LAYING THE FOUNDATION.......

The shop truck is going to be a 1935 Ford pickup.  I have an old frame that I picked up from my grandpa's farm and I have enough parts that I have accumulated over the years to put this thing back together.

  It's been laying out back in the pile o' crap.

The first thing I needed to do, was assess the damage incurred over the last 76 years.  I wheeled out the trusty old sandblaster (possibly the best tool ever purchased) and started removing the old crusties.

THE GOOD,THE BAD AND THE UGLY

 Typical rust in the rear kick up areas.

Front crossmember needs to be replaced.  Pretty substantial damage. This is from years of fatigue.  Trucks don't see the abuse like this anymore and the roads are way better.  Sorry about the crappy picture.

 Looks like Sir Torch-a-lot has been here.

The brackets on both sides of the X member are missing.

Although, it seems like a lot, this stuff should clean up pretty quickly.

I drug the frame in and tossed it up on the lift.  This worked out, it allowed me to raise it or lower it like an adjustable work table.

I'll have to address each issue individually.  I'll keep this blog updated as I progress.

The Big Vision

  

  I don't know exactly when it happened, but hot rodders turned into sissies.  The image of the hot rod hoodlum was replaced with power parking upper management.  They traded in their greasy red rags for enclosed trailers and bag lawn chairs.  Hot rods morphed into full scale model cars.  They were built with the intention of never seeing the streets, only the asphalt of the fairgrounds.  Wrenching on cars were replaced with dusting and waxing them.  The biggest vendor at the Nats has turned into the electric scooter rentals.  

God help us.

I have always been a  scrounger.  I have been buying  bits and pieces at swap meets for years.  I always buy them for that "just in case" moment.  I have acquired a lot of stuff that I need to do something with.

Over the next few months, I am starting a shop truck build.  This will be a purpose built hot rod.  Hot rods are built to be driven.  This one will be driven.........daily.