Monday, May 25, 2020

A Tale of Two Chevys

We are the proud owners of this 1955 Chevy.  We adopted her from my friend Sally who owned it, her husband Ivan got it brand new for a business car.  Sally loved it and Ivan fixed it up for her painting it Ford tractor blue!  She drove it for years and loved it mightily.  In her later years she decided she needed to sell it and talked to Dayle and he offered to buy it mostly to help her out and Sally was SO happy to "keep her in the family".  Sally named it Bessie Ann.


When we got it wasn't running and had sat for several years without being started.  We trailered it here and drained all the oil and gas out of it and put in new gas and lo and behold it started!  The engine was in need of rebuilding.  Our son Travis decided to take her to his house so he could work on it.


It will be a big job, he will have to pull the engine and transmission, get the engine rebuilt and replace several other components.  This is her interior and we'll have to have that replaced, too.



We've gone for a few rides in it and it's just fun to cruise along in her.


When the interior is done I'd like something that matches the blue better.  I actually would call the color turquoise.


My dream is to drive Bessie Ann in our Corbett 4th of July Fun Festival Parade.. next year.  



Here she is getting ready to go to our son's home.  I am happy  Travis is going to help her back to her glory.



Caleb closed the barn door for a better photo.  :-)


The other side and our garage barn and my carport.



I love her hood ornament - it's kind of like a cross between a jet airplane and an eagle.  It's not perfect, kind of pitted, but Dayle thinks it's fine and is appropriate to her age.


I was 6 years old when this car was built and Dayle was 8.  :-)


It was poignant to see her drive away but it helps to know she'll be better when she comes home.


Bye bye, Bessie Ann!



We went over to our son's house for dinner yesterday, we're easing our social distancing to include our son's family, and he showed his dad what he's done already.   


When Bessie Ann came out of the barn I did a walk through assessing things.  I've been asked before what was IN the barn that I feature often in my blog.  WELL.. a lot of automotive stuff from our sons and Dayle, some furniture that belongs to Kristi and a lot of flotsam and jetsam.  Our grandsons are doing some work for us to earn some $$ and today Hayden swept out the barn.  We have stalls in the back that we used for our dairy goats, horse and one sheep back in the day.  On the right middle was the milking parlor with two goat stands where the goats would hop up, get their head's secured, fed their COB (corn, oats and barley) while we sat beside them and milked them.  


In the back left corner stands our 1927 Chevy.  Dayle got it years ago with the idea to restore her and get her on the road.  So far she is still waiting.  :-) 



I'm amazed at how neat her interior is with how old she is.



Cute, huh?



Her hood ornament.  


What is funny is we're a Ford family, but these two Chevy's became part of our "stable".  We embrace diversity.  :-)  We have our grandsons here for a few days.  They have been staying home and being careful the same as we are.  It's nice to have them here as we've missed them very much.  

Today is Memorial Day here in the USA.  We honor our military men and women who have given their lives to keep America free and safe.  Our thoughts are with the families that suffer the loss of their loved ones.  

((hugs)), Teresa :-)  

14 comments:

  1. Glad you’ve had some family meet up time. Bet that was good. I love both your cars and the story behind them. Looking forward to seeing them once they’ve been done up. What fun :) B x

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  2. The Mister used to have a 37 Chevy and a 66 Mustang but couldn't work up the interest in putting them back together. We don't have a garage so he sold them. I can't wait to show him your cars. I'm pretty sure my grandfather had that same 55 Chevy. His was baby blue and white and I thought it was the prettiest thing I had ever seen. Araignee

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  3. Love the car story Teresa. And so glad you are able to be with family a bit. That is so hard being away from them. I get to see Mr 23 briefly this week. He and his girlfriend will be here visiting while they look for an apartment to rent in the late summer. They are both starting law school in August in St Petersburg, close to us, Yay! Enjoy your day.

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  4. Your two Chevy's are so neat! I imagine we are in for a treat when the '55 Bessie Ann is all ready under the hood. We have not seen our family yet--I miss them so much!

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  5. My husband had a 1967 Chevy Bel Aire when we were dating. It was his father's before him. When we got married we moved from NY to Seattle and he didn't think the car would make the trip so he sold it and bought a brand new AMC Gremlin... what a switch that was!

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  6. Hold fast to that dream ! Bessie ann is beautiful

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  7. Being curious/snoopy I enjoyed learning more about the contents of the barn :-). Glad you are enjoying time with Travis’s family! When I was growing up I think Dad always bought Fords...one was a red Ford Galaxy. xx

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  8. Thoughts to you all for Memorial Day πŸ’™πŸ’œ What a neat post and my goodness that barn is HUGE

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  9. How wonderful to see those old cars. I will show Gerard when he comes in he will love to see them. He is working on a project in the outbuilding. I am thrilled for you that you are now able to see your family. What a celebration I know how much they are treasured. Take care.

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  10. OMG!! I love this car!!! She's beautiful! So happy she has found a happy home.

    http://stephanieyoung.zenfolio.com

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  11. Fun post Teresa! I showed the pictures to Fletch and he loved seeing them. He used to have a 1953 Willys Utility Wagon. The Bel Air chevy is gorgeous (love that blue!!).

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  12. I enjoyed seeing the two Chevy's and the inside of the barn. I'm so far behind in commenting on blogs since I missed this weekend. I just didn't have the heart to talk about knitting, etc. I'm glad you're spending some time with Travis, Kristi and the boys. I know that does your heart good to be with them again.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  13. Bessie Ann is a beauty.
    The '27 Chevy gear stick melts my heart! I remember my Da's old Ford pick up with a gear stick like that. And no bucket seats! Wow, the memories.

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  14. hi teresa,
    bessie would be wonderful in the parade! i'm assuming it has been cancelled this year.
    peace and love,
    melissa in pax

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