Martin's mi-STRESS, 1965 Long Fleetside C10 "Rebuild in ENGLAND"

[Grizz1963]

Carrying on where we left off.

I forgot to mention, in Fayetteville the pub we all went to was the West Mountain Brewery Co.

Great atmosphere, staff, beer and awesome pizzas.

This is the car Rick and Monica built. Again, testament to graft. It has a load of trick details, and sounds just awesome when it approaches or leaves, generating a multitude of smiles.



Rick and Monica built this house themselves and again, I was mesmerised as I had designed my own first house and buillt it in the Cape Town suburb of Glencairn, near Simons Town about 25 years ago.

I would love to build and live in a house like this with broad verandas and design details around the edges.




There is a continual theme of pigs wherever you looks.



Flatbed in front of some of the outbuildings.



I seem to recall mentioning that the people we met on this trip have all worked bloody hard to get what they have. This is another prime example of hard work paying off.

More garden art.





After dropping off the tables and chairs, Clem took us on a slow drive on the real back roads in the county, and my word....... He has some stuff stashed, marked and identified along the way.
One of my favourites was what I would think is a 50-60's Shasta caravan. Perfect condition, but could do with a refresh, he said it had been there for many years and is earmarked for himself.
Various other treasures along the way made the next three hours another highlight of our time spent with the Guru.
Then we returned home, only to be caught out by the whole of Arkansas having come to Fayetteville to watch the Razorbacks play.

Lastly, a brand new pair of safety glasses I bought along the way for $1.00 at a garage sale.

Perfect decoration somewhere in Clem's shop. I was pleased to be able to add something to his fascinating collection of weird and wonderful, stuff.



By mid afternoon Martin and I had packed the Chevy Captiva with our cases and spares, headed back to Searcy to spend another night with Don and Saless before heading town to Texas.

Cases in and the ski bag with bed strips and side mouldings, which at this point was still stressing me, what if the airline said it was oversized.....??



We chose to avoid the motorways again and managed to stop at various places.

Including his great store where this extended cab was for sale, note the rear, opening door.




We spent quite a bit of time and I managed to buy a few items there too, including a silver hand made Crucifix for Nicola and a car dealers chrome sign for myself.

Martin managed to buy an awesome 80's Snap On tools wall clock with two girls in overalls for a trade of £5.00 in English currency.

The seller had this black bead skull that was beautifully cleaned and prepped from an animal that had been hit by a car. As well as a rattle snake spine.




The rest of our trip to Don's place was uneventful and we had a great dinner and time together, an early night by 11.00pm as we wanted to be out to town with him in the morning.

That's it for now......... Thanks for looking in.

[Grizz1963]

What amazing progress Martin.

I know you have been busy with loads of other stuff too, it makes your work even more impressive.

Well done mate !!

[Grizz1963]

I was asked for a Frontal photo of Rick and Monica's Haugers Ford.

Here are a few, thanks to Monica.

Plus a baby photo of Oscar the pig from when they got him.

Oscar even has his own FaceBook page.





]







Lastly, an overlay of the USA over Europe etc.

America is a big country.



That's it for tonight.

[Ta2Don]

What a way to spend a holiday!

[Grizz1963]

SORRY GUYS, SEEMS PHOTOBUCKET IS HAVING A BRAIN FREEZE AS IT IS NOT POSTING THE PHOTOS ASSOCIATED WITH THE LINKS I HAVE POSTED UP.

SOMETIMES THEY DO RECOVER LATER.


Funny how stuff appears.

Bruce's tale on Retro Rides is a compelling read, written by a guy with a much more refined style and some serious camera kit, but also incredible will or want power. I have known him for years and done both business and social with him.

This thread of his is pure entertainment.

http://retrorides.proboards.com/thre...-potato-buyers

Here are a bunch of photos from Martin's phone and elsewhere that are now out of sync with the rest of the story, but possibly still worth showing.

