Grizz's Redneck Express 1966 Chevy Short Fleetside RESTO-GO!

[Grizz1963]

Some random COVID 19 stuff done this week, outside of work.

Cut the lawn, and noticed just how bad my driveway looks....



Big difference.



Amazed how mossy the house walls were too.

Overdue for paint, since I did it in 2012 whenmI was unemployed.



Quick break for a coffee inbetween, dirty feet, thanks to back spray.



Cutting the edges in.

Every paver has to be individually done. Kills time, kills your back, shoulders and even your hands on the trigger.



Job done from side gate to street, took two days, paving still drying out.



Sunset......

[Grizz1963]

Right...

Happy times in the Randomness posted thread.

COVID 19 meals.....

Went shopping for mainly fruit and vegetables yesterday.

My shopping preference lies with the Turkish fruit and vegetable and general dealer as their prices and quality beats and rivals mainstream shops.

Had told Sally she could have a small BBQ as a reward for still working despite lockdown.

She actually has a 4 day weekend as their hours and demand has reduced somewhat recently.

So while in the Turkish shop, I got these with a plan in mind.



And some of these.



Nice size.



Making the Kebabs, they were covered in canon and Sweet Thai chilli sauce.

Red onion. Tomatoes, apricots, mushrooms, prawns



Also made a flat chicken



Fire to start with.





Chicken flipping.



Served up.

Also lamb Konte patties.

[Grizz1963]

Knowing how many of us like weird or slightly different things.

Not sure if I should add this one here.

Ford Transit Connect, launched 2002-ish in the UK.

Mate Tim likes them and is hoping to bring the Connect 6 he is building to the rescheduled gathering at Goodwood in July.

Previous creations include a Subaru Brat

https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread...r-spots-fitted

And a Chevy C10 camper.

https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread...camper-special

So when a 2002 Connect passed his radar.......

A plan was hatched.

Few random pics from Tim, in case people are interested in more.

Alongside his V12 XJS future project.
















His daily is a 2007 with a chunk of older Connect converted to a trailer for camping.

Thought it may be interesting.

[Grizz1963]

More than three weeks now the counters on my threads are stood still.


Love to know why.




Pioneer woman statue, Ponca City, Oklahoma.

Friend Andy sent this very topical warning to all who pass it.

I have driven past it a few times before COVID 19.




In other news, Dennis delivered his 66 C10 NASCAR truck yesterday to the race Car prep shop, for the roll cage to be fully welded in.

Based on one of these.......





The guys were blown away of course, Dennis being who he is, had never told them he was building this mad thing.

The motor he has fitted was Dyno tested at 850bhp



Looking forward to this coming together.

[Palf70Step]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

More than three weeks now the counters on my threads are stood still.


Love to know why.

Board software being a butt. It is random on who and when it acts up with that issue Rian. Liz and Josh are working on it though.

[Grizz1963]

Ongoing saga of cleaning my massive expanse of paving was drawing to a close.

But loads of obstructions in front of the garage to move.





Before starting that job, hedges.... spring comes and you can hear them grow.





Clean up hedge cuttings etc.

Got started in the back corner. Caravan shed was clean when parked there.



Stopped at that point, late Friday afternoon.

Saturday morning was chilly and I was so desperate to just walk away.....

Add in the spray and a gentle air movement with minimal movement myself, and it gets chilly.



Sally stopped by on her way to shops and made me a welcome coffee, then scooted off again.



Amazing how mossy and grubby the paving gets in a year.

And keep in mind, you need to clean the stones on all aspects of the bevelling in order to get a decent finish.

Plus clear the debris every 600mm or 24inches.



End in sight.




.

[Grizz1963]

And pressure cleaning job done.

Knackered.



Next job here would be brushing kiln dried sand into all the grooves and joins opened by the pressure cleaning.



But before that.......

Lifting, repairing, relaying and grouting over at Sally’s place.

