Grizz's Redneck Express 1966 Chevy Short Fleetside RESTO-GO!

[Grizz1963]

Headed down mainly i70 or was it i707 we saw much that made us want to stop, but while driving, I had made contact with Paul "NevEno" and Brandon "White Knuckle Garage who both live in Ada some distance beyond Oklahoma City and Norman, where we had been booked in at Phil Beauchamp "Rock Tonka" for the next couple of nights.

We had met Brandon and Paul at Clem's party and knew we had to meet up with them too, as they were seriously committed Chevy C10 guys.

Along the route yo Oklahoma, we saw interesting sights and crossed some landmarks.

At this point we had driven through 5 states.... Not bad for a little high mileage Roadtrip.



Much roadside art like this exists in the Midwest Bible Belt of America.

Refreshing and of course for us, who see so very few American cars in England, a constant source of amazement.




One final pic tonight for mate Martin........

This put a massive grin on our faces.



Next up.........

A town called ADA.

[Grizz1963]

So back to "normal" here in St Mary Hoo.

The weatherhad turned when I got back. Rain, wet, chilly, miserable in a word.

I have been trying to upload and write up t eh trip report as well on a daily basis.

Yesterday was spent cutting hedges and shrubs back for winter, so yard time ruled this weekend, and an American car breakfast this morning that lasted till 1.30pm put paid to real garage time, and all I did was polish up my Corvette exhaust tips.



So a bit of a fake, but hopefully if the weather turns next weekend and I can clean up the rear half and diff, then I can get the rust converter on and paint it all. After which the slow process of reassembly and build up can start.

I will try to get another episode of the Road Trip written up tonight before bed time.

Right now I am watching Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves with Nicola (surreptitiously writing up this entry) in order to spend a bit more time with her.

Later dudes.

[Grizz1963]

Soooooooo......

Back to the Tuesday afternoon.

We were headed for Ada, just beyond Oklahoma City to see Paul and Brandon and their families.

We were invited to join them for a traditional Chicasaw meal and then for the men to go out to the shop to talk trucks.

For the non-local readers, here is a short description of the Chickasaw Nation. They are pure Native American, and the invitation was an absolute honour for Martin and I, considering they thought us worthy to introduce to their families. In my personal view people often underestimate the value one can put to this sort of invitation. It has created friendships that can last a lifetime and a small insight into traditional family values that are still being maintained.





Shortly before we arrived, this road really had me chuckling. Only in America.



Arriving there, we were all excited about meeting up again. Gifts were exchanged, and the guys had got Martin and I each a 1965 and 1966 Oklahoma number plate for our trucks as display items.
Then we had an awesome dinner, chatted and eventually with heavy bellies went to the garage to chat more trucks but before that, Paul showed us the bed he had made for his daughter, using a small back window glass, after which he had scaled everything down in size to keep the proportions right. Clem had also sent her another T-Shirt which she was super pleased with.



The completed bed, in a bed... With a plaque above the head board with fender emblems representing the 64, 65, 66 year models.



The four of us posed up for a photos with Paul's NevEno plate on display.



I hope Martin has more photos to post up as I could not take much on my phone, bad light etc.

But one of the photos of 3 C10's on the drive.

Paul is building an insane truck that will be a show stopper when done.

Loads of trick mods, and an uncompromising approach to parts he wants, finishes he expects and the final vision means he will succeed.

One of the tricks I really loved is the 22" steel wheels with traditional dog dish hubcaps fitted via his own secret fitting mechanisms.



Compared to regular 15" steelies.




There will also be one of these modern seat combinations, which I massively envy....... I really, Really, REALLY would love one in my truck as they allow for various configurations, under seat storage and also are very supportive, but thinner than the originals,Making for more space in the cab behind the steering wheel.




Our view most of the evening, we were in and out of the shop, all three trucks and time just flew by.

Brandon is helping his son build his first truck as well, and I am sure Paul wil be building another soon for his daughter.




We carried on talking and comparing notes outside till leaving time at 11.00pm when we had to get the 75 miles cross country to Norman, another town outside of Oklahoma City, to go stay with Phil Beauchamp "Rock Tonka" and his son Austin.

We eventually got to them at 01.00am and ended up chatting, starting up trucks etc till 05.00am after sharing a it of Apple Pie Moonshine.

Could this trip get any better?

[65sub]

Love the updates. This is the first thread I check each day.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Originally Posted by dwcardfan

I wish I could have made it up early for the treasure hunt in the bone yard.

Originally Posted by 65sub

Love the updates. This is the first thread I check each day.

Thanks guys.