When we were visiting Paul and Brandon in Ada they gave us each a year related plate.

I also managed to pick up a Sherriffs vanity plate at a garage sale.





Right....... Back to the random photos. It happens when you have 4 different cameras, three phones and a digital camera, you end up with too many sources.

Around 02.00 we were stilling the big shop when the donkeys, miniatures both, came in and demanded treats from Phil. They are like kids or pest, always getting under your feet.





This was around 03.00 in Norman, Oklahoma.

Austins original paint '57 four door Bel Air. An absolute gem, having been out on the town cruising with it and down the motorway, I can say it is rather special. As with everything in his life, it is for sale if someone wants it desperately enough and has the cash.




Around 03.30 we had got to the Suburban....... Patina, rust free, and a serious tool, Phil then also started it up for us at that time of the night, demonstrated the 3" cutouts that Austin had had fitted for him as a Christmas present. This family really do live and play together. The care and tenderness between father and son was just awesome to see, and the pride Phil has in his sons success is palpable. It made my trip even better as I really value family relationships and closeness.

I love this brute a lot.



Somewhere on a motorway....... I love/d *M*A*S*H* so this was a cool thing to see.



Gas/Petrol price in Red, Diesel in Green

Cost per gallon.

No matter how you cut it, that is cheap....... Make mine a V8



One of the things we did quite a lot on secondary roads was stop at small town pawn shops, you get to chat with awesome world wise people. We also often traded them bits from our baggage and for bits from their shops.



At this pawn shop we spent near an hour speaking with the owner, Russell, and at one point agreed to trade him some fresh English pennies for his collection and a 1977 Queens Jubilee coin for these Copper pieces.

I love the sentiment and artwork on them, not sure what it all means, but it was another random stop that had Martin and I feeling that we were other rip of a lifetime. I also tried to buy a Razorback branding iron from him, but he refused the money and told me to have it and add it to you collection of memories of the trip of a lifetime.
Life certainly is good.

These were untouched by human hands when he handed them to us.





Anyone know the meaning etc, please do reply.


Another random item in his shop.





More in a minute.

[Grizz1963]

Well, we have a winner !!!

Thanks to Euan "Moosevan" on Rods n Sods for the reply below.



Molon Labe

Englishified Greek for "Come and get it." Can also mean "Come and take them" - if you can...

Pronounced "Moh-lone Lah-Veh". Common context is in relation to firearms and firearm laws, as a declaration to be made to anyone that wishes to confiscate your gun(s).

Originates from King Leonidas of Sparta, in a message to King Xerxes of Persia, when an overwhelming Persian army demanded that 300 Spartan warriors drop their weapons. Leonidas replied "Molon Labe" (Come and get them) and 300 of his Spartans, and Leonidas himself, were killed, but in so doing killed took huge tolls on the enemy and stalled the Persian army for long enough to let the rest of Greece prepare themselves for the war.

If someone comes to take your guns, tell them "Molon Labe"

[flashed]

Great photo's and even more memories ,thanks for taking us all along for the ride .

Question : Did you get all your new parts home without any damages as I know ya'll had a lot ?

[mjh1965]

Originally Posted by flashed

Great photo's and even more memories ,thanks for taking us all along for the ride .

Question : Did you get all your new parts home without any damages as I know ya'll had a lot ?

I got all my parts home the only thing missing was a tube of mega grey gasket maker . I think it got lost in transit , there was a note from customs saying they had opened one of my cases to look inside . You could say we both did very well .

[Palf70Step]

I am very much enjoying the review of your trip.

[mjh1965]

Back to truck time
I managed to get my front suspension all built and assembled . So next weekend all being well I will tackle the rear end . Then I could have it rolling again ..

[ibrown50]

That looks fantastic Martin, it's almost a shame to cover it up!

[dwcardfan]

That looks clean! Very nice.

[mjh1965]

Originally Posted by ibrown50

That looks fantastic Martin, it's almost a shame to cover it up!

