Worden18

Went out for a 50 mile cruise tonight (July 28th) with wifey. Earlier we took the dogs and kids with on a shorter trip. It was such an awesome evening for cruising. I just don't think it could get any better. Some pics:

Looking good man!

After my son and I checked all the blinkers and brake lights with the headlights on and off and found everything worked great (for the first time since I've owned the car I'm embarrassed to say) we loaded the dogs and all 6 of us went for a night ride. It got dark about halfway through the cruise. I like the last picture; it was dark and there were some scary clouds lit up by the fading sunset. Car ran great, it was a fun time.

Tonight my son and I wanted to fix this grounding problem with the blinkers. The right front blinker was so dim the only way to see it flash was at night. Same with the left rear blinker. Also, the left front blinker would blink at the same time as the right one when you wanted just the left blinker. Well, I did a temporary hillbilly fix and it worked. I'll keep an eye on it to see how long it lasts before I have to do the job right LOL. I know I should've run a wire somewhere to the body from each light socket assembly. For now on the rear tail light I used a screw to ground it, and on the front one I used an industrial copper staple. I still need to run a ground wire from the gas tank to the body or frame as I believe that is the problem with my fuel guage. It was working before the new tank was put in. In the second picture you can see where the metal is creased and wrinkled underneath the light assembly where Ray Sebo's (original owner) wife Charlotte had crashed the car into a stump (back in the late 50s) and messed up the front bumper and passenger side fender.

Later on after my son and I got home, wifey and I went out for a drive. She drove. No better car to learn a clutch than one with Fluid Drive! It was fun to ride as a passenger for once.

We went out to eat at noon. Later my friend showed me what he had been talking about as far as my blinkers and tail lights needing to be "grounded". I hadn't understood what needed to be grounded where. Now I do, and I will fix that tomorrow. Been having problems with blinkers and lights not being bright enough, etc.

I took the passenger side rear wheel off to see what I was up against as far as servicing those brakes. I just ordered the universal puller that has been mentioned here on the forums.

Here's a partial shot of my new exhaust. No, the pipe isn't crinkled, not sure why it turned out like that in the pic. While I was under there I tightened the oil pan bolts gently, snugged the fuel pump bowl and the lines and clamps, wiped off some excess oil, checked over the parking brake, checked the oil in the transmission, tightened the driveshaft bolts, readjusted the front brakes, and probably a couple other things I forgot about already.

Today I visited a friend of mine that I hadn't seen in a while. He's a savvy mechanic to say the least and gave me a hand with a few things on the Meadowbrook. It was raining on the way over there so I got to exercise the wipers again. I drove 60-65mph on the stretch of interstate hwy. This shot is just before I put it up on the hoist.

60s C-700 chassis cab at Rick's 361 BB in it. Single axle. Hasn't been run in a few years, but about 7 or 8 years ago I drove it. No rust really to speak of. It is for sale. I love the swing out fenders. Wish I could buy it but I just have too much junk of my own...

I wanted to drive that thing!

My son got to sit in my friend (Rick's) dozer. He wanted to know why he couldn't drive it!

Took the Meadowbrook to my friend's place late last week. We call it the junkyard because he has so much stuff. His son had their 1964 White tractor out to get it ready for the pulling competition coming up this weekend at Houston Hoe-Down-Days.

http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/dodgerestoration.htm Hey fellas, I attempted to do a search to see if anyone had ever posted this article and couldn't find anything. So....if its been posted and you've seen it then its old news. If you haven't seen it then you'll have a nice time looking through the pages for sure. Enjoy

First pic: A shot going down a long hill. Was plenty dark by the time we got home. I had the bright lights on, you can see the red high-beam indicator. The pic is deceiving; looks like my headlight isn't aimed and is really bright right in front of the car when its actually not. Not sure why it turned out like that. Somewhere along the route my left turn signal decided to quit working. It was a fun night

