Getting Her Started

I think I flooded the engine. I started her up just like Melvin showed me but she wouldn't start.

Jimmy and our neighbor had to push her back up the drive way. That is no fun.

Later, it turns out I made an amateur mistake. I put the car in "accessory" instead of "start." In the meanwhile, we had it taken to our favorite local mechanic to get the state inspection and the once over (I want to get his permission to put their name on this project!). We call them the physicians of mechanics; not just because they are good but because once we were having a problem in the front axle of our Ford F150 and the guy literally had a stethoscope he put to the truck while jacked up. And they figured that one out free of charge if I remember it right. They are like the TV show House for cars, they go through every possibility until the problem is solved. Their motto: "Today's technology, yesterday's service." And its every bit true.

While there, she had quite a few experiences. First, I had a great moment with one of the young guys from the shop jumping in to move the car. I said, "I don't mean to be rude, but do you know how to drive that thing?" He said, "What? A manual clutch? Of coarse I do." I said, "No. A manual choke." He jumped right out of that car. There were plenty of old school guys on hand to drive it better than I could!

It turned out she needed some work to pass state inspection. Texas does not require a full smog inspection on a car over 25 years (I think that's what they said). But it has to pass basic safety parameters, like functioning signals. While working on the electrical they noticed the motor mount was sagging and causing something else (sorry, not that technical) to rub up against it creating a breach. This required a new motor mount and they also noticed the need for a new oil pan. That turned out to be quite a trip to find. Eventually a guy with a great shop in New York (I will ask my mechanic who) specializes in such requests and was able to locate one for us. It just took a little time.

All these issues are resolved as of this coming Monday. It is road ready and headed for . . . guess where?

Restoration. We begin the project Monday June 1, 2009. We have a plan. We have vision. We have patience.

Now I have to decide the interior. Its still months away but I want to be ready to make the right decision when it comes up. I like this one . . .
http://www.52classicchevy.com/1952-chevrolet-interiors.html

There aren't many pictures on the internet of good interiors so I will rely on my consultation with experts when the time comes.

The Beginning

This is the story of me and my 1952 Chevy Deluxe. My husband bought it for me in Houston, TX by Hobby Airport for $6000 cash and I have a budgeted amount of money to restore it in whatever way I see fit.

This is going to be a lot of fun.

So where does every story start? At the beginning. After years of musing with Jimmy - what if we had to get another car? We have lived off having only one car ever since we have been together (wrapping up nine years).



We would dream of a Sunday car. An old fashioned car. One with style. One you could just take a ride in the country. No place to go. No place to be.

But the right old car is not always something you can go find. Sometimes it has to find you.


Enter Melvin J. Schilhab. This first picture is me, him and Betty.

Betty is a 1952 Chevrolet Deluxe, I am not yet sure if she is Styleline or Fleetline. She was sitting in Melvin's garage for 20 years, but still ran well. She had very little, I mean very little, visible rust on her. The engine had not been messed with, there were no modern parts and it started up just fine. There were known brake issues and tire issues so Melvin did not want us driving the car away from his home. Other than that, everything inside and out was original. They even had a handful of chrome which they threw into the deal. The interior was intact, although over 54 years it had been quite thrashed and had a few other interiors put over the original. There was orange shag carpet on the floor and in the back above the passenger seating. The interior chrome looked really good. Original radio, three on the tree shifter, steering wheel et al. Everyone who saw it from that day forward said they had rarely seen an old car like that here in Houston kept so preserved in its original condition.

We stumbled upon her. Jimmy and I were doing our volunteer work through a program called AniMeals. We deliver dog and cat food to people who would otherwise not be able to keep their pet. We were in our AniMeals neighborhood and turned a corner, noted a garage sale with this beautiful old Chevy perched on the lawn. Should we pull over? Definitive yes.

After talking to many of the on-lookers swarming the car there was agreement that this was a rare and good find. There were a lot of interested people who couldn't make an offer.We struck a bargain with Melvin and told him we would go get the money. When we left, one woman, I swear this is true, said she thought we were supposed to own that car and that she would be praying for us. So Texas. While we were gone, a few other interested buyers made offers. One was a kid who said he was going to go ask his Dad for the money. Another was interestingly enough someone who remembered this car from the original city it was from. Melvin had bought it from John Wick up in Schulenburg, TX where she was a booze runner between dry counties. This guy said if no one had bought it by the end of the day he would buy it and take it back to Schulenburg.

There were more tears than haggle in this deal. What we didn't know was that Melvin couldn't believe he was saying goodbye to this car. He really loved it. I am not kidding when I say this man shed tears. He showed me a few pointers on driving the manual choke and three on the tree. I felt confident I would be able to drive it, I love to drive and this old Betty was just up my alley. We had the tow truck pull up and take it away.

Here is a great link to the original artwork depicting the cars when they first came out:
http://www.52classicchevy.com/1952-chevrolet-styleline-deluxe.html