Sunday, July 10, 2011
Day 1
I woke up this morning barely able to get out of bed. Being so insistent upon pulling the truck on the trailer by myself, my back is definitely screaming at me. I took a cocktail of Multrin & Tynol and washed it down with a cup of coffee. Headed for Discovery Garage for restoration day one. When I got there I opened the garage, secretly praying that someone had stolen the truck! The sight of that jalopy in the morning left me thinking "what have I gotten myself into?" Marlene showed up with something nice and a much needed iced coffee. After using several of the sand papers I had, nothing seemed to be working as well as it did on the tiny corner we had tested last night. A tiny corner is all fine and good, now I had to figure out how the do the whole damn truck! We ran to Home Depot for more supplies. Plan A - fail. Plan B - fail. Plan C - Home Depot. Plan D - paint stripper = success! Applied that stuff three times - one for each layer of blue, green & red paint. Worked like a charm, but still left me with quite a bit of sanding in the end. My fingertips are raw and my hands are tinted a lovely shade of filth. Should be very appealing to my patients tomorrow when I have to go back to work as Nurse Kimmie. I must say that I impressed myself with a completely stripped driver's side door, down to the bare metal and spit shined! I drove home with all three colors of paint on my clothes and skin. After a long hot shower, shave & filed nails, I feel almost like a girl again. Time for the truck & me to rest for the week. Back on Friday for day two!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Towing & Tailgating
So Mike & Marlene offered up their towing expertise to bring this bad boy home! I rented a U-Haul trailer and we were set to go. As of the night before, Marlene's Uncle Joey got roped into coming with us. I guess Mike figured he needed another set of hands, since we had absolutely no clue how we were going to get this truck pulled up the huge hill in the yard, let alone up onto the trailer. We met at 7am and breakfast was the first item on the list. Finally on the road, we were Plumsted bound. The U-Haul rental process was an experience all in itself. Mike had to leave to find another store to find the right trailer hitch. It was just as well because the guy doing the paperwork couldn't get the damn computer working, so it took over an hour! Now we're hooked up and ready to go. Knox Farm was just a few minutes down the road. Much to my surprise, the truck was in the driveway waiting for us when we got there. Such a relief that we didn't have to drag it up the muddy hill. We laid down the ramps and I was insistent on using the come-along myself to pull this thing up! After all, the best man for that job is a woman and I refuse to let anyone make me believe that I can't restore this truck with my own two hands! We got it up there, secured it and we were on the road. By the way, I arrived home with one less tail light on the truck.
Mom agreed to let me store it in the garage at the preschool, which is now known as Discovery Garage. This is where I'll be spending majority of my free time for the next ten years! I decided to throw an impromptu tailgate party, however I wouldn't recommend sitting on the tailgate - because it might fall off. Everyone invited to the party was required to have an updated tetanus shot. I ran and got some hamburgers and hot dogs, with a little charcoal grill. We set up chairs and drank beers in the driveway like WT! It was a great turnout and I had an overall great day. Now that the novelty has worn off and everyone offering to lend a hand, let's see who shows up with sandpaper tomorrow when the real work begins!
Mom agreed to let me store it in the garage at the preschool, which is now known as Discovery Garage. This is where I'll be spending majority of my free time for the next ten years! I decided to throw an impromptu tailgate party, however I wouldn't recommend sitting on the tailgate - because it might fall off. Everyone invited to the party was required to have an updated tetanus shot. I ran and got some hamburgers and hot dogs, with a little charcoal grill. We set up chairs and drank beers in the driveway like WT! It was a great turnout and I had an overall great day. Now that the novelty has worn off and everyone offering to lend a hand, let's see who shows up with sandpaper tomorrow when the real work begins!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Purchase Day
You Bought What??
I've always been fascinated by old things and I'm convinced my past life must have been within the previous two or three generations. More specifically, I'm drawn to rusty old gas pumps and abandoned trucks. Really, who else do you know with a mural on the wall of their grandfather handing them a Hess Truck? Of course, complete with a gas station scene and pump on the opposite wall! Something I've always wanted to do is ride around in an old truck. Instead of keeping it a dream, I'm making it a reality. The decision was really between a 1949 Studebaker and a 1949-53 Chevy. I found a 1950 Chevy 3100 1/2 Ton Pickup on Craig's List. On the Fourth of July, my brother Joe & I drove out to Plumsted, New Jersey, to take a look at it. Spoke to the seller, "John," on the phone a few days before. He told me that it was his son's bright idea to restore an old truck. That was 25 years ago and the truck has been sitting in his yard ever since, completely untouched. When we got to Knox Farm in Plumsted to look at it, John left out the part that there were 44 other trucks in his backyard just like it! He had practically every make & model of cars and trucks I could think of. As we took the tour to the sound of gobbling turkeys, he walked us down the hill, over the bridge and through the creek. He showed us cars with live frogs under the hood and trees growing through the floorboards. I even saw a hint of a '47 Ford peeking through the bushes. It was a graveyard for the souls of old cars. Now I've moved onto automobile genealogy! Anyway, I fell in love with the truck and left him a deposit. Now the only obstacle was figuring out how to get it home!
I've always been fascinated by old things and I'm convinced my past life must have been within the previous two or three generations. More specifically, I'm drawn to rusty old gas pumps and abandoned trucks. Really, who else do you know with a mural on the wall of their grandfather handing them a Hess Truck? Of course, complete with a gas station scene and pump on the opposite wall! Something I've always wanted to do is ride around in an old truck. Instead of keeping it a dream, I'm making it a reality. The decision was really between a 1949 Studebaker and a 1949-53 Chevy. I found a 1950 Chevy 3100 1/2 Ton Pickup on Craig's List. On the Fourth of July, my brother Joe & I drove out to Plumsted, New Jersey, to take a look at it. Spoke to the seller, "John," on the phone a few days before. He told me that it was his son's bright idea to restore an old truck. That was 25 years ago and the truck has been sitting in his yard ever since, completely untouched. When we got to Knox Farm in Plumsted to look at it, John left out the part that there were 44 other trucks in his backyard just like it! He had practically every make & model of cars and trucks I could think of. As we took the tour to the sound of gobbling turkeys, he walked us down the hill, over the bridge and through the creek. He showed us cars with live frogs under the hood and trees growing through the floorboards. I even saw a hint of a '47 Ford peeking through the bushes. It was a graveyard for the souls of old cars. Now I've moved onto automobile genealogy! Anyway, I fell in love with the truck and left him a deposit. Now the only obstacle was figuring out how to get it home!
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