New Guy - Grizz1963 signing in from Rochester, KENT

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by markeb01

I agree, 2nd wood design looks pretty cool. Amazing results on that mangled sign. What an improvement!

Hi Mark,
Thanks..... I am quite comfortable doing cosmetic stuff and love resto work on anything.
It is the Suck Bang Blow side of the trucks and clever suspension stuff that stumps me.
Hence the learning here from you guys.

[Grizz1963]

Well, got a video from the guy who knows about the truck I am interested.

At this point the owner does not know I am interested yet

Youtube link.

Let me know what you guys think.

http://youtu.be/ndlTB_RsqSA


Cheers,

Rian

[Captainfab]

It's a little difficult to see much in the video, but overall it doesn't look too bad. There are a few issues with the body, but hopefully nothing to serious. I'm not sure if it was just the camera, but the panel above the grill looks like it may not be straight? (ie: bent and damaged) I did not notice a good shot of the area above the windshield. With the amount of moisture you guys ahve over there, that may be a concern as that is an area that can rust out, and be a major job to fix.

It does seem to start and run well. Does the trans work well and does it drive well?

[luvbowties]

Originally Posted by luvbowties

Welcome, Grizz and hope your visits on here are happy. I love the Anglia, with a big PLUS for the 'under 40k miles'! It looks really too nice to alter; but I just gotta say it looks like it would be a neat place to hide a small-block Chevy. I think, with our help on here, you could be directed to add the v-8 with a 700R4 and get some fantastic gas mileage....and your follow-posts and final product would then make us all 'eat our hearts out'.
When this project is complete and ready for disposal, I want 1st chance.
I'm already brainstorming for a cool left-handed shifter for the 700!
Sam

Hi again, Grizz. Be sure to work out all the bugs on "my car"--the Anglia, of course.

Surely don't wish it to suffer what the "moss-covered" van met with!

Lemme know how much (how little?) for my Anglia--with free shipping, of course!

Seriously, been interesting reading your posts and esp. the pics. Keep 'em coming...and best of luck with your and wifey's truck-purchase.
Sam

[Jackjohn]

Welcome, nice rides,lov the van.

John
Posted via Mobile Device

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

It's a little difficult to see much in the video, but overall it doesn't look too bad. There are a few issues with the body, but hopefully nothing to serious. I'm not sure if it was just the camera, but the panel above the grill looks like it may not be straight? (ie: bent and damaged) I did not notice a good shot of the area above the windshield. With the amount of moisture you guys ahve over there, that may be a concern as that is an area that can rust out, and be a major job to fix.

It does seem to start and run well. Does the trans work well and does it drive well?

I need to speak to the contact guy again tomorrow about the truck, he made the video for me too.

I believe the engine and gearbox are sound. The starter works 8/10 times. Someone mentioned that these V8's do eat starter motors, but maybe it is just about seeing it fitted and serviced correctly.

Originally Posted by luvbowties

Hi again, Grizz. Be sure to work out all the bugs on "my car"--the Anglia, of course.

Surely don't wish it to suffer what the "moss-covered" van met with!

Lemme know how much (how little?) for my Anglia--with free shipping, of course!

Seriously, been interesting reading your posts and esp. the pics. Keep 'em coming...and best of luck with your and wifey's truck-purchase.
Sam

Hey Sam, seems like you should really be the owner of the Anglia.
WRT price, it will go into the market at non negotiable £3k, but if people want to negotiate.... that price is £3500

Originally Posted by Jackjohn

Welcome, nice rides,lov the van.

John
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks mate.

I love the van too, but we really only want one toy now, times have changed and an American Pickup is the answer.


Kieth commented on another thread:

Nice looking SWB Fleetside, just the typical bottom rust, as long as it is not too bad it should be a really nice truck. Does it run ? if so drive it home (except for the ferry) or course......................Kieth

Yes Kieth, if you look at the video there is some cosmetic work, but hopefully it will be part of the negotiation and something I can address in time.


I just found some old scanned pics of the 1963 VW Beetle that I repainted and restored about 21 years ago.

Pics are not great, but you should get the idea.





A bit of rust to deal with.

I redid the bottom of the door pillars 4 and 6 times respectively as I could not get it right.



I was still nursing at the time, and my wife had been looking forward to 3 weeks holiday..... instead I took 3 weeks to restore the Beetle singlehandedly, only had the carpet set and upholstery done.
I had never done bodywork before, so was pleased with the outcomes.

The black Poodle was my assistant and best buddy at the time.





Completedin Mercedes Benz 450 SLC two pack paint.



I hope to be able to address any bodywork and paint issues myself.

It is the mechanical stuff like engine and gearboxes that screw with my mind.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by luvbowties

Hi again, Grizz. Be sure to work out all the bugs on "my car"--the Anglia, of course.

