Early Christmas

My father called me a couple days ago, saying that he had found my Christmas present, but since it's too large for me to carry back home on the plane when I visit, he wanted to see if they had it in stock by me, so he could just send the money for me to buy. After a bit of back and forth (it wasn't in stock at my store), he decided to just buy it and have me wait for when they drive up in the Spring. So, now I'm waiting on the present and a nice bench vice that was my Grandfathers, but at 70 lbs, won't be a carry-on item either.

So, what am I getting? An air compressor! Like I noted earlier, having not done much in the line of working on cars and trucks, I simply don't have many of the tools necessary to finish my work on Big Red, so help in that direction is certainly appreciated. Now, to wait 6 months to put it to use....

Waiting for me - just 10 short hours drive away.

Restoration, or...

Hmm, an interesting discovery today. First, however, a bit of back-story. When I started looking for a "play" truck this past summer, my first reaction was to look at military vehicles (MV). I always thought they had that extra something that made them cool. After doing some research, I had identified the Dodge M-37 (a Power Wagon variant that was used mainly in Korea and into Vietnam) as my primary target. They are, in fact, behind Jeeps, the second most popular historical MV to restore. I was all excited about looking for a M-37 (and even saw my first in person at the Russell Military Museum on the Illinois/Wisconsin border), until I sat in one. By the way - I'm tall. Like 6'6" tall. The M-37 wasn't designed for guys like me, as I couldn't reach the clutch. Back to the drawing board. There were other options out there, but I couldn't find any in my price range, or that I liked, or that were as practical as Big Red (which means no 10-ton tractors).

So, I had essentially given up on getting a MV and bought Big Red. I still like to look at the trucks that I can't afford or are just too big (check out Steel Soldiers if you like MV's too), and was today directed to the web-site Olive Drab. They have links about all sorts of military related stuff, including a comprehensive list of MV's used by the US. I was clicking through their info and came across this. An earlier and slightly heavier/larger version of Big Red. And I had a thought. "What if, instead of a pure renovation, I built a 'clone' of the MV International truck?" The biggest difference, besides it being a different color (OD green, I assume, but the link lists it as a Navy truck... Maybe gunship grey?), is the bed. I had been planning on a flat-bed, stake-side, but could switch up and find out what kind of cargo box the MV version had (maybe similar to another MV that could be easier to acquire, rather than a genuine, hard to find variety?).

As I said, an interesting discovery, and some thinking to do...

A fire truck M-37 at the Russell Military Museum

The future "plan" for Big Red? To be determined...

At least I tried...

It was darn nice out today, and will be tomorrow as well. Near record highs, in fact into the 50's. So, knowing that it won't even be this warm again soon, I thought I'd try to take off the master cylinder on Big Red to add that to my winter list of stuff to work on. Yeah. I got one of the five bolts needed off. I need to get under the truck to get at the other four, plus need to figure out how the three that mount the master to the frame can be removed. The last bolt is the brake line, and I couldn't get a good angle at it from above. Seeing as it's still chilly out there (and seeing as the concrete floor in the garage isn't as warm as the air temp), I figured I'd wait for the time being.

Baby it's cold outside - and I'm jacked!

So, it's been a month since I did an update. And there's a good reason(s) for that. School continues to keep me busy driving bus, and my other jobs have been going well (with the HS football team I broadcast games for into the state playoffs, so I've driven them and announced their games), plus the big cool down is in full effect. High's have been in the 30's or 40's just about every day, so the unheated garage hasn't been any warmer. I briefly thought about going out there this past weekend to remove the master cylinder, but highs of 32 and 33 Sat and Sun didn't get me very motivated.

So, with all that said, I did accomplish something today Big Red related. I had stopped at the local pawn shop a couple days ago to check on their changing inventory (hey, it's like a garage sale open every day!), and found a pair of 3-ton jack stands for just $12! I almost bought them right on the spot, but talked myself out of it. Today, I decided I couldn't go wrong for the price - half of a new set at most of the car part stores in town. So, here they are:

Yes. Likely the most exciting photo you'll look at all day... At least it's one more item I can check off my winter buy list (still need the carb rebuild kit, the missing stainless hood pieces and, oh yeah, the floor jack so that the stands aren't just hunks of metal taking up space in the garage). Fortunately, or unfortunately (depending on your view of cold weather), there's lots of time before it's warm enough to get back to work on Big Red.