Zeph's Dodge VC1 Command Car Restoration

[70th Division]

That looks great, I like the look of it and looks quite shiny. The additional shop look really nice and will be great to house all of your finished projects. How is the surface with the epoxy paint as it looks slippery ??

Thanks Dave. You know, it is shiny, but it isn't slick at all. I think the confetti helped to give it a bit of grip. Really hoping the Epoxy sticks well to the concrete and repels oil. Happy to have it completed. I'll start moving some stuff in there tomorrow and get it scuffed up a bit.

Hello Zeph,

That floor and building look incredible, what a nice new building for the Motor Pool expansion !!!
You and the workers really did a nice project, I must get busy here in Florida !


Best Regards,
Ray

[70th Division]

Hello Zeph,

Have you finished the kitchen and new craft room yet ?

Just checking to see how things are going, and how the Command Car is coming, and new barn and how the vehicles look inside ?


I hope all is well !

Best Regards,
Ray

[zepher11]

Hello Zeph,

Have you finished the kitchen and new craft room yet ?

Just checking to see how things are going, and how the Command Car is coming, and new barn and how the vehicles look inside ?

I hope all is well !

Best Regards,
Ray

Hi Ray,

So weird, I retire and now crazy busy. Mostly I'm an unpaid handyman. lol Once people find out I'm retired...and handy, they have all kinds of work to be done. My wife gets on me all the time for helping so many people, but it's nice to give back a little to those that can't get it done themselves.

Anyway, I haven't jumped on the kitchen yet. I do finally have the flooring material and paint for it, so hoping to get on it in about two weeks.

We have a big birthday party for one of the grandkids, so my wife wanted me to incorporate the new shop into the backyard, so she could use it. It's kinda close to our pool, so she's liking it. I had to rip out about 70 feet of chain link fencing, and they rebuild the chain link to keep the dogs in the backyard, but include the shop.

I came up with a design and made a big gate for the overhang that when opened would just become part of the fence. I went with black chain link as the front fencing is all black chain link. It's like the invisible fence. The front encloses about an acre and a half and looks great.

I just finished the fencing. Not hard, but holding everything up by myself with no help takes a bit of engineering. A days work for two ends up being about four days by myself.

I also built some shelves in the new shop. I bought six ten foot 2x4's, and three 7/16" OSB and a few screws. $256! My mind is thinking maybe $60 based on my years of buying lumber. Geez, not with the current admin in charge.

Anyhoo, built the shelves and been moving junk into the new shop from the house garage and the other shop.



Doesn't look like much:



After a year and a half, I finally received my Starlink! After three weeks of trying to get it to work, I sent it back and they sent me another one. Second one works! Set it up in 5 minutes and hit 150 mbps on my first speed test. Used to getting about 1 mbps. We pay $239 month for that. Now with Starlink it's only $110 a month. Liking that. Plus now I can watch Youtube videos if I want. Anyway, I went on top of my front shop to try to get the Starlink to work. 6 and 12 pitch and it's freaking high up there. Getting up wasn't bad, but getting down I was sweating it. Would be nice to have someone to hold the ladder, but I was on my own. I shot a photo towards the new shop. Can barely see it past the pool:



Here's where I need to close in the carport area:



This is the far side of the shop I needed to enclose:



The large gate I had made for the carport area:



Some of the junk I need to move...rusty gold, that is. Have to get this out of here this week:



Because I wanted the gate to become part of the fence when opened, I only had one chance to get it right drilling the holes in the post. Ideally, the gate mount bolts would go to the left and then be easily adjusted once installed. Where I put them on the post facing outward, there is no adjustment possible. Took me quite a while to get that gate mounted by myself. Not super heavy, but big:



Gate mounted and the other side I needed to add chain link fencing:



Couple of photos of the installed fencing:



Gate open and like I wanted part of the fencing so that it's not in the way:



I also installed a gate on the other side to make it a little more handy than walking all the way round. I have a driveway on the other side too as well as on the inside to the main shop door:



Anyway, doesn't look like much fencing, but it was $1,500. Amazing, when the economy bit the dust in 2008, I did 2,000 feet of black chain link with a wrought iron gate and an electronic opener for the drive way for $8,000. Now it would be about $25,000. Just crazy.

Hoping to get back to the VC soon. Picked up my fenders, running boards, hood and other parts I took to be sandblasted in January a few weeks back. I really need to paint those. I wish I knew more. Everyone wants to Epoxy primer everything, but I don't get it. Can people do body work over the Epoxy? I just don't get it. I always do my body work first and then primer everything after things are sandblasted. Would be cool to primer them and do body work later. I just can't figure that out yet.

[70th Division]

Hello Zeph,

Have you finished the kitchen and new craft room yet ?

Just checking to see how things are going, and how the Command Car is coming, and new barn and how the vehicles look inside ?

I hope all is well !

Best Regards,
Ray

Hi Ray,

So weird, I retire and now crazy busy. Mostly I'm an unpaid handyman. lol Once people find out I'm retired...and handy, they have all kinds of work to be done. My wife gets on me all the time for helping so many people, but it's nice to give back a little to those that can't get it done themselves.

Anyway, I haven't jumped on the kitchen yet. I do finally have the flooring material and paint for it, so hoping to get on it in about two weeks.

We have a big birthday party for one of the grandkids, so my wife wanted me to incorporate the new shop into the backyard, so she could use it. It's kinda close to our pool, so she's liking it. I had to rip out about 70 feet of chain link fencing, and they rebuild the chain link to keep the dogs in the backyard, but include the shop.