Surely don't wish it to suffer what the "moss-covered" van met with!

Lemme know how much (how little?) for my Anglia--with free shipping, of course!

Seriously, been interesting reading your posts and esp. the pics. Keep 'em coming...and best of luck with your and wifey's truck-purchase.
Sam

Few more pics of Myrtles insides for you.

Brutal 1200cc engine.



Boot floor..... note absence of rust.



No airbags......

[Grizz1963]

Picked this pic off the Spotted trucks thread.....

Which models got these colored side panels/flashes ?

I really love two tone cars and these flashes do it for me.

Were they on a specific model, or a dealer option ?




And this one....

[Grizz1963]

Bought me a '62 today

Went to various shops and eventually found one at ASDA (Walmart)

I really am quite impatient about finding a truck and then owning an playing with it.

[Grizz1963]

Well, the whole planning thing is creeping forward slowly.

I ordered a large wall map (1100mm x 740mm) for my office, on which I can start to get a feel for the vastness of the USA and to get an idea of where I am looking for trucks in relation to the export harbors.

If you have any opinions on where to look vs not to look, based on rust, abuse etc, please do add in comments.

Ideally it should be as rust free as possible when we find the right truck.

[Ta2Don]

For less rust I would concentrate on Texas and the Southwest, just my 2 cents worth. Have fun with your search!
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[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

For less rust I would concentrate on Texas and the Southwest, just my 2 cents worth. Have fun with your search!
Posted via Mobile Device

Hi Don, you are right, I am having fun.

Today I went out with Myrtle the 56 Ford Anglia over to the farm to make a short video clip of her to be added to the for sale thread, as people had mentioned the first one was too short.

Here she is on YouTube.


http://youtu.be/hIM1OJVH9rw

Cheers.

[Grizz1963]

Some of you may know that I collect old number plates, and have done so for a long time. I also trade (swop) internationally.

Those that don't...... well, it includes early plates from the USA, some old black and white plates South African apartheid era and some "R" plates from the old SA military (Unobtainable) Japanese, German, American, European, Carribean etc....

My best plate is an actual American Purple Heart plate that was given to me by an amazing guy in Arkansas, he had been wounded twice on different occasions in Vietnam, so earned two. He just PM'd me out of the blue one day and offered me one as he was going back to original plates on his 32 Coupe.

Today though.....the postman delivered

These two plates are the ones I wanted most desperately for years, and the condition as mentioned, is perfect. I love used plates.

They are right behind my Purple Heart plate on my list of favourite ever plates.






One went straight up, and the other one will have to wait as I am planning a bit of rearranging, getting all my rare and unusual plates together and sticking stuff like novelty plates and dealer plates together.

I think my next search will be for some Chevy dealer show plates.

Something like these in this pic.

Love the Parker one.

[Grizz1963]

Thought I would add this bit in here as well, sure some of you guys do more than just weld up rusted wrecks


Spent some quality time in the shed again today.

Did some Rat-repairs, then worked on the lathe the rest of the afternoon.

Last year we had rats in the loft for about two weeks max until Harley went up the loft ladder and patrolled up there, they left as fast as they came but they had wreaked havoc, and chewed up a load of my Dinky Toys, and other personal stuff that was stored up there.

Harley on her way up.....



This bowl was actually a trophy I was awarded about 11 years ago, but the rats chewed up the part where my name had been laser cut along with the details..... so I decided to cut the damage which fortunately was on both sides, off and then drilled some huge holes in the sides to balance the look out a bit. Unfortunately it was not a very neat job, but hey, the fruit aint fussy.



Then back to the lathe.

Firstly made a small wooden ashtray with a lid for my mate Tim from a single piece of Tulip wood.

The idea is to turn the lid and bowl off the same mounting and to separate the lid from the rear and then to continue and make the bowl to fit the lid.

No reason, just nice to challenge myself.



Separated



Bowl turned, lid finished off.



Branded.



Done.
Natural wood crack in this case is a feature to show lid and bowl was one, normally it would be consigned to the fire wood pile.




Next up I wanted to make Nicola a Valentines Candle stick. She loves her candles, and I have not made her one for a while.

I wanted to create a stem with a pair of "Captive Rings" to symbolize our union and the candle..... who knows? Passion, Fire, a beacon ?

Started with some lumps of wood



The base also gets stylized rings.



I usually pre-plan the cuts by penciling them onto the wood and then grooving the marks.



Base done.



Next up was the stem.

Starting here..... I first rough shape it, and get the one end down to the size of where it will fit onto the base.



Then mark out where the rings and shapes will be cut.



