GRIZZ’s ‘79 - 2WD BLAZER Challenge over in London, England. “~It’s not a Project~”

[68Timber]

Did you change your camera settings? Maybe it's on my end. Just the last few posts, the pics have become pretty big.

I like the surf board idea, I know someone thinking of adding one to the top of his (faux) Meyers Manx. Do you have a rack in mind yet? You seem to have the wood working skills to make one if you don't. Whatever you use will be bolted to the fiberglass top, something that can be patched later if you remove it. It's only four bolt holes right?

Just a thought.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by 68Timber

Did you change your camera settings? Maybe it's on my end. Just the last few posts, the pics have become pretty big.

I like the surf board idea, I know someone thinking of adding one to the top of his (faux) Meyers Manx. Do you have a rack in mind yet? You seem to have the wood working skills to make one if you don't. Whatever you use will be bolted to the fiberglass top, something that can be patched later if you remove it. It's only four bolt holes right?

Just a thought.

Thank you for the reply.

I only use my iPhone for photos, editing (I have to edit, every photo I take, even just the slightest touch, or Photophukit reads it as a movie or something, no idea why, never had the problem with the old phone)

So not changed settings, not changed anything from my side on Photobucket.

And as a company they are useless too, not having a clue.


As for the surfboard, windsurfer, ideally I want some nice roof racks to bolt onto the glassfibre permanently, and not the metal roof.

So the holes do not bother me at all.

It seems it will happen.

[Grizz1963]

I know many of you in various parts of the world enjoy the Bootfair s when they are on during summer.



Easter Weekend.

Sunday morning I woke, like a druggie needing a fix.

Actually posted on a local FB group to ask if any Bootfair s were on locally (less than 15 miles away)

Then straight into the Berlingo.......... in case of a large item.

Loads of stuff found and bought.

Two of these for £1.00 each



5 of these for £5.00

12.5 mm HSS bits.

Same guy sold me the Duck Oil, sanding discs and some gloves.




Total haul, included items for @CraigRK and Sally.

Excluding their items I spent £22.70

Including items for friends £27.70

90 Velcro Hookit 60 grit discs were £10.00
Kiddie rocker £4.00
Duck Oil £2.00
Coffee mugs 10p each
Tights £1.00/pair
Large scarf £2.00
3 soft toys £1.00 for dog
One soft toy 50p
24 inch stainless steel ruler 50p
S letter Free
Gloves 50p per pair
Damp course for Craig £1.00
10 plastic hangers (I only use that type, not for sale anymore) £1.00
Turkish bowl 50p
Glass ball 50p
Lei for Blazer 50p

A good day out, then headed home for a coffee and toast with Sally, followed by more yard and woodwork.









After the Bootfair Sally popped in for tea and toast before going back to work, today, Easter Monday is her last day at her current job of the last 7 years, next week she starts working as a nurse at a local (13 miles away) Hospital

Once she left, I carried on getting the wood ready from the old deck, that we are going to use for her garden, which is a sanctuary to her. She needs various beds out back and in front, edged. This treated timber will be perfect for that.


Prozac loaded.



Stas in Siberia commented with a photo (we have WhatsApp chats daily, sharing various things) that the Berlingo looked like a Russian Cowboy builders GAZ van, seems it translates well.



Drove over to her place, load staying where it should.

Offloading and adding some to her she’d as requested.

The rest will be done once the paving has been pressure cleaned.





She had asked for a board around the bottom edge of her shed as it is raised on a concrete pad.



Then headed home to get started on the Chevy tailgate bench build for the deck.

Thread and build here http://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/...building-table

Last good day of the week forecast.

Got to make it count.

Later.

[Grizz1963]

So the BBQ/Feelgood patio or deck build continued yesterday after getting Sally’s wood sorted and delivered.

As you may recall, @CraigRK and I managed to get an 80’s Chevy tailgate at the NSRA Swapmeet

Next trick is to build it into a bench that’s been in my head simpnce last year when we were doing the USA Road trip, and went shopping with Clem Johnson and Dennis in Arkansas followed by melting metal in Oklahoma at Andy Martin’s place.

ROAD TRIP LINK http://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/...2018-humdinger

The pieces were already collected for it then.

So very basic lay out planned.



Then the job to remove all the closing and hinging hardware as I need to recess the tailgate into the frame of the bench backrest.