Will try sneak time in everywhere to upload and write up.


On the way to the farm we stopped for fuel, drinks and amquick chat.

This was on the forecourt.



Right, the next bunch are just madness.

Eye candy for rust freaks and people who like this sort of thing.

A bunch off us uploaded onto Clem's flatbed truck and drove a while, then roamed the acres and acres of old steel.

Just to drive you more mad, many of these vehicles were running driving when brought out here, so can be restored.











Rare spares everywhere, these pivotal spotlights were some of those stashed in a schoolbus.

There are loads of spares stashed inside vehicles all over the property.





Remember the rule?

No Ford parts for sale.......

I forgot and we took over an hour to remove a large V8 bonnet/hood badge from this truck with a Leatherman tool..... Got confiscated as not for sale when we totalled up our parts.




Pete getting in there......

Pity it was all for nothing, thought the V8 would have suited my trucks hood.



More later.

[mjh1965]

Thanks for posting the pictures Rian I should have mine loaded by Tuesday photo bucket playing up

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by SamsAutoParts73-87

Those piston exhaust tips are genius!
-Sam

Glad you noticed them mate, many people miss them.

I initially thought Supertrapp.

Originally Posted by mjh1965

Thanks for posting the pictures Rian I should have mine loaded by Tuesday photo bucket playing up

No worries Martin, it's like doing it all over again, without eating myself to a standstill every day.





Mike and Sarah Losh's Cloud Nine.

SEMA winner truck.



The man. The Legend that is Clem Johnston.

One of the kindest, most generous people I have ever met. Sharp sense of humour, and eye for detail, a caring man.

Proud to call him a friend (His wife, Kim is a match for him too)

Thank you for everything you facilitated Clem.



Some of Www.tubatrucks.com 's work



Tilley, built by Clem for a customer. Harley Davidson recovery truck with Utility bed



Yup, it is strange.







Mate Martin, VERY HAPPY IN CLOUD NINE.

This is a seriously cool build by Mike Losh of Sloshtubz




The band going for it.




That's it for tonight folks, bed time now, up at 05.00 to get to Margate for an early morning lecture.

[Palf70Step]

Thanks guys. Great to see what you think of us on this side of the puddle.

[chad64chevy]

critters in them hills that infiltrate your skin and breed inside your body.


those are called 'chiggers', I got three of them on my right leg that day! loving the pics it's like being there again! once again it was great getting to meet you both, and for you guys stopping by to look at my truck!!

[flashed]

That was a trip of a lifetime ,sad I missed out but loving every update and look forward to more.

[mjh1965]

First I would like to thank everybody for there generosity and kindness . You guys made my trip and my 50th a trip of a lifetime .

Unfortunately I have been really busy as soon as I got back . My photo bucket has been playing up so Rian has already started loading trip pictures .


Here's some from the hot rod shop we stopped at on the first day . What a way to start a trip . Scot and John both good guys .

[mjh1965]

Just thought I'd post some of my photos of the junkyard , its very hard to take photos when you are junk drunk. I could have stayed in this place for the complete trip and still not seen everything . All I can say is THANKS CLEM !!!!!!



















Once again thanks Clem. I think what made it such an awesome day was we were all like kids again running around not knowing what to look at first . Best of all it was with a great bunch of people .

[flashed]

I want to visit that yard so bad ,Im junk drunk just looking at your pics .

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by flashed

I want to visit that yard so bad ,Im junk drunk just looking at your pics .

That happens very easily.

After an early start for the day out on the farm, then the afternoon drinking, dancing, partying and eating, Clem, Kim, Bomp (Greg) McMurphy (Michael) Martin and myself went uptown to Clem and Kim's house where most of us were staying (McMurphy was booked into a local hotel)

Kim went to bed by Midnight, but Clem had other ideas.........

Break out the Redbreast Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey over ice, some red skinned roasted peanuts in a large shop style dispenses and massive jar of Kim's Home made Choc Brownies....... Ohhhh, and open up the full sized pool table.

Everyone was expected to wear a Fedora hat to play.

I will just say, Play continued till much later.

Photo courtesy of Bomp (Greg, who had travelled from Kaiser, Oregon)



Sunday morning wake up call came all too soon, as Clem had another treat up his sleeve for a bunch of us.

Breakfast being prepared by Clem and Kim. She is an absolute whizz at the stove and baking.



We were joined by more couples from the previous evening, and soon it was another party in the kitchen.

