Not Another Rebuild Thread....

[Modges'66]

Enough with vacation already!
You need to spend a fraction of the time off working on your baby!
All kidding aside, hope you are having a great time!

[markeb01]

It was great meeting you at the Goodguys show. Sorry we couldn't stick around to meet your better half but mine was running on no sleep and works the graveyard shift. A lot of cool innovations on your Pontiac, maybe we can see the other one too next year? Hope your vacation turns out to be relaxing and a lot of fun.

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by b2948kevin

Hey, thanks for the call-out McMurphy! I've always said that what I lack in skill, I make up in motivation. Someday I will have that nice heated 2,000 Sq. Ft. shop out back that I can work on these in, but for now, I have to make do with a driveway

BTW, your build is coming along super quickly! Your parts look good and I just can't believe how much progress you've made. Keep it up!

Aye, some day I too will have an awesome shop to do awesome work in... or at least I hope I get up to awesome work Heheheh!!

Originally Posted by CRGRS 66

Hope you have a great vacation, how about you get your lovely to take a picture of you and markeb, and or others to post up when you are back on?
While we have our own military, we are mindful of the importance of our big brother to the south. Thank you to you and your wife for your contribution to maintaining the security, and the liberty we enjoy here in Canada. Enjoy your leave, you deserve every minute of it!

Vacation was great, and meeting Markb and Captain Fab was for me the highlight of the Goodguys show!! Both these gentlemen were very gracious and fun to talk with. Mark even invited me to sit in his truck, but it was enough for me to just see it with my own eyes, even though I felt like I knew the whole rig from inside out.
And to say that it was deliciously hot that weekend would be an understatement! I think I finally thawed out all my Alaska frozen bones while we were home.

Originally Posted by dbomb53

Checklist for McMurphy when he's back: motor, wiring, YouTube Video!

I think first on the list will be getting all the clutch stuff and a tranny cross member and getting the power plant back on the frame.

Originally Posted by chad64chevy

vacation sounds nice right about now, lol!! take lots of pics for us! have a great time and we'll see you when you get back!!

Nothing in the world can beat 30 days of paid vacation, but dang it goes fast !!!!

Originally Posted by coulter

I wouldnt say that at all man.. you have done alot of really nice fab work and have some really cool ideas!!! cant wait to see how the rest turns out

Stay tuned, I am soon to be back at it!!

Originally Posted by clemdaddy

you have all the skills necessary and it shows in your work. plus a hugh amount of vision to make it unique.

be safe in your slice of heaven and hurry back to us...

and by the way, the wife is speaking to me again and the cat is fine.

Imagination is just day dreaming on the side of hill without the stubborness and hard work to make the dreams reality.

Originally Posted by Modges'66

Enough with vacation already!
You need to spend a fraction of the time off working on your baby!
All kidding aside, hope you are having a great time!

Ok ... Ok !!

Originally Posted by markeb01

It was great meeting you at the Goodguys show. Sorry we couldn't stick around to meet your better half but mine was running on no sleep and works the graveyard shift. A lot of cool innovations on your Pontiac, maybe we can see the other one too next year? Hope your vacation turns out to be relaxing and a lot of fun.

Sir, it was fantastic meeting you and your lovely family that day, and yes it was a shame you had to leave so early. Not that the show got any better mind you, but there could have been beer...... LOL
Thanks for letting me see your truck, that rig is so sweet and the amount of work you have put into it is amazing. Kudos my friend !!

I will try to put up some photos this week of Vacation before I dive back into my build, but as a bit of a teaser....

I really gotta send a shout-out to the people of Spokane, they are among the nicest people I think I have ever lived around. They really know how to appreciate things, be it Soldiers, or old classic cars!! We were lucky enough to be both of those for them.

This is what it looks like to lead the pack!!


This is what it must be like to come in first place !!


Being the pace car, and being asked to do it in my Army uniform was a true honor, and if any of the SRP racers see this..... Thank you !!

[CRGRS 66]

Well McMurph, a hearty welcome back!

[Chad215]

wow, welcome back- that was so cool to be the pace car, not many folks can say they have had that kind of experience! Bet your lady really enjoyed it too.

[Modges'66]

WELCOME BACK!!!
Now get to work on your truck!!
Ha-Ha!

[flips72]

welcome back, i bet the pace car experience was awesome now like modge said get to work

[C@rnut001]

Cool pictures of your pace car experience! Thanks for sharing and good luck getting back at your build!

