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Father/Son project... Going to pick up the Coupe!


coletrain777

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So...
My son Javik is five years old, and like most dads I love spending time with my son. I work on cars on the side, and figured it was time for me to work in something if my own for a while. Javik is always telling me how he wants to build a "race car" with me, so like any great father I said "SURE"!
Next we had to pick a car to build, and the decision was a Business Coupe. We bought it on eBay a few days ago, and Monday morning we set off to go pick up our new project (school can wait, this is WAY more important)! We live in central Missouri and the car was at the top of Iowa, so we had a good long trip in store for us both (16 hours).

Here's a few pics as we are ready to leave...
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Well, it's a 7.5 hour drive each way... guess we better have some fun.

Having a little dance party
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Somebody just stunk up the ride, and it wasn't me
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Just a few more pics from the trip up...

The last thing he needed was mini-burritos :)
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Edited by coletrain777
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Watching a movie
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and what trip would be complete without bad weather ...
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We got it all loaded and in the trailer, ready to head back. In all there was the complete car and enough spare parts to fill an 18 foot trailer front to back and the inside if the Suburban.
Look at that excited boy!
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Chineese food in the way home!
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And... He's out!
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To ensure that daddy is not "out" as we'll :)
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Back at the house the next with body panels placed on and spare parts lying everywhere.
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All in all the trip took 16 hours, we left at 8am and got back at midnight. It was great to get to have that experience with my son, and I would do it again today...but he probably shouldn't skip too many days of school! The car was exactly as described on eBay, about 98 percent rust free and a great platform to build. Looking forward to getting to know all if you, I am sure your experience will be invaluable during the build process.

Edited by coletrain777
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Anyone know why my pics won't show in the second post... I had it all together in one post, but I thought maybe the forum only allowed you to post x amount of pics at a time.  So I put the rest of the thread in a reply and still the pics aren't showin up (you can click on them)???

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dunno?! sometimes if using photobucket it gives you the magic coding already wrapped around the link so pasting it in after clicking the "Image" icon might duff your efforts up?

 

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Still love the look of that ride!  Rod or Resto or mixture?

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OK, just redid the cut and paste image from photobucket... works now! ???

 

Dudford -  it will be a rod.  Going to have a 5.3 LS and 4L60e engine and trans setup from an 04 chevy 1500.  I will keep the fuel injection setup and probably use the stock wiring harness, I would rather put something Mopar in it, but I already have the engine and trans and it's free so I will use what I can afford.

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post-2787-0-30405600-1360775782_thumb.jpgWelcome!!!!!   Glad to see another father - son project.  Teaching my son (as my father taught me) has been a highlight in all my rod building.  It seems to make the expierence that much better.  Keep us posted with lots of pictures of you and your boy learning and working together.

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Here's a few pics of the inside after I vacuumed...

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Floors only have a minor amount of rot, looks just about like a desert car. Will need to patch 4 small areas of the front floor. Trunk looks great!

Bottom and inside if doors is virtually spotless! There are a few small spots on the body the will need patches, but they are very small and easy to fab. This car has a good amount of trim and most if it is in good shape, but its not all there (and I won't be using it anyway). The car has a great grille and trim. It also has the bracing and hinges for the rear of the hood. All in all it looks like a great foundation that will save me dozens of hours of cutting, fabbing, and welding. I got to the point in life a while back that I just said "no more rusty cars".

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Welcome.  Looks like a good project car..........appears to be the one seat business coupe.

As you probably know, the 46-48 Plymouths are designated model P15.

Hope you and your son have many enjoyable hours working on this build. 

Keep us posted. 

 

Bob

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Thanks for the replies and encouragement guys...it should be fun.  I am incredibly frugal (tight cheap etc...) and I don't believe in debt (which makes things  difficult when I am a pastor and my wife is a teacher $$$ !)   so I have to be creative some times figuring out the best compromise between time and money.  

 

Don -  I am not much of a photo taker, in fact the only reason I am taking pics of this car is so that I have the build documented somewhere so that my son and I can enjoy looking at it later.  That said, I do have some photos stored on my computer to update customers on the progress on their vehicle. I will find some of them, get them uploaded to photobucket, and post some later today.  

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Well... I have a few minutes so I will load a couple. 

 

This is a 1952 Chevy 5 window that I did for a guy (father and son project that never got started on).  It came to me in bare metal and looked pretty good... but there were LOTS of surprises.  The front fender, hood, and entire bed were a nightmare.  They were beat to death b/c this truck was used for what it was originally intended for...WORK!  The bed sides were so dented, pitted and warped that I told the owner I would personally pay for new bed sides if he would allow them to be used, but he didn't want any aftermarket parts.  We put it on an 1998 S10 frame and running gear and it really turned out well, the only problem is that I can't find a picture of it complete right now ???  Here's a few pics of the process.

 

One of it in my paint booth (the booth was a disaster).

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Out of the booth...

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My son is excited it's finally done!

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Seems a little ironic doesn't it??? Since the 1998 S10 frame is certainly an "aftermarket" part.

 

Well... I have a few minutes so I will load a couple. 

 

This is a 1952 Chevy 5 window that I did for a guy (father and son project that never got started on).  It came to me in bare metal and looked pretty good... but there were LOTS of surprises.  The front fender, hood, and entire bed were a nightmare.  They were beat to death b/c this truck was used for what it was originally intended for...WORK!  The bed sides were so dented, pitted and warped that I told the owner I would personally pay for new bed sides if he would allow them to be used, but he didn't want any aftermarket parts.  We put it on an 1998 S10 frame and running gear and it really turned out well, the only problem is that I can't find a picture of it complete right now ??? 

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If that was my bc I'd be going gasser. Since you are already adding a V8 and such, and it has no kid seating... Good starting point, my 49 truck was used pretty hard by its original owner to haul heifers,firewood, boats, horse trailer. I've got a lot of metal repairs to do, but since it is a one family truck...

 

Nice way to bond with your son. I wish my Dad was more of a gearhead, but, so be it. I'm building a bike like he and his friends all rode before they left for the military in 1964. I'd have turned it into a sign, but the way his eyes lit up when he saw it a couple years ago... maybe I'll get it to him before he decides he's too old to at least try riding it (1963 Honda 250 Scrambler race bike). He hasn't ridden since 1964, hasn't driven my truck since sometime prior to 1973 when he bought a new big block F100.

 

Let your son do as much as he can to "help", he'll appreciate the car that much more when he is older.

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