Monday, February 05, 2007

Reunited at last

I have found Clyde's (see here and here for more on Clyde) grandfather and will be taking ownership of him soon. "Methuselah" is a 1964 Chevy C10; you can call him "Thuzzy" for short. To the right is a picture of a short-box 1964 C10. Methuselah is a long-bed farm truck, sea foam green and white with plenty of rust and dents. I know how to take care of that problem. I'm thinking that its 292 CI six-straight bored and stroked to about 315-320 CI, with either three Weber side-draft carbs or a four-barrel conversion with a Paxton centrifugal super charger blowing hellfire into it, will be a nice change versus the typical V8 swap. Plus, a straight-six can get a tad better mileage, if driven right, and have better low-end torque.

I am excited. I really thought that I had the monkey-wrenching bug out of my system, but it turns out that I don't. Methuselah belonged to my brother in-law's grandfather and it has just been sitting in my brother in-law's driveway doing nothing but wishing it could be doing fishing trips or hauling hay. I have mad skillz when it comes to taking something ugly and making it fugly. I just need to fix my brother in-law's Mazda truck and my sister's Jeep Grand Cherokee and it will be all mine. I can hear plenty of "whys" on this one. This and guitar amplifiers are my anti-drug. It is part of loving the entire "me" that is Grunt--deal with it.

Brought to you in "Sea Foam Green" and white.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Life is short-
-but the years are long
Not while the evil days come not.

Me was, earlier in the day, thinking about Methusulah's Children and the thoughts of Robert Heinlein. He would not only like the name of the vehicle, but also the effort you are making to bring it back to life.
Keep on truckin, Me friend.
STOMP.

Joe Jubinville said...

I think I understood every sixth word in that first paragraph... but I rejoice with you that Clyde's grandfather Thuzzy has been found and will soon be coming out of retirement. Fugly! By my calculation, in another seven years Thuzzy will be able to join the inner circle at your local classic car show. I'm sure you're just the grunt to pull it off, even if grandpap's fame remains in the family, and prefers to spend his golden years hauling and fishing.

Scott said...

Nice ride. Enjoy!

Logophile said...

Will it be pretty and go fast?
Is that what you said?
Why you talk all funny like that?
:p
Congrats

Nessa said...

Thuzzy will be very handsome.

Anonymous said...

Thuzzy Thold Thee Thells By The Thee Thore.
/Vera

VeraFication Word: oopupt

Sun Follower said...

Boys and cars.. sheesh! :)

Pokey said...

It will be lots of work but it will be so rewarding. Can't wait to see the finished product.

Bugs said...

Ohhhh great taste !!!!
Love "Thuzzy"...when can I expect you to pop by to pick me up for a spin 'round the block Grunty ?:P
These are my "if I ever won the lottery" dream cars
http://www.holden.org.au/index.cfm?objectid=5C04D774-CD6F-E142-9F140B4CF39EB2C6

Outdoorsy Girl said...

Nothing more beautiful than a family reunion, especially a family like this!

It'll take time and lots of hard work, but soon enough you will have TWO purdy trucks! Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Just remember to keep on giving Clyde some extra love and attention while working on this project.You don't want him to get jealous of grandpa.

Christielli said...

My comments have nothing to do with your post but...

1) I suck. I haven't made your CDs yet.

2) The mail is so slow, I haven't gotten yours yet. Although, I didn't get around to checking it Friday or today so that may be the problem.

Kayla said...

Very cool, Fugmeister!
haha
Love the anti-drug solution

Jules said...

Oh My! Clyde will be so excited for the family renuion! As if you didn't already have enough stuff to tinker with.

Anonymous said...

Sweet! Congratulations. Now, that is a truck that I WOULD drive. I have no idea what most of that was you just said, but your happy space makes me happy for you!

The Grunt said...

SM~ I enjoyed that comment. Back at ya!

Joe~ I went back and read that first paragraph and I don't even understand myself. Yeah, I have wanted to get into this pastime again. I pretty much like things straight forward with a truck, much like a pair of 501's--there is no need to put garish accessories on it, just get the motorvation happening. I have wanted to get my hands on a two-seater Benz, or an old 911 but my budget will not allow that kind of project right now.

Scott~ I hope it will be, at least.

Logo~ Say, you have a nice bike.

Nessa~ Yes, Thuzzy is a handsome fellow. The generation between Clyde and Thuzzy is represented by my brother's old 1972 Suburban, which is now owned and being pimped out by a good friend of mine. It went by the name of "Banana Wagon". I have never owned a humdrum, boring car in my life. Hey, that sounds like a good post topic.

Vera~ Who pooped? I like your rhyme. BTW, I checked out Dissection's version of the Countess Bathory tale. It was truly dark, but I dug it.

Sun~ I know, but people come first in my life.

Pokey~ Yeah, I can't wait either. All of the mistakes that I learned from working on Clyde will make this one turn out better. This is much rougher, though. We'll see. I have to find someone willing to rent out a garage for me as I am not in a situation where I can do this where I live. Clyde was done in various locations, including an airplane hanger. I will figure it out.

Bugs~ I love old Holdens. They are the Aussie Chevys. Thanks for the link!

O-Girl~ I suspect that you will probably get to actually see Thuzzy in person someday. These things take time, though.

Christielli~ Hey, don't sweat it. I will be happy whenever you can get those CD's to me. You are my official Toronto connection. Scott is from around there as well, so I can't leave him out of that.

Kayla~ Yeah! We all need to have an anti-drug, even if drugs were not a problem. I guess these two things are my anti-depressants. Life is good when you are blessed with such opportunities and pastimes. It is amazing how much of the world doesn't have even what I have.

Jules~ Ha, you said tinker!

Cindra~ Thanks, I knew you'd get it. This body style is the second to last generation of "classic" body lines, 1967-1972 being the last. Clyde is the beginning of the modern body styles, but he's still dripping with character. Anyway, my point is that I've wanted a truck with the classic "round" edges and sculpting. Not to mention, this thing has a semblance of a "bubble" front windshield. The 1960 C/K series Chevy is the one I really wanted. Now that is what I call fugly eybrows. Search for images of that truck year, look at the hood and you will see what I mean. Don't get me started on the "handlebar mustache" grills of the late '50s GMC's. The uglier the better.