Once everyone had eaten, we all decamped back down to the Fuel station/workshop to collect Pete and Jeff, then we went of to Siloam Springs where Mike Losh of Slosh Tubz fame and previous SEMA Build winner was working on Boosted Bertha his 2015 build for SEMA. Clem had some the Bed Wood and a load of other tasks for him.

We were all going to help, mainly just loads of extra hands, cleaning, prepping and helping lift the bed off etc.

Of course also to drool of their magnificent build.

Before we went, I looked over this chassis and motor that Clem had done for a customer build. Rather special, fortunately he has a small elite team working with him.




On the Saturday Bomp had also taken this pic of the forum members from www.67-72chevytrucks.com who were present at the party.





Master of the Selfie, Bomp.



Some random pics.




Mike and Bomp



How low does it go?





Mike and Clem sorting out placement of the wood.



This truck is incredible trick.

There is not a part that has not been modded, massaged, painted or polished.

The headlights have been specially built for the truck too.

Note the writing on the inside of the lense.



And then all hell breaks loose....... Red will look awesome once fitted.



One of the things that happens when you are involved in a hobby, forums etc like this one, is that you end up meeting loads of "normal" people who live extraordinary lives and create products and builds we can only dream of.
But ultimately, they are only human, and if you treat them that way, they will amaze you with their generosity of spirit.

While we were there, we spoke to Mike and mentioned that we were going to swing by Gas Monkey Garage and also go look for a bBurger or something to eat on Martin's Birthday the 26th of October. Mike had previously supplied some of his Slosh Tubz to thenFast and Loud crew for a build, and his truck Cloud Nine had also featured in the programme.

Do you guys want to see if we can get you in behind the scenes he dropped in conversation.....

Hell yeah!!!

So he said that he would ask his wife Sarah, to see what she could get arranged for us.

This Road Trip had suddenly stepped up a couple of notches.

We met Sarah later and gave her one of the hoodies that I had bought through the year. She is tiny, so it will be used when she watches Downton Abbey.

DOWNTON ABBEY......? Yes, the Americans love it. As a bonus, Martin has also been able to sort out something for her.

Later the afternoon she confirmed that we were going to enjoy our visit to Gas Monkey garage.


Mike and Sarah Losh of Slosh Tubz fame with Martin and Myself.



Our day spent with Mike and a whole gang of amazing builders would and will be another high light of the trip.


In the late afternoon we said our good byes as Clem had another surprise for us.........

Dinner with his and Kim's friends Dick and Dorrie Sedon on their ranch.

Dorrie and her daughter breed high end, award winning Arabians.

Dick has a mind blowing collection of all sorts, I really do not know how to describe it all. From Sabres, Spurs, swords, revolvers, muskets, saddles, Bowie knives and guitars to smoking pipes and cars. The man had worked hard all his life and collected stuff he likes.

We got to spend time looking, and I will post only three photos, I just cannot load all the photos I took of the stuff that just interested me.

As often is the case, not everything is everyone's cuppa tea, so scroll past if you get bored.

Dick and Clem in the "museum house"



One I could not stop touching.




And what I call a Knife.





That is all for tonight, up early tomorrow.

[flashed]

Even more wonderful pics ,thanks for the updates .

[Bomp]

Thanks for posting all the pics, brought back great memories, So glad you made it over. Hope we can all do it again some day.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by flashed

Even more wonderful pics ,thanks for the updates .

As long as you want them, till we run out.... I will post up.

Originally Posted by Bomp

Thanks for posting all the pics, brought back great memories, So glad you made it over. Hope we can all do it again some day.

Pleasure Greg, I think you and I both like the pics, and the memories.


I thought I would post up a real time photo that just surfaced on my Fartsbook feed, from SEMA in Las Vegas.

Boosted Bertha as she stands right now.

Dream to reality.

It has been an incredibly challenging build for Mike Losh and the team he had assembled, with many broken promises and contracts, but he made it.





Back to the report if anyone is still reading the words and not just scanning photos.

I may have overdone on the photos a bit, but love them myself.

So Sunday night when we got back in from Dick and Dorrie's Ranch, the pool table was again opened and some play ensued with refreshments over ice.

At some point we all went to bed, as Clem needed to be up at 05.00 for work and to open the shop, and Kim needed to get out for work.

Martin and I got up, packed up and locked up, then hit the road for Kansas City where we were headed to LMC Truck to collect our orders, mine at around $700.00 and Martin's around $400.00

The road was filled with America, much to be seen and at one point we stopped to buy fuel and also got a Walmart special drink....... A cup of Dr Pepper for me and Diet Coke for Martin at 88cents for any size, so we bought the large, which must be around 1500ml or 1.5 litre.
Perfect.




