Home Grown

This year was the first year we grew a pumpkin. We didn't even know it was a pumpkin until it started turning orange. It was a volunteer plant probably from a seed from the compost pile.

It is a perfect pumpkin - short and squatty. The kids think so, too. Here they are giving it hugs and kisses shortly after we cut it off the vine.

A New Front End

I have made slow progress on the old pickup truck over the last few weeks, but progress nonetheless. Mostly, I've been working on electrical systems - parking lights / head lights / electrical distribution under the hood. Alot of the wiring was broken down with the insulation melted away. I replaced all of it with various wires I have accrued over the years - many of my wiring harnesses were made out of broken down power tool cords. They are well insulated, have 3 conductors, and are the proper gauge.

While tearing things apart, I try to pretty things up as I go along. The grille was removed so I could work on the wiring for the headlights, thus, I wanted to clean it up and make it look good again.

The picture below shows the original white-paint-discolored-with-surface-rust on the left, and wire-brushed down to bare metal on the right.I like to try to remove all paint and rust down to shiny bare metal when I can, for I feel the subsequent primer gives the paint a better chance to stick properly.

I also find it very neat to see the CHEVROLET lettering pop out in the sheet metal. It is difficult to see while covered in white paint.

Zip on a little primer as soon as possible to keep the rust at bay:

I painted white outside on a couple of sawhorses. After letting it dry inside for a few days, I had my wife help me put it back on the pickup.

Putting on the vinyl CHEVROLET decals really makes it pop out. The only job left to do is to aim and adjust the headlights, and re-attach the bezels around the lights. Even in it's nearly-finished state, I think it looks very good.

So, in just a few hours of labor, and approximately $10 in primer and piant, I transformed this:

into this:

The next job will be to do the same to the front bumper. It, too, will be painted white to match in another short while.

S'mores

Over the weekend, we went to a cookout at a good friend's house. We had good bratwurst, sweet corn, and s'mores for dessert.

The Boy really enjoys sugar. Thus, he really enjoys s'mores. He doesn't just enjoy the mix of chocolate, marshmellow, and graham cracker, but I think he also enjoys the mess it makes.

This s'more got in his hair, shirt, and shorts. Nonetheless, he really enjoyed himself, and wanted more after the first one was gone.

Furniture Jumping

When my wife left for an evening of peaceful grocery shopping, I taught the kids a valuable lesson in how to jump off the furniture.

We moved the mattress from the Boy's room out to the living room, and progressed to jump off a coffee table.

They had a blast.

The Boy could really achieve some height. The Girl squeeled and giggled through the entire lesson.

I'm sure my wife will appreciate the skill learned in this lesson when I am away at work, and she is trying to calm the kids down.

Dinner Conversation

Tonight at dinnertime, The Girl announced, "It's easier to run down the hill than it is to run up the hill."

At that, I replied, "Of course. What you experienced is gravity. Do you know what gravity is?"

The Girl: "Sure. It keeps your feet on the floor."

Well, that kind of blew me away, so I forgot the rest of my scientific lecture.

A New Bumper

I have taken the old rusty bumper off the 1964 Chevy, and given it a coat of paint. It was 100% rust, but very solid. The bumper probably weighed 60 pounds, but there were no rust-holes going through. As I was grinding it down with my wire wheel, it appears to have been painted many years ago. Years of neglect caused 100% coverage in surface rust....

I cleaned it down to bare metal, primed, and painted white.

I found it interesting that old trucks such as this did not have rear bumpers as standard equipment. Bumpers were an option in this era. Furthermore, bumpers were not chrome, but painted from the manufacturer. In the case of this old truck, the bumper was an advertisement from the Chevy Dealership. That is, if a truck was manufactured without the option of the rear bumper, the dealership would install one for you that usually had their name or logo on it. In this case, you can see the text:

"Capital Chevrolet, Inc. Austin, Texas"

I think cleaning up the bumper alone makes a huge difference in the overall appearnace of the truck. Next on my list is to paint the front bumper and grille. I think it will only enhance the contrast in the truck. I hope to add a few more pictures in the next week.

A New Project

This past weekend, I picked up an old truck I plan to use as a summertime daily driver.

This is a 1964 Chevy C10 half-ton short bed step-side pickup truck. It has an inline 6 cylinder engine with a 1 barrel carburetor producing a maximum of 140 HP. The "3 on the tree" is a fun feature you don't see too often anymore.

The engine was recently rebuilt by the previous owner. It also has a new radiator and brakes. It is very mechanically sound for being 46 years old.

My plans are to continue to make a few mechanical improvements, and perhaps give it a paint job a year or two down the road. I'm not looking for showroom paint - just a paint job that I can do with the tools I already have.

Just tonight, I checked timing and corrected it by more than 4 degrees. We'll run it like this for a few days then check it again.