The Road Home

Having already spent my money to buy the car and then go and procure a "Temp" plate I left the great state of CN via I-95. Oh boy! The road reminds me of the GM test center in Detroit where they take cars for a shakedown cruise. And of course it started to rain. So off I go and find that the car also takes on water around the windshield and the defroster doesn't work very well but better with the window open a little. The Seller gave me a bag of tools in case I needed them and some spare parts that we always have but don't seem to ever to put on until the car is sold. But still, I said as I was getting colder and colder, it was a great trip UNTIL a place called Riceboro, GA. Just driving along on I95, listening to static which is better than nothing, and I enter a construction zone. I had to slow down and I did and then the engine died. I was able to pull off to the right side of the road and had plenty of gas and it started back up and seemed OK UNTIL I pulled back on I95 and it quit. I made it about 30 feet and pulled into the medium just before a tractor trailer was about to make me a grill ornament. I called the Seller and he said he couldn't figure it out. So here I am tired, wet, damp and negatively excited. I was next to an overpass so I walked across the northbound lanes and slid down to the street below. The convenient store on the corner was my refuge. Does anyone here have a tiltbed I asked and in an Indian accent I was told that JT Jones BBQ next door had one.

Oh boy. A BBG with a tiltbed. Did they actually use hogs so big that a tilbed was required? So I walked next door and met Ms Jones and her grandkids and had a GREAT sandwich. There were also many religious tracts on the wall and she asked if I was a Christian and we had church. They said Mr Jones would soon be there and he indeed had a tiltbed. We spoke of family and how her granddaughter's husband, Wesley Hayes, had just shipped off to Iraq for a tour of duty. I looked at the granddaughter and realized how young she looked and remembered that I was 26 in Vietnam and was old compared to the others there. Mr Jones arrived, had a sandwich, and then said lets go. I had a spare fuel filter and he changed that with a pair of pliers and the car ran perfect and I left with a full belly, a prayer request for Wesley and feeling good about life. So if you ever want a GOOD BBQ sandwich or dinner visit JT Jones BBQ exit 67 of I95, South Newport, SC and pray for these young kids like Wesley Hays, a hero I never met.

I decided in October 2007 that I wanted a Willys panel truck, it had to look good and drivable as I like to drive my special cars daily. I do not like "trailer queens" but I also understand that when a car cost more than $100,000 a rock chip would not be nice, I just prefer to drive and the heck with the chips. I looked at many ads on the Internet and found a nice one in Cincinnati. He wanted too much and I passed on it. Then I saw the following ad:

http://www.cars-on-line.com/32977.html

The real deal is the last line 20 mpg and safe at 80 MPH. This will be explained later. Why the car is still on the Internet I don't know, the ad is more than 2 years old. So acting as if I was a "Government Bailout Specialist" hereafter referred to as a GBS, I flew to Providence Rhode Island and looked at the car based in Conn. Got under it, inspected it, looked good and drove it, felt good. Bad mistake here, never inspect yourself, hire someone to do it! As a GBS I just bought it, don't blame the previous owner, but I wish I had not purchased the car.

The Start of Something Small

You may wonder about the title ... but ... a lot depends on what effort I put into this blog. That will make it small or maybe big. This blog will follow the process of building a 1951 Willys Station wagon that as of today is almost complete. The glass is in and all that is left is about another months work, BUT that is after 17 months of work.