I got to realise how knackered my hips, back nd various other joints are.



So much damage.



Also put up a few items I made for her in the garden.





And cross cast at Andy Martins place in Oklahoma last year.

Then back to my place late afternoon to start the sanding of the paving, before it turns and rains as it needs to be very dry.

Handy assistant, many hands make light work.



Lawn needs a cut, desperately.





.

[Grizz1963]

Interesting post storm Cloud formation from Tulsa today.




Fake smile, I had to just get out and go for a walk today.

Beard must come off soon too.

Needing change now.



At least the flowers were good along the way.



And a nice sunset.



.

[Grizz1963]

As is known by now....

Randomness rules here.

What not to like about the smell of a hard revved two stroke.

Four years after parking it up on a shelf, I pulled my Stihl chainsaw off the shelf.

Sally was there to record it.....

My laughter is at her asking if she should call the paramedics or get oxygen for the anticipated battle to start it.



Right.

You better believe this.

Old fuel

No choke

Three pulls.

And ready for action.



I put it down to warm up while I went into the garage to get my Kevlar dungarees, gloves and safety boots on, plus ear and double eye protection

Then on to the offending tree.



Forgot to remove a sign and bird feeder from the stem. Mickey was straight onto it.



Rather than load the Galaxy with branches etc, Mickey suggested we burn it piecemeal out back.



For the tree protectors, and I am one too....

The reason for cutting it down.







Eventually packed everything away and had a celebratory beer.





.

[aggie91]

Very cool. Big change on the Blazer.

[60chevyjim]

Rian it looks good , I seen the toy model of it on ebay a while ago .

I went to get a 64 66 gmc shortbed for free today. have to go back tomorrow and beat the brake drums with a slege hammer to get it to move.
all 4 wheels are locked up , it has the heavy duty 4spd granny trans and that's locked up in gear too.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by aggie91

Very cool. Big change on the Blazer.

Morning Karl,

Yes it was.

I do love to bring about these changes, and see all the guys on here as part owners, because we share so much, advice, parts, care, knowledgeable input etc.

Thanks all.

Originally Posted by 60chevyjim

Rian it looks good , I seen the toy model of it on ebay a while ago .

I went to get a 64 66 gmc shortbed for free today. have to go back tomorrow and beat the brake drums with a slege hammer to get it to move.
all 4 wheels are locked up , it has the heavy duty 4spd granny trans and that's locked up in gear too.

Wonder what the model ended up costing Jim.

If there were two on the day, I would have bought both, and brought one to the new owner in the UK.

You got lucky with the free truck, but I am pretty sure you make your own luck too.

Hope you get it all sorted easier than anticipated.


Let us know.

[Indian113]

Rian, everybody at sometime or another needs "The Smokeing Blue Wrench" ! Nice of him to give it to you.

[Palf70Step]

I've been apart of those type body jobs myself in the past.

[Modges'66]

Looks quite legit! LOL!

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

I've been apart of those type body jobs myself in the past.

Sometimes

Needs must.

Originally Posted by Modges'66

Looks quite legit! LOL!

You are right there Mike.


Random Covid-19 update.

Last two weeks have been hectic.

Working from home 100% sucks.

Non stop training, video conferences etc.

Being observed from afar........ not impressed with the video spying tbh.

The previous week we had a web conference of 300 people.

Mostly we are between 15-35 at a time.



Deceptive weather last week, with a distinct chill and a few days of frost early morning.




One of the things I needed to get my head around being in lockdown is that I am not getting the exercise I am used to daily.

So I now try to find 2 miles a day of random field/farm walking.

Using the Map my Walk app, it gives all sorts of info including a complete elevation tracker, showing any hills etc.



I have been able to see very different views around where I live.

Like this church, now a home, with its own graveyard, seen from the rear walking through the horse paddock.



Farmers work solo, cows continue to need feeding, so we can have steak on our plates.





