Restoring Rusty

[Gregski]

so turn outs, lol

[Gregski]

Uh oh, red font this can't be good.

In this quarterly edition of Two Steps Forward One Step Back (TSFOSB) we discuss Rusty's last temper tantrum. As you may recall my truck had a tough up bringing spending majority of the last 40 years working hard on a farm, so he struggles with the good life. Maybe having a three car garage all to himself is too much of a life style change. Maybe having his oily deposits wiped off the floor weekly is not for him. But does that give him the right to fling his hood open at speed on the highway whilst in the middle lane behind a semi, and in front of a hummer?

That's right my life flashed before my eyes driving home from work that Wednesday night, luckily no one was hurt, and the damage was limited to that of Rusty and Rusty alone, as the hood won't open now after I vehemently slammed it shut on the interstate.

Does this change my feelings for this green machine? No, if anything I think I just passed a paternity test as this exact thing happened to my dad and me 30 years ago, in my fathers beloved Datsun 1200, anyone care to guess the color of that machine?

[Front Range]

Originally Posted by Gregski

That's right my life flashed before my eyes..

In High School I was in the passenger seat of my buddy's pick-up while we went to MacDonalds for lunch. Kids from our school had to make a 10 minute trip into town for "not-school" food. The truck was a rodded cherry red 1954 Chevy pickup. It was quick - like dry lightning, and well known on Main Street. Coming back from lunch, late for school, on a tightly packed 2 lane rural highway just outside of town, he punched it to pass a line of slow moving cars. By punched I mean it felt like the Boot of God came down and kicked that little truck square in the ass.

We snapped back into the seat, howling instantly up from a plodding 25mph through 65mph into 70. The next thing I remember is the loud BANG of the big bubble hood slamming back into the glass and cab, and then overwhelming fear. Time gets contorted, everything moves both quick and slow, pure adrenaline. I still remember that mind numbing blank windshield where the outside world should have been. Then tires squealing, the uncontrolled whipsawing, weightlessness... and that thick ass dirt & rubber smoke filling my nose. Ended up out in the field, no one hurt, and euphorically wondering how it was we were still alive when we should be dead.

I'm 48 now but still feel it like yesterday. Very glad you came out of it unscathed. Check for gray hairs on your head.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Front Range

In High School I was in the passenger seat of my buddy's pick-up while we went to MacDonalds for lunch. Kids from our school had to make a 10 minute trip into town for "not-school" food. The truck was a rodded cherry red 1954 Chevy pickup. It was quick - like dry lightning, and well known on Main Street. Coming back from lunch, late for school, on a tightly packed 2 lane rural highway just outside of town, he punched it to pass a line of slow moving cars. By punched I mean it felt like the Boot of God came down and kicked that little truck square in the ass.

We snapped back into the seat, howling instantly up from a plodding 25mph through 65mph into 70. The next thing I remember is the loud BANG of the big bubble hood slamming back into the glass and cab, and then overwhelming fear. Time gets contorted, everything moves both quick and slow, pure adrenaline. I still remember that mind numbing blank windshield where the outside world should have been. Then tires squealing, the uncontrolled whipsawing, weightlessness... and that thick ass dirt & rubber smoke filling my nose. Ended up out in the field, no one hurt, and euphorically wondering how it was we were still alive when we should be dead.

I'm 48 now but still feel it like yesterday. Very glad you came out of it unscathed. Check for gray hairs on your head.

man, I love your writing style, and more importantly the fact that no one was hurt

[rich weyand]

Ouch.

[hatzie]

Geez. If She's going to do that kinda stuff put some hood pins on.

[rusty76]

Geeez how fast you going? Just kidding. Glad you are ok. My truck would pop the hood on its on as well. Used to scare the bejezzuz out of me. I can remember the first time it did it...Not a very proud papa....lol.

[flashed]

Sucks about the hood but Rusty is just testing you .I get to bring my truck home for good tomorrow ,cant wait.

[enaberif]

Had a hood open on me in a my old civic doing 90km/h down the highway.. I wasn't so lucky. The hood warped beyond repair and took the windshield out.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by enaberif

Had a hood open on me in a my old civic doing 90km/h down the highway.. I wasn't so lucky. The hood warped beyond repair and took the windshield out.

dang bro, hope no one was hurt

[Gregski]

so a mini update / mini Ta Do List for February

1. Get the hood opened and assess the hood / hinge damage

2. Replace my non working used speedo with a brand spankin' new speedo

3. Replace working but not accurate tach with a brand new tach

4. Stare at the unfinished dash board, maybe sand it down some more and applicate some textured paint on it

5. This Space Intentionally Left Blank (ha ha)

[Gregski]

decided I aint gonna wait till spring to get this hood fixed

so can you guys tell me what's peculiar about my hood hinges now, post the highway hood incident (HHI)?

[hatzie]

Nothing really Springs out at me.

[flashed]

Spring's just around the corner .

[enaberif]

nothing springs out at me

[y5mgisi]

That's crazy!

[rusty76]

It's sprung past me.

[68Timber]

It appears spring has sprung.

[Gregski]

ha ha, lucky for me Rusty found a way to hold on to them

maybe it was his way of apologizing

[enaberif]

LOL that is too funny.

[hatzie]

Those springs may be the only part you can salvage. Kinda amusing that they are just sitting there.
The hood looks like it's seen better days.
Flying open like that can't be good for the hinges either. I bet they're pretty tweaked.

[Gregski]

well the morale is at an all time low at the Damage Inc. garage but with the football season officially over, there are no more excuses on Monday Night so we decided to get the hood propped open (here we are using a custom fab pine hood prop, though it may be redwood, not sure) the driver side would hang in the rear corner on the hood pin but we figured it out

then it was time for a baff, the springs we cleaned and painted a year ago were done using Muriatic acid and never properly neutralized (pronounced, bone head mistake) so the acid sped up rustation, so now we get to do it over - this time using Phosphoric acid instead

first we neutralize what ever remaining Muriatic acid with some Baking soda (honey I'm just making biscuits - geez)

[Gregski]

looks like the Phosphoric acid is doing its job, here's what the springs looked like after they were left in there over night

I still would love to have a media blast setup, but for now this will do, I will take a wire brush to them to get the rest of the paint flake off

[Gregski]

we all know how exciting and stimulating rust removal can be, so I'm sure you all will agree, its time for a nice new shinny distraction

ta da, my new speedo arrived from Classic Parts (this may be my first purchase from this establishment, I can't recall for sure) for $120 bucks out the door including shipping you won't find a better deal among the Big Four (LMC, Brothers, Classic Inudstries, and Classic Parts)

[Gregski]

the story on my speedo is this, I had a working 1974 speedo in my original cluster, but I upgraded it to a 1978 used cluster with a tach, the speedo in that cluster stopped working on day one, so I said enuff with the used gauges and finally I bought this brand new 1978 speedo