December 8, 2011

I left this morning around 11 feeling as though I was heading off on some epic adventure. I had loaded up my truck with wrenches and pliers and all manner of things. The mission: Assess the parts truck; grab any easy-to-remove useful parts; and decide whether or not it was worth pulling out of there for more serious salvage operations like cutting out body panel sections to weld into the other truck or extraction extra parts to sell to other enthusiasts.

Here's what I found.

It didn't take long to decide that it was almost a complete loss. The body panels weren't in any sort of usable condition, the gas tank had been left uncapped and was almost certainly full of rust and water, and any parts worth pulling to try to sell as extras would need more than a little reconditioning to be of any use.  In short, there's no way it would be worth pulling out to store somewhere. There were a few pieces that looked like things that I could use, so I set to work.

The two parts I had hoped for the most from this truck were still there- the linkage arms that connect the shift knuckles on the steering column to the transmission. Mine had been lost previously after a real bodge job of a three-on-the-floor conversion we did back around summer '98 after the shift lever broke off the steering column. After a bit of study two or three years ago I decided I could go back to the original three-on-the-tree by reinstalling the linkage rods and getting a new shift lever. At the time we had assumed the parts truck was long gone, and there were no shifter-transmission linkages to be found in any parts catalog. Despite the fact that the engine had been removed from the parts truck and now lay in a rusting heap in the bed, the transmission was still under the floorboard, but conveniently detached from its mounts. It was a relatively simple matter to detach the linkage arms from the transmission, disconnect the speedometer cable from the transmission, and pull the whole lot of it out. Now I've got a spare transmission whose gears are hopefully in better shape than the ones I've got. No doubt they're both worn down, though.
I've also got the linkage rods, a spare speedometer cable, an extra window crank, a starter of unknown condition (but was just sitting there so I grabbed it), the rearview mirror which is shot except for the mirror glass looks better than anything else I've got, an extra linkage rod, and the taillight mounting brackets which I think can be used for reverse light brackets (if I haven't damaged them too badly pulling them off).

For the record, this was, in fact my first vehicle. I only ever drove it about three feet, but I can still remember how excited I was when I came home from school and there it was, or when we got the engine tuned up a bit and it ran smooth. It's a bit of a shame that it should have to come to this, but I know the parts I've taken from it, both then and now, are part of the bigger picture. The guys that own the place where it's stored are going to sell it off for scrap. Oh well, it did what we needed it to do. So long, old friend.

December 3, 2011

Two weeks ago something happened. Mike and I had seen some flyers at the local Chick-Fil-A for a "Car show / Cruise-in" or something to that effect, and we decided to check it out. The whole thing was pretty small as far as number of cars on display.  We found out that it was put together by some people from a social network called Mid Florida Cruisers. I decided to join up. Going to car shows and being connected to people that are into classic cars and restoration help keeps the energy in my own project. So what does that mean in terms of action?

First of all, I checked this blog and realized that it's been a year since I found out about the parts truck still extant. I notice that I had never posted any update on that front, so here goes. I went down and looked at it sometime, I don't recall when. There are still some parts worth taking, but I think I decided it wasn't worth hauling it out of there. Sadly now it's been so long that I've forgotten exactly what I wanted to do with it. I called up the people who own the place where it's stored and said I'd be down to start taking care of it the following week, which is the week that is now gone. ( Some stuff came up for work.) I plan to go down there next week and have another look, maybe pull some stuff off of it. More updates on that to follow.

Progress on the truck itself- very little. Radiator seemed to spring a leak and magically heal itself. I started cleaning all the junk out of the bed in preparation to get moving on the restoration again, much of which has been there since I moved here a year and a half ago. Beside the fenders and other various body panels that are back there, I found two boxes of water guns, chrome rings for the wheels, shelf brackets, a vacuum, various hoses, a slingshot, a pile of brass disks, that fender from the Porsche 944, styrofoam coolers, a bird feeder, and yes, a kitchen sink. It's still an ongoing process. I've started building racks and shelves for stuff that up to now has been sitting in or on the truck. That kitchen sink will make a useful utility sink behind the garage.

In other news, at the Cruise-in I met (or re-met) a local guy that's got a restored '65 truck. He told me he had seen some parts listed for a '64 on craigslist. I was able to make it up to Osteen today to check it out. The guy had a bunch of parts left over from a restoration he and a friend of his had done. We spent maybe an hour picking through it. I got a new "Deluxe" heater (an upgrade from the "Thrift Air" heater from the parts truck), a new windshield gasket with aluminum trim, a few other gaskets, new glovebox, aftermarket fuel gauge sender, door stops, dome light lens, door and window handles, aluminum headlight bezels, a license plate light, rearview mirror, turn signal switch, horn button, door windows, vent window assemblies, and a new grille support panel. All for $100! Now I gotta find a place for all of it...
 

 Aside from all of that, my Christmas wish list is full of body panels to replace the floorboard. We'll see what happens...