Thames river and South end Essex over to the left of the pic.



Good news from Dennis in St Louis who lost Mollie his one dog last year, as unnamed new boy soon to join their family.





In the spirit of good neighbourliness my doorbell rang Friday afternoon, and I found a present from Mickey and Wendy next door.



Who said only the old needed care?

Steak n kidney pie and veggies, drowned in gravy.




So life is still good,


We need to continue to be sensible and ensure we do as much as possible to slow this virus down, and protect all our service industries, drivers, cleaners, healthcare, food, friends.

Be safe out there.



.

[Grizz1963]

[quote author="@ritchie" source="/post/2580427/thread" timestamp="1585239905"]This just got a couple seconds of fame in the latest Donut vid.

https://youtu.be/TkKayJqPRO8[/quote]


Seems my old 1963 Transit has just broken cover on another YouTube type channel.

I do not watch or follow the Donut videos, but may take a look as he reminds me a bit of Steve Irwin the nature guy with his energy and crazy excitement.

Me driving it near home years ago possibly as part of a video made for its sale advertisement.



Crappy screen grab off the video.

Funny how these little things make us grin.



.

[Palf70Step]

Glad to see you are still surviving Rian. It's crazy here too, although I have been kept busy with yard work. Be glad to cruise at random again. Our temp dropped last nite, but instead of 90 degrees, we are in the 70s for a day or 2. No need for fireplace though, just the AC doesn't kick in as much.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Glad to see you are still surviving Rian. It's crazy here too, although I have been kept busy with yard work. Be glad to cruise at random again. Our temp dropped last nite, but instead of 90 degrees, we are in the 70s for a day or 2. No need for fireplace though, just the AC doesn't kick in as much.

Morning Bill,

I see the view counter has stopped at 444420 the last week or so.


Yes, one needs to be sensible now, really sensible.


https://youtu.be/Svki4Rp9tlU

[Palf70Step]

What you cutting the stone with Rian, well I assume it is stone.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

What you cutting the stone with Rian, well I assume it is stone.

Aerated concrete Bill.

I use a wood saw to cut it, and various carving and scraping tools to shape it.


Any idea why the counter on my thread has stopped counting?

Thanks

[Grizz1963]

Part 2

Cutting the block to get the wheels standing out.



Bit chilly on the drive early morning



Filleted.







Carefully trimming away bit by bit.





Plan was to make the race number a 19 but the 9 is hard to do with the material so 7 it is.




Lots of time spent fine tuning and getting it just right today.


Done








Quite happy with how it all come out.


.

[Palf70Step]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

Aerated concrete Bill.

I use a wood saw to cut it, and various carving and scraping tools to shape it.


Any idea why the counter on my thread has stopped counting?

Thanks

Not sure about the post counter Rian. I'll check with the boss folks.

[aggie91]

Very Cool carvings. What kind of material is it that you can cut with a hand saw?

I just shaved part of my COVID beard off, now it is just a goatee. My issue is COVID hair, I need a hair cut in a bad way, NO barber shops are open because of this damn virus...

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by aggie91

Very Cool carvings. What kind of material is it that you can cut with a hand saw?

I just shaved part of my COVID beard off, now it is just a goatee. My issue is COVID hair, I need a hair cut in a bad way, NO barber shops are open because of this damn virus...

Hi Karl

It is a non structural building block.

Aerated concrete.


Depending on spec it will be harder.



SOCIAL DISTANCING



ISOLATION



ALONE



SOLO



Been staying in touch with our man Andy in Tulsa, Oklahoma


He is looking after his health, staying alone, avoiding potential infections.


At over 70 years of age, his risk is increased.


Today he was making hay.


Maybe too soon though.








Dodge was not able.


Dodge and FJ together failed.





Up to the plate stepped a 72 year old.......


Ready to save the day.


Pushing and pulling






Hero of the day.





It was a good day for Andy.