AMERICA HERE WE GO 🇺🇸🇺🇸 Grizz’s 2023 Road trip - WRAPPED UP 📪

Remember this day….

Glad to hear you got back safe and sound.

What's the story here?

With all the shiny paint everwhere I don't expect any welding still to happen?
Will there only be a screwed in floor?
Or is this just a show example for the quality of their restaurations?

Well, I guess the photos do show the complexity of the build in this high end level of restoration.

I did not photograph the actual bedwood that was in process of preparation.

They have a wooden floor, sealed and bolted in place.

Examples below.


Hope that answers your question.

Maybe part of why I write so much…. We all learn.

And you have a critical, inquisitive mind which often highlights the stuff many just pass by.

Copied and pasted elsewhere that I play.



Nice Grizz!
Touring riders often just want to rush across Kansas (or Nebraska which is above Kansas) on Interstate 70 or 80 which is pretty flat flat and boring. Personally I really have come to enjoy the smaller roads across Missouri, northern Kansas, and southern Nebraska.

Clifton, I do not write up everything that happens, but these smaller back roads deliver their own stories.

For those familiar with www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiTwK3C0K6BAxVZRkEAHZHVDz0QFnoECCoQAQ&url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Heemeyer&usg=AOvVaw0YbLacAPAIkVDrIPMlVNFZ&opi=89978449 Marvin Heemeyer they will recognise the “Killdozer”

So driving “back roads” Dennis and I stopped at a very small, local gas station to fill, drain and get ice and a case of beers, in front of me stands a guy wearing his company T-shirt, with a bull dozer printed on the rear, Construction and Demolition, anyway, I talk to anyone and comment to him it’s a cool T-short and that my younger brother known as “Dozer” served 41 years in the Engineering corps and friend Tyler supported the Marvin Heemeyer legend.

Back outside, I am filling the cooler bag with beers and ice, when said guy, Mike walks up to me and asks my address, in order to send me a T-shirt for my brother and Tyler each with his company logo on. He even asked what colour they would like.

Seriously, only in Kansas.

I have many other experiences that I do not have the time to write up, like invitations to peoples homes, shops etc just based on them realising guys like Dennis and I are genuinely interested in their lives.

That truck used to be an original white, farm patina truck that was Clems shop truck for many years till he built the two black shop trucks,

But a customer wanted the 52 and a deal was agreed, it was completed a few years ago, and seen many miles, this time it was in for some light correction and attention.

The Dually.



And the racing truck.



Both built to specific visions.

Back home, Clem and I carried on, me on the phone, followed by another drive out, him and the guys, working.

Frank and Phillip reassembling the customer car, it had rear end damage Clem had repaired, Alison with the 52 Chevy previously mentioned.

I did actually help here, they needed strong arm to hold the trunk lid up while centring the holes.





Indoors, Gus had reacquainted himself with me, and Widdle the cat was happy to be given attention.








POSSIBLE REPEAT DUE TO EXCITEMENT TO SHARE BEFORE


I had asked Clem to call and order on my behalf a new dash section for the Astro Van and he had called the number for the parts company who offered a new part……

Turned out it was obsolete.

POOP.

I also asked him about junk yards, scrap yards, breakers etc in the area to try find the dash section for the van. So he gave me his phone and computer after he had called the GMSpares supplier who had the dash surround on their inventory.

So I called some vehicle breakers.

Amazingly, the first ones I called, Junkyard Dog Auto Salvage in Rogers, Arkansas, said they had a few Astros in their yard…….

Rogers has a few claims to fame.

Rogers is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. Located in the Ozarks, it is part of the Northwest Arkansas region, one of the fastest growing metro areas in the country.[8] Rogers was the location of the first Walmart store, whose corporate headquarters is located in neighboring Bentonville. Daisy Outdoor Products, known for its air rifles, Think Daisy BB gun, part of American history , has both its headquarters and its Airgun Museum in Rogers. The city houses a popular shopping center, the Pinnacle Hills Promenade, and a music venue, the Walmart AMP, that has housed performances by big-name artists and local performers alike. [9]



Seriously??

So I drove over there.





Funny thing to see as well, although people are hugely trusting in these parts….. gates, no fences.





I got to Junkyard Dog and spoke to various staff, till Sam, who I had spoken to 0n the phone, came in.



He took me for a junk yard tour, 4 failed Astros, and then a 95 model, when the face change happened to them……

Jackpot.


Also gave me a heater control knob

Found one, and dismantled it….

Not the easiest thing to find in the U.K.

Two screws.



And a few easy clip switches to I clip.



Done…… in the truck.




Blower knob.




Dash panel came with a bonus.

Mud dauber wasp nest.

Bassstards.













Cleared out in the end.



Once I got home, I celebrated with Clem and had a Sailor Jerry and Coke, followed by cleaning the whole surround that had cost me a whole £20.00 or $25.00

This is the most awesome win for me.

Finding an obsolete part a long way from home, constitutes a major win when rebuilding a 30 plus year old car.

I feel vindicated.





Cleaned up.



Did I mention that life is good?






Back outside, this thing has always fascinated me. Never asked him his plans for it.





Once I cleaned the dash piece I got my stuff into my room area.





The afternoon was almost over.