[Captainfab]

I really enjoyed being able to visit with you and your wife and the show. Yeah I think we all got a good 'thawing out'

That was very cool that you were asked to be the pace car at SRP. I'm glad to see you made it back even though it also means back to work for you both.

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by CRGRS 66

Well McMurph, a hearty welcome back!

Thanks !!

Originally Posted by Chad215

wow, welcome back- that was so cool to be the pace car, not many folks can say they have had that kind of experience! Bet your lady really enjoyed it too.

It was an honor to do it, and moreso in uniform.
Good memories all around !!

Originally Posted by Modges'66

WELCOME BACK!!!
Now get to work on your truck!!
Ha-Ha!

Yes dear.....

Originally Posted by flips72

welcome back, i bet the pace car experience was awesome now like modge said get to work

Yes dear .... Hahahah

Originally Posted by C@rnut001

Cool pictures of your pace car experience! Thanks for sharing and good luck getting back at your build!

wow you guys are a progress hungry pack!!

Originally Posted by Captainfab

I really enjoyed being able to visit with you and your wife and the show. Yeah I think we all got a good 'thawing out'

That was very cool that you were asked to be the pace car at SRP. I'm glad to see you made it back even though it also means back to work for you both.

Thanks John, it was fantastic to get to meet you too. Thanks for hanging out and visiting, too bad it was almost too hot to really relax and roam around looking at the cars.

So....
Not only did I accomplish a task of rebuilding a 20x25 hay shed that the roof had collapsed on back in 2009, but I also got an awesome deal on a 15 year old CASE 580SK Turbo backhoe. Ahhhh the things I will do with that bad boy!!

I also picked up this old man for $650....



It is a 1955 two ton dump bed. I doubt there is much I can do with the engine, it is a IL6 of unknown size, but the spark plugs were pulled out of it some time ago, so it probably wont even turn. But that is Ok. It will be an after retirement project and by then I will most likely be dropping a diesel in it.




This is my Tempest sitting on a bridge across one of our creeks on the land we are going to retire on.


This is my wife's 1972 LeMans Sport fresh from the restoration. It is still missing the GTO fin on the back that it is supposed to have but they are on back order and her old one was cracked very badly so we did not have it put back on.

[McMurphy]

The truck is very solid, and except for the driver side wing window all the glass is there and intact. The plan is for it to be a primary farm truck, with a secondary mission of getting our cars to shows in the Seattle-Portland and Boise-Missoula areas. The hope is to be able to hook up to a 20 foot tilt bed trailer we got, and drive one car up onto the truck, and trailer the other behind, hence the plan for a diesel engine upgrade.

But time will tell...

On a build note for my 66 Stepside here, I just bought a plasma cutter last night to help with body work and all that fabbing stuff I been doing. Last weekend was my 49th birthday, so as much as I really wanted to get out on my truck, celebrating that took presidence....at my wife's insistance.
So gotta make the wife happy ~some times~ I guess.

A few more pics of the vacation and I will stop, I promise.

This is the shed walls that we were able to salvage from the roof cave in, after we cleaned it all out and were in the midst of pouring concrete footers for the new pillar posts.



We used 6x6s for the pillars, and strung 3 headers made from 2x10s left to right across the back, middle, and front. Then we hung 2x6s between those with 3/8 press board roof, tar paper, sealer, and then the roofing tin.



All done here! If this roof caves in, I quit !!!!
Next year I will put in the man-door and partial wall on the left side, and am going to do a car sized awning door on the right. (awning door will swing up and have legs so when fully open will be an awning or "car port" kind of set up)


This spot is just a few paces from where our camper sits, and yes, I do keep my beer in the creek !!



This is the 7 foot waterfall on the other creek, this is about as low as it gets in high summer. About 40 feet past this water fall as you see it in the picture is the bridge where I shot the pic of the Tempest.


Anyways, enough of the boring you all with my bragging.... it was 30 days of pure bliss and we hate to leave it every time!!
Next stop there will be in May, when we go back and we will be doing Bloomsday!!

As always, thanks for taking a look you guys!

[markeb01]

Other than the cosmetics of paint the 55 looks to be a nice solid truck. I love the photo of the Pontiac on the bridge. Other than us not having a bridge, it looks almost identical to our old driveway in Idaho. Whoever did the work on your wife’s car did a beautiful job. Are you ever going to go back to pure stock with original wheels, or just keep it fun like it is?

I’m glad to see you made it home safely, even if vacation is over. The months between now and retirement should go really fast though.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

And the photos are hardly boring, those are very cool. Thanks for sharing. That bench next to the “crick” looks very inviting.

[Captainfab]

Happy belated birthday Mike

You have a very nice piece of property to retire on......I am a little jealous.

I am glad to see the body guy got your wife's LeMans done before you had to leave. The way he was talking at the show, I didn't think it was going to happen that soon. It looks awesome.

[C@rnut001]

Thanks for sharing your vacation pics...it is great to see what you got done and where you will retire. The 55 looks like a solid truck to build up for farm and towing use. I have to say that your wife's LeMans is an awesome ride! I also have to say it was great to see how you cool your beer....LOL... Anyway, thanks for sharing and we like seeing your cars and where you all will retire. Keep it up and keep the wife happy, you can tell that she supports your habit for cars and trucks...(some are not so lucky....).

[Chad215]

Congratulations on the retirement spread, looks really nice. I'm definitely jealous.

[CRGRS 66]

Thanks for sharing McMurph! Beer cooling in the stream... very cool!

[Bomp]

Happy belated birthday. Got to meet up with ya when you come down to Portland. Im an hour south.
Love the property just don't know how you got a piece of Heaven.
Posted via Mobile Device

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by markeb01

Other than the cosmetics of paint the 55 looks to be a nice solid truck. I love the photo of the Pontiac on the bridge. Other than us not having a bridge, it looks almost identical to our old driveway in Idaho. Whoever did the work on your wife’s car did a beautiful job. Are you ever going to go back to pure stock with original wheels, or just keep it fun like it is?

I’m glad to see you made it home safely, even if vacation is over. The months between now and retirement should go really fast though.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

And the photos are hardly boring, those are very cool. Thanks for sharing. That bench next to the “crick” looks very inviting.

The 55 has some damage, looks to be a tree fell on it at some point and dented the hood and the p-side of the cab. With all that I am learning on this 66 build, I think I can repair it all. The plan is to buff out the original paint, shoot some rattle can flat black for accents, and concentrate on the power and drive ability of it.
Trish wants the classic Cragar SS rims eventually, but she really likes the turbines that are on there. You know me, I dont mind them, but I would not hesitate to dress them up some either!
23 Months till retirement, unless the Army gets wise and promotes me!
If you think that "crick" looks inviting, just wait till I get the swimming pond fully dug out! Next year you gotta stop by and join me down there for one of those beers !!

Originally Posted by Captainfab

Happy belated birthday Mike

You have a very nice piece of property to retire on......I am a little jealous.

I am glad to see the body guy got your wife's LeMans done before you had to leave. The way he was talking at the show, I didn't think it was going to happen that soon. It looks awesome.

Oh yeah, it was a close call on getting the car!!
She got to drive it for 2 whole days !!! and it still isnt done yet.... All in all though, he did incredible work and aside from it running 5k over the initial quote, I really could not be happier with the quality work he did on it. Next year while we are up there he will install the fin and then it will be complete!

Originally Posted by C@rnut001

Thanks for sharing your vacation pics...it is great to see what you got done and where you will retire. The 55 looks like a solid truck to build up for farm and towing use. I have to say that your wife's LeMans is an awesome ride! I also have to say it was great to see how you cool your beer....LOL... Anyway, thanks for sharing and we like seeing your cars and where you all will retire. Keep it up and keep the wife happy, you can tell that she supports your habit for cars and trucks...(some are not so lucky....).

Carnut, if you ever get a chance to come down to Spokane, I would hope you look me up! You are among many of the guys on this site that would be MOST welcome to pull a beer out of my creek !! LOL

Originally Posted by Chad215

Congratulations on the retirement spread, looks really nice. I'm definitely jealous.

Thanks Chad, but really, if you cannot dream of something nice, then what the heck is all that hard work for ?!?!?!?!?!?

Originally Posted by CRGRS 66

Thanks for sharing McMurph! Beer cooling in the stream... very cool!

Come up and pull one out man, we will toast the board and all the great builds here that bring us together !!

Originally Posted by Bomp

Happy belated birthday. Got to meet up with ya when you come down to Portland. Im an hour south.
Love the property just don't know how you got a piece of Heaven.
Posted via Mobile Device

I would love that Bomp, but if we get within arms reach of your build, we may never leave... the work you do is incredible. You make me feel like a sell out when I use any bondo at all ! LOL


Ok so... I was not sure where to start on my build, but then I had an epiphany and realized it would behoove me to roll this bad boy out and hit it with the pressure washer before the snow flies, or suffer the dust and dirt like I did last winter with the rest of the frame, body, and well everything !
So this is the first time in a year it has been outside!
comeing up on one whole year of ownership this month !! Wow the things I have done, and what I have yet to do !!


