Not trying to be negative, but the whole front suspension of the truck is apart. The frame is solid as the day it left the factory but the cab floor is just gone. The cab sits blocked up above the frame by timbers. The trailing arms are shot, the steering is removed. I probably would be well along with it if I had put the same amount of time and money into it as I have the '64 instead.

The property out there is beautiful and we try to get out once a week at least. Sometimes I go out for the day by myself (it's only 25 minutes away). I will say I have thought once the '64 is driveable I might try to reverse the locations. But for now it'll have to stay as is.

 

Hey Bob, great to see you around! Yes, I back-burnered the truck for a '64 Vette (see the "sleeping beauty" thread). By the time I get them BOTH done, my kids will have to drive me around because I'll be too old to drive! I'm having a ball and learning an incredible amount with this project, but still occasionally do a bit on the truck as well. You obviously are a good parent, if she wants a C-3 that's quite acceptable in my book!

 

I've read through the Sleeping Beauty thread...been snooping a while.
The kiddo is 13 now, and planning that all important first car. We've a friend that has a bone stock '79 for sale, decent driver, but needs cosmetics. It'll be a great Daddy and Chey project. I've told her it doesn't come home until I sell a Jeep though- I'm currently hip deep in a '52 Chevy pickup restore and between it and the '46, I am out of room unless I part with the Jeep so its carport is available.

 

Aw, just put up another carport and bring it home. The longer you wait, the higher the chance that it gets sold, or damaged, or whatever! That will be a GREAT motivator for good grades. But seriously - 13 already?

 

Take it in jest, my car is at home in my garage and I have not let myself start on it yet. Still working through some honey do's that must be done first.
I better get to it soon or I will be too old. You are doing great.
Mark

 

I completely get this. Wife and I have been looking at condos for cripe's sake...
Every day I wake up with a mental list of tasks that need doing; fix lawn sprinklers, trim the palms, fix the 63 clutch pedal, fix daughter's Jeep that starts intermittently, put struts on the T-bird, service both air conditioners, winterize the boat...and on and on.

Yes, I could farm a bunch of this stuff out, but it rankles me to hire somebody to do stuff that I can do...
I do have a lawn and pool service so when I'm on vacation this house is maintained.

But it does make me wonder how I kept everything going when I worked nutso hours in my career each day.
BUT - you have to have a reason to get up each morning and that's what hobbies are for, if its a classic car or fishing then keep doing it!

As an aside, I will NEVER be a fan of giving a young driver a classic car to drive routinely in today's traffic.
Sorry, but these cars are terribly handicapped as far as safety features and survivability if the worst should happen.
Modern drivers are awful and their skills are degraded and most have little concern for endangering other denizens of the road.

 

The C3 will likely be a weekend car, something for her to enjoy with Dad until she's got a couple years of driving experience. My current plan is to cycle her mama's Lincoln MKX over for her to drive daily and buy Mama another when the time is right. We also live in an extremely rural area, with the county seat having just 7500 people. I'm more concerned of a deer vs C3 accident than someone else, truthfully. But I agree with your point. The kid has grown up in classic cars, so I'm not too worried about her, but everyone else- sheesh.
And yes, Don, 13 already- going on 25. Looks like her mama thankfully, but acts like me....Loves Classic Cars, 'vettes, and Kimber firearms. LOL

 

I have three friends who live in three different towns and have bought nice restoration projects (running cars that needed TLC for their teenage kids, to be completed when the kid turned 16. The first one, a very nice '66 Mustang, 289 v8, 72k original miles. Car was parked in the back yard to begin restoration. The 14-year old daughter is now 30, married, and living in Hawaii. The Mustang? Still sitting in the back yard, roof rusted through from chicken poop, and interior blasted out by the sun. Second car '27 model T pickup. Running and driving, taken apart to restore for 16th birthday. Still sitting in parts, rusting away, stored outside under a tarp. The 16 year old? Now 31, married, with a child and a new house. The third story is the same: car taken apart to restore for daughter who thought it would be cool, 15 years go by in a flash, and daughter is grown and gone and car remains non-op. Life is now, guys. Time waits for nobody. The less stuff you have, the more free time you have. Old goats like us need to either cut bait or fish. We don't have the luxury of putting priorities off.

 

I can relate to all the above...and just turned 71.

So, I hired a full time guy to do the honey do's, mow the grass...paint, fix the a/c and all the little stuff that seems to mount up.

That didn't work either, because I immediately bought a GTO, two project Chevelles, and a 67 Camaro that really needs some time spent on it....and my Corvette is getting a new engine (been saying that for two years).

My shop is too full to work on anything now...and hail is a BIG problem in the spring here...sooo I finally figured it out. I just built a shed to keep everything under finished or not...then bought boat since I can go fishing now...LOL.

Still have a problem though...I'm enjoying fishing so much I can't seem to find time to finish the shed...

