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

[Grizz1963]

Sometimes I really really hate technology. I use the works iPad to post these updates, but every now and then, like today, just as I get to the last bit or photo, the iPad has a hick up or brain fart and loses all you just wrote up..... An hour or more gone sometimes. As everything takes time.

Grrrrrrrrrr...!!!!


Right, we're back on track.

I am meant to be doing a load of work work, but car stuff and procrastination is so much more fun.

One of the first things that catch your eye when you walk into the massive workshop behind the offices is this oldie, but goodie.

I remember watching RR hooning around in it at arace track in one of the episodes and just hoping he would not break it or roll it.......

While we were there, speaking to Jonathan outside in the yard where a load of other future and past projects live, RR and others were busy adjusting one of the lifts legs. No idea why, but he was getting his hands dirty too.



What was interesting, meeting some of the production and film crew was that many of them were petrol heads too, and how some like Johnny had been seduced by the cars and trucks being built on the show.

So Johnny was crew and this is the truck he is busy building.

Ford, with serious wheels, power and as low as a snails willy. I do hope it gets featured at some point. Johnny was hugely interested in the 24 volt LED lights Martin and I had acquired, as every rodder looks for that something to make his/her car stand out.




Sitting quietly, brooding in one side of the shop was this Ford GT40 that GMG had recently completed.

The crew at Gas Monkey Garage teamed up with AccuAir suspension to build the lowest Ford GT40 ever for this year’s SEMA!

This updated version of the classic GT40, rests its roofline at a ridiculous 38 inches high and packs over 800bhp!

YOUTUBE LINK HERE:

https://youtu.be/2w6Qcdc_aog

JONATHAN IS THE GUY DRIVING IT. LUCKY LUCKY MAN.

He also started it up and demonstrated the Accuair ride for us once he had slithered into the black, inviting interior, I would have a problem getting in and out of it for sure. Just awesome again. The install is sooooo clean and looks factory. Everything just as a highest end buyer would want.

The car is a serious hair raising monster. The exhaust note and drone of that engine cutting through to your deepest core if you "get" cars. It is absolutely visceral and reaches out to your most primitive soul. My heart was screaming out in joy at that point. This day had already delivered so much for us. I truely felt blessed.

I cannot thank Jonathan enough for taking almost three hours out of his day to show us around and introduce us to many of the people there. I would like to believe that Martin and I contributed positively to his and the other people there's lives as well, otherwise the visit would have been a 15 minute economy tour to just "pay back" Sarah and Mike because they asked him to speak to us. This hobby is a whole lot more complex than many people realise and I guess we are all inter dependant.

Obviously, all of this is courtesy of a whole bunch of people, maybe firstly ourselves for making the effort to go out to "Mid-West" America, then the various internet Forums I frequent, the friends made over years, followed by then meeting many in person, guys like Don, Clem and Mike & Sarah Losh of Slosh Tubz for all helping us get closer to this incredible day.


Lead photo courtesy of the Internet.







We drifted in and out of the workshop, yard and various spaces over the next three, yes 3 hours.

It's amazing how time flies when you are having fun.

I think Jonathan also enjoyed our company and the fact that we were "Nickel and Dime" builders. Having to reuse, modify and often create bits to make our builds progress.
I think he was quite shocked that there is so little material, spares and the cost of importing every nut and bolt we need when they just drive down the road or overnight parts they want. So possibly a learning for him as well from us.

A Dodge Brothers panel van....... Future project, or easy flip? Who knows, at the end of the day, if you have the money, you can have the toy.



Just gorgeous, one of RR's favourites, purported to be worth a whole heap of money too. I would happily own it.



Hood ornament really says it all.



At this point Richard Rawlings came racing in on some massive fairinged Harley Davidson, music blaring and parked it, charged off into the offices and then out to the front of the yard for some photos, selfies and signing autographs and T-Shirts for fans. I just watched from a distance as mass hysteria is not my thing.
Jonathan mentioned that was how it went most days.

Martin had popped back into the workshop and grabbed a pic as he came in while I carried on chatting to Jonathan about E-Type Jaguars that they suddenly seemed to have cornered the market in, exporting them back to the UK and Europe.
There is a lot to be said for dry, warm salt free climates and winters like what the U.S. Offers, cars just survive so much better there.



Being out in the yard we were looking at many of the old projects from previous episodes and I pointed out a Ford that I had seen earlier in the day when we were outside the fences..... "Whose is that cool Ford?" I asked. Not realising it was actually his.

