The Big and The Small.
Hello rustlovers! Welcome back to The Free Model T.
In today’s serial drama we delve into the ups and the downs, the bigs and the smalls of the automotive world. The bigs? Is that even a real word? It is today because BAM!:
That’s right rustlovers! I just posted an “after” pic before the “before” pic! Well, not an after
after pic because it’s not really done yet and I already posted a before pic before but Bam!
I don’t care! I’m pumped up and excited because it’s way more put together than when I got it:
So, body work, paint, reassembly? Is this the same blog? Yeah, I actually had paint work done.
My amazing brother Big Ben did the body work and straightened the frame in trade for my 1985 Honda 250r quad. The frame was straightened on a computerized rack within 1mm of perfect which actually exceeds OEM specifications. B.B. Stuck a magic laser box under the truck that bounced beams of amplified light off of magnetic reflectors placed strategically all over the frame to tell the computer how straight the frame was.
Who knew? My brother is a wizard! Here are a bunch of pictures of the body work:
I’ve been doing a ton of work on other peoples cars lately but today I was finally able to cut open my garage full of eBay boxes and installed the new header panel, headlights, marker lights, grill, etc. I still have a list of important things to do before I can sell this thing but now at least I can DRIVE it.
Well, there’s your update on “the big” but before I move on to “the small”, allow me a moment to whimsically mock Internet how-to instructions:
How to change an early 2000’s jeep radiator in 3 easy steps:
-Step one: take the car apart
-Step two: change the radiator
-Step three: reassemble
Confused? Good, me too. I own 4 jeeps and fix jeeps for friends pretty much weekly but my love affair is with the 4.0 L6 motor. This modern beast with its infamous “7” series motor was a formidable opponent. All of those parts actually HAD TO come off in order to change the radiator. Want a real tutorial? Tell me in the comments and I’ll write one but although I’m envious of this thing’s horsepower I won’t be owning a newer jeep any time soon.
Well Rustlovers, I went and got myself yet another project today. And this one was actually free. I’m calling her “The small”. I was perusing my favorite online resale group last night when I stumbled across an early 70’s VW bug husk. The first thing I noticed was my own name in the comments. A friend had tagged me in the post to make sure I’d see it. I have good friends.
I made arrangements and set off this morning with Rage and the Doctor to pick up my prize:
I was pleasantly surprised when we got there because it wasn’t a husk after all but an actual basket case. Everything was there in boxes except for the motor, trans and wheels. Hm… No wheels? No problem! We simply lifted the front onto some blocks of wood and I backed the trailer right under it. Next we lifted the back and shoved it into the trailer. Again, I have good friends.
So what to do with a husk. My friend Mr. Pipe and I have long discussed building a class 11 desert race car and this seems like a good candidate. Or I’ll sell it. Or rod it out, who knows? This is the free model T and I’m a madman!
Until next time rustlovers,
“Rust conquers all, let us too yield to rust.”
Promotional consideration provided by Ryley P.
