A small video of Dad

Look I know that some people might think that it is a little bit weird having this short video clip of dad on here and to be honest I forgot that I had taken it myself and only stubbled on it a couple of months ago while going through the computer files and bloody hell I am glad that I found it..
You could say that our dad was rather elusive when it came to any form of family video camera shots, I have had a older sony-cam with the cassette tapes for about 18years of our kids & family growing up, christmas, gathering's and all the main days in life but there was not a whole lot of dad talking in any of them, I never actually sat down with him, pointed the camera in his face and made him talk, sure there was the odd half shot of a face with a passing comment or a group shot but none of him talking & looking directly at the camera.....so when I came across this little digital clip which is easy to transfer to the computer & blog it was great the hear his voice and see his smile again although brief as it is, 47 seconds....

It was taken on about the 5th day of his stay in the Alfred Hosiptal Melbourne, I had driven down to see him and I had my little sony digital camera with me which I had not used the video on it before so I got it out and just pressed the button not really knowing how to work it while dad was about to attack his big ugly toe nails with his file that I brought with me on special request from him earlier in the day.....

I'm glad it worked as this is priceless to hear.

I have since brought a new sony digital video camera, just wish I had of done it a little earlier...

Thank you

Oh the size difference!!

Today I finished signwriting this new 2011 Kenworth truck with extended sleepercab, which came up from Hallam Truck Centre to be lined & scrolled up and it's also very flash inside with all burgundy leather interior and gold dials but then again when you spend all week in one you would want it nice....

I just couldn't resist the oportunity to park old Monty beside this massive truck and get a few photos, so here ya go! and BTW haven't they came a long way in transport that span the 80 odd years between them.....Thanks

On board camera captures the action...."Bit Rough!!"

I knocked off work around 3pm today and being a Saturday afternoon all the other factories had closed up and gone, so with little traffic I thought, "well why the hell not" so I jumped into Monty, hit the old starter botton with the left foot and instantly he sprang into life with all the normal body rattles and squeeks one would expect from a car looking as original as this old banger!!.

But wait!I thought, wheres my bloody camera?, so I get out, grab that and soon we are rolling out the workshop door, into the sun and headed over the road to where the "JB" or "Brownie" as some call him operates his tyre business from on the opposite corner to my signshop and he has a big vacant block on the corner where trucks can park and today there were none parked up, so we made the most of doing a good few laps around the bumpy, dirty block with quite a few deep puddles in there from all the bloody rain last night.....

Here is a little peice of footage of it, and please excuse the quality as it is shot only using my small camera not a video camera and I am trying to hold that and turn the corners with the shity wooden wheel....Thanks

Monty got his wings

Today I had a visit from John, a local fella & car, bike collector who loves his Chevy's, John came in, waltzed up to Monty, then pulled out of his pocket what you see below and placed in down on the engine hood, a lovely Chev radiator cap accessory that bolt's on top of the metal cap "Small Chev metal Wings"...............(I have just sat them on top for the photo without undoing the rusted nut, it's a little stubborn)

"Bloody hell John, how much do you want for that", "Don't worry about it, I've had them for 20 years or more at home in the shed,  ya dad was good to me and was always helping me out when I needed something so ya can have it, he was a good man"...what else can ya see to something like that except "Thank you very much"..

I now have the radiator cap off the car and turned upside down with some anti-rust liquid soaking the nut under the cap so that the nut and bolt will undo, after 83 yrs of splashing around in dirty radiator water it won't be coming off to quickly, but when it does I show you the end result......Thanks

UPDATE! UPDATE!.....Last night after I got home from work I went straight out to the shed,  put the radiator cap in the vise but not to tight and proceeded to undo the rusty bolt which to my surprise was coming undone nice and slowly as it had been soaking in the anti-rust for a good few hours then SNAP, the bolt broke with a clean break in half, well at least it was off now without any dramas and no damage was done to the original cap..
After a few minutes of sorting through the nuts & bolts container I came up with a suitable yet still tarnished old looking option and put it back together with the end result as pictured.....Thanks

(The bonnet does sit down nice and flush with the radiator edge, I just hadn't clipped it down tight with the 4 latches)

"Monty" creates a bit of interest

From time to time I bring the Chev over to the workshop & park it out the front on the grass, any excuse for a little drive really and bloody hell he creates a bit of attention with the passing traffic from the hwy and the slow driving, hat wearing locals, it's all a bit of fun........

Still waiting on the new wooden steering wheel to arrive from Sydney, which will make the early morning unregistered blockies more pleasurable flying around the left handed corners and also I am trying to chase up some outer headlight rims to hold the glass lenses in place, we're getting there slowing with bits & pieces

Look What I Scored For Monty!!

I parked Monty out front of the workshop the other day on the grass and I had 4 blokes at different times drive in for a closer look and a good chat "My uncle had one of these....", "My father drove one of these....", "My old neighbour kept one in his shed..." along those line the conversations would getting started.
One of the blokes is a well know local who has a name for collecting all things old, machinery, enamel signs, motorbikes & trucks and also has a few Chevy's but of the 1950's variety, this bloke knew my father for years and had seen ole Monty over the years sitting in the corner of the old "Fowler & Sons" workshop covered in dust and had often mentioned it to dad, but always got the same response back...Nope not for sale!!
We stood talking and walking around Monty looking at this and that for quite sometime then I heard the words that put a smile on ya face "Hey you know what, I have an old metal trunk for one of these at home in the shed somewhere, I'll drop it back and you can have it"....So here it is folks pictured in the photo below on the original luggage rack, he was good to his word as it showed up yesterday and I have to say I love it as the trunk and Monty look like they have never been separated all those 83 years, all I need now is to chase up some old leather straps with metal buckles to hold it down which I think will set it off nice.

Not much else has been happening on the restoration front with me just looking into fixing or getting someone to fix the interior woodwork & replacing the main timber chassis rails first and sourcing names and info but to tell you the truth I'm still just playing and enjoying having it sitting in the workshop with the occasional / frequent early morning drive around the block when no one is looking.....Oops someone is coming in the workshop again as Monty is out on the lawn so I must go...

Righto I'm back, I just had "Parko from Thorpdale" call in, he knew dad well, swears like a trooper and can tell some great yarns, stopped for a look & his first words were "Fuck, Wayne would love seeing this, he would be in it snigging poles around the hills hey, fuck, what a fucking ripper, get a fucking look at it, fuck me!!!.....

Cheers and talk to you soon.