Oh well....maybe next year.
.LOL

 

Is the Cub cadet matching numbers?

 

Totally agree. The C3 we are looking at is a running and driving car, and will be used/driven frequently- I won't let it become a stalled project. We plan on doing nothing more than drive it and minor "quick fixes" until the '52 pickup is completed- we hopefully will have the truck done by this time next year. I'm having to fit things into my schedule- I'm not quite as old as some of you guys, still have at least 12 years before retirement at the earliest.
And I've totally hijacked Don's thread. Sorry. LOL

 

I'm almost 59 and will be retired within the next 18 months, but I've been seeing this pattern for the past 40-plus years. I can list probably 30-40 examples I know of personally. It all boils down to the 'restorer' not really considering how fast time goes by. A good friend's dad, who was also a friend of mine, passed away at age 86 about 9 years ago. He had been working on the restoration of 4 Graham-Paige cars, 4 Model T fords, 13 Cadillacs from 1947-72 vintage, plus lots more. Work began on these cars in 1946. By 2010, not ONE of these cars had been completed or was driveable. Not ONE. But he left a hell of an estate for the vultures!
Another one is my older brother, who's about to turn 61. He's had about $700 worth of old stuff in a storage locker for the past 27 years, and has 'plans' for the stuff. I hope so: so far he's spent $38,000 in storage fees. Time flies, guys!

 

Just like a family friend of ours who collects old and rare Model "A's" plus several Corvettes. The "A's"
are valuable as they sit but the 67' vette I've expressed interest in has been sitting in a climate controlled
building for 10+ years and he always tells me he's going to restore it but I don't think at 80 years old, he'll
ever do it...

 

Like I've never done that to anyone else's? No "sorry" needed, just figured the whole thread would give us some smiles and something to kick around no matter where it led. And it has been successful!

For those who are not familiar, I bought that '66 truck at an auction in 1982 from a slide projected on a screen, the actual truck was about 2 1/2 hours away. The auctioneer started at $500, no takers, and kept going down. When he got to $50 I figured if I started things off it would gain momentum. My hand only got as far as my shoulder when he banged the gavel and hollered "SOLD!!!" No "going once" or anything else!

I eventually went up there with my now-wife, and chain towed the thing all the way back, starting out in a raging snowstorm. And she had never chain-towed before! I guess if she didn't leave me for that stunt, it was meant to be! I got it running and used it for about 7 years both at my regular job and for moonlighting, then decided to "freshen it up a bit". That was 1990....and as others have noted, all of a sudden it's about 30 years later. That little kid who used to love riding in it now has kids of his own older than he was then! But I DO keep nibbling away on it so who knows.... I need to get better at welding - I can cob a couple pieces together (I have a Hobart MIG welder) but still am not good enough to really kick butt on the thing.

I can document 246,000 miles for sure, but not sure whether it went around another time or not.

Here's the truck when we arrived in the Adirondacks to tow it home:

 

It's NCCRS top flight!

 

 

So what your all saying is I'm right on track and should ignore my families questions when they ask when the car will be done? I started mine in Dec 1995 and I am half way done.

 

THEY may not "get it" but many of us DO. Just give them a lofty, distant smile and say softly "It's the journey, not the destination."

 

I'm just not "wired" to have something half-finished laying around for years...it'd bug me every time I thought about it or looked at it.
And few of the restoration jobs are all that enjoyable to me -- I had enough of that stuff on these cars working on my Dad's used car lot in the 60's...

My pleasure is in driving them; which is why I buy running cars on which I can do a "rolling restoration"; some call me tinkerer, some a "rattle can" restorer.....none of which I care about while I'm truckin' down the highway in my classic car...

 

I understand completely, Frankie. When they made me, they ran an extra wire to the "start projects" terminals, and must have left off the "finish projects" circuit. Just ask my wife!

OK, I'm not really THAT bad, I DO finish things. But I do have a whole bunch of things which need finishing. I have a book on my railroad career, over 100 pages of text so far and lots of pics. I stalled out because I can't find anybody who can make some maps and diagrams, and I don't have the computer skills. (Did have one guy who said sure, but he was quoting over $1,000. Since the book probably won't even make the "worst seller" list, that guy isn't an option). The '66 truck project is waiting for me to be able to weld good enough to get back at it. I have an old hot-rod buddy who can do it but I don't want him to build the truck FOR me. And of course every time I get a few bucks in the budget for parts, I spend it on the '64 instead of the truck. And literally 10 minutes ago I was gently reminded that I have been promising to do some cleaning in the basement .

I hear you about your pleasure being in driving them. We have the '92, and while many despise the C-4, I love it, fantastic car for just jumping in and going for a cruise. And yes, THAT has a list of stuff that needs to be tinkered with too!

Oh well - it beats sitting around watching Oprah all day, or whatever people watch these days.