Grandpa's '55 Chevy Ch. 01

Gabe had driven down Rt.20 many times but never really paid attention to the homes along it. He was always trying to get somewhere and this road was just the means to an end so his focus was usually straight ahead, not to the sides. He kept his eyes peeled for the address, 20809. He was close, it would be on the left and his customer said she would leave the gate open. 20785, 20793, 20801,...05, there it was, 20809, on an old mail box on an even older bent and rusty pipe driven into the shoulder of the road. His phone read eleven o'clock, exactly when he said he'd be here. Being prompt was big part of his business model.

He pulled the truck onto the right shoulder so he could swing his truck and the wide, empty car trailer into the narrow gravel drive and through the gate, not much more than a hole in the thick blackberry bushes that lined the road. Once through Gabe could see an old but well kept craftsman style home set back a couple hundred feet from the road to the left of the drive. It wasn't a big house but with it's deep and a heavy front porch overhang, which wrapped around the front and both sides of the house, it looked bigger than it was. He was glad to see a circle drive which also serviced a two-car garage to the right so he wouldn't have to back out onto the highway. The large expanse of yard was mowed but wasn't really a lawn, more a mixture of grass and weeds. In front of one of the garage doors was a clean, slightly lowered, black Mustang GT. with larger than stock aftermarket wheels and tires.

He was here to meet Mindy Wilson. She had called his auto repair and restoration business about getting her dad's old car running again. He hadn't gotten much info on the project but it wasn't far from his shop and he couldn't say 'no' to the soft and sexy voice on the other end of the call. Restorations were his specialty and he loved coming out to see 'barn finds' that no one had seen in years. He jumped out of his truck, not using the step, closed the door and headed for the house. Looking up he saw a mid thirty 'an s woman with dark, shoulder length hair pulled back in a pony tail walking out the screen door and giving him an acknowledging wave as she stepped down the stone stairs. She was tall and slender, not 'model skinny' but had gentle curves in the right places. She had natural beauty and had a smile that he loved as soon as he saw it.

They walked toward each other and shook hands. Hers was a solid handshake, not the wimpy 'dead fish' some people have.

"I'm Mindy Wilson, thank you for coming out. Boy, when you say eleven you mean ELEVEN!" Her voice was confident. Her brown eyes were clear and deep.

"Edgar Gabrielson, people just call me Gabe, very nice to meet you and yes, I like to be on time."

Mindy continued "You've come very highly recommended for this type of work and I'm told your rates are reasonable"

Gabe thanked her for calling and asked, "So . . . what is I'm out here to see?"

Mindy explained that her grandfather had an old car that she had many wonderful memories of riding in and it was handed down to her father who drove it everywhere, usually with her in the passenger seat. She directed Gabe out toward the garage so he followed her, taking note of her long legs and nice ass filling out her tight jeans.

"Is that your Mustang?" he asked.

"Yes, that's my guilty pleasure." Gabe said that he really liked what Ford had done with their retro styling. He followed her, thinking they were heading to the side door of the garage but she instead walked to the back of the building, an area under a large wood and corrugated metal cover.

"It's been out back here since mom and dad park their cars in the garage. Even though it's somewhat covered I hate seeing it out in the weather."

They walked around the corner and there was a car parked lengthwise along the back of the garage under a heavy canvas cover which was covered with dirt, dust, leaves and twigs. It was very boxy and long, seemed to be a station wagon but otherwise couldn't be identified. Mindy and Gabe had to remove a couple long boards from the roof before they could pull the cover off. Rather than drag the cover off the front or back of the car Gabe suggested that he grab the corner at the front by the garage and she grab the corresponding rear. He couldn't wait to see what was hiding under there.

Mindy followed Gabe's moves and picked the canvas up and over itself, uncovering the car without dragging the covering and scratching the paint. There, before Gabe, was a dark green 1955 Chevy 210 two door wagon. It was dusty but looked fairly complete.

"My parents are spending a month touring the UK and I would love to have this car running so my dad can drive it every day again. He started having problems several years ago and couldn't find anyone to work on it so here it sits."

Gabe walked around and it looked like it was in very good condition. Shielding his eyes, he looked through the passenger's window and saw a floor shifter!

