Welcome, old truck enthusiasts! I want to start off by saying I blame each and every one of you for all the work that has gone into this. If it weren't for all of your enthusiasm, dedication, and help in just about every facet of this truck restoration, I wouldn't have felt the need to tear this truck completely down and test all of the great advice I have received. So, Thanks I guess! ;-)

Meanwhile, this all started in October of 1999 when my neighbor decided to sell me the 1950 Pickup I had admired for several years. You see, it had been sitting in his front yard for 18 years with the windows half-open, hood halfway up, and leaves, dirt, and spare parts in the .. uhh.. bed. It was a pretty sight from across the street! Had I known he would eventually sell it to me, I would have covered the whole thing in plastic years ago. I was very grateful when he decided to sell and gave him the full $1000 asking price. I discovered it wasnt his, but a very good friends who always wanted to restore his dads old pickup but the years slipped by and he didn't have the time. The moving day arrived and they towed it over to my shop (2 blocks) and there it was! MINE!!! The engine wouldn't run, the brakes were completely shot, the floor was completely rusted out, the bed wood was all missing, the windows were all broken and in all of its pristine slendor, I was the most proud new owner of all time!

After getting it in the garage, I discovered that for it to be back to drivable condition, a great deal of TLC was in order. Problem was where to start. I removed the bed, discovered so much mud, rust and crud all over that I decided to get out the drill and some wire brushes and start cleaning. It was a huge task but I am a clean freak and wanted it to look especially nice. I wire brushed the entire truck from the rear bumper to near the front axle. It took nearly 300 hours and a lot of really hard work. Of course, to do the job right, I had to remove a lot of stuff...

One thing led to another and I ended up removing EVERYTHING! In my quest for CLEAN, I ended up tearing the whole truck completely apart: every nut and bolt. Once I was to the bare frame, sandblasting seemed in order since that would get places my wire brushes simply couldn't. It was then that I purchased a book called "How to Restore Your Chevrolet Pickup" by Tom Brownell.

Between that book and all the conversation on the 'oletrucks' list, I felt compelled to do a frame-up restoration and do it right. I had seen a few Advance Design pickups that were done frame-up. They were nice, REAL nice, but I was determined to do it better. I saw some room for improvement. That is one of the really neat things about looking over other peoples work. If you pay real close attention, you can get some pretty good ideas how to make yours better!

Although I am not finished yet, I am paying very close attention to every detail, getting opinions and advice from many sources, and doing my best to not compromise quality. This will be a stock pickup and I will be going for the original look and feel. There will be no rodding on this one. I am doing this for a few reasons. For one, I like to see pristine examples of original antique vehicles, and two, the previous owner will think his dad's old truck looks awesome when I am finished. Not, "oh my god!! he chopped, dropped, sliced and diced it!" Maybe on a project in the future I will rod one out, but not this first one.

I want to make a few things clear here: I have never done anything like this before. I have 1 year of high school auto mechanics (23 years ago) and I have rebuilt one 235 engine (20 years ago) out of a 1954 Chevy 3100 that I paid $75 for. I have never held a paint gun in my hands, removed a cab and front clip, much less assembled the parts afterward. If ever there was an amateur, it is me! If I can do it, anyone can. So, we will all see together if I can do it!

Thanks again, everyone! All encouragement, criticism, and heckling is welcome.