Originally Posted by dwcardfan

That looks clean! Very nice.

Thanks guys it's just great to be putting it back together .

[Grizz1963]

I am not sure if anyone is still reading this lot, or have moved on to other pastures.

However, here is the next instalment for those still interested

Seems we were having a seriously good night....... So the only photo I think of Martins 5th birthday party dinner was taken by Pete Hoffman who works with Clem. Kim supervising Martin in his party hat.




Next morning we got up leisurely, which was a luxury. Martin had gone upstairs to sleep in the penthouse where Bomp had previously slept and came down in the morning looking decidedly smug at having had a night of deathly sleep, possibly his first in 10 days.

Clem and Kim made us breakfast again, her sausage receipe is just amazing. With all the right touches from the South and some Texas flavour thrown in, I found myself going for seconds every time she cooked, pure greed as it is so good. Clem is the pancake king, and he again uses a bit of magic in his pancakes so they are equally good.

I like to give credit where it is due, and here I will pause just to again reiterate that Clem Johnston is a man amongst men. (Keep in mind, I owe him nothing, so need not say this) he is generous, kind, thoughtful and clearly loved by Kim, which is telling in itself. I do not often meet people who exceed my expectations of them. We had known each other through the virtual reality of the Internet and shared a few phone calls before I got to Fayetteville, so when he exceeded my expectations and perception, it was a good thing. They did try to get us to stay even longer but we had so many places and people to deal with that we had to keep it limited to a couple of nights.

What is it the say about Fish and House guests? They all smell after three days.

After breakfast Clem invited Martin and I down to the shop to go see to the dogs and a few other tasks, which included loading some furniture on the flatbed and taking it out to a ranch in the Ozarks to Monica and Ricks who had lent them to him for the party.





They were not there, but Oscar the pig was there, along with his best friend Rosco.






Clem and Martin not getting as close as I did.........




Incredibly talkative and social is he.







Barn find...?




Can you say Garage....?

We sooooo live in the wrong country. Part of Ricks garage get where stuff happens.






More in a moment if you are still there.

[flashed]

Still here and loving every minute of it .

[Bomp]

Thanks for posting more pics, great times.

So, (sorry if I missed it) how did you get the bed trim home?

[realvc]

Looking good bro.
Your truck is getting closer to being on the road again.

[mjh1965]

Originally Posted by Bomp

Thanks for posting more pics, great times.

So, (sorry if I missed it) how did you get the bed trim home?

The mouldings the bed strips and a steering column came home in a ski bag

Originally Posted by realvc

Looking good bro.
Your truck is getting closer to being on the road again.

Thanks realvc it's just so nice to be finally putting it back together

[flashed]

That was one hell of a ski trip .

[mjh1965]

Well I thought I'd put some more of my trip pictures I took .

The pawn shop we stopped at

This is some more of the truck outside that's up for sale



The rear bed was fibreglass







Then after looking outside at the truck I went inside to do a deal on this



He had wanted $20 for it but after talking to him , I had noticed he had lots of coins and some notes . What he didn't have was one with the Queen of England on it . So a deal was done for an English £5 note about $7.50 so I was very happy .

[Ta2Don]

Diggin the yellow Hot Rod and Oscar's baby pic...

Map overlay sure puts things in perspective...

[flashed]

Have you been to all of those European Countries ?

[Grizz1963]

I am sorry to start this report with some sad news......

Remember the donkeys at Phils place?

The smaller one of the two, Jenny, died on Sunday, after trying for hours, the vet lost her.

Such a sweet animal, she certainly captured,my heart instantly with her insistent attention seeking and love giving.

Now she is in donkey heaven.



Another random pic from a pawn shop, not sure if I posted it before.




Right, so we had a good nights sleep, got up early and headed out by 08.00

The rental car again told us it needed attention.

We also knew the front tyres were at the wrong side of legal..... So Martin was freaking out every mile we drove, rightfully.

