53 restore

[coachers]

 My dad and I restored this truck over 25 years ago. It was my primary vehicle for the next 18 years.

 My oldest son (14) and I are restoring the old gal for him to enjoy. I informed him the current gas prices may hamper the amount of fun he gets to enjoy.

 We dropped in a new crate 350 and rebuilt the trans.
 Updated the steering to power and brakes.
 In the processes of getting the gas tank out of the cab and mounting a new fuel cell under the bed.
 
Going to take some $$$ and a crap load of time but I hope we have it done for his 16th birthday.

[wbuehler]

Very Nice

[magic8192]

That is pretty cool.

[RJ]

Makes me kind of miss my old 59 chevy!

RJ

[deanathpc]

That is awesome!  I would love a truck like that!

[onesmoothhead]

That is the Pride of America.  Nice and god luck!

[CB]

Very nice, I can't wait until my son gets old enough to start redoing my old International Scout for him like my father and I did for me.  Having been through the process myself I know I learned how to respect a vehicle and maintain them properly.  Plus that fear of knowing my dad would plant his foot in my @$$ didn't hurt either.  I guess that is part of the fun of having a dad that boxed for the Naval Academy before becoming a father.

All I can say is enjoy the hell out of your time because although you will be working your butt off there is no replacing that time between father and son.  Sure he will piss you off at times but remember that your father went through the same.

Corey

[mcangeli]

Thats the truck I want!!

There's a Red 53 like that for sale near me, $9500 (and it runs) but I can't convince the wife to let me buy it.... 

[coachers]

When bought this old gal in 85, I paid $500.

 CB - You are so right! There are things from our past that come to mind almost daily. Working with my Dad in the back yard on old cars is one of my favorite.

  You might get a kick out of this - I bought a 67' El Camino 6 years ago thinking he would want it when he turned 16. He helped in every step of the restore process, I was certain he would want it.
  When school started this year, he asked if he could bring the 53' to auto shop and start restoring it.  I said, " sure, but don't you want to do some finishing touch up's on the 67' ".  He replied, " If you would like me to sure, but I need to get started on the 53' to have it ready by my 16th birthday."

  I was proud that he wanted the unfinished and is willing to put in the effort. My wife didn't understand why I was so proud at that moment but I'm sure a few of you do.

  The auto shop teacher is one of my former players, he lets us work on the truck on weekends so
I can have a hand in the restore process.

 Here are some finished pic's of the 67'  . I can't find any before pic's, when I do I'll post them.

[CB]

That is awesome.  You must have done a good job raising that boy as it sounds as though he has his priorities well straightened out in front of him.

All I can do is hope that my sone will turn out willing to put the work in too.  He did have a shining moment the other day when I overheard him describing to a friend how the Model T pick up we own was one of the first production trucks sold to the general public.  That doesn't sound like much but then again he is 8 years old and was explaining to a friend.  Kind of chokes ya up a little bit just thinking about it.

It is wonderful to see someone else helping carry tthe torch and hopefully teach more of this current generation how to build what you want in lieu of only buying it.

CB