He proudly replied that it was his, one owner, very low mileage, and as you can see, great condition, statically dropped, with some plans for the future.

It was interesting speaking to him and some of the other guys, despite all having high powered modern cars as a convenience, they all loved their old cars, and pickup trucks ruled the roost by a very wide margin. This was after all Texas.



At this point A beard on a Buell Lightning came riding back into the yard.

Aaron was back from his lunch or possibly his other shop that he runs.

He disappeared into a side room for a while and then later came past on his way to the main offices while we carried on chatting to Johnny about his Ford truck and the Slosh Tubz he had fitted and what his ultimate plan was for the truck.



More later.

[Grizz1963]

Right.... Part three of the Gas Monkey Garage day for Martin's birthday.

At this point I just want to share a pc Nicola sent me..... My ideal home.

The visit to Dallas and the GMG workshops reinforced the idea.
Watching "Grand Designs" on television has made me realise there are many ingenious building materials and techniques, and this plan has me thinking, a lot.




At some point we found ourselves drifting back into the workshop, chatting again to Johnny about making the programme and the way everyone always looked for ways to evolve the programme and business.

At this point Aaron came back into the workshop and came straight over to us where we were next to the Ford and control table for the recordings etc, guys moving about us with ear pieces in and getting on with their jobs, letting us just absorb it all.

Jonathan introduced us to Aaron and he was even nicer in person than he comes across on the show.
Interested in what we did at home, why we were there, he approved of our choice of trucks, engines and what we were doing to them. He asked many relevant and intelligent questions that again illustrated the way he is always gathering information and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of all things automotive and mechanical.

Martin managed and worked in a body shop for many years, developing his problem solving skills. He has been doing bespoke disability conversions for everyone from midgets to paraplegics and quadriplegics as well as wounded war veterans.
His day job is filled with constant challenges on how to build and adapt motor vehicles for people with all sorts of disabilities.
This was of major interest to Aaron and my head spinned as they discussed how the hand controls translated to applied energy when driven by disabled drivers.



Ever since watching Fast and Loud, I had been fascinated with the one tattoo Aaron wears as one only sees half of it at best.
You know the one I mean?
The four fork teeth sticking out from beneath his T-Shirt sleeve.

I asked him about it and he told us a story that he abbreviated to about 15 minutes, suffice it to say that he is a brilliant story teller and the story is most interesting and actually makes loads of sense.

I then asked him if he minded me taking a photo of it for this thread, to which he agreed.

So what do you see? Any ideas on the origins of the design?

Answers below please.



Aaron, Jonathan and myself, I nearly did not have the photo taken as I thought he must be so tired of the hero worship every day, but as he and Richard says, "This is what puts steak on our plates"



After a loooong chat, probably 40 minutes, he went back to work on his Harley Davidson and we carried on talking cars and trucks.

Martin started telling of a friend who has a Chevy truck with Mopar big block power and a Ford rear end.

....................... NEXT THING AARON'S TOOLS WERE DOWN AND HE WAS BACK WITH US.

HIS AUTOMOTIVE FASCINATION IS ENDLESS.

I seem to recall that there is a quote somewhere from him ( not his words verbatim) that goes something along the lines of: " I like to take something perfectly good and make it even better"

This is certainly a great motto to live by in this game.



While writing up this piece I was also looking at other interesting fact about Aaron and his history.

I found this piece on DFW.com about him, written by Cary Darling and I would suggest you click on the link and take a look as it really sumarises the man.

Aaron's story.

Author: Cary Darling. Thursday April 30th 2015

http://www.dfw.com/2015/04/29/991071...-kaufmann.html


Eventually near 5.00pm we suddenly realised that time had marched on at a serious pace and we still needed to get out of Dallas-Fort Worth area during peak traffic and make our way down to Best Western Hotel on the far side of Austin, Texas.

However, before that we needed to get to Gas Monkey Bar and Grill for a burger and to check the rest of the legend out.

So we said our goodbyes, feeling just stupidly spoiled for having had the type of opportunity very few people ever get, spending time with heroes who turned out to be incredibly nice people.

We drove to the restaurant and had a look around, sat down, beers, burger for Martin and I had a pulled Pork sandwich and fries.





Stock photo, the bar is usually packed.






Martin's head just popping into view.....




Then we hit the road for Austin.

[mjh1965]

These are some of the pictures I took at johns house .







After seeing the crinkle black paint on the intake and serpentine belt fittings . I nearly had a rethink . John's attention to detail is really good to see .

