| Baxter's Trip to the Body Shop |
| Even though the vehicle drives well, it was thought better to have him taken over to the shop rather than driving. Above, he is shown on his way to the first evaluator regarding what will need to be done to make him look presentable. While at the body shop, we found a few issues that needed to be resolved before earnest body work began. These included changing the transmission and the clutch to make it drive more smoothly. These shots were taken during the first week of October, 2005. |
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| Here is what was done during this step October, 2005--some new stuff, some rebuilds: |
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| Here are new shock absorbers, shackle bolts, front leaf springs, tie rods and bushings; we tightened the steering knuckle and affixed a u-bolt inside to steady the steering. Makes it (almost) easy to steer! Remember, this is 1953, a bit before power steering was standard. |
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| Mufflers and tail pipe assemblies are characteristically a weak point in vehicles that do not run every day. So, this installation of a "long-life" exhaust assembly was what we chose. It will still rust and will need replacing in a few years, but it does the job now and is tied in securely with new brackets. Behind the muffler, is the transmission and clutch, both of which have been rebuilt with new parts. It is great to have synchronizers! |
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| No, this is not the abominable snowman! It is the inside of Baxter's rear, cleaned up a bit. We needed to find gasket to fit it, since no one can rightly identify what kind of rear it is. So, one can deduce it is not original, but its gear ratio is very low. If one has a tree that needs to be yanked out, this one can do it! We made the gasket, and it is all tight and leak free! |
| So, now the next step is to move on to the body restoration. This step is the most time-consuming of them all, since it requires meticulous dis-assembly of every part on the truck. We need to take off the fenders, the bed, the hood, the running boards and install all of the new parts in chrome and new paint. Then, when it is all done, it is hoped that it will look something like this Christmas-decorated 1949 Chevrolet. During the body work phase, I will be working on refurbishing the interior and rebuilding the heater that kind of leaks steam a bit. No big deal, for all we need to do is recore the heater and reinstall the fan motor. Right now, it is cold in here. So, for a preview of what Baxter will look like in the late spring, here is a picture courtesy of the Stovebolt.com newsletter folks: |
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| We are not quite there yet, but the next pages will show the bodywork in progress. We can do this! Come back and visit often. |
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| Click here to see the start of serious body work. |