We got my son his 52 back in November as a high school graduation present. Pretty decent truck (camaro clip, 9 inch, 350/350 combo) So far we have put in a 700-r4 and done some other minor mechanical work on it, he's now working on the body for a repaint. The guys who built it did great on the mechanicals but took some short cuts on the body( filled rust holes with fiberglass and bondo). Here's some shots of the work he is doing. We had to replace the lower fender extension on the front drivers fender, it had been wrecked and they just straightened it a little and mudded it up, the fender ended up being about an inch narrower than the other side and the tire was rubbing the lip and tore it up. The bed was really rough but I had another one that just needed a couple of patches to make it usable. One rear fender had a hole about 2 inches wide by 12 inches long that had been filled with bondo too. So he has spent the last couple of weeks learning how to fit patches and weld them in and do the finish work. I'm really proud of the work he's doing.

 

Wow....what a nice grad present!!

 

My graduation present was getting up to milk the cows, as usual.

 

That's sweet man. I hope my son will be interested like that. He sure is at 12 anyways

 

My son helped me a bit when I was restoring my Model "A" but he never really got hooked. Ended up with his head buried in his computer. Of course, now he makes more than I do as a computer programmer so I guess it's not all bad. Still, it'd be nice to have the company some times. You're lucky to have a hobby you both enjoy.

 

I agree. Nice graduation present. Post some pics after he gets it painted. What color is he thinking?

 

I think he's going with cream with black grill,bumpers and running boards. Not my first choice but I told him its his truck and he can do it how he wants.

 

Nice graduation present. And that's a nice truck.

 

That's great! Looks like a great project for you and your son.

 

Hey Gary,
Nice - You know they can't get in too much mischief when they are out
there grinding away. My son Zack calls all the time from college to "talk truck". Keeps the communications lines fully open.

Your son looks like he's having a great time - I'm surprised he's not crawling all over that truck with his buddies.

Ben in Austin

 

Things like this give me a warm fuzzy feeling. You and your Son are very lucky to have such a relationship. You are not only giving him practical skills, but life skills as well. Nice job on doing it the rite way. He will apreciate what he has, and what he has acomplished.

 

That's it, teach him to fix it right, not to cut corners. It's a skill and life lesson that he'll never forget.

 

This is great you done this with your son. takes me back when i was your sons age helping redo my dads 1950 f1 you see in my signature. i am slowly redoing my 49 f1 to look just like the one my dad had.

 

Sickness is right! My dad and I are extreme car nuts. My brother has a tricked out 1970 Maverick he and dad did, but he doesn't have the bug like my dad and I do. I don't know if my son will catch it, seems he's more into guns, computers, and games. My daughter on the other hand might be my garage companion... a bit young to tell though. That is one helluva graduation present! Reminds me of my youth. When I was 14, Dad bought me a caracass of a '67 Ranchero and told me if I want and license and a driving car, I'd better get to work! After 19 years passing, I still have the Ranchero...

 

My Dad was one to buy a cheap pile of crap as the family car then tell me to fix it, starting when I was ~ 13. When I graduated high school my grandmother gave me a graduation gift, my first car: 1955 Chevy 4 dr sedan I-6 3 speed on the column. She paid 100.00 for it. The car had been rear ended, pushing in the entire rear end, then while it was parked some kids tried to steal it by cutting the ignition switch out of the dash with a can opener. They couldn't figure out which wires to jump, so they ripped out the entire wiring harness from under the dash The lifters would collapse every time I parked it for a couple hours and the tranny oil was so thick it wouldn't shift when cold until I drove it a few miles. I'd back it into the driveway and leave it in second so I could drive more than 10 mph until the tranny would shift. I spent the entire summer fixing it enough to drive it to college in the fall, straightened the rear end, painted it with the neighbor's cheap spray gun and little compressor, sewed my own tuck and rolled naugahide seat cover for the front seat on my grandmother's electrified treadle sewing machine. It was a POS but it was MINE! Unfortunately that early winter I hit an icy patch on the top of an overpass bridge, spun it around and hit the bridge with the front and back, totalling it. I cried!