Then when we left Clem's the one brake light was out as well..



So we got to Don's new part time job at O'Reilly's and he opened up while Martin and I went down to SONIC for breakfast Burritos

I was cynical, but man, they were silly good.



After breakfast, Martin bought some more parts for his truck, then we headed out for Little Rock.

Don prayed for us for a safe journey and I felt quite guilty leaving him behind.... This is a good friend, very good. Someone you can rely on at all times, he will always have your back.




Out on the road it was raining, traffic was not particularly heavy, being a Sunday, except for some slow traffic on roadworks sections.

Always love seeing cars being used, rather than stored up.



We decided to swing by Alamo car rental in Lttle Rock (Remember who came from there?) to see if we could exchange the Captiva for something with less issues. As we had changed the faulty brake light lamp (seen too many movies) and the tyres were not safe, especially considering we still had a significant distance to go. As well as the fact it kept demanding an oil change.

So we got to the airport via a slight detour and reported the car in. The staff were incredibly helpful and offered us a few cars in the same class, but ever the negotiator and by being gentle and nice about it, we managed to get a decent upgrade for free. It also meant that we would not have the ski bag poking through between the front seats getting on our nerves.

The new car was a Chevy Traverse.

The 2015 Chevrolet Traverse features a 3.6-liter V6 engine that produces 281 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque in LT trim level.

Stepping up to the 1LT trim adds 18-inch alloy wheels, foglights, heated outside mirrors, rear parking sensors, remote ignition, an eight-way power driver seat (with two-way power lumbar), a leather-wrapped steering wheel and wood-grain interior trim. The 2LT includes all of the above and adds auto-dimming driver-side and rearview mirrors, a power liftgate, tri-zone automatic climate control, heated front seats, second-row captain's chairs (the second-row bench seat is still optional) and rear-seat audio controls and headphone jacks. You also get the MyLink infotainment interface, which includes Bluetooth audio connectivity, Internet radio app integration and new Siri Eyes Free technology.

Old and new......





I had previously posted up this pic by mistake.

The new car just swallowed up all our baggage and darkened windows meant a modicum of visual security.






With extra oomph and space we set off, also gained a full tank of fuel and returned a half tank of fuel in the Captiva..... Score!!

So we headed back onto the i30 toward Sulphur Springs where we had spent the first night.

We were also going to stop over at John's place at Texarcana to pick up a spare LED light and drop off some T-Shirts etc for his daughter.

More in a while.

[Grizz1963]

Another photo of how sorted we were.

We had already started packing stuff into the new car, red one to the left, when the lovely guy managing the floor offered us the Traverse as we had mentioned that the Ford and Jeep products in the same class were not really nice.

So all three together. Discarded Captiva out front.




Some more barn finds we discovered along the trip. These were covered up in a huge industrial building. Like everything we saw, they are for sale too.





And this beauty.





So from Little Rock, we drove down to Texarcana to meet up with John at his home.

He was busy extending and remodelling his home. The man is very very capable and handy.

So when we got there it was the usual coffee, drinks, chat and of course looking at his Chevy truck that he is currently building.

The description is directly from an email he sent me.

The engine is a fresh 355 build.
The cab is a 1981 Frame 1987, front clip 1991, engine and transmission is out of a 1994. It has a 460 lift cam. Modified the intake so I could mount a 454 throttle body, had to install different injectors as the 454 injectors to match fuel. Has a few go fast parts but kept it so I can drive it on the street. It's a 1987 R10 short wide by the paperwork. Lowered the rear a total of 9 inches. Used all the factory parts have, 3.5 inch ground force springs on the front .

The color is Flame Orange.









In the end we spent over three hours with John and his family, with me throwing toys for one of the dogs...... My kinda visit.

Martin was fascinated with all his attention to detail and obsessive precision in all he does.

It was another day that had turned even better than expected, with the generosity of spirit we had experienced throughout the trip.