[flashed]

Im still watching and would love to have that 69 Chevelle or the later Malibu even.

[Ta2Don]

Diggin' the orange and black!!!

You mates are always welcome here in nowhere Arkansas...

[Grizz1963]

Monday 26th October.

Martin's 50th Birthday. The primary reason for this trip.

We both woke quite early, as usual.

I gave him his birthday card that I had designed and made up via FunkyPigeon.com (unfortunately no pic of that) also got him another T-Shirt with snarling Rottweilers as a reminder of his dog Bow in the UK.

Breakfast, then check out and pack up the car (with all the spares we had, we unpacked the car every night) after which we decided to go to a local Walmart down the road to pick up some provisions and for me to look for a nice hoody for Nicola. Nothing found, but we did see Gas Monkey garage T-Shirts for $7.50 and long sleeve sweatshirts for $10.00 Unfortunately not in my size. I did manage to buy Nicola a couple of Day of the Dead shirts though.

As always, Walmart was interesting, with sights you can never clear from your mind.



So this was foremost in my head as we left the car park........



Heading down the i30 toward Dallas, we had a mission........

It was after all Martin's Birthday !!!!

Some of you will know the whole story, some of you part of it and some of you may now be surprised.

When Clem took us over to Mike and Sarah Losh's place on the Sunday after his Big Party the Saturday to give a hand and generally be amazed by Boosted Bertha a few things transpired.

Remember the Pink "I Love London" hoody we gave to Sarah? Well, it turned out she is a bit of a fan of all things British, including Downton Abbey. So the hoody was immediately seconded to Downton Abbey couch wear......... For her to watch her episodes in as she is so little that even the size Large was massive on her.
Martin's was clearly taken with this tiny little fireball who is the light of Mike's life and he quickly established just how much she loved Downton Abbey.
Sneaky guy that he is, he then slipped away for a bit and called a friend in England on the mobile and found out that he could get hold of a very limited edition book for Sarah.
This was all done on the spur of the moment, and at that time with no further expectation.
While talking to her we mentioned going to Gas Monkey Garage where "Fast and Loud" is filmed to see what we could maybe see and the possibility of buying a T-Shirt, followed by an over priced burger or sandwich at the GMG Restaurant for Martin's birthday the following week on Monday.
Mike and Sarah then asked if we would like for her to see if she could us in behind the scenes, as it is actually a closed film set now, with tall fences, barbed wire and large gates...... Hell yeahhhh !!!
Later she came back and said that she had spoken to her friend who happens to be the Public Relations guy for the Fast and Loud franchise.

Were we excited...?? Stupid question really.

So we had a week to wait after leaving Slosh Tubz and Boosted Bertha, which saw us do all the stuff reported so far.

So back to the Monday morning.

We left Walmart, drove down the motorway and eventually got to Gas Monkey Garage at about 10.30am.

Parked up in the car park, wandered in, browsed the merchandise after seeing all the tall fencing outside and clearly no way of getting in.

Martin found a nice shirt to buy. (He does like a nice T-Shirt) and I saw nothing that appealed to my simple tastes.

I then went up to the pretty girls (yes, they have to be in that job) at the counter, feeling like a prize sized knob, to ask if Jonathan was there, we were expected after all.

Errrrrmmmmm,..... I will go see if he is in said the girl, disappearing into the back offices behind the merchandise shop.

She came back about 5 uncomfortable minutes later to say "Sorry, Jonathan is not here, he went out earlier to drop off some chroming that needed doing at one of our suppliers"

I WAS GUTTED !!

I think Martin standing just behind me may have peed in his pants too, I wanted to. His face was a picture of extreme pain and dejection.

So in my best pretend it is not a big thing, voice, I asked her when he would be back, and if there would be a chance we could speak to him later??

She did not know.

Then disappeared again into the back office and came back, saying she had called him on his mobile phone and that he had forgotten about us altogether.

Keep in mind, this is a business, so making money comes first.

She said that he should be back around 1.30-ish and if we wanted to come back then he would speak to us.

At this point I felt like a total idiot for thinking we would even have a chance to meet these people, especially Aaron who Martin and I both were interested in meeting, given any chance as he is a real thinking mechanic.

Yes of course we will come back later I heard myself say.

So we went out to the car park, took a couple of pics.

Note the fences and gates.....



How many hundreds of people have stood in those positions, photographing themselves or groups? Pretty sad ehhh.
Still, we were there, and it was a bit like a pilgrimage of petrol heads, so needed to be done.