Cut the basic shapes and also sanded down to fine sand paper as the next part is a lot trickier, separating the rings from the stem.



Rings successfully separated, and sanded and waxed.



Finally assemble base and stem, one more polish and then bring indoors to test out.

[Grizz1963]

Last year Mickey was chopping out some trees in his garden, all the stems and stumps are mine to turn into firewood.

One of the stumps was quite gnarly, so I set it aside in the shed to dry out.

Today I decided to make a candle stick for a mate, and cut it to shape on the bandsaw, then set it up on the lathe, rough gouging it to shape and then turning it in such a way as to maintain as much of the character as I could.
Of course I had cracked while drying in the shed, but that adds to its appeal.

I will be trying to make it so that it can be used as both a conventional candle stick, as well as a tealight holder...... women like that sort of stuff.

Unfortunately I did not take a photo of the stump before I started working it.

[img width=768 height=1024]http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm90/niknakpix/bicycles/stump_zpsff1bf07c.jpg[/img]


[img width=768 height=1024]http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm90/niknakpix/bicycles/stump1_zpsfada6573.jpg[/img]

Base of the candle stick.....

[img width=768 height=1024]http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm90/niknakpix/bicycles/stump2_zps299e26d0.jpg[/img]

And done....

[img width=768 height=1024]http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm90/niknakpix/bicycles/stump3_zpseafabd05.jpg[/img]



In other news, Nicola came home a bit earlier today, and when she saw the candlestick, she asked if I could make a small bowl for her.

Of course I obliged.

Chunk of laminated oak.



Got to this point, liked it, but it was not what I had planned.

Needed a bit more detail.



And done.

Still needed a bit of finishing and another coat of wax.

[Grizz1963]

I am planning to do my garage in the style of an old petrol station forecourt when Nicola lets me add the carport I want to the front of it.

I have not been successful in finding and buying a vintage petrol pump to restore yet.

However, this morning I had a rather large delivery by overnight courier.....

Pepsi can is for perspective, as is my latest "bush find" roadworks sign..... one I had eyed for about 6 months where roadworks were done a year ago.

MOT test center sign is embossed and a relic of the 60's, new ones are just vinyl stickers.

This one is solid, thick aluminium.



This sign will be just perfect for my creation, along with various others I have collected over time.



A massive thank you to mate Tim for donating it to my ongoing madness.

[luvbowties]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

I am planning to do my garage in the style of an old petrol station forecourt when Nicola lets me add the carport I want to the front of it.

I have not been successful in finding and buying a vintage petrol pump to restore yet.

However, this morning I had a rather large delivery by overnight courier.....

Pepsi can is for perspective, as is my latest "bush find" roadworks sign..... one I had eyed for about 6 months where roadworks were done a year ago.

MOT test center sign is embossed and a relic of the 60's, new ones are just vinyl stickers.

This one is solid, thick aluminium.



This sign will be just perfect for my creation, along with various others I have collected over time.



A massive thank you to mate Tim for donating it to my ongoing madness.

As you Brits might say, "But are you quite certain you are going to possess the hours for restoring such a classic pickup?"
...enjoying your posts...
sam

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by luvbowties

As you Brits might say, "But are you quite certain you are going to possess the hours for restoring such a classic pickup?"
...enjoying your posts...
sam

Hi Sam,

Thanks for the reply.

Just a quick bit of "housekeeping" I am not British, born and bred in South Africa, transferred here in 2002, and now a naturalized citizen on Mud Island. Loving it, living in a first world country where a sign like the one above can be posted at 11.00 yesterday and delivered to my door by 09.00 next day, where I can order an item off Ebay, Amazon etc and know it will be delivered to my home, intact..... not broken, stolen or reduced in size/volume.

WRT time allocated to hobbies..... I think it is sometimes a frame of mind thing.
I am currently unemployed due to redundancy, and the UK job market in my game being very slow.

That however, does allow me to make specially ordered items on the lathe, or various other things I make etc.

I once did a Beetle resto and respray over 21 days, 12 hours a day / 7 days a week, and at night I would sit in front of the telly with my ex wife, polishing an item etc.



When I built the teardrop trailer I would get up at 04.30 in summer and work a few hours, then shower etc, off to work, and at night a few more hours.


I am sure that when we get our truck, there will be holdups for spares from the USA that I can do nothing about, but the rest of it will be up to me to find time for.

I am sure you guys will be there to cheer and motivate me anyway

[jamesrussell26]

welcome grizz and welcome to the madness

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by jamesrussell26

welcome grizz and welcome to the madness

Thanks James.

Trust me, a lot less madness here than many forums I frequent.


I have been looking for an old petrol/diesel pump to restore for some time, and recently nearly had one, the idea is to create a dummy gargae forecourt outside my garage.