"Is that a four speed?"

Mindy answered that it was. Her grandfather bought the wagon new with a six cylinder and three on the tree but he was very disappointed with the performance.

As Gabe walked around the back of the wagon he noticed the dual exhaust pipes and an early Corvette 'Fuel Injection' emblem in the lower right corner of the tailgate. His interest was seriously piqued!

Mindy continued that her grandpa drove it like that for a couple years and told the dealer he was unhappy with the performance but didn't want to buy another car. A couple months later the dealer called her grandfather telling him that a customer had purchased a new Corvette and after very few miles had hit a phone pole, nearly ripping the right side off the car. He said the wreck was available cheap from the insurance company and said he could install the Corvette drive train under his wagon for a reasonable cost.

Gabe listened as he continued to walk around the car and when he got back to the front he opened the hood and there in the engine bay, under a thick layer of dust and dirt, was a fuel injected Corvette engine! He was lost in his thoughts when he heard the end of Mindy's question.

"...so is it something you can handle?" He couldn't say yes fast enough.

Focusing on Mindy again, he asked if he could just back his trailer over the lawn to the front of the car and winch it on. She snickered at the term 'lawn' and agreed that sounded like a plan. He swung the truck and trailer around and skillfully backed it up to the front of the '55 and smiled that she was guiding him back even though he could clearly see the trailer and the Chevy. After pulling out the trailer ramps, Gabe connected the controller for the electric winch on the trailer and fed out enough cable to wrap the hook around the frame. Fortunately the tires had air so the old Chevy rolled up onto the trailer easily. Gabe tightened up the hold downs on the wagon for the short trip to his shop.

"Will you be able to finish it before my folks come home?" Her pleading eyes melted Gabe and he assured her that he'll have it done, even though he wasn't completely sure that could happen. He would not disappoint the gorgeous woman in front of him.

" I'll put it up on my lift and give it a thorough inspection so I can prepare an estimate and you'll know exactly what the project will cost. If you're open to it, we could meet at Russ 'n Rosie's - are you familiar with that place? - tomorrow evening about six for dinner and we can discuss the project and the costs. I want you to be comfortable with everything and that comes from good communication." Mindy smiled and quickly agreed to meet Gabe the next evening.

She followed him to the driver's door of his truck and said " Hey, it's a little early for lunch but I just made a bowl of chicken salad and there's a loaf of bread cooling on the counter. Would you join me on the porch for a sandwich?"

He immediately said "Thank you, that sounds great! I only had a cup of coffee for breakfast." They walked next to each other to the house and after reaching the steps she suggested he have a seat at the small table on the porch. She gave him a warm smile as she opened the wood framed screen door and turned to go in. Gabe took a seat and listened to the breeze blowing through the trees and was surprised at how effectively the bushes and brush at the road quieted the traffic noise.

Very quickly Mindy was pushing her shapely behind against the door with a pitcher of lemonade in one hand and two ice filled tumblers in the other. She set the glasses down and immediately filled them from the pitcher. Just as quickly she spun around and went back in. Gabe barely had time to taste his drink when she returned with a tray loaded down with a bowl of chicken salad, a half-sliced loaf of that still warm bread, tomato slices and shredded lettuce. While they made their sandwiches they talked about growing up in a small town, educations, and a myriad of safe topics. He complimented her on the extras in the chicken salad... chopped celery and hard boiled eggs, relish, onions and... was it mustard? It is??? Gives it a little bite.

As they ate, Gabe learned that she was thirty-five, had an MBA but was working as a production development analyst which doesn't use her degree but it's a very interesting job and she gets to work with creative people.

He told Mindy he was forty-one, had attended the local college but figured out he didn't need that to restore cars. Instead, he worked in several shops all around the state, learning what he could from each craftsman before moving on to the next accomplished builder. His parents died in '04 and '06 and he inherited his childhood home and lives there now. Ten years ago he built his shop on the property and opened his own business, staying busy ever since. He doesn't make a ton of money but enough to pay the bills, give him some 'walkin' around money' and a retirement fund. His work gives him a lot of personal satisfaction and a creative outlet.