While we were there Denny Hamlin's tow truck popped in as well, he currently drives the number 11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint Cup Series. So it looks like everyone wants a cut of the Gas Monkey Garage action.

This is a full size truck.



Texas is full of these trucks, especially it seems Diesel trucks that have stupidly fast acceleration and an awesome sound.

We decided when back in the car to Google where ASM upholstery and Sue Martin was, to go take a look in there, or at least drive by, and also to look for the original Gas Monkey Garage where the Fired Up Garage crew now made their home.

When we got there, Sue was not there, so I chatted to one of the upholstery guys for a while, then Sue came in and greeted us, friendly, warmly and interested in why we had come all the way from England to check in on her shop.

She is really a lovely lady and incredibly hospitable.

She took us through the shop and showed us some of her work, seriously neat stuff, and some cool cars they were working on.

Interestingly.......... She collects car number plates, now who would have thought that?



I loved this sedan delivery they had done for a customer and asked her if I could get a pic of her next to it, to which she agreed, showing her best side.



.

After this we went to Jack in a Box for lunch.

Again, fast food, but really tasty. And all the girls spoke Spanish and were friendly.



I opted for a large burger, fries and a gallon of bottomless Dr Pepper.



While eating we watched cars, trucks and other automotive craziness pass in the street.

We sooooo live in the wrong country.


After Jack in a Box we went to look for the original Gas Monkey Garage, where Fired Up Garage now gets filmed.

Martin will be along in a while to write this up.

[mjh1965]

Here are a couple I took at sue's , she really puts her self out to talk to fans of the show , and really down to earth .





This was a job in the shop having the complete interior done




Well after dinner we took a drive around to the old Gas Monkey Garage . The gates up the side were all shut and no sign of the fired up guys , but Phillips garage at the front was all open . So I walked in and had a chat with the guy working in there . I asked it I could take some pictures he replied no problem.

This is some of the pictures I took inside








I don't know if any of you watched fired up garage , but one of the episodes had a C10 cab fall of the trailer . Well at the time I thought it was all a set up , but looking at the amount of filler (bondo) in the roof and the paintwork was really good . They had gone to a lot of trouble making it look good just to drop it off a trailer .

The cab you make your own mind up





So then onto Gas Monkey Garage .

[flashed]

Im still with you and wanting more ,what a great ride this has been.

[Ta2Don]

Originally Posted by flashed

Im still with you and wanting more ,what a great ride this has been.

Me too mate...

[Pizzaholic]

So, I gotta ask, based on the turquoise and yellow color scheme going on at the time you bought it - was the old chap you bought it from named Willy Wonka?!? Sweet truck! (No pun intended 😄 )

[mjh1965]

Originally Posted by Pizzaholic

So, I gotta ask, based on the turquoise and yellow color scheme going on at the time you bought it - was the old chap you bought it from named Willy Wonka?!? Sweet truck! (No pun intended 😄 )

No but my truck came to the UK via Holland . Les the previous owner went to Holland and saw it there , so in between the US and Holland I think someone was smoking something , as it had a yellow chassis as well . Les imported it to the UK himself

[flashed]

Im still in and wanting more ,what a great trip so far .

[Palf70Step]

This is one kool road trip!

[mjh1965]

Well I better add my photos of the day .

Note the razor wire



Getting the other side of the gates was such a great way to spend my birthday . The best part was meeting Aaron , I know it's a tv show but after speaking to him in person for quite some time it's clearly obvious that he is in love with his job . I know I get a sense of satisfaction with making the things I need to do for work , but its clear that he loves a challenge .

My self and Aaron

Filming in progress



Note Mike Losh's Tubz



Aaron working on his bike



The rest of the court yard







Then I saw Christie come out of the main building so I walked over and asked if I could take a photo she said yes . Just as I was about to take the picture her phone rang . At this point I thought she would have gone back into the office . No she answered the call and told the person on the other end that she would call them back. So I got me selfie with her and said thank you .

My photo



Richards office



Yes Richard working



Best of all . After we had said our goodbyes , Aaron was riding home (note the British bike ) and I got my T-shirt I had got from the shop earlier in the day signed .



So a great day and one to remember

[disasterbus]

Originally Posted by mjh1965

Best of all . After we had said our goodbyes , Aaron was riding home (note the British bike ) and I got my T-shirt I had got from the shop earlier in the day signed .



So a great day and one to remember

You really should get that tee shirt framed and hung on the wall of your man cave!


Loving the ongoing write-ups and pictures - have any of the tons of parts you bought been fitted on your truck yet?