The next part of the job took a lot longer than planned as the large fitting screws were all rusted solid, so various forms of force and manipulation were employed to get the rods disconnected and out.

At that point I called it an early day as my guest was soon to be headed over.

Some of the inner clips to the ally trim were missing and rusted away, so even reassembly was interesting.



Packed up and closed shop.

Hope to have it built and in use by sunset today.

If not.......

[Grizz1963]

All in all, I failed......

Had hoped to complete the bench by end of Monday.

But it was the right thing, to pack up early by 3pm.

Started by drawing a basic plan, not something I usually do, mostly I just cut and make it up as I go building stuff.



I tend to lay stuff out as I go, in order to edit if needed.



By 2pm this was where I had got.



And by 3pm all the parts were just laid out, balanced and visually illustrated.



And looking like it was complete, at this point I packed it all away for another day, to do assembly.

And cut the grass,



And then a pic of Dennis’ truck, 1987 model, which is what the tailgate came from.



Shortly after a good friend, and famed memeber of various forums, Glen Anderson arrived with his 1959 Land Rover.



After he left, I started a fire to do a BBQ for Sally who had her last shift after 7 years at her job, she starts working as a nurse in a local hospital next week, so will be unemployed for the first time in her life for a week.

[Grizz1963]

21.30 last night.

Doorbell rings.

Either someone has parked a car on it’s roof in a ditch, or Mickey next door is pissed and locked himself out.

Neither, well, it was Mickey, parcel from Russia being hand delivered.

From Vladimir who had messaged recently to say a friend of his crashed a car, would I like the front one for my collection.....?

Of course I would.

I Offered to pay postage or shipping, but he declined and said an English plate for his garage would be nice.


So I opened the very manly parcel......




Plate, some mittens, and......



And best of all, a bit of an honour.

One of Vladimir’s cube in a cubes that he makes on his lathe.

It’s incredibly tactile, and I sat playing with it the rest of the evening.



I am pleased to have found and been given two plates for Vladimir that are 40 years apart in issue.

A 1966 “D” plate, and a 2006 “56” plate.(Thanks to Zeberdee for the 56 plate from his GasGas trials bike.



Got today and tomorrow off work, but loads of yard work.

Weather forecast sucks.

[Grizz1963]

OK.....


So, Whodunnit???


Thank you anyway.


Much appreciated





Scanned. Approved

[Grizz1963]

Funny how things change.

Prozac is not Digger or skid steer bucket, but certainly is not shy of any jobs.

So today Sally and I decided to change and restart the small bed next to the newly rebuilt deck, after clearing the side beds and cutting the rotten tips, and other off cuts for the neighbors from the old decking materials.

So we decided to use Prozac along with a heavy duty cargo strap, to pull out the conifers one by one.

Two of the six were trying to put up a fight, one made Prozac’s wheels squeal, followed promptly by Sally squealing even louder.



In the end the whole bed was cleared, excluding the little windbreak hedge.

I will find some more new and different plants at the next Bootfair I find.



While at it, I also cleaned and serviced the water feature, another two part skip find from years ago.



All back together, just awaiting new plants.

Mickey hanging over the hedge was impressed too.



Tomorrow ai need to assemble the tailgate bench as well.

If no Bootfairs are on.

[Grizz1963]

Mate Fil from Cambridge found it and a DHL sprinter van toy at a Bootfair, he is building an ex DHL Sprinter based campervan.
And could not resist. I know the feeling.



Today one Bootfair did not happen, and the second one was half size, due to cold, chilly, spotty and breezy weather.

But I went anyway, and fond the second one still delivered.

Spent about £11.50 if my calculations are correct


Liked these.

After a clean up they looked like this.

Read the fine print.



Back home, the weather continued to be cold, with spotty rain, and I decided not to work on the tailgate bench today.

Coffee, biccies and some rarely watched television as Sally is at home doing a load of online study for the new job she starts tomorrow

My four day break flew by, but was good.

[Grizz1963]

One of the things I thought of doing was to create a “license plate” to hang below the front beam of the seat.

Something like GRIZZ’S BENCH but in my case, too many of my license plate collection would have to die.

So just a nice idea.



So after breakfast etc, I carried on with the bench.

Sally had stuff to do, dog to walk and other home jobs, so went off for a while returning later to supervise ad help.



Harley always has to be there to help.



Armrests made wider, and screws clocked for those who need to see that.





Also added a strip of wood to the front of the seat.



