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

[flashed]

Still hanging around with you .

[Ta2Don]

me too...

[dwcardfan]

Still here.

[mjh1965]

Well with the end of the road trip it's now down to the real work .

With all the front new and back together it's time to finish the rear . In an earlier post, I showed the rear axel in a lovely shade of yellow . After Rian had come over and helped me lift it into the garage , I got on with getting it all painted . That yellow had to go


The before picture of how it looked in the summer when I removed it



Sanded ready for paint




All painted ready to go back on



Back in the truck







I just need to sort out the rear brakes and get the rear drums painted . Then I can get her back on the wheels

[dwcardfan]

That frame is looking sweet. Very nice work Martin.

[Grizz1963]

Well done mate.

I know how much pressure you are under right now.

If it was me.... Does not even bear thinking about.

[Grizz1963]

Seems I screwed up on the link posting for the plane schedules Martin was watching.

Despite the bad weather that everyone had warned us about, all flights seemed to be pretty much on time.

So we would be off as planned.




So there we were, hours early.

A long time to go before we could check in, weigh in and pay in for the extra baggage I knew I had.

Waiting.....



Eventually 2pm got there and Martin and I could wheel our bags over to the ever friendly British Airways ground staff to weigh in and make our way through security.

For the sake of all those who want to do this sort of road trip to buy spares etc, I will do a break down of the baggage and costs as I experienced it.
Martin had done this US trip a few times before with Amanda, so his learnings helped me get it right first time.

So BA gives you 23kg of "free" hold baggage.
A cabin bag, size as per protocol, we did not know, but you can take up to 23kg in it (think power steering pump) as long as you can pick it up and put it in the overhead area yourself, otherwise 10kg if you cannot manage it.
And a"laptop bag" or handbag, we both had small back packs.

Before we left the UK, we both paid for an extra bag, costing us £65.00 online for 23kg into the hold.
Then as my pile of spares etc grew, I realised I would need another bag. Thankfully Kim and Clem had a old large suitcase in their garage that I took along.
My second extra bag cost me £140.00 or $200.00 for the pleasure of 23kg
I eventually weighed in the ski bag as both oversized "sports equipment" and my second extra bag, paying the $200.00 was a 3 minute job.
Then dropping it off at the oversized baggage gate, another 3 minute job.

How easy was that all then.

From there we went through security.



Weirdly, the security personnel were amazingly relaxed, friendly and the lady I passed voiced her exasperation at a passenger ahead of my for being a bit (well, very) thick.

So my backpack and cabin bag went through the X-Rays, I went through the scanner, hands aloft.

No noises..... Phew. Made it !!

Then security asked whose bag my cabin bag was..........

Buggerr !!

So he called me over, told me my bag came up suspect and he needed to go through it.
"Is there anything sharp in the bag that can hurt me?" He asked, I heard myself say "No Sir"
Next he told me to keep my distance, not to speak unless spoken to, not to point anything out to him or touch anything in the bag or that came out of it.

I was worried...... Not a lot, but only because I wondered what had caused them concern. I certainly did not want to leave anything I packed into my 16kg cabin bag behind.

First thing he pulled out, and opened the box of (I had not opened them after collecting at LMC as they were neatly packed, was my new cab mount rubbers and mounting kit..... I think the rubber being organic is the trigger on X-Rays.
He wanted to know what they all were for and his questions were quite naive. So I replied, trying not to point or touch, describing to him what they were for. He then pulled out my new door handles and new lock sets. Once I told him what they were for, he was happy, then back to his screen and pulling out the two LED lights, his interest was even more intense, seems there is a circuit board or something inside them. Anyway, I told him and explained what it was for, even showed him a photo on my mobile of them fitted.
After that he shook my hand, thanked me for my cooperation......
Then he changed completely, from business mode he went to petrol head mode..... Yup, he wanted to know more about my truck, the lights, where they came from and why I was restoring a 1966 Chevy C10 truck.
I suspect Martin was wondering what was going on....

From here we took a walk through Duty Free, nothing of interest there.

Then we went to look for a late lunch.

Finding a place, I ordered a regular (remember, this is Texas and everything is bigger) brisket sandwich and fries plus another of those massive, bottomless drinks.



They keep some good beer as well.



After lunch we settled down to people watching, and waiting for our departure.

Boarding was trouble free.

On the plane I landed next to a super nice guy who was 1.5 times my size, poor guy was stuck in the middle seat, turned out to be a super nice guy from the U.S. who was married to an English girl. His size meant I was sat sideways on takeoff and landing. So the rest of the flight I was mostly standing up, walking and trying to watch a movie while he tried to sleep.

Landing, customs, passport control and the return to out car parking to get my car and head home were all uneventful.

