Art & Inspiration Who has time for finishing projects when summer starts?

I want to finish the Model A, paint the Thunderbird and lots of other fun car stuff, but it's travel and camping season. We got the Spartan out, cleaned it up and are heading out this weekend for the first outing of the season. We're towing this summer with the DeSoto, although the Diamond T has a new transmission, radiator and tires. After that, it's ON every weekend from now until the end of October. Where does the time go? How did I have time for a career?

 

That is a sharp looking trailer and tow rig my friend. Interior is perfect. One axle? How much does that thing weigh?

 

Since you worked long and hard to get the Desoto to this point, I think you deserve the summer off.

 

Yup, single axle. It weighs about 5,500 loaded. We got a Hensley Hitch last summer that makes it a much friendlier trailer to tow.

 

You are truly livin the good life Brain, keep it up

 

Is the rear end of the trailer made from galvanized or...? Why isn't it polished like the flanks?

 

I'm trying. It's kinda challenging keeping all the balls in the air and all the plates spinning on the poles, but we're trying.

 

There was no place to stop polishing that didn't look weird, since the roof flows down the rear. I like it satin. And more importantly, I really dislike polishing.

 

Love the trailer and the tow rig - excellent! I find the house projects usually take second place to the camping and car projects at my house. Giddyup!

John

 

That reminds me of my dad when I was a young pre-driver. I washed the family truckster but didn't finish the wheels/tires/pinners. He told me it was like going to church in a suit and tie with dirty converse all-stars and made me go back out and finish the job I had started.

Get back out there Brian! Polishing metal is what separate men from those damn, filthy apes!

 

Everything has a "time". A time for work, a time for play.
Quite spinning so many plates, and remove a few balls from your juggling act. Enjoy life before your health won't let you.
Play time was the reason you worked so hard all those years. Don't cheat yourself.

I've got a few things I wanted to do with my truck yet, but now its cruising time. If the gas prices cut into the cruising time, we have a porch swing that is pretty nice to sit in until around noon.
I'll work on the truck if the mood hits me.

 

This is the advantage of a younger wife, she still works while I am retired. I spend a couple of hours in the am doing the honey do's, then hit the garage. I find I get a lot more done in the warm weather as my aches and pains are a lot
less.

 

My pace is somewhat steady (slow) all year around. Summer brings the need for mowing, etc. and takes away from car projects some. This summer, I really need to catch up on some house projects or I may lose all my car projects if you know what I mean.

Oh, and love your whole setup Brian! The car and camper both turned out great!

 

I "clock out" on all projects while my son is out of school on summer break. We like to boat, camp, race karts and whatever else sounds like a good time. Only projects I do during those months are necessity. I like your style Brian, glad to see yall back at it after the wreck. The new tow rig looks great as does the Spartan.

 

Have fun, love the trailer.

 

Hot rodders season chart.

Winter - bodywork
Spring - shoot paint, when garage just hits cure temps
Summer - ***emble the car, sweat dripping, hoping to drive it before fall and just make it, try to put some miles on.
Fall - rake leaves, do all the yard and house work you put off all summer, tear the car apart for "improved" version that will surely be done by spring.

 

Slick!

 

Camper, and mild custom, and hot rod I don't have to work on because of the camper. Which is also old and "traditional".

 

Hot rod I don't have time to work on. You know, to stay on point here...

 

Cool rig, Brian! Enjoy it while you and your family are able to do so!

 

I’m only working 3.5 days a week now, and still don’t have enough home time! Keeping up with my stuff that has to be done is damn near a full time job, plus I’ve had to take over keeping up the in-laws place since they aren’t able anymore doesn’t leave me much time to do much hot rod stuff.

You’re a braver man than me to pull a trailer that size with only a single axle. I had a 16’ canned ham one time with a single axle, never had a blowout, but was always on pins and needles. Lot of weight on just two tires.

 

I have found that a guy is more easily distracted from finishing a new project when he already has something cool to drive.
When all you have is modern stuff to drive, you are more motivated to work on the next project, or maybe more accurately, you get less distracted from working on the next project.

 

I don't know... seems like you have things pretty well handled. You're one of the guys here who kind of boggles my mind with all that you do.

Enjoy yourselves.
Nice to see.

 

I don't have a garage so summer means pressure is on to get work done. Light until 9pm and dryer weather.

Someday I hope to be able to afford to build a shop (or buy a house with one already built), but at this rate I'll be in the ground long before.

 

I work almost all through the summer. Live near the jersey shore, and between traffic and crowds, I actually hate going anywhere near there in summer!

 

Hello,
Nice set up for towing and camping. At least it will be outdoors, where ever you go. Out West, we are just getting into Summer weather (approaching 80s) and the sun stays outside longer. We remember those early kid days that when the summer season came around, we completely forgot that the sun sets past 8:30 at night. We got in a lot of trouble for missing dinner and staying out so late.

But, the set up you have is not going to be shown to my wife. She has been after me to get the ball rolling to somehow “get into” trailer towing with an Airstream and hot rod station wagon.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...no-explanation.1143737/page-405#post-14121199

We had a great room each time we spent the vacation in this resort hotel in Goleta, CA After we spent the day doing our relaxing beach side events, we returned to the resort and spent time just relaxing in the Airstream trailer. It was open for guests and could be used for a quiet spot away from the activities of the whole area or resort. A great place to read and write more stories…
Kimpton Goodland resort hotel
Your station wagon is superb and the trailer is well done. Kudos… if my wife saw this thread, then she would constantly hound me/us to get the station wagon/trailer combo we see daily in our house.

One day, she saw me fiddling around with a 1955 Chevy Station Wagon for future custom accessories and modifications swirling around my head. She saw a trailer hitch on the back and wanted to know if we could get a scale Airstream Trailer to go on that hitch. So, searching high and low, a similar Silver Airstream Trailer was found and it was a conversation starter.

During the pandemic, the talk of getting away to several forested areas as well as the mul***ude of coastal beachfront camping sites all along the west coast kept being the topic of conversation. As she saw the model Chevy wagon and attached airstream trailer, the conversation about getting one was almost never ending.

Jnaki

So, keep up the great work, have fun with your cool station wagon and trailer. The open spaces call out for just such a get-away form of cool transportation. Our future plans now include a different small station wagon with a lot of horsepower and a smaller version of the Airstream trailer for our future plans of coastal camping with our granddaughter before she goes away to college.

That was on our plans from the time she was a little toddler staying with us for days on end. Well, it was an overnight that turned into many overnights and she was able to sleep in her own tent inside of our home on many days/nights. Ha!

Despite the great plans, stay safe and it is still out there… YRMV

 

Smokin' nice trailer and tow rig. I'm in pre cruisin' season thrash mode right now. Heading off to our next house soon, #11, which will probably be another complete gut and redo - we only buy run down and bedraggled houses. That will take me out of the Hot rod biz for a bit but, will squeeze in some nights regardless of the season - not a TV watcher.

 

First I have to say is your setup is out of this world Kick ***.
For me when summer rolls around I love to get out and drive but I’m also a fart in a frying pan and have to have garage time. I’m not one that enjoys sitting by the fire pit or sitting at the lake, all I think about is hey if I use part A and heat and bend part B weld them together it should work to make part C.

 

Last summer with everything shut down, it was easy to finish my project car. Having worked on it pretty constantly for 2 years I just kept forging ahead. There were no other events to really interrupt the build, so it was easy to keep going.
Normally I save big work for winter months, and hope I get them all done prior to summer. That's usually worked out well for me.