December 29

We realized something when we got the cab moved over. Since the seats are so much lower in the Blazer than in the Apache, you can't see out of the windows. So the Cowboy spent the day welding.  He made brackets for the seats and welded the body to the frame. I spent the day making tamales and didn't get any photos of him welding today.

December 28

Cowboy cut apart the cab on Frankentruck. I got to come out when it was time to put it on the Blazer. I would have pictures of the whole mounting process, but he gets upset when I drop the corner of whatever I'm holding to take photo. I can't imagine why that would upset him...

 

After Cowboy cut the firewall, floor, and dash out.

 

 

Interior view.

 

 

Ready to slide it over.

Almost in place.

 

Sitting on the Blazer frame.

Checking out his handiwork. I'm digging his headband. It keeps his ears warm

and makes him look stylish.

December 26

Cowboy was being a good neighbor today and helping Wild Bill with the wiring in his truck.

December 25

No, the Cowboy did not do any car work. He did however let the minions open their presents Christmas eve so we could sleep in Christmas morning. They were just as excited about this rapid change in tradition and we, we got to sleep in. No children sneaking downstairs, no children trying to be quiet at 4 in the morning until we got up. It was awesome. Now, I don't think it will be an every year thing, but he was exhausted from being outside most of the day Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas to all of you as well.

December 24

Yes, I know. He's outside Christmas Eve day. Seriously, if he's not busy doing something, he's restless and thinking about what he could be doing. We definitely aren't idle at our house. Soon, after he's figured out where the seats are going to go and what height, I'll be ripping off the seat covers. Thank goodness there are only 2 this time.

Today, he was trying to fit the front clip from the Apache on the Blazer. He removed a huge portion of the interior metal sections to get it to fit. By the end of the day it was looking pretty good.

I'd come out to take photos, offer an opinion when he asked and fix him scalding hot cocoa. Seriously though, what did he expect? Cold cocoa?

 

Cutting out the old fender panels. Cowboy is a cutting fiend with his sawsall.

 

Cutting the front of the clip.

 

Middle one trying out his truck. Not bad for a day's work.

 

Frankentruck from the front. Hmm, she's going to need a new name.

December 23

This isn't the day he officially started, but it's the start of the photos. Before I got out there he added a header back exhaust system, throttle body spacer, cold air intake and retuned the Blazer. Then, since it's cold, but not completely bitter the last few weeks, he started taking it apart. I know, once again it's like I have a junk yard in my driveway. You need Blazer parts? We've got them.

Oh, I completely forgot, before this, he pulled the engine out of Frankentruck and helped our neighbor, Wild Bill, install it in his 69 Chevy truck. Well, actually he pulled the cab, bed, front clip and hood off of Frankentruck, then the took out the engine. I came home one day and had a flashback to this. That took up a week of the Cowboy's time.

 

Wild Bill is telling him something, but for the life of me, I can't remember what. I have to add, when I drove up one day, I honestly couldn't tell from down the street who was who since they were both wearing caps and the same jacket. They're almost the same height which made it a little more difficult.

 

 

Flashback. This makes me a little sad, because all I could think of was all the work that we did and now we're undoing all of that.

 

Driving the skateboard into the garage. He put the seats on later in the week and drove up and down the block. It was fun since it's so peppy with no body, but scary. Very, very scary.

What the Cowboy is Doing

This really started officially on the 8th of this month. The Cowboy is working on the middle minion's car. I know, he can't even legally drive for another 5 months and even then he'll still have to finish driver's education. That however, is only a small technicality. The Cowboy is working on turning Frankentruck into a Captain America truck. She'll be two toned silver and  blue with the Captain America symbol ghost painted on her side. We're also going to do red, white, and blue insets in the seat panels with appliqued stars on the blue part. The middle one is very "Go USA!" and plans to pursue his dream of being an astronaut. Besides, the Captain America symbol offers the Cowboy something new to try out.

So, the better question I'm sure you're all asking is, why Frankentruck? The boy loves her, he really does. After we fixed her up he decided she was going to be his. He even kept asking when he was going to get his own keys. Right, like I'd give a 12 year old his own set of car keys. That's asking for trouble.

After the Monte was almost finished we offered him a few options, fix up the Charger, fix up Frankentruck or pick something different. The Charger ended up not being an option since he'd have to not only put in the sweat equity, but also come up with the extra money to cover the difference in restoration costs. There wasn't another car he liked more than Frankentruck so that was what he picked. I know, you're all thinking, but she looks like she was finished. She was, kind of.

Restoring Frankentruck was our first resto-mod and after she was done there were several things that would have been different. This is the chance to fix those and make her run even smoother. Besides, this minion doesn't need something with as much power as Frankentruck has. He needs something with a little less power and better gas mileage. Inside the truck is a Chevy Blazer Xtreme. The next few posts highlight what he's been up to the last few weeks.

And what is the Cowboy up to?

Not taking a break, that's what he's up to. All I can think is the girl minion is going to have to start deciding on her dream car a lot sooner than she'd planned, because someone isn't going to have anything to do this summer.

December 15

The Monte is officially done. Seat covers are finished and installed. It's not bad for my first upholstery job.

 

Cowboy installing the seats.

 

One excited minion.

December 10

Hmmm, it's cold outside, but the Cowboy is up to something. Leave your guesses in the comments section. I'll pick a random winner on December 21st. Winner will get an autographed photo of the Cowboy. You can pick any photo from the Cowboy Customs or Frankentruck blogs. My choice would be the one below, but you can pick your own favorite. I'll also send some interesting car swag things and chocolate stolen from the Cowboy's secret stash.