Art & Inspiration You can have it if you can get it out: A 2 year struggle for a free Hemi

Wow, thanks for the kind words ... I knew you'd understand where I was coming from. By the time we remembered the camera, we were too dang beat to do much more than huff and puff our way through these two shots. The sun was fading fast and we still had to load the engine on the trailer and all the tools to boot. However ...

Here are a couple pics from 2 years ago... many of you may recognize these. The grille is long gone, it was the only piece I was able to bring back that cold winter day and financed the purchase of several of the tools I needed for my next excursion. Imagine this being more overgrown. Loppers and a chainsaw cleared the way. There are still a few bits and pieces up there that will be brought home soon... comparatively speaking, they will be a piece of cake.

As far as the internals of that engine go, I need to get my **** off the computer and out to the garage to unload it first. Steve was pretty excited about seeing what was what, so I 'm going to wait for him too.

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I got the dash too, and the odometer reads 69 some-odd thousand miles. Considering how long the cars have been down there, I'm hoping that means it hasn't rolled over yet.
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Still going back for the steering wheel to this Chrysler...


... and a few parts off this F-1 which some ***wipe has peppered with bullet holes since this pic was taken.
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Oh yeah, that engine puller is priceless. I have two different I-Beams that I use. THe one I bring out to the woods is long enough so that when I get the engine in the air, I can slide the trolley far enough to the side to drop the engine to the side of the car. I love that thing. Heavy as sin and a pain to put together by yourself, but worth its weight in gold for tough extractions in hostile territory.

 

Wow, First I read the story of "Bull's" Survivir and now this. You should be very glad to have such a good friend as Steve. Looking forward to your progress on you survuvor hemi !

41 Dave

 

I see bumper guards , rear bumper, your not done yet. Nice score

 

That's what an old friend calls "paying your dues" when it comes to this HOT ROD thing. Congrats on the "conquest"

Frank

 

That's the kind of soul you can't get from odering a crate motor.

Nice work, -Abone.

PS. Check your self for ticks...

 

Cool! I hope you can save that thing now!

 

You brought a smile to my face. Had a similer experance.

 

That myfriend is a story of a hotrodder with real p***ion, not just alot of $$$$. It doesn't matter if that turns out to be the heart of your next hotrod or another unsightly pile in your yard, you never know till you try, and the memories of that adventure will be with you both for life. I think the piecesparts that mean the most, are the ones that make us break a sweat and bleed alittle. Great story!

 

What an adventure! You are right, this is what it's all about.

 

Damn this makes me feel good to hear. I would hope that there are people outside the hot rodding world that do similar things in their own lives and feel as great as you do now.

Most may never understand that this sickness is actually a cure.

 

I have to know. Did you ever serve at Ft Bragg? You look like a guy I served with there.

 

good for you. This is what it is all about.

 

Did you get the Desoto grill too?

 

RAD!

Great story. This is what its all about guys.

 

No better time can be had than that! Been in that situation a bunck of times. Way cool!

 

great story.... way better than "look at this Hemi I got at the swap meet"

 

Great job on saving the engine, congratulations!

Most of all, congratulations on your ability to compose a well written, informative, interesting and humorous post.

That ability is in fairly short supply here in the US, and getting more so by the day!

 

Most people would never even concieve of something like this, it's good to see other people who aren't afraid to drag **** out of the woods, that's for sure.


That F1 if you can't save it you should go back and cut the middle frame crossmember (with the pedals), steering box/column, shock mounts, and maybe take the brakes out of it. Even if you don't use it yourself that's a good $400-$500 in parts you can sell. The last one I did I just ran a 1200-watt generator (like 48 lbs) and used a sawzall and a grinder to cut out what I wanted.

 

There are a lot of us out here like you! We will spend every penny we have available to us and work our ****s offfor a treasure that most people laugh at and call junk!

 

So where's the photo of the engine on the old hood? That's the money shot.
Congrats on 2 days of cool labor.

 

Awesom tail of pride and determination, you're one in a million.
Grits



You get my vote for "most interesting man alive"![/QUOTE]

But can you carry a hot skillet of fajitas with your bare hands?

 

Now you need to build something around and be able to tell one hell of story about how it came to be.

 

That's awesome. I remeber when you forst posted this and telling us how you froze your *** off! Congrats, I hope it works out good, after all that, you deserve a break.

 

Judging from the size of it I think it is a fluid drive bellshousing.
V/8

 

good story , and made a friend to never have enough friends ,

 

Great story, Why did you not dis***emble it and take it out piece by piece?

 

nice work - great determination!!!

 

I remember this story from a couple years ago. Way to go!

 

your story was exellent......easy reading and interesting. may I suggest, you contacting Ryan for editorial job here on the HAMB !