I put the ‘58 Chevy on the road earlier than anticipated and have since been shaking it down by running errands, driving it back-and-forth to work, etc. I really wasn’t ready to start driving it, but it’s turned out to be good motivation to get back to working on it again.
The truck still needs a lot before it could be considered presentable, but you do what you gotta do and driving it right now has turned out to be the best thing. Even though this one isn’t close to finished yet, I’ve totally forgotten the effect these things have on people and how much fun they are.
I’ve been involved in the “Street Rod” scene with the ‘56 Ford, and I’ve met some decent people at local shows, gatherings or stuck rows and rows deep in cars and unable to get out when you’ve had enough, and it’s just not how I want to spend my day anymore. I like building stuff and talkin’ to people who build stuff. I really appreciate the effect old mechanical stuff has on people and sometimes a vehicle just fits the bill. It just changes our perspective sometimes.
In about a week’s time or two, I’ve already got more stories than I can sit down and write about each night when I get home. but here’s two quick ones:
Last night on my way home from work I stop for fuel ( I do this a little more often in this truck than I did in the Honda 
) and as I’m waiting my turn to pull up to the pump, this guy comes walking out of the store and gives me a thumbs-up as he passes in front of me & the truck. Cool enough, but not really enough to write about, right?
Well I pull up to the pump and get out of the truck and this same guy, a couple of islands over filling his ‘79ish Monarch, yells out,
“Cool Ol’ Truck!”
“Thanks“, I reply politely, still just punching numbers into the pump.
“That’s Got to be the biggest, old flatbed I’ve ever seen! What year is it, ‘61?”
“No it’s a ‘58, but you’re close. Good guess.”
Then from near the Diesel Ford Pick-up between us, another voice pops up out of the night air,
“I bet it’s got some story!”
“It’s got more history than I do“, I quip back
and then some kid over by an immaculately clean, high-winged, foreign something or another lets out, “My grandfather used to have one just like that.”
“Thanks Kid“, I laugh, “Shouldn’t you be in bed?“, thinking about how friendly people can be when just one person makes the initiative to break the ice the way Mr. Monarch did.
The conversation went on between the few of us all doing what is usually a regular, run-of-the-mill routine that we do hundreds of times without even giving anybody a passing glance or thought, but this time it people actually talked to one another. Had it been a warmer, Spring evening; we could’ve opened up a couple of pops on the stoop and kept at it, but I finished fueling up and yelled out, “Have a good night!” as I climbed back up & fired ‘er up to get home.
And tonight, I’m driving up N. Carefree on my way home and find myself behind a two-tone blue Baja Bug, but as we’re coming up to a traffic light, he pulls into the left lane and I end up beside, instead of behind, him. He rolls down his passenger window and yells out with a big smile,
“Hey! Give me a ride bro!” pointing to the empty flatbed that we could obviously fit his bug onto.
We exchange pleasantries and some build details while sitting at this light… and then the next… and then some laughs at one at Powers. By now I know he’s running some over-sized cylinders, two carbs, etc and as he’s turning off, he just lets it rip to show me what he’s done with it.
Cool!
It’s really just our yard-truck that I couldn’t resist chopping and since it still needs tons of stuff done to it, I see more room for improvement with it (especially since I’m driving it) than I look at what’s already been done… and there’s always going to be the guy who walks up & points out what it still needs but some other people seem to see it differently, and I’m okay with that. 