Mindy said this was her childhood home too. The house was built in 1939 and her grandparents bought it when her granddad got out of the service in the 40's. She's an only child -

"Me too!"

- and like Gabe was doing she had a fantasy of living here again. He noticed a wedding ring and asked how Mr. Wilson felt about that.

"There is no Mr. Wilson. Wilson's my maiden name. I was married but my husband couldn't keep his dick in his pants so we divorced a few years back and I find that the ring keeps most men from hitting on me. What about you... is there a Mrs. Gabrielson?"

Gabe explained that there had been one a while back and he'd had a few long term relationships but none of the women had all the qualities he was looking for. He lived a simple life style but most seemed determined to change him or wanted more than he was able or willing to give.

Mindy nodded and responded, "You've got to have the right person. No sense in losing yourself to make someone else happy." He smiled and they clinked their glasses in agreement. The conversation was so smooth and easy that time flew by and suddenly it was an hour and a half later.

"Well, I'd better get this heap to the shop so I'll be ready to meet tomorrow." Gabe helped gather up the lunch dishes and followed Mindy inside to put them on the kitchen counter. He was in awe of the home with its period perfect art deco accessories and colors. There was a lot of dark wood trim and heavy furniture which contrasted nicely with the lighter wall colors. "This is gorgeous!"

Mindy said her mom has a really good eye for decorating, something she hadn't inherited. She continued "My style is modernly mediocre!", making them both laugh.

Mindy followed him out to his truck and when he turned to shake her hand she instead gave him a warm hug. He felt her curves as he wrapped his own arms around her, feeling her breasts press against his chest. He probably held her a couple seconds too long but it had been a long time since he'd been this close to a beautiful woman and he was enjoying it.

When they finally parted she said, "Thank you SO much for coming out and taking this project on."

"Well, thank YOU for calling and for the delicious lunch. It was great to meet and spend some time with you."

Gabe turned and climbed up into the cab. As he drove down the gravel drive she eagerly waved to him with a big smile and in the mirror he watched her walk back to the house with a long confident strides. He pulled through the narrow opening and once traffic was clear swung wide again into the opposite lane as he left the drive out to Route 20, heading for his shop.

On the trip home Gabe wasn't sure if he was more excited about working on the old Chevy or getting to know Mindy. It didn't take much thought. It was definitely Mindy. It had been seven years since his wife had decided she didn't like being married and just left him. She really had no complaints, no compliments, she just didn't want to be tied down anymore. She told Gabe she knew that it wasn't going to be forever when she was walking down the aisle at their wedding. Why she hadn't told him of her feelings before getting married was unclear to him. It would have still been tough to learn at that point but she spent four years with him as his wife, looking at the door the whole time while he was fully committed. It was devastating. Trusting another woman was not something that was going to come easily to him.

Gabe pulled through the entrance to his place, driving past his house on the left and along a wide down grade gravel driveway to his four bay shop, a couple hundred feet past the house. Part of the rear and side walls of his shop were dug into the lower hillside so much of the back wall of the shop was actually under ground and not much of the shop was visible from the road. The bay doors faced east over looking beautiful Victoria Valley and the mountains about three miles distant on the other side. The morning sun warmed the building and the west side of it, being mostly below grade, helped keep it cool in the afternoon.

The gravel pad in front of the shop was big enough to allow Gabe to pull the trailer around and back it up so he could roll the Chevy off the trailer and right into an empty bay. He left the truck running and jumped out, went into the shop through the service door between the first two bays and pushed the button, just inside the door, to roll up the door for the last bay. He backed the trailer slightly into the bay, removed the tie downs, raised the front of the trailer, using gravity and the winch to do the work of rolling the car into the bay. He pulled the trailer out and put it in a little graveled area just past the shop, hidden behind some trees so it wouldn't be visible to prying eyes on the road above.

Walking back into the shop, he looked down the line of cars waiting for his hands, the Chevy being the latest. In the bay next to the Chevy was a '57 Thunderbird which was nearly done after a frame off restoration. He just had some trim to put on it and finish the electrical system before sending it off to the upholsterer. He didn't care for the rose-colored paint but that's what it was originally and that's what the owner wanted so that's what the owner got. It would be good to get that long term project out of the shop.