Eventually with all our stops etc, we made it to LMC by about 13.00 or 1pm.

This is the front of the parts collection showroom.




Paid for the parts, and they threw in a free T shirt each as we had travelled so far to collect.



From there we went down to Winfield, Kansas to meet up with friend Herb John and his wife Luz, who I have known for years through www.garagejournal.com

We chose to avoid motorways again, knowing the route was longer but a whole lot more interesting.

Driving along, we drove into the aptly named El Dorado..........

And did a dangerous U-Turn to go back to an old run down street corner shop that was immensely interesting from the street, the front windows filled to the max on both street sides with old Skool Hot Rods.

Parking up, we went in the side door and met up with a bunch of young guys all chewing baccy, spitting and chawing their lumps.

Interesting.

The front showroom was filled with cars of all descriptions, V8's everywhere, Superchargers, twin V8's on a "Coffin car" and loads of skulls everywhere.

But weirdest of all, was that the massive workshop housed about seven, that is 7 Hummers, full size, of all descriptions, some on 22" wheels, some more modest 20's

These were being fitted with modified diesel Duramax engines, one in the shop that they happily demonstrated for us, kicking out a Dyno'd 1500bhp.

Just insane...... But we were in El Dorado after all.

Martin got chatting to the one guy building Harley's in there (he is a Harley guy) and I went into the basement with on of the other guys.

What I saw, defies belief..... The term high end hoarder springs to mind.

Cars described as one of only two, the only one ever built and other weirdness cam into view, there were no lights like in a showroom, so I really could only look, tried photographing, but it failed miserably.


I will post a couple of pics from the El Dorado shop later.

Dinner time now.

[mjh1965]

Well I have paid photo bucket to upgrade my account so back online posting pictures . Here are a couple of my pictures of El dorado cars

[Grizz1963]

Thanks for posting up Martin.

Glad you subscribed to Photobucket, it's a pain and at $26.00 per year one could say money wasted, but at least you do not have to look over your shoulder all the time.

Here is a Duramax being abused.

http://youtu.be/ZEMDqY37tJw

I did enjoy seeing and hearing them in the cities, being driven hard.

[mjh1965]

Well as Rian was looking at the hearse due to Nicola working at an undertakers , I was interested in the vehicles outside .

Here are some of my pictures











And now for the treasures inside













So another great day was over head junk drunk again with more to come

[flashed]

Great pics again ,waiting for some more .

[mjh1965]

Here's one of Brandon's wife rocking the Union Jack flag

[White knuckle Garage]

Man I couldn't say more about that night except it was an honor to meet you and Martin. Glad you had a good time

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by White knuckle Garage

Man I couldn't say more about that night except it was an honor to meet you and Martin. Glad you had a good time

Like you would not believe mate.


Right, let's see if I can do the next six hours of our U.S. Road trip before I fall asleep.

From Ada, we headed back, cross country for about 75 miles at 11.00pm......

I had an invitation from Phil on www.67-72chevytrucks.com to come and stay with him and his family when we came to do our road trip.

Phil is a man who has once again, worked hard and enjoys his hobbies to the max.

This is his one build: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=409469

Driving on back roads in the dark was nerve wracking, and we felt quite guilty as the SatNav estimated time of arrival was near 01.00 in the morning.

We need not have worried.......

When we got there at one in the morning, it was coffee, tea, beer, moonshine etc.....

We started to talk cars, bikes, trucks, toys and travel. Ultimately going to bed at 05.00 after a bit of moonshine tasting.

Full sized play room inside the garage. Phil and Austin insisted we make ourselves at home.



Our room, hard to photograph, but held two double beds



Looking down from our guest suite, which included all the trappings of a 5 star hotel room including full sized jacuzzi




How many spare grilles do you need?



Garage art when grilles and number plates just aren't enough. How cool is that?



While walking around at 03.00 Phil showed s his Suburban...... Note the size of the rear tyres.

450bhp Big Block power motivates them.



And a little 150bhp shot of this blue juice made for an interesting grocery getter.

Phil started it up for us at the time too and demonstrated the electronic cutout valves with some gusto.




Not art..... Deadly serious, and in my book dead cool plate. I absolutely love the American patriotism.



Plate on Austin's daily driver truck. Did I mention before that I love these full size trucks a whole lot.



Eventually at 05.00 we headed back to the garage/shop where our suite was situated and I will leave you with the view at the bottom of the stairs..... Note the height of the lift.



I woke at 08.00 after 3 hrs sleep and went to investigate a bit further.....

More later.

[Ta2Don]

Very Cool Mate!!! What a road trip!!!