Right.......

Never as easy as it seems, is it ?

After agreeing to buy this pump, I realized the Dipchit who "sold" it to me did not own the property any more. So I was gutted, and had to walk away from it.

Of course I did try to get hold the new owner through the selling agency.... typical, trust me, I would not support them given a chance.

Today I had to get to a job interview after dropping Nicola off at work, the route to Basingstoke 90 miles away, took me past the site of the old pump, and I noted that the buildings were being demolished..... so I decided to go via the site on the way back from the interview, and a visit to my mate Oldone, who builds High end Mazda Rotary racing and drag engines...... He was just finishing off a little job that saw him remove a V8 from a Sit up and Beg Anglia Pop, and replace it with a small 1146cc rotary engine, built for reliability that will deliver around 140 bhp to the little body.



I ended up speaking to one of the guys on site who was removing the asbestos sheets, and he said he would ask the boss tomorrow to see if he would be prepared to sell the pump to me.
Fingers crossed..... and that he does not come up with a stupid price. I would be obliged to walk away.





Lets see what the next 24 hours brings.

I would be dead chuffed if I get to buy this pump for sensible money.

[markeb01]

Nice to see you have a lot of varied interests. That is a cool looking Anglia. Back in 1965 there was an unmolested pure stock original parked in a driveway on the way to high school. It was very dark blue (almost black), but wasn't for sale. Good luck on the gas pump, they can certainly make an interesting display and great conversation starter.

[Ta2Don]

Grizz, you have some sick skills with the woodworking, hope you find a truck soon, interested to see what you come up with.
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[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by markeb01

Nice to see you have a lot of varied interests. That is a cool looking Anglia. Back in 1965 there was an unmolested pure stock original parked in a driveway on the way to high school. It was very dark blue (almost black), but wasn't for sale. Good luck on the gas pump, they can certainly make an interesting display and great conversation starter.

Never heard from them today.......

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Grizz, you have some sick skills with the woodworking, hope you find a truck soon, interested to see what you come up with.
Posted via Mobile Device
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks Don, as they say on TV..... I try.

Here is a photoshop rendition of what I plan to do to the front of my garage when my wife allows me...... she is protecting the creepers.

The photo was taken from a ladder in the neighbours property after a dusting of snow.





The idea is that the gable on the carport is actually much lower, and that part of the front facade can be raised to allow taller cars to get in there.

Hope it makes sense.

[Grizz1963]

Took the Transit up to the farm today and had Jon record a few clips so that I can add them to the For Sale thread.

Had some good laughs.

This is my favourite clip I suspect.

1963 Ford Taunus Transit Zetec 1800 - YouTube

Another clip, just in the cab on the way home.

1963 Ford Taunus Transit FK1250 - YouTube

This thing is happy to run at 20mph in third and then just goes if you accelerate.

1963 Ford Taunus Transit Torque - YouTube

Then another couple of passes on the farm.

1963 Ford Taunus Transit Zetec on farm - YouTube

Last one..... Happy finish.

1963 Ford Taunus Transit Zetec Happy End - YouTube

[Grizz1963]

Thought I would post this up for those of you who get up to other mischief than just building cool trucks.

We have an open fire place in the lounge, and this time of year it gets used almost daily.



Collecting wood is a year long job, so pallets, trees, branches etc are all collected. I can also buy wood at £40/one ton builders bag delivered by Charlie on the farm.


This morning I got lucky... popped around to Jim, the neighbour two houses down who breeds dogs for a living, they are having a new 12" X 36" summer house/shed/kennel built down in the bottom of their garden..... and he had just started cutting some trees down, so I popped home, fetched a chainsaw, put on my safety boots, chainsaw trousers and visor and "Helped" him cut down and log the trees.
Now they will get stored till next season to dry and cure for the fire place.





I also have a secret supplier at a shed building company who sells me two drums of offcuts in a large polyethyline bag for £2.00 per bag.


The other day I thought it would be a pain, but pretty neat to try build a nesting box for the local birds and to mount it up in the pine tree in the garden.

We already have a pair of Blue Tits returning every year to nest in a box on the front of the garage.





I started by sorting out a pile of small bits of wood from my kindling barrel outside the kitchen.




Adding the small sections to a base, which ultimately will form one roof panel.







Two sides done and offered up to each other.

Not bad for my typical free hand no measuring builds....



Then the floor and sides made.





Drilled large holes in the sides for the birds to enter, then did a subdivision.... semi-detached living, better than a terrace ?



Almost done....



Final step was adding perches for the birds to sit and have a brew at the end of the day.....



Now we just need to decide where in the tree to mount the box, and hopefully two lots of birds get to use it and be neighbours.

Bird in the hand and all that.

Thanks for looking.