And as @CraigRK said to Sally, I have been trying to kill myself for 56 years, one day I will succeed.



Final result for the day.



And of course, Branded.




More to come.

[Grizz1963]

Just saw this on the Phoenix Craigslist in a thread on the Chevy truck board.

Car in Mesa, Arizona.

Prices are certainly headed upward for these in 2WD form..

Personal preference means I have one, and it still makes me happy.

Link will die as soon as it sells, but in the mean time.

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/f...882041740.html




Pretty much a twin.

[Grizz1963]

So at 3.30 am my night was over, backache and then a chat with Dennis.

By 04.00 a mug of tea and forums.

Sally was up at her place by 05.00 to get her son to work for 05.45 as his car snapped an alternator belt yesterday,

So by 06.00 she came to pop in and bring me a mug of tea in bed.

Perfect ehhhh.

Anyway, once I was up, we made brekkie toasts d tea.

And of course had to use the new bench.

I can report it got approval from all parties.



Once done, I went to the garage to fetch out some hinges for Mickey next door and the cast pieces we made at Andy Martin’s place in Oklahoma last year, plus the cast iron ones bought at various venues.

They needed to be mocked up as part of the bench decorating

But before that, mixing PVA wood glue and sawdust from my wood-shop lathe table, to fill in the holes where all the screws were countersunk.



Filled, needed to dry in the sun, then sanded back to flat and smooth.




Still need to look in my badge pile for a Chevrolet badge to fill the gap where one used to live.



Sally and I tried the stars in various configurations and settled on this.



Once selected, there always is more to be done.

In the mean time, a few hours later, the holes all filled, and sanded back to standard.




Stars next,

Probably some time this week if I get time after work.

Thanks for checking in.

[Grizz1963]

Continuing with the bench decoration, some of you may remember that we made some castings and copies at Andy Martin’s place in Oklahoma..

I had also bought some cast iron pieces while travelling.



They still needed to be cut, trimmed and processed to fit.



After



I also had 4 doorknobs.

Cut off the rear of each in order to get a flush fit drilled through them and countersunk the fronts.



Once processed, I selected some satin spray paint and got going.





While the paint was drying I also managed to sand all the holes that I filled in the morning.

Lastly, a second coat later.

Then brought to the house..




Next job is measure and fit the hardware to the bench.

.

[Grizz1963]

Another Prozac to the rescue job done yesterday

Picked up some units for @CraigRK

Seller chatted for quite some time. He was very impressed with the sheer capacity of the little van that can.

[Grizz1963]

Postman rang the bell today as a small parcel from Germany needed a signature.



Parcel sender named as Michael

Contents

A pleasant surprise.

Once again, random generosity and acts of kindness

Thank you.





Was off work today as I hurt my back badly yesterday at work.

So spent 98% of the day in a chair with a hotwater bottle behind my back.

By 17.15 I had to move the Blazer up to the house. First time out the house except for a GP visit at 08.30am.

Washed it down as its been stood for 4 weeks, started up on first turn of the key.

Pleased of course.





After the wash, parked and ready to go work tomorrow

[Grizz1963]

Bootfair was lean today.

But bits I got were good prices and even needed.

Love these.



Not cheap. And not at Bootfairs either



Home. Polish and clean next.



Total haul.

Included 6 cans of brake cleaner for Craig and I.
At £1.00 or $1.30 per can, happy to buy them.

Also a can of SAS battery terminal protector for £1.00
I use their penetrating oils which are excellent

Pink camping blanket for Craigs daughter £1.00

Captain America mug. New. 50p

Kiddie chair £1.00

Aluminium VW Bus sign for mate Paul £2.00

Weird hosepipe with spray head for Sally £1.00





Been chatting to Dennis a lot recently

Sad to report that Mike Mittler owner of the NASCAR racing team that Prozac gets its number from, has died of cancer.
I got to meet Mike three years ago and he gave me a full factory tour of their Mittler Brothers factory. A generous, kind man.
A massive loss from any perspective. RIP Mike.

Linked to Mike Mittler, Dennis’ grand daughter Skyler is now 5 years old and Dennis recently did some body and paint work for Mile on his wifes car and they traded in a way they both benefitted.

A new Quarter Midget race car for his grand daughter to start racing in.

Racing runs deep in this family.









She will be racing the car locally at St Louis Missouri under the no 63 as a tribute which was one of Mikes NASCAR racing numbers.





