Process of Change 68

[catmull32]

I think it is a great honor to be a part of such a wonderful forum. First of all, I would like to thank all those that contribute to making this forum possible and for allowing me the opportunity to create this build thread. Now, let me introduce myself. I live in Idaho and have been a member of this forum for two years. I am the very lucky dad of two beautiful children, six year old Audrey and four year old Liam. Last year Audrey was diagnosed with Autism. Fortunately the Autism doesn't define her, but it does come with its hurdles. One thing that is for sure...Audrey sure doesn't seem to be unhappy. She is happy and sweet, nothing will stand in her way.
This fall Audrey entered school. We knew due to Audrey’s disability that not just any public school could provide her with the extra attention she deserves. My wife and I searched for a school that would be able to attend to Audrey’s special needs. After searching we discovered that not even a mile from our house was a school specializing in teaching children diagnosed with Autism and other developmental disabilities. We made an appointment to visit the school to talk with the teacher. After talking with the teacher, reviewing the agenda and touring the school we decided that Process of Change was the school our daughter needed to be enrolled in. Audrey was registered and we began to prepare for the beginning of the school year. Unfortunately a couple of weeks before classes were scheduled to begin we were notified that due to state cut backs Process of Change would not be able to offer classes this year. To say that we were disappointed would be an understatement. In rural Idaho a school for children with developmental disabilities is rare and one located just across town from our home is even rarer. We had no other choice but to enroll Audrey in the regular public school. Although the Audrey’s teacher has been awesome she doesn’t have the time nor training to devote to Audrey and offer her the one on one attention that she needs. I understand that if she spent more time with Audrey she would be doing a disservice to the other twenty eight kiddos in her class who also need her attention and help. For this reason Audrey would benefit so much from a school like Process of Change or any other school devoted to teaching children with developmental disabilities. These schools have the staff, training and experience needed to successfully teach special little children like Audrey.
Feeling frustrated about the situation I decided to talk with the individuals in charge of running Process of Change to see if there was anything I could do to help them with reopening the school. They told me that their school was state funded and due to the state cut backs they could no longer afford to pay for the full time teacher with a special education degree. I left and went home that night pondering on what I could do to help raise money to donate to the school to pay for their teacher. I sat down on the couch and turned on the Speed channel. It just so happened to be a re prod cast of the Barrett Jackson car auction. The car that was on the block was being auctioned for a charity. As I watched the bids grow the answer to my question came to me. I would build a truck and use it to create a fund raiser. At the time I didn’t know what kind of fund raiser I would create. I just knew that it would revolve around a classic truck. I pondered on the subject for a few days. I asked my wife if she had any ideas. She told me that the only fundraiser she had participated in was the relay for life. The relay for life was created to generate money through donations to help cancer research. I thought about the relay and wondered why I couldn’t do something similar with my truck. I could except pledges for every mile I drive in a twenty four hour period. I would document the buildup of the truck and begin to except pledges while it is being built. Once the truck was completed I could cruise the truck on a predetermined route nonstop for 24 hours racking up as many miles as possible. With every mile I would be helping Process of Change become closer to reopening.
It sounded like a good idea. Now all I need to do was find a truck worthy of restoring to take on such a task. That is where my journey of finding and restoring a 68 Chevy pickup began. I knew I wanted either a 1967 or 1968. I started searching the local craigslist and combing the countryside for the perfect truck. After looking for some time the perfect truck finally came up. I called the seller and set up a time to stop by and check it out. The truck was fairly straight and besides a little rust in the right rocker was rust free. A deal was struck and I became the third owner of a 1968 Chevy c10 pick.
This all leads to where I am today. I just wanted to give a summary of how my journey began. I hope all those that follow this build will enjoy hearing about my day to day adventures of restoring my 68 Chevy pickup both big or small and good or bad. Oh and by the way please forgive my terrible writing! It was never my strong point. Enjoy....