How to restore a Truck

But I can tell you with 100% certaintity,That there are things in My collection, both currently & in the past. That if I didn't 'save' them, were destined for the Scrap Metal shear. *Without fail*

as for [if i don,t buy it now it will dissappear forever] that is not the case it
THAT IS THE CASE
Hi Ivor
A year ago plus

detective as i posted earlier im very happy with my stiuation how bout you????

In my limited opinion I have the old truck for no matter how much I spend will never be recouped and looking at a lot of others vehicle will be the case. I also find that truck group are far better than a lot of the car and bike groups that I have participated in and the bottom line of that your do what you can with your project is what funds or equipment that you have available to you or you just collect it because you want it. In saying that I have also some things that I just collected because they were there and i wanted them

ivor... what on earth makes you think i am so unhappy?

i would actually like a fair dinkum answer!!

Ivor ,

You give me impression you wish you had somthing to play with but are too tight to buy anything so the only fun you get out life is having go at some one who has few toys in there shed get over it mate and enjoy life and that means going slowly broke who cares. Dave

Sounds like Ivor might have a burr in his pants......Dave

G'day again from the clown in the Transtar....

While you blokes are analysing ya portfolios, whether they be comprised of cash, trucks, real estate or what ever..
Gettin into each others heads or tryin to..
I'll tell ya something else about restorin ol trucks..
The restoration never stops or does it?
It may just become maintenance..

Our ol buggy does a few chores to pay her way..
So this weekend..
Heres what i have achieved so far...
Changed the mounts for the ally checkerplate 'chassis' cover..
Cleaned down an repainted a few small sections on the chassis.
Re bushed the steering column support turret.
Changed two bolts to a larger diameter on the teflon pad on the airbag guide.
Degreased and washed the whole unit from front to back.
Removed, remade and replaced a few aeroquip hoses
Generally had a good look around while doin the cleaning.
It'll get a grease and a bit of polish too before it goes out..

In all i have enjoyed the hours i have spent 'lookin after' our ol truck...
I said 'our old truck' because it does have an effect on 'our' lives as a family..
Whether it is cash, time or sweat someone around me is sacrificing something for this buggy to be here...
They may not be out here swingin spanners...but i am sure the rest of the show is being looked after while i am..

As i have said so many times before.....
Enjoy it while you can..make the most of it all, while it lasts...
Just remember...underneath that pritty neat lookin ol transtar.....is some idiot covered in dirt!!

Keep on Truckin!

chocs

Geez, what an .............um.............interesting topic

I'd reckon that anyone with the potential of restoring something is far from greedy, more so lucky. Greedy is reserved for the fella who sees it, doesn't need it, doesn't really want it but grabs it to prevent someone else from taking it and then when asked to sell it, refuses on the grounds of 'he with the most toys wins'.

There are plenty of guys out there who have collected and preserved things and I take my hat off to them. Better than watching them rot in a paddock. If finances and room weren't a consideration I'd have far more than my current 'collection'. Obviously I've got the Commer, Mrs Cunning was pushing for a car and I've just bought a lhd Chev and I've near secured a Kenworth to restore.

But I wish I had more. Like Basil said, wandering around a collection of originals is great and personally, if I had a dozen or so in a shed I'd be thrilled just knowing that I'd saved them yet if someone genuinely wanted to buy one to rebuild, I'd sell it.

There's a guy I met a few weeks ago up here with no less than four S Model KW's in a shed awaiting restoration, at least one Seattle with a tropical grill as well as the lone crew cab cabover that was owned by PMG. He's a conehead and will restore them back to original and they'll be really nice. Greedy??? Nope, just smart and lucky.

Another mate (maybe a forum member :) has over a dozen KW's but more importantly, about four GTR XU-1's that he bought for a song over the years. He may not do them all but they'll help finance something else. Greedy??? Nope, just smart and lucky!

And don't tell me that those fellas out there who have collected enamel signs, fuel bowsers and flathead speed equipment over the years aren't suddenly punching the air watching the popularity and value of those things rising steadily.................they were just lucky

Most of us have a handbrake to keep life in perspective so to see people like the Detective, well, I also tip my hat to him.

I think that if I critisized him and people like him, I might just sound a bit jealous

You know what I reckon...old trucks are like women....beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Ive always admired the fact that Deadly cops a lot of stir coz of his grey ghost but he likes it and has had a hell of alot of fun out of the old girl...is the grey ghost any less special than a V12 K Woppa in the pecking order of what opened this great country up...I dont think so...the grey ghost and trucks like it are the ones that built the roads the K Woppa's drove on.
I know im giving Dave a big plug here but he's on to it I reckon....spend a sensible amount of money on a sensible size truck and have a heap of fun.... Maybe alot of us have our sights set to high.
15K is in reach of alot....70K isnt.

Just my thoughts

Basil

Yeah funny how everyone has a different view on it..Personally I just like old stuff, I guess it reminds me of a different era, of the way things used to be? Silly nostalgia perhaps. But I'm just amazed, and a little in awe, of what people used to do, how hard they worked, what they put up with, how they just "got on with it". I don't necessarily think Australia today is a better place than it used to be...
So I reckon if a little of that pioneering spirit still shines through, or rubs off on us, well, thats gotta be a good thing. Be great if we could pass it round a bit too!
And you only have to have a look through the forum (for example at the load of stumps on the inter of course subject) to see what I mean.

And whilst I prefer a resto that is a WORKING classic, ie not immaculate, thats a personal choice, and I'd just keep buying old stuff if I could afford it and had the room! Not for the money, but as has been said above, to save it from China, or to pass it on to a good home, or so on. I'm lucky enough to get a few old toys sometimes, and it's great to see them going to someone else who will use them in their own particular style or passion- Like Woodsa's Road Boss! it's great to see something you've owned still putting a smile on someones face.
I'll never understand why some people only hang on to stuff in the hope it will "be worth money one day", when in reality, someone else could be enjoying right now. But if we all understood each other, the world would be a different place, wouldnt it!!!

Bottom line I guess, as long as you enjoy it, doesnt matter whether you have one, or a hundred, or just enjoy looking at others gear at the show -MAKE THE MOST OF IT ANYWAY!
And this forum is great for letting us all do just that eh!!

Cheers
Richard