Getting Ready for the trip!

Hi and Welcome, Well here we are once more with yet another oldie but goodie. I won the bid on E-bay and was so excited that I hardly slept that first night in anticipation of having this beautiful oldie sitting in my driveway... I could only go by what the man said in the description and the pictures but that was enough for me so please allow me to tell you of the last couple of days and my adventure.

I won the little '49' Chrysler Wednesday evening at 7:pm and was so excited. I had been watching the bidding for several days and reading all the questions other folks had been writing to Dave (the owner of the car). Anyway, I called Dave, who lives in Indiana after winning and made arrangements to go the next morning to get the car. In the process of getting the car hauler ready that evening I had a spell with my heart and had to just stop. I did manage to get the lights all working once more and tightened up the lug nuts on the trailer and even got the battery charged up to run the wench on the trailer but that was all. 

So the next morning I called Dave and told him that I had had a spell with my heart and wouldn't be there that day. I believe he figured I was pulling his leg and wasn't going to drive up there or get the car... As least that was how he sounded to me on the phone... I believe he told me this was the third time he had placed the car on E-bay and no one ever came or showed up after winning the bid... I'm sure glad of that and I guess the Lord was saving this one for me... As you know if you've looked at some of the other old cars and trucks I already have that all of them need work and none of them, outside of the '49'Chevy dump truck and of coarse the '74' Dodge 1 Ton Dully, run well or not at all. I had truly thought that the '50' Chevy would be my driver but that isn't working out at all, so I prayed and ask the Lord to help me find something He knew I would really like and make it possible for me to get it. I've always love the old Chryslers (the 1949 to 1953 Chryslers, first choice and same year Chevy's second choice) but never could afford the ones which were decent enough to bring home. But I'm getting away from my story. (smile)

After talking to Dave several times on the phone I told him I'd try and be there and get the little '49' Chrysler Saturday morning... And so, Friday, Connie girl helped me get the car hauler ready and hooked up to the truck, Yea, Connie girl let me use her Chevy Dully for this trip... LOL We all decided that my son, Jimmy, would go with me but I'd  have to wait until he got off work. As it ended up we didn't get to leave until 11:30 pm Friday evening. I had called Dave and he told me the car wasn't in Indiana where he lived but rather in Michigan at his place of business. I looked up his business address on Map Quest and got the directions and printed them and everything else I would need. And so after Connie girl getting Jimmy and I ready, kissed me bye and we left for parts unknown... At least unknown to us... (smile)

The Trip!

Well I'd been up since 9:am and was already sorta tired but so excited that the adrenalin would keep me awake for the next 36+ hours. Jimmy had been driving His Big Dump Truck all day and he too was tired but ready for our fun filled adventure... It had been raining off and on all day and there were patches of fog and we saw several herds of deer before we got 20 miles down the road... Jimmy stayed awake until we got a little past Evansville, Indiana and slept until we were about 5 miles from where the Chrysler was parked... It was 8:30am Saturday morning when we pulled into Dave's place of business and we called him and Dave didn't get the message until 9am, 10am his time, so Jimmy and I looked the little car over until Dave called and said he was on the way. He showed up about a half hour later. I tried to doze a few minutes while we waited. 

The little car started right up, so Jimmy took it for a drive along with Dave and I just sat in the truck and waited. I was beginning to worry because they had been gone for quite a little bit when I saw the '49' Chrysler drive pass the parking lot and on down the street. It sure looked good. While Dave went to the bank to get the papers notarized, Jimmy and I began loading the little car onto the car hauler and anchoring it down... The sun was popping out and after driving all night in the rain looking at the sun sure was a pleasant thing to behold. (smile)

After the car was all loaded and paid for we said our goodbyes to Dave and began our trip, trailer and car in tow, back to Kentucky. After about an hour of driving I stopped and Jimmy and I got out and checked to make sure everything was OK. Well, low and behold, the front tie down had broken because of the rough road and all the bouncing up and down of the trailer. Fortunately, I had the wench still hooked up or the little Chrysler would have come off of the trailer and that would have been heart breaking, sure enough... So instead of putting another 3" tie down we got out a chain and down comer and locked her down real good and tight...

These ole legs were really swollen by now after sitting and driving all the way. I had to drive the whole trip because I'm unable to sit anywhere else in the truck without hurting really bad so Jimmy got to snooze most of the trip... That lucky rascal, LOL  Anyway, Jimmy did stay awake until we came to Indianapolis. The traffic was terrible and we were just creeping along and so Jimmy went to sleep again. Well, by George, I finally got on I-70 heading toward Terre Haute and was making up for lost time. Yea, was running about 74 mph and bouncing right along on that rough stretch of highway when all of a sudden my truck began shaking and vibrating so hard I thought I'd lose my eye teeth, and that would be terribly hard considering the fact that I have false teeth. But you get the picture, right? I couldn't stop to check out this new problem at that speed and besides I was on the left hand side passing several semi trucks with traffic all around us. I just let off the gas some and started slowing down so the other vehicles would pass. By the time I could get over to the passenger side of the road where I would be able to pull off, my truck smoothed out and I figured I must have just hit a real bad section of road. Wrong! Anyway, Jimmy was wide awake after all the excitement... LOL

Well, I drove the 60 or so miles on to Terre Haute and hit hwy 41 south and was feeling pretty good about the way things were running along. I pulled over to the side of the road for a truckers break and checked the tires and that is when I saw it. The front tire on the trailer's driver side had no tread, just those little wires sticking out everywhere and the top of the fender was all beat up where the tire had beaten it up. The tire was still holding air but was really in bad shape and bald as an eagle... I'd been driving about 2 hours like that already but didn't know it or how long the tire would hold out. By now we were about 20 or so miles from Evansville so we decided to try and make it that far and see if we could get another tire. And No, I don't have a spare and if I did wouldn't be able to change it... The reason I know that is I had really tightened those lug nuts down with my air wrench before we left... As the ole red neck would say, What's a comin ain't gonna be good...  