So that was really the end of the holiday.


As a final comment I will post a few pics of the Internet.





Travel whenever you can, go places you never imagined, never thought possible, just go. You will not regret it.

Create a Bucket List, and tick the items off.



Lastly, this road trip delivered no over delivered every day.

I have to thank Nicola my wife for insisting I go with mate Martin who had bugged me for more than 8 months to join him for his 50th birthday party trip.

Every person who reached out and offered us accommodation, advice, friendship and took the time to speak to us.

My world is a better place and my year has been turned into the year of my life after this trip.


I will never forget this.






Thank you all for the comments on the threads I created on various forums.

You made me revisit and enjoy the whole trip again.

Looking forward to the next trip.

[flashed]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us all .

[Ta2Don]

A bit bummed that the epic adventure is over... but seeing Martin getting on with truck time...

Cheers mates...

[dwcardfan]

Thanks for taking us along.

[ibrown50]

Rear suspension is looking good, I'm watching with interest as I'm starting mine soon using pretty much the same components. What's your overall drop? I'm going 4" on the springs with 1" blocks, all from POL

[mjh1965]

Originally Posted by ibrown50

Rear suspension is looking good, I'm watching with interest as I'm starting mine soon using pretty much the same components. What's your overall drop? I'm going 4" on the springs with 1" blocks, all from POL

The same as you Ian except I have gone 3 inch on the springs and 2 inch on the blocks . I also got a 4inch drop shock all from POL as well

[bj383ss]

Suspension is look great Martin!

[pimpston65]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

There you go mate........

hey Grizz i made PM space...

[tune_1]

I have enjoyed watching your builds in England. Glad that you got to see our part of the U.S. and that you had a really good time in this part of the country. Keep up the work as we keep watching.

Dwight

[mjh1965]

Originally Posted by tune_1

I have enjoyed watching your builds in England. Glad that you got to see our part of the U.S. and that you had a really good time in this part of the country. Keep up the work as we keep watching.

Dwight

Thanks Dwight we had a great time in the states . All the people we met there were warm and welcoming . I would move there if it was possible . I will keep the pictures coming because all those parts I got have to go on the truck now .

[Low Elco]

Just got done reading it all! Great write up and awesome trip! Glad it went well for you both. Truck progress is coming along well too!

[Paul V]

Great right up guys

Just about to head out to Florida for a month and wanted to pick up a full set of side trim for my 71 short bed and thought about your ski bag idea.

Just checked with Virgin and they allow you one piece of sports equipment for free !!! Yes no charge.

So my question is did the airline you flew with checked if you had skis in your bag ?

Did you take the bag out with you ?

[mjh1965]

Originally Posted by Paul V

Great right up guys

Just about to head out to Florida for a month and wanted to pick up a full set of side trim for my 71 short bed and thought about your ski bag idea.

Just checked with Virgin and they allow you one piece of sports equipment for free !!! Yes no charge.

So my question is did the airline you flew with checked if you had skis in your bag ?

Did you take the bag out with you ?

Paul we flew with British Airways . There policy was as long as it was within the size then it was ok . It just had to be under 23kgs .
I have flown with virgin Atlantic before . I even managed to bring a power steering box , and loads of other parts in my cases when I flew back to the UK with them so good luck

[uber cool]

chassis progress looking good, nice to see the yellow going. Cant help but think BT van yellow LOL

[clemdaddy]

good work Martin… chassis is looking sweet. the weekend is here and its time for another update, looking forward to it...

[mjh1965]

Well I have lots going on in my personal life just now , that is causing me to spend less time in the garage . I did manage to get. Into the garage and get a little bit done this evening .

I painted and installed my engine perches .



I also fitted the rest of the steering parts





I also made a reinforcement plate for the drop link and painted it silver to match the power steering one

[chad64chevy]

martin, the suspension it looking great! keep it up, and if you plan on coming back to these parts again let me know and I will make sure to take time off work to hang out more with you guys!!

[MacQuigley]

Looking really good Martin.

I know the feeling about not being able to get to the garage. My dad's still in hospital (hopefully getting his hip re replaced tomorrow, dislocated it twice since it was put in 5 weeks ago) and he is as desperate as me to get stuck into the C10 - its become a father son project, just not the father son I was expecting. Actually its a bit of a father son grandson project now.

So Ive not forgotten to call you but Ive just not had a minute.

[mjh1965]

Originally Posted by chad64chevy

martin, the suspension it looking great! keep it up, and if you plan on coming back to these parts again let me know and I will make sure to take time off work to hang out more with you guys!!

Thanks Chad but with what's going on here at home I guess it will be along time before I get back to the states .