So yesterday I was working on my dash extension, just putzing around with it doing some hammer and dolly work to make it better, and today picked it back up....until the wife came down and offered to help.
I put her on grinder detail for the trailing arms until about 10 minutes into it she asked "How hard would it be to take these off so I can work on them better?"
So we found out how hard (not) and totally tore the rear suspension apart !!


I looked at this and thought, man I never would have belived I would tear a vehicle apart as much as I have this truck !! Man this is fun !!!


Rolled out the rear end, started taking it apart for new brake lines, cleaning and paint.


Well at this point, if everything is going to get paint, then EVERYTHING is going to get paint !!! I have decided that I do not like rust, and even a crappy paint job will protect better than bare metal so ......



Tomorrow is get some parts, and haul the transmission in to get all the right parts for it. Going to need a flywheel, clutch plate, clutch...and other stuff I dont really know about yet.
Then it will be time to the drop engine in !

Thanks for looking guys!

[flips72]

truck is looking great, glad your back at it. and by the way, absolutly love the retirement spot it looks very peaceful and quite.

[Bomp]

Thats the way,,,,,,,Jump in with both feet,,,,,Never look back,,,,,,ENJOY,,BUILD,,FABRICATE
and a good motor/assembly manual helps too.
I envy your enthusiasm.
Great work!

[clemdaddy]

Come up and pull one out man, we will toast the board and all the great builds here that bring us together !!

man, ain't that the truth...




with the pressure washer before the snow flies, or suffer the dust and dirt like I did last winter with the rest of the frame, body, and well everything !

snow flies... it's still summer, isn't it? you're right, its time to put in the firewood. damn, it goes too quick.

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by flips72

truck is looking great, glad your back at it. and by the way, absolutly love the retirement spot it looks very peaceful and quite.

thanks Flips, we absolutley love it there and cannot wait to retire onto it.

Originally Posted by Bomp

Thats the way,,,,,,,Jump in with both feet,,,,,Never look back,,,,,,ENJOY,,BUILD,,FABRICATE
and a good motor/assembly manual helps too.
I envy your enthusiasm.
Great work!

And I envy your skills man !! Thanks for the encouragement, it helps some days more than I can say!

Originally Posted by C@rnut001

Great progress man! Keep it up. If I ever get down your way, I will have to look you up. Your work looks good and it was a great idea to get her cleaned up and ready for all of your work this winter.

come on down Carnut! I keep beer cold in the frige and coffee in the pot! We will stand around and talk shop !!

Originally Posted by clemdaddy

... it's still summer, isn't it? you're right, its time to put in the firewood. damn, it goes too quick.

too dang quick if you ask me!

**********************************************************

Pretty sure the only thing I need now for my power train is a transmission cross member.

I am not 100% sure my welding skills are good enough for me to make one, though I am kicking that idea around.
I am also going to cut the [ < () > ] in my center cross member to pass my exhaust thru like I have seen some guys do [ <o()o> ] ... you get the idea .... and I want the tranny mount to clear that mod as well.

Any suggestions?

I am thinking about the Camaro headers for exhaust by the way....

In the garage right now I am working on finishing up my rear end work, I am really digging it, just need to get another brake line fitted. I had to stop the other night because I was not giving the paint enough time to dry. Grrrrrrrr

After the rear end is re-installed, I will assemble my transmission and marry it up to the motor.

Ahhhh the best is yet to come !

[C@rnut001]

Great progress man! Keep it up. If I ever get down your way, I will have to look you up. Your work looks good and it was a great idea to get her cleaned up and ready for all of your work this winter.

[chad64chevy]

well thanks for check in on me mike, happy b-day and tell the wife happy b-day as well!! you have some really nice cars as well as land, when ever you come to oklahoma you have to let me know!! i got my wiring harness today i was surprized, i didnt think i would get it for another week!!

if you go with shorty headers or mid-length headers you will be ok to run your exhaust thru you trailer arm crossmember, as long as your exhaust doesnt hang below your frame you wont have to make to many bends in it! what kind of trans do you have?? there are some you can buy pretty cheap that will bolt right in!!

[Modges'66]

Looking very good!
Glad to see that you are back at it!
You gotta cherish the fact that your wifey digs it too!...How cool is that!
you have a good gig going there, Keep her happy!