It was just on the outskirts of some little town past Vincennes when the tire blew out with sparks flying everywhere and people passing blowing their horns and hollering out of their windows and pointing to the trailer... It was after five by then and have you ever, on a Saturday night, tried to find a tire store open? Well, forget it there just isn't any to be had... So now what does one do in a situation like that? I couldn't leave the trailer with the Chrysler on it until Monday when places of business would be open and expect it to still be there. Jimmy said we could unload the car and he would drive the Chrysler on home and I could follow him with the trailer empty and flat tire flopping and hope that I didn't tear up the rim to bad. But that was out of the question because the little car isn't licensed nor does it have insurance and one little mishap and someone would sue for sure and everything I own would belong to them... Yea, we were in a fix all right...

I pulled in at a truck stop and filled up the truck with diesel and the car just in case. Jimmy called Connie girl and told her to find a Wal-Mart phone number in Evansville because he thought they might still have their car center open. So Connie did and called back and Jimmy in turn called and found that we were about 12 miles from them. It was almost 6:15pm by now... Jimmy talked to the man over the tires dept. but was told they had a full sheet and wouldn't be able to help us because they weren't taking any more customers and that they close at 7pm... We were sure in a dilemma with no options left. If I tried to drive home like that it would be at the least very risky and take all night even if we didn't get pulled over by the police or side swiped by passing traffic... I was already dead tired after being up all day the day before and then driving and sitting in the truck for over 19 hours already.

At this point all I could think of now was; Well Lord, what do I do now? The next thing out of my mouth surprised even me. I told Jimmy to call Wal-Mart back and get directions to there store from somewhere close to the airport on hwy41 where we were creeping along about 20mph and half off the road. The lady told us their location and what to look for. It turned out to be 7 or eight miles in the wrong direction and out of the way but I told Jimmy we were going to give it a try anyway, even against all of his objections and after being told they couldn't help us.

We got on the express way and gave a new meaning of the word expressway to all those folks who were following us.  (smile)  By the time we found Wal-Mart all the garage door were closed so we drove around back and one was up but with no cars inside and four workers getting ready to go home... As soon as I pulled up to the door they knew we were the ones who had called... I climbed out of my truck and began explaining our situation and one of the young fellas took a look at what was left of the tire, (not much) but he'd see what he could do. They didn't have the exact size and said it was their policy not to put mismatched tires on a trailer because of safety reasons... He said he couldn't but if I were to put it on it would be alright.

Then one of the other boys looked at me for a minute, smiled, and just grabbed the wheel with what little tire was left on it and threw it on the machine and began taking off the ole tire. The little girl working there came over and Jimmy went with her to the office and paid for the tire and the other man went back upstairs to the top section and pulled out the close fitting tire... In just a few minutes they had the new tire back on the trailer and I sure did shake their hands and thank them for their helping us out... I also told them that my prayer will be if they ever get into a situation like this one that the Lord would remember their act of kindness and send some one to help them out the way they helped us...  They smiled and waived goodbye and Jimmy and I were once again on our way.

Altogether, Jimmy and I lost about three hours of travel time but the rest of the trip home was smooth as silk and Connie girl had supper waiting for us when we got here, tired but happy to be back home safe and sound. I do thank my Lord for watching over Jimmy and myself and giving us traveling mercies and for the safe keeping of my Connie girl and little Panda Bear while we were away... I must praise God for His goodness and thank Him for all His mercies to me and my family... God is not a God to praise only when a person has something to ask of Him but a God to praise in all things, the good as well and the sometimes not so good... God is so good in all things and I praise His Holy Name....   Well Glory!

Here are a few more pictures of my new '49' Chrysler, God's gift to me...

It needs a little work to make it really sharp but it starts right up and runs good and I'll be able to drive it until next summer when I can hopefully repaint her and have some of the chrome redone...

Well Folks, I sure do hope that you have enjoyed your visit with me, reading about our adventure and seeing the little Chrysler. (smile)  Lord willing, I hope to have more pictures next summer after I've done a little painting and dolling her up...
Until then, thank you for your stopping by and taking time to visit with me and I hope that you had a great time looking at this old piece of history...  hmmmm, by the way, I was only five years old when this great little car came off the assembly line and hit the show room floor... Does that make me older than dirt or what?  LOL

May your days be happy ones and filled with the love and joy of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus.
 

 1. The '49' Chrysler after Polishing
with singing  *S*

2.  Interior finished/2010
Page created Jan. 2012

Coming soon
3. The '49' Chrysler
Finished.

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