Life isn’t always fair. The strong among us take the circumstances that are given us and we adapt, we move on. Steve Weber is proving quite flexible in adapting to his changing circumstances.
I met Steve last spring at the 33rd Annual ACE Car Show where he was showing off a very un-restored version of his recently purchased 1957 International S 100 pick-up truck. It had been just a couple of months since Steve had gone looking for something to become his first project vehicle. He wanted something from the ‘50s and he wanted something a little different than the norm.
The S100 he undertook was far from the norm. Consider first that the International truck is already a rarity among the classics but Steve’s was rare in another way; his was one of a very few two-wheel drive models that were produced during that time.
Steve had never undertaken anything like this before and was gracious enough to let Josh and me follow along and post regular updates, complete with pictures of the process. His plan was to take what was basically a pile of parts and pieces and restore it to as close to its original state as possible by September.
As spring turned to summer, Steve worked, tearing down the truck and working on different areas, then putting it back together to attend a car show or cruise-in. Each public appearance would reveal a little more progress.
But something else happened along the way. The economy became Steve’s enemy. He found that he was constantly faced with difficult choices. Should he invest in a part for the truck or spend his resources in caring for his wife and family. In Steve’s case there was never a question of which would come first.
Soon it became obvious that he wouldn’t meet his lofty September deadline and would have to push the restoration into the fall, maybe even the winter. Then, he sent me an email and, almost apologetically, said he was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to finish and that he was looking for a buyer for the truck. Steve wanted to finish this project, not only for the satisfaction of completing a total frame-off restoration and having a rare classic truck to enjoy, but also because he had, in his opinion, committed to Josh and me and our blog and readers.
Personally both Josh and I really enjoyed Steve’s updates. It was fun to see his progress and hear about what was going on, where he was being surprised in how things were coming together. In a way we were a little selfish about them, too. Steve’s journey produced some of the most viewed entries for the entire blog. In fact, the first entry, posted on June 6 (http://most-popularcar.blogspot.com/2011/06/steve-webers-international-restoration.html), has had more hits than any other single entry so far.
The second entry, from the next day, featuring more pictures he had taken, (http://most-popularcar.blogspot.com/2011/06/steve-webers-international-restoration_07.html), and the third one from June 19 which shows a lot of the early progress (http://most-popularcar.blogspot.com/2011/06/steve-webers-international-restoration_19.html), are both also in the top 20 of all time most visited pages.
In addition, some of his update posts have generated quite a few comments, more than any other entries. Granted, we tend to get more emails than comments posted on the blog itself, I still find it interesting that these popular posts are also eliciting the most reader response.
When Steve emailed and told me about having to sell the International before being able to finish it, I felt bad for him. I knew that this was a difficult decision but I also knew that he was, without a doubt, making the right choice given his circumstances.
I was torn at something, though. On the one hand I thought about how many people had been reading about Steve’s project, how, in a way, they were fans of his restoration. On the other I knew how difficult his decision to sell had to have been and wanted to minimize his situation.
Hesitantly I asked if he would be willing to let me do one final blog about this journey of his. “It's your blog and you make it good and I have no problem with whatever you wanna do,” he said.
So I asked him some questions, beginning with what was the most fun about the project. “The most fun was taking on the challenge. And learning new skills,” he said, adding that the most difficult aspect was doing the body work.
Everyone learns a great deal when they undertake a project like this, whether they are old hands at it or, like Steve, in their first go round. Steve admitted that he learned a lot. Even though the whole thing was pretty much what he expected it to be, “It was more time consuming that I thought it would be,” he said. “But I didn’t care.”
While the most difficult part to find as a starter, one of his biggest “work arounds” involved the alternator. “I did have to work around a GM one wire alternator by using the original generator brackets,” he explained.
I asked if he had it all to do over again what would he have done differently. For folks who have read the blog updates that answer is probably obvious because he made the comment a few times before. “If I had to do it all over again I would have done all the body work before I painted it,” he said.
Even with his current situation Steve is still looking forward to taking on another challenge in the near future. “My plans are to take on a ‘50s or older running project,” he said. “After I pay my bills.”
He told me that he had recently looked at a 1948 Nash that might fit his criteria.
“The 48 Nash I looked at because it was a chopped top and lowered like a mob car with suicide doors on the back and I love suicide doors,” he said. “But when I saw it the guy said it was his first chop and the 48 had a unibody so he cut out the floor pan and set the car over a Ford Ranger frame and put a Cadillac 500 motor in it.” Because of the way the car was chopped, the floor would have to be four inches higher than the rockers and so Steve figured that he couldn’t have anything in it but bucket seats.
That’s the mark of a true car guy. He was already figuring out a car’s problem even though it wasn’t his to fix. He’ll get another chance some day and with any luck, we’ll be there with him, following along step by step.
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