Work on Dennis’ personal vintage Shell Gas Station continues.

With small bits being added all the time.

[Grizz1963]

Spoke to Dennis on Sunday.

He had found a brand new, 1977 year model telephone call box for the gas station.

Never opened or installed


What’s the chance of such a find.



Had a business meeting in Croydon today, got home at 6.00pm and found a parcel from mate Mat “Speedle” who had just returned from his extended honeymoon in the USA.

Some cool leggings for Sally, and a Gas Monkey Garage T Shirt for me..

Sally was quite blown away, and kept saying “You have lovely friends, they must like you, Why? “

Thanks mate.




After I got home, I cut the grass and then at 7.30 started to fit the cast stars etc to the bench.

After the varnish over the weekend, this really is the end of the bench build.

[Grizz1963]

In other random news

Seen In a carpark at Pepperhill.

Citroen DS23 Safari.

Certainly not everyones taste.

Way ahead of its time.







Proud owner 40 years.





Note two license plates.

In order for plate to be legible when lower tailgate is down.

[Grizz1963]

Spent yesterday at @CraigRK helping him and his son build a used, re-engineered shed on his driveway, yes, it needs to be there.

Prozac the Berlingo was also on duty to deliver some furniture to him that came from near my place.

We finished at 20.30 and then I drove the hour home.

No dinner, but a relaxing Rum and Pepsi Max, followed by a late bath after 22.00 to help my back along.

Bed by 01.00 which is massively late for me and Harley alarm clock by 05.22 after which I could not get back to sleep, so got up.

Doesn’t look like many people go to Bootfairs anymore as they certainly are smaller this year and the picking is certainly not as rich as it has been in the past.

Anyway,

Flag for USA
Four lots of screws were £1.00 the lot
Sign £1.00
Toy for Sally’s dog 50p
5 key rings £1.00
2 Portuguese cockerels for 50p
Small pliers 50p
Then at the second Bootfair which had 4 rows of cars only, vs the usual 16 rows, I got lucky, if you are a pipe collector.
5 good pipes for £12.00




5 pipes for £12.00



So pretty disappointing Bootfair.



In news from the USA


Dennis completed the next generation 1/4 Midget build for his very eager to race, grand daughter and took it in to be inspected by the race officials yesterday.

All good.

Today they hope to go let her drive it around the track and start coaching her.

If the weather holds out.






Track.






I hope she does as well as Adam, Dennis’ sone at that age and onward.

[Grizz1963]

Seen at the Bootfair

Radio Flyer airplane.

Great condition and priced at £30.00 vs new price online at £88.00 plus shipping.

[Grizz1963]

Most of you know Mickey next door to my place.

He and his wife were away for two weeks on a caravan holiday.

I looked after Wendy’s greenhouse and 100’s of seedlings and of course cut his grass as it goes mad.

Last night they got back and brought me an unnecessary thank you gift.

Firstly I thought, more clutter for my hoarders house.



But I love it behind this whisky bottle that was a gift a few years ago from a guy with the same nickname as Mickey “Skippy”




Life continues to be good.

[Grizz1963]

NOT GOING TO COPY AND PASTE ALL THE PHOTOS

CLICK LINK.

http://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/...nt-pics-loaded


ITS ALL THERE.

[Grizz1963]

PS. Got a bicycle stand for @CraigRK for £12.00 too.

[Grizz1963]

Long weekend in England meant I could have a few beers and cook a BBQ at a strangers home for 16 people.
One of Sally’s best friends from school.

And yes, I did the cooking to a higher standard than the usual burned offerings they are used to.



Bootfair today, up early and out. Sally declined.

Got lucky, went back to the one trader who had offered me a load of Strawberry Depression glass for £5.00 yesterday when I took the bowl, as I knew there was a cheese dish.

Pleasantly surprised when he only asked £1.00 for it.



The rest of the haul looked like this.

Many were for random others.



Nice 18” wheeled bicycle for @CraigRK for his daughter....... cost £3.00

For the price of a coffee.

And I got myself a post digging spade and I will be putting up some fence posts soon. £2.00 has to be cheap enough.

Next to the deck and Mickeys side.




I plan on going to see a 1983 Honda Civic in a bit, knowing I should not, but really wanting it.


Let’s see what today brings.

[Grizz1963]

Postbox surprise today from Disasterbus to add to my collection of quirky weird and wonderful knives.

Loving it.