[mjh1965]

Originally Posted by disasterbus

You really should get that tee shirt framed and hung on the wall of your man cave!


Loving the ongoing write-ups and pictures - have any of the tons of parts you bought been fitted on your truck yet?

I have started putting mine back together already, hope to have it rolling by Christmas. The tee shirt that Aaron signed as well as the one from Clem's will also go in a frame

[mjh1965]

As Rian had said we were talking to Jonathan, after we had been speaking to Aaron. While he was back working on his bike , when heard that I was talking about my friends truck with a Mopar engine and ford axel in a Chevy truck . At this point he put down his tools walked back over to the three of us to listen . He then said if you can't impress them then shocking them is just as good .

This is the truck it's owned by Nigel who owns the motorcycle repair shop in the town I live in it took him about 4 years to build . He is putting nitrous in it over the winter as a 440 Mopar it's quick enough

[mjh1965]

Got all the old yellow paint off my back axel , and stripped it down ready for paint

Starting getting the yellow off





Rian (Grizz 1963) popped over to help me get it into the garage ready for paint . The diff cover will be changed once it's all painted



The axel in the garage ready for paint

[Palf70Step]

Guess it will be a little harder to track you without that yellar axle.

[Ta2Don]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Guess it will be a little harder to track you without that yellar axle.

Epic works!!!!

[Bomp]

Following along, glad to see your back at the build. Thanks for all the pics.
I may have missed it but what was the story on Aarons tatoo?

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Bomp

Following along, glad to see your back at the build. Thanks for all the pics.
I may have missed it but what was the story on Aarons tatoo?

Martin said I needed to post the reply as I am the one with the photos and story telling.
I was also the one who asked about the tattoo and photographed it, because I am just like that

So in the simplest form of reducing a 15 minute, highly amusing story from Aaron......... Here goes.

Pitch fork Arrow.....

It was no15 on a list of things the world needs.

Aaron had received a 4 page letter with attached diagrams of 15 things the world needed, he ran through a few of them for us there in the shop.

He is a brilliant, and funny story teller.

So for instance number two on the list with engineers drawing attached was a Crystal pool ball, and a Lazer pointed pool stick. Thus you could see where your ball would hit the ball to be pocketed, making the game much more accurate.

The list went on and still he did no tell us exactly what the arrow meant.

At number 15 was this drawing of the Pitch Fork Arrow and it just got him right in the funny bone, so no real explanation, but if I recall correctly, it also featured on his Pikes Peak car. He had the tattoo done at some point and I am sure that for guys like me, it will always be another highlight of a good day spent with some amazingly nice and talented people.



I guess the final chapter of the story was when Aaron told us that the list and letter had actually been sent to to him by a registered, trained mental health nurse in the U.S.


The story was crazy but massively amusing.


Hope that helps for those who were interested.

[Grizz1963]

I trust there are still a few of you around to watch the culmination of this trip.

We made it to our hotel late evening on the Monday, tired, really not in the mood for checking in with hassles and had to pay $100.00 deposit on our room at the Best Western outside Austin. This was the first and only time we had to pay a deposit on a room. Guess being foreigners was being held against us by the check in lady who was "American" with a heavy accent and no sense of humour.

Unpacked the car, crashed and had a good night compared to some of the nights to date.

Next morning it was breakfast and then we were off to Leander, outside of Austin to meet up with Bret Johnston another Chevy truck and multiple multi skilled guy.

He had made Nicola the most awesome turned wood rocket for Christmas last year.

Despite being a long way out of our way, Bret and wife Jennifer along with their kids were on our list of "Must do's" due to multiple shared hobbies and just because they are amazingly nice people. We had a load of Lego stuff to deliver as well.......

Before we left the hotel, I photographed a transporter with amongst other a Datsun 240Z and an early Trans Am.

I also saw this train and had to get a photo, to me it is quintessentially Texan.



We drove off through late morning traffic and both commented on how nice it would be to live around here. If only we had a job and prospects.

When we got to Bret's dads place where the family were living until their new home is completed, the first thing was swapping out prezzies, T-Shirts and Lego for Bret and his family, truck models and some super cool Hotwheels toys for Martin and I.

Then we had a cuppa English Tetleys tea, something we missed most days, seems we got Bret hooked on it as well.

His dad is an amazing engineer and artisan, so we looked at and were amazed at some of his engineering, the way his workshop was put together , clearly where Bret learned his skills from.

