with your current project is that there's still a long stretch ahead and you happen to be a bit low on fuel. So don't push it. Pull over and fuel up so you can stay in it."

Funny... In my quest to keep the dream alive while there are no funds to do anything significant, I went for a little drive yesterday just seeking some inspiration...

Doing some searching on used frames today. Considering the prices I'm looking at (starting at $300), it looks like a possibility if we can get all the stars to line up... As far as I know, the only difference on the frame from '47-'53 was the replacement of lever action with modern shocks in '50. Having just the bare frame to work with would make it very easy to clean up and then seal with KBS or POR-15, then we could just transfer everything over... Sure SOUNDS easy, doesn't it?

Pretty sure this thing would be at least touching the ground by now if I didn't have to use the entire tax refund for bills instead of the few remaining things we need to get rolling. No biggie in the grand scheme of things, I guess. I've waited over 30 years to drive this truck. I can wait a little longer. In the meantime, the job apps continue to go out. Something has to break soon! Today I thought I'd test the newly repainted valve cover for leaks and start putting the web address out there on the road...

Hit the valve cover with some engine paint and put it back on today. Went to fire it up, but the battery is dead as a door nail. It's probably 7 years old and doesn't hold a charge very well (a friend gave it to me when we first brought the truck here to the house a little over 3 years ago)... Time to hook up the charger again!

Just trying to stay busy while the job search continues... Hopefully something will work out soon and we'll be able to get the frame fixed and put the bed back together...


Cleaned up and re-greased the spindles today. Need to do those backing plates too...



A little engine compartment cleanup... Alrighty then! Looks like the first thing we're gonna need is a new gasket...



Ta-Da! Chrome valve cover!

Haven't done video in a while... Figured I'd prove to y'all that she actually does run!

Well, this can't be good. I started working on the one bad spot on the frame yesterday (right side, just behind the cab) when I suddenly saw daylight breaking through. The damage is quite a bit worse than I thought it was. No idea what to do here...

Next goal is to have four wheels that match and new matching rubber to put on them. The more I think about it, the more a disc conversion kit for the front makes sense, in which case we can move the six lug steelies here to the rear and maybe trade the wagon wheels for a pair of five lugs for the front. For now I'd just like to get rid of the old tires so I can clean up the wheels...

That's about as smooth as this amateur is going to get it! Most of this will be hidden by the bed anyway. I went around and hit all the bare metal spots with Rustoleum clear to keep the rust away. No need to get too fancy, since the whole thing will be stripped down to bare metal anyway whenever some real body & paint pros get their hands on it. Now just need the two rear stake pockets and front wall to put the bed back on. After that we only need drums, front bearings (maybe a disc conversion kit for the front), brake job, tires and we're rollin'! Just need the cha-ching to git 'er done. Workin' on that too! Interesting movement on the job front this week. Hopefully something new soon...

Cleaned up the back of the cab today. No idea how that metal got pitted, but since it's a straight and mostly flat surface I should be able to even it out fairly well with some filler. If you look on the lower right you can see a little of the blue that is the truck's original color. As I worked on this area I liked the look that was emerging, so I kept going...




I guess I got tired of looking at all the primer, so I ratted things out a little. There are a few small bare metal spots that I need to spray over just to keep the rust away, but this is mostly how it will look until I can afford a real paint job some day... My brother put the red door on when he had the truck, to replace the original that had rusted out at the hinges...




Found some old filler around the right headlight, indicating some really old collision repair. Whoever did the work did an excellent job, because you could never tell from looking at it. But you can see underneath where the bent metal had been straightened...

Tailgate is all primed and looks much better! Figured I'd try to tackle this mess on the back of the cab while the bed remains off the truck (until I can get the rear stake pockets and new front wall we need). Trying to keep the body work to a minimum, mostly because some day when we do a full blown frame off restoration the whole truck will be taken down to bare metal anyway, but also because I'm not very good with the filler...lol

A little aircraft paint remover, wire brush attachment for the drill and here we are! Uncovered a couple old welds on the inside that need a little grinding. I'll do that then hit it with some primer...

Gonna see if we can get the tailgate stripped down to bare metal today. It's a little dinged up, but that gives it the character we're looking for...

Funny how natural light reveals all the imperfections you can't see in the basement. Not so easy to see in these pics, but there's a good bit of sanding left to do...


Some of this primer will be sanded away to reveal as much of the old color as possible, until we can afford to get a real paint job done...

According to the calendar, Spring began nearly a month ago. Of course, WE know it's not REALLY Spring until the old truck fires up for the first time in the new year, which just happened a few minutes ago! Sounds good! Figured I'd just go ahead and do it between primer coats on the fenders, which I have outside today. More pics soon...

Got the workbench broken in pretty good! Work on the fenders continues... should have them done before long. Then it will just be a matter of getting the new front bed wall, two rear stake pockets, all the drums and front bearings when finances allow, putting it all back together and takin' 'er down the road! Well, I suppose registering and insuring the truck would be a good idea too...

The bed sills are here! One for the front, two for the center and the bigger one for the rear. They'll go between the frame and the wood... FOUR days until Spring!

After the snow this morning... But the clocks STILL go ahead this weekend and there are STILL only 12 days left until Spring! Can't wait to get this beauty rollin'...

Just ordered up the all the bed sills (which go between the wood and the frame)... Also waiting to hear on some six lug Chevy wheels that I learned about from a friend. Someone is apparently ready to let 'em all go for 50 bucks! Piece by piece, we're gonna get this thing done... Only 18 days until Spring!

Cleaning up the fenders today, before they go to the body shop for some structural repair. Very lucky to have friends in the business!


Looks like a little welding and grinding is in order...


This is the worst of it, but nothing my body guys can't handle! I've sprayed the underside of the fenders with a 50/50 solution of phosphoric acid and water. Great for rust removal! Just spray on and let it work its magic, then remove the dried residue with a wire brush...

I love it when new parts show up! Especially when the box is longer than the couch! There will be two more orders over the next several weeks, after which we'll have everything we need to put the bed back together and put it back on the truck. Then we'll need to get those brake drums and front bearings, and this thing will be that much closer to rolling... Only 40 days until Spring!

Out of the box: Tailgate hinges, angle strips, bed-frame mounting kit, bed bolt kit, fender bolt kit, clutch head socket set (for the fender bolts)...