Eventually we dragged ourselves away from there and hit the road for Suplhur Springs, knowing that we needed to find some add Who stuff once back in the UK for Johns daughter.

We had a fast food Chinese meal for almost no money that was filling, tasty and again had some of the staff come over to our table to chat with us.

The off o book into our massive room with two double beds......




Back where we started.

I loved these tables in the hotel.

The next day was Martin's 50th birthday.......... The main reason for the trip in a way.




So that was Sunday then.

[Grizz1963]

Have I mentioned that gas/petrol is reasonably cheap in Texas?



I had previously mentioned that full size trucks rule here, I guess then they need full size recovery trucks too.

Not sure about the pink, but a neat truck for sure.



While at lunch this truck had pulled into the car park too, of course I had to get a photo and then ended up chatting to the owner, he was headed out to SEMA the next week as well. Small world.



Everything is bigger in Texas.





So there we were, back at the shop after lunch, not knowing what Jonathan looked like was not exactly useful, as we had no idea what or who to look out for that could be returning from a job out or lunch break.

At one point the gate was slid open a few feet wide and the unmistakable sound of a V-Twin came from inside the building, the next moment a large beard, wearing a full face helmet rode through the gates and disappeared out onto the street.

I think that may have been Aaron leaving the premises.

Things were not looking good at all.

Hanging around like eager teenage groupies at a One Direction concert venue had me feeling very uneasy, and to be honest, at that point I could have left with no regrets, but then conversely, I do not often give up on stuff. So we stood around, I went inside to tell pretty girl no1 that we were back hoping to see Jonathan.

In the mean time we started chatting with a group of three guys..... Turns out they are in the textile industry and had come to an expo to advertise their wares, from South Africa. Small world as I mentioned before.

Anyway, a while later, pretty girl no1 came out of the front shop with a bearded man, not Aaron Kaufman of Gas MonkeyGarage fame, but she pointed at me, so I went over and was introduced to Jonathan. At last......
Martin came over too, and we stood outside chatting for a while about the show, our trip etc.
a Mexican family with a young boy, who had also done the pilgrimage came up and asked if they could have a photo with Jonathan. It was clear that they somehow thought he was Aaron. I think he knew this too, but did oblige happily.
Then he asked us if we would like to go inside and see a bit more of the shop and meet some of the people from the show.

HELL YEAH !!!!


So we followed him in, at which point another guy who had travelled some distance to get both Aaron' and Richard Rawlings' autographs on his two arms, after which he was going to get them tattooed in position, tried to attach himself to our little group.
With practiced ease, Jonathan told him this was just a quick private entry and led us through to the inner offices, where RR has his office, the behind the scenes guys do all the online buying of future projects etc.

It turns out that Jonathan and Aaron have been best mates since school.

So of course I ask him if it is OK to take some photos while we are inside? As I have a thread to write up on our road trip when I get back to the UK.

Carry on he says.

Incredibly patient and an obvious choice for PR man to this show which has its fair share of Prima Donna characters who all demand their fair share of attention, Jonathan is hugely informative, clearly loves the programme and what it has become himself. He realises that the show constantly needs to stretch its own boundaries and evolve as your typical car show fan can get bored quickly and the attention span, thinking of myself here, is only that long.
So as long as they can create interest with plot twists and new directions, they should stay successful.

First thing I see when we get through the offices, is this bike Aaron built a long time ago.

I really could just sit and stare, it is so different.




Then of course there is a moment for me to clown about, I do love any small motorised vehicles.






There are so many things to look at and I only took a few photos, as the discussion with Jonathan and some of the other guys including the film crew, is much more interesting to me. We meet some of them and get introduced to projects that have developed as they got deeper into this programmes DNA.

Another favourite of mine.




And a car that is just mind blowing under the skin. I think it's programme aired the week before we were in the shop.




So how many of you are still with me...??

There are a few more photos of this day, but I guess it is time to get to sleep.... Maybe tomorrow.

Thank you for looking in.