Then, more fun at the gas station! I was washing the windows and a gentleman approached me and asked if my car was a 49. I told him a 51. He said his dad had a 50 Chevy that he used to drive a lot. His wife came over to talk as well. Then his wife started talking to my wife so it was just him and I. I told him all the things about the car that I know, and he was happy and excited to look it over and listen. In between some of the things I had to say, he told me some things of his own. He said that when the rocker panels rusted on that 50 Chevy, his dad took a hammer to the chrome strip and busted the whole mess off, on both sides! He also told me that way back in the 60s (this guy and his wife are 70 years old, he told me that right away) a friend of his had a late 40s Pontiac with a straight 8 that he was going to send to the junkyard. It still ran and was driveable. He said they took it out and squeeled the tires, revved the engine and beat the hell out of it until the engine blew up. Then he junked it. He said he felt bad at the time for participating, and he knew that doing such a thing to that car was totally wrong. His final story was really funny. He said to this day he is a big hunter/fisherman. Back in the 60s he had a 1960 Chevy station wagon. He said he put a mattress in the back so he could sleep in it at his favorite fishing hole, then in the morning he could get up early and be there without having to drive. He said one day driving home from the fishing hole 2 young ladies were broken down on the side of the road. He stopped of course and offered them a ride to town. He said they took one look at the mattress in the back of his car and one said "No thanks, we'll walk" LOL He said he realized they probably thought he was some kind of serial rapist LOL I laughed so damn hard I almost fell over backwards We talked for 1/2 and hour before we finally parted ways. Here's his wife and mine.

Main St., Spring Grove, right before we took off to stop at the gas station so I could wash the bugs off the windows.

On our walk we ended up on some street we'd never been on before, and I spotted this old Ford.

We first stopped in Spring Grove to take the dogs for a walk. Right after I snapped this pic, a gentleman of about 65 or 70 with a long gray beard and long hair was walking along the sidewalk approaching us. He was very excited to look at my car. He said, "Wow its really nice to see a car like this!" He immediately started asking questions and of course I showed him the keys and opened the hood. He said he had a 53 Ford when he was a teenager and it had a flathead V8 with overdrive. He then told me that years and years ago when he moved off the farm (with his folks) they left the car there (in the weeds I'm assuming). We talked for about 10 minutes, and then he thanked me for bringing back old memories.

Wife and I (and the dogs) took our 50+ mile loop tonight, which was really interesting. Here's a shot of the dogs lovin' the ride.

I found out some more about my car tonight. When I bought the car from the previous owner, he had never transferred the title. So we had to go to the DMV and he actually had to transfer the title to his name, then we had to wait 3 weeks for it to come back, then he sent me the title via the mail and I was able to transfer it to my name. Well, I had written down the name of the guy who was on the title before the guy I bought it from. Turns out this guy's daughter and my daughter are good friends! One day after a sleepover for my daughter at their house, we went to pick her up in the Meadowbrook. (This was before I knew he was one of the previous owners). He told me that he had a car just like mine about 15 years ago and owned it for 6 or 7 years. After I found my notes that I had misplaced, (some time after talking to him) I realized it was HIS name on the title. So I texted him today and he confirmed his full name and former address. I asked him who he bought the car from. He gave me that guy's name, and said that this fellow had bought it at an auction and then it sat in his garage in Winona, MN for a bunch of years before he decided to put it on the street with a for sale sign. That's when my friend saw it and bought it. So....let me break this down for you guys. OWNERS and TIMELINE: -Original owner: Ray Sebo, Winona, MN 1951-1996 -Bruce B: bought the car at the Sebo auction from Ray's daughter after Ray's death in 1996. Also from Winona, MN -Ken S: early 2000s-2008 (this guy is the father of my daughter's friend) Winona, MN -Pat G: 2008-2016 Nodine, MN, just a few miles east of Winona -John M. (that's ME ): March 2016-Present Houston, MN Look at this oil change sticker. I THINK it says July '78; could be 73 but I think its 78. It reads 58,380 miles. Well, from that date until I bought it in 2016, only 745 miles were put on the car. No wonder so many things were wrong with it. Sitting like that certainly is hard on a car. Anyway, I was the first one to really do anything with it since Ray Sebo parked it in his barn one day after it quit running (according to his daughter whom I talked to on the phone the other day) back in the 70s.

This is what's happening to my car. I'll be fabricating a shield soon It pays to read these threads

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-DODGE-Crest-Yellow-Gold-Classic-3-Piece-Key-Set-1949-1955-Keys/391079545039 Yeah looks like that type of key was definitely an aftermarket product. Pretty cool. I wonder how much they cost back in the 50s? Not sure I would ever dish out $100 for a set now....