[70ra455]

OK guy's ... I'm going to share my rebuilding experience with all of you ... please understand that this thread will reveal my total inexperience in full car restorations. I've owned and driven many cars but never have I attempted to rebuild one ... and certainly not to this degree. This is a full restoration ... either ground up or frame off ... still haven't decided that one.

Background:
I was on FB and someone asked if anyone wanted the car. The price was very reasonable and I jumped on it. My wife thought I was nuts but be that as it may I went ahead an purchased the car. That was the easy part.

The hard part was that it was in Canada ... 2,000 miles away ... and I couldn't find anyone to pick up the car ... unless I wanted to spend $4,000 - 10,000! ... yes I got quotes that high. So I decided to go pick it up myself. Again ... my bride thought I was crazy and she was worried for my safety (lol) but I was going to get it and get it I did.

At the same time my youngest son was suffering from tremendous emotional issues and addiction issues which was breaking our hearts each and every day. My young boy who was my best buddy his entire life was hurting and my wife and I tried everything in our power but nothing was helping. I asked him to take the trip with me but his depression wouldn't allow him to say yes. (As a side note I also asked him earlier to go away with me for 3 months into the mountains and just fish, cook, walk, hike or whatever (he loved the outdoors) but he wouldn't bite on that either.) One of the reasons I bought the car was to see if we couldn't do the project together since he seemed to have an interest in mechanical things (he was actually a computer software engineer for HP).

So one friend from our church lent me his trailer and another lent me his time and skills and off we went! Towing a 3,000 lb trailer with my 2004 Tahoe we sped off through Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montanna before crossing into Canada. We got to the hotel in Canada around 2 a.m. so we made the 2,000 mile trip in 36 hours with the trailer.

Woke up early in the A.M. and went to the farm where the car was sitting in a field. After 3 hours of hijinks we finally got the car loaded. It came with a 455 in it and the original 421 tripower engine was sitting on a pallet. We loaded it in front of the GP ... half on the trailer and half on the tongue ... lol ... thanks to help from a "Hutterite" named John who lived "across the street" from the farm where he and his 189 people "family" living in the same house ... yep ... farmed 40,000 acres! ... yes, 40,000 acres! ... and with John's invaluable help we were loaded and left to go back home.

2 days later we were home in Michigan unloading the car into the garage where all the fun would happen! Total trip time 3 days 23 hours ... total miles ... 4,000 ... total cost ... under $2,000 including my new electronic braking sensor for the trailer! ... total cost of getting through customs ... ZERO! ... the professionals may have to pay for their cargo but individuals do not! ZERO DOLLARS and about 10 minutes at a very busy customs crossing.

I will post pictures of the car pre-putting it in the garage ... the farm ones are obvious ... the others are the trip home ... and the last one is tucked away in the garage. I will share more later ... the trip was November 3-5 2013.