The next bay held a '65 Mustang fastback in his shop for engine and suspension upgrades. The owner was a friend who had asked Gabe to make his car drive like a modern muscle car with a lot of power, plenty of brakes and more precise steering. A 347 cubic inch Roush small block engine was installed along with a six speed manual transmission and was almost a 'bolt in', only requiring some cross member and drive shaft work. Rack and pinion steering along with tubular A-arms and urethane bushings sweetened up the directional control and huge four wheel disc brakes would be up to the task of bringing all of that to a rapid halt.

The first bay held what was his bread and butter type of job... replacing the transmission in a big Dodge Ram 3500 Big Horn Edition work truck for a local contractor. It wasn't very exciting or creative work but it provided a quick turn around unlike restoration projects that could take months to complete. He was well known in commercial circles for providing reliable and reasonably priced service. He charged a bit less than the big shops but his overhead was low and his customers had confidence in his work. The work was always done when promised so he had a fairly steady stream of loyal customers.

Gabe swung the arms of the lift under the wagon to get a look underneath first. No sense working on the rest of the car if the frame and floors were rotted. Once he had the car up on the lift he was pleasantly surprised by the condition of everything under there. There were several decades of dirt on the underside so Gabe brought out his power washer and cleaned it up. The frame and floor were solid and there was just a bit of oil soaked dirt at the front of the differential which a new seal would solve. He would install new brake lines for safety. The tires were old, cracked bias ply's which he would replace with radials on newer wheels with safety beads. Everything else looked to be in good, restorable shape.

Bringing the car back down he opened the hood and looked at the dirty engine compartment, firing up the power washer again. The aluminum of the valve covers and fuel injection unit was oxidized but restorable. The wiring was beyond restoration, the radiator would have to be recored and the front suspension needed to be rebuilt. He spent the rest of the afternoon on the computer finding replacement and updated parts and was able to put together what he felt were two good bids depending on how far Mindy wanted to go on the restoration.

Looking forward to his dinner with his new customer made the next day drag by. He closed up his shop at five thirty and headed to the house to grab a shower. He put on a nice button up shirt and a clean pair of jeans. Russ 'n Rosie's was an old family style restaurant with good food and a friendly atmosphere so it didn't require a suit. He got there early and was able to get a booth by the window so he could watch for Mindy. At 6:25 he saw her black Mustang pull into a parking spot across the street. The driver's door opened and her long legs swung out of the car followed by the tall, shapely woman who had been dominating his thoughts for the last couple days. She was wearing some very tight jeans and boots with small heels that made her legs look longer and leaner than should be legal. The black 'Mustang' T shirt she was wearing left no doubt she was a 'car gal' and having it tucked into her jeans accentuated her subtly fabulous figure. She crossed the street, carrying herself with poise and control. If they had been present, cars would have stopped and people would have stepped out of her way. Mindy smiled and waved when she saw Gabe through the restaurant window and headed straight to the booth and slid her slender body into the seat opposite him.

Mindy's first words were "I haven't been here in years! Mom, dad and I used to come here a couple times a month. I loved the food here."

Gabe said "I come here three or four times a month. Better food than I can make myself!" and they shared an easy laugh. For a few minutes they talked about their day and when the waitress arrived Mindy ordered a BLT with avocado and Gabe had the Friday night dinner special, beer batter fish and chips.

Mindy brought up the subject of her grand dad's car. "What do you think you can do with the old Chevy?"

Gabe told her it was in great shape for its age. He slid a copy of his bids across the table to her with the amounts of two plans so she could follow along and make an informed decision. "It only has a little surface rust in a few unimportant places, is in decent mechanical shape needing replacement of safety items but the depth and cost of the project depends on what you want it to do when it's done. If your plan is to just get it running for your dad to drive now and then I can replace the rubber brake lines and give the engine a good tune up and new gaskets everywhere. I checked the compression and it was between 165 and 175 psi for all of the cylinders and the oil pressure gauge went to 30 pounds just on the starter so it seems the basic engine is solid."