Then the first highlight of the day......... His dad's old truck that his sister had used to university till she got tired of it, now it had Bret's name on it.
Spotless, original...... Just gorgeous.



At this point my $100.00 indicator switchgear came out too, remember the part I ordered after buying the steering column from Clem?

And this reminded us that we needed to use some of Bret's dads tools, including the band saw to trim the packaging of the bed strips and side mouldings down to as close as possible to 2.0 meters. As that was the size of oversized baggage that was permitted on the plane.

So we proceeded to dismantle and cut down to size all the packaging and bracing.





Amazing how a Sawzall will make quick work of stuff.



once all that was done, we locked up and left for his mum in law Gladys' place some distance away.

There was more to do and see, seems this day was turning into yet another highlight.

So we drove out to where she lives. Love the entrances to American housing estates, where space is just not a problem.

This was parked on the same estate as his mum in law, Gladys lives.

Patina look on the outside, but all modern brutal business on the underside. Seems the owner has some other toys too.





That's a hood ornament.



Notice also the flying pig hanging from the rear view mirror.




We drove past many estates like this one with impressive entrances and open blue skies.




Anyway, we eventually made it to Bret's mum I laws home where Bret owns some of the garages. The main house had two massive garages, and then there was this bank of garages to the side that housed a load of cars, tools and some storage space.

Did I mention I would love to live in the USA successfully?

More in a while.

[Grizz1963]

Last night I did not have any photos of another part of our day.

Bret had taken his day off and swapped it out to be able to spend the day with us. Nice guy ehhh?

Anyway, from his dad's place we went via their new home that is being built right now.

It will have a nice sized family garage, and space for his woodwork machines and Jennifer's truck.

So Martin and I were walking about in the house, just amazed at how much value for money homes offer in the U.S. versus the U.K.


2015-10-10 11.31.04 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

2015-10-10 11.29.10 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

After a drive through the new neighbourhood to look at all the lovely different designs available, we took off for Bret's mum in laws place via Smokey Mo's Bar-B-Q where Bret treated us to some seriously mind expanding sandwiches and those massive gallon cups of drink.
I opted for a brisket wrap, actually the smallest one I could get and it was just a perfect for me. I have never eaten brisket that good.

It seems Mo has built up his chain of restaurants one shop at a time. And what a great job he has done.



Interestingly, a Ford Connect van as their delivery van.



I do not have a photo of the whole front of Bret's section of the garages, but suffice it to say, it is three times the size of a typical British terrace house.

Inside. There are signs of loyalties. The sort of thing I should maybe try make some time.



Awkward to get the size of these spaces into perspective.

The more we looked, the more we saw.



This road trip has been allowing us so much incredibly good quality time to spend with and getting to know good friends, establishing friendships that should stand the test of time.



While we were out in the garages, Gladys came home in her "Little car" a VW Tiguan.

After a while we went indoors to chat to her, and I found her in the kitchen with a dismantled electric chainsaw........ What a girl !!

She needed it fixed and rather than cry about it, she just got on with it.

Her dogs were all over us as well, so again it made my day.




Jay Bird, a work in progress.

This was after all a Chevy C10 road trip, so good to see another and all the work Bret has done on his full resto of this truck for Jennifer.





Last photo for now.........

This car belongs to Gladys and she wanted me to drive it when we went out later in the afternoon for a significantly long drive around the greater Austin area.

Bret spoiled me by taking me to a real Mom n Pop's shop. Something I really appreciated.

The car had been a gift from Galdys' late husband and she rarely uses it these days, but Bret looks after it.

So the question is.........

What is it??

[Grizz1963]

OK

Scraping the barrel?

Nope, not really, just found more pics from Austin,Texas.

When we got to Bret's place we had some good, English tea and patrolled all the sights at his dads place with our mugs.

Martin pulled the short straw.



My $100.00 worth of switchgear for the steering I had bought off Clem in Arkansas, delivered to Bret.



Gladys worked with some pretty tough guys in her life. She also retired from the job twice, and both times they made her a trophy.

To me it spoke volumes..... The lady had super sized nuts to work with the guys she worked with.



Bret's first car, still has it, awaiting another restoration, one day.



Gladys' late husbands truck, this is a truck to want to own. ORIGINAL, low miles.



Some used English and South African plates in the rafters, including the one of my old Mercedes from 2006



When we went out to the Longhorn restaurant, they had some great looking displays. Including these belt buckles.





Simple classy wine rack, I like it.




So that was now really the end of Austin and our time with Bret.

More soon.