I came up with a design and made a big gate for the overhang that when opened would just become part of the fence. I went with black chain link as the front fencing is all black chain link. It's like the invisible fence. The front encloses about an acre and a half and looks great.

I just finished the fencing. Not hard, but holding everything up by myself with no help takes a bit of engineering. A days work for two ends up being about four days by myself.

I also built some shelves in the new shop. I bought six ten foot 2x4's, and three 7/16" OSB and a few screws. $256! My mind is thinking maybe $60 based on my years of buying lumber. Geez, not with the current admin in charge.

Anyhoo, built the shelves and been moving junk into the new shop from the house garage and the other shop.



Doesn't look like much:



After a year and a half, I finally received my Starlink! After three weeks of trying to get it to work, I sent it back and they sent me another one. Second one works! Set it up in 5 minutes and hit 150 mbps on my first speed test. Used to getting about 1 mbps. We pay $239 month for that. Now with Starlink it's only $110 a month. Liking that. Plus now I can watch Youtube videos if I want. Anyway, I went on top of my front shop to try to get the Starlink to work. 6 and 12 pitch and it's freaking high up there. Getting up wasn't bad, but getting down I was sweating it. Would be nice to have someone to hold the ladder, but I was on my own. I shot a photo towards the new shop. Can barely see it past the pool:



Here's where I need to close in the carport area:



This is the far side of the shop I needed to enclose:



The large gate I had made for the carport area:



Some of the junk I need to move...rusty gold, that is. Have to get this out of here this week:



Because I wanted the gate to become part of the fence when opened, I only had one chance to get it right drilling the holes in the post. Ideally, the gate mount bolts would go to the left and then be easily adjusted once installed. Where I put them on the post facing outward, there is no adjustment possible. Took me quite a while to get that gate mounted by myself. Not super heavy, but big:



Gate mounted and the other side I needed to add chain link fencing:



Couple of photos of the installed fencing:



Gate open and like I wanted part of the fencing so that it's not in the way:



I also installed a gate on the other side to make it a little more handy than walking all the way round. I have a driveway on the other side too as well as on the inside to the main shop door:



Anyway, doesn't look like much fencing, but it was $1,500. Amazing, when the economy bit the dust in 2008, I did 2,000 feet of black chain link with a wrought iron gate and an electronic opener for the drive way for $8,000. Now it would be about $25,000. Just crazy.

Hoping to get back to the VC soon. Picked up my fenders, running boards, hood and other parts I took to be sandblasted in January a few weeks back. I really need to paint those. I wish I knew more. Everyone wants to Epoxy primer everything, but I don't get it. Can people do body work over the Epoxy? I just don't get it. I always do my body work first and then primer everything after things are sandblasted. Would be cool to primer them and do body work later. I just can't figure that out yet.

Hello Zeph,

My goodness you are a productive fellow !!!!

That place looks incredible, and plenty of hard work getting it that way
Congratulations on the construction production !
Fence and barn look great!
Such nice pictures, and those look like beautiful mountains off in the distance.
What range are they ?

50 percent savings with Star Link is awesome, and it is a big amount of cash you can put towards the vehicles or your ranch !

Well done, just be careful on the roof !

Helping others is very important, and it is a reflection of who you are, helping others out like that.
Keep up your Good Works
I first thought your Wife would be lining you up to help the neighbors

The vehicles look great in the barn, but that lumber cost is ridiculous, as like with many things under "new management" .
Hopefully all that will change later this year.

I want to start building again, but also need to complete my 43 GPW, and my 45 MB first.
I could certainly use some helpers, but like you, usually on my own.
My jeep barn I built by myself, and that took a long time, but well worth it !!

That is where so much time gets used up, but I am trying to be more productive and efficient getting things done, and I try to get something accomplished every day.
I am really thinking on getting some outdoor lights to work at night, when it is not hot, to get more done.

Keep us posted on your beautiful VC project once you get back to it !!

Best Regards,
Ray

[zepher11]

Hello Zeph,

My goodness you are a productive fellow !!!!

That place looks incredible, and plenty of hard work getting it that way
Congratulations on the construction production !
Fence and barn look great!
Such nice pictures, and those look like beautiful mountains off in the distance.
What range are they ?

50 percent savings with Star Link is awesome, and it is a big amount of cash you can put towards the vehicles or your ranch !

Well done, just be careful on the roof !

Helping others is very important, and it is a reflection of who you are, helping others out like that.
Keep up your Good Works
I first thought your Wife would be lining you up to help the neighbors

The vehicles look great in the barn, but that lumber cost is ridiculous, as like with many things under "new management" .
Hopefully all that will change later this year.

I want to start building again, but also need to complete my 43 GPW, and my 45 MB first.
I could certainly use some helpers, but like you, usually on my own.
My jeep barn I built by myself, and that took a long time, but well worth it !!

That is where so much time gets used up, but I am trying to be more productive and efficient getting things done, and I try to get something accomplished every day.
I am really thinking on getting some outdoor lights to work at night, when it is not hot, to get more done.

Keep us posted on your beautiful VC project once you get back to it !!

Best Regards,
Ray

Hi Ray,

You do sound a lot like me. Always on a project. Which is good. Keeps the blood flowing as we get older.

The mountains to our west are just a series of small mountains where we would drive through to get to the coast a few hours west. Larges is Shasta Bally at about 6,200 feet elevation. Beyond these mountains we can barely see the Trinity Alps. We can also see Mt. Shasta to the north about 80 miles away which has an elevation of 14,100 feet. Then about 50 miles to the East we have Mt. Lassen at about 10,500 foot elevation. Usually they are snow capped, but not much snow on them at the moment.

We live at the northern tip of the Sacramento Valley, so up and out in all directions except south. Beