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

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by flashed

Im still reading every update and enjoying your trip.

HiBuddy, thank you for taking the time to comment, and actually reading all my prattling.
As long as you are on board I will carry on writing.

Originally Posted by tune_1

I am glad to read and see that you had a great trip. The museum is located one mile east of the junction of 66 and 177 in Warwick Okla. in an old gas station.

Dwight

Indeed, and to be honest, people who drive by, are missing out on a seriously stocked little treasure.

They also sell a lot of antiques at very reasonable prices there.

Originally Posted by 65sub

Love the road trip stories. It reminds me of a couple of years I spent in south Texas

Thanks for the reply.

I guess you are speaking about hospitality and good people.

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Hey Don, soak to you later on Face Time.

[Johnny_Lamebridge]

Rian, thanks for letting us all ride along on your and Martin's epic adventure.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Johnny_Lamebridge

Rian, thanks for letting us all ride along on your and Martin's epic adventure.

I would not have left without you buddy......

Glad if I can have as many people along as possible.

I have these reports running in 15 different places on 9 forums that I post up on, so replying etc takes time. But if it enriches people's lives or makes them want to visit the UK and use our home as a base to travel from etc, then I have done just fine. Likewise, if you can see a different part of the U.S. The same rule applies.

[flashed]

Im still watching both posts even if I only respond on one sometimes .Im currently rambling in North and South Carolina and seeing all kinds of fun stuff.

[Palf70Step]

Enjoying the review of the trip!

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by flashed

Im still watching both posts even if I only respond on one sometimes .Im currently rambling in North and South Carolina and seeing all kinds of fun stuff.

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Enjoying the review of the trip!

Really glad you gents are still along for the ride.




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.

[SamsAutoParts73-87]

I will be patiently waiting, I have been checking GJ for your updates, but I just happened to take a look here today.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by SamsAutoParts73-87

I will be patiently waiting, I have been checking GJ for your updates, but I just happened to take a look here today.

Last one for the day.


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.

[flashed]

Im still here and loving every minute of it .

[Ta2Don]

I am still enjoying the ride, albeit vicariously, through your words and pix...

[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 .

[flashed]

With a little more work that would be a very nice truck and the clock is too cool .Did I mention I collect clocks ,I have more clocks than wall space allows.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by flashed

With a little more work that would be a very nice truck and the clock is too cool .Did I mention I collect clocks ,I have more clocks than wall space allows.

Hey Flashed...!!

Do you have one of these???

I do ....

http://mb.nawcc.org/showthread.php?9...466#post722466


Whatcha think?

[flashed]

No I dont have one of those ,never even seen one before .I like it very much but all my clocks are just wall hangers .

[flashed]

Oscar was a very cute baby and that Ford is just plain Bad Ass .

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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]

Sorry to hear about the death of the donkey ,never thought it possible for me to fall for our donkey that died way too soon but he was a hoot ,I miss him terribly ,he too loved attention .Im still loving your pics with the very detailed updates.

[Ta2Don]

Was a pleasure having my mates spend time here in Searcy…

Absolutely enjoy your tales of this epic adventure...

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by flashed

Sorry to hear about the death of the donkey ,never thought it possible for me to fall for our donkey that died way too soon but he was a hoot ,I miss him terribly ,he too loved attention .Im still loving your pics with the very detailed updates.

Yes, the donkeys death really was unfortunate.
Next part here for your and anyone else's pleasure Flashed, I hope there are still guys enjoying this.

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Was a pleasure having my mates spend time here in Searcy…

Absolutely enjoy your tales of this epic adventure...

Don, you are a most gracious and generous host, and your wife, Saless is incredibly tolerant of guys like Martin and I who just charged into your house and took over.

It was a pleasure sharing a bit of time with you, pity we are not neighbours, could be nice and at least then I could just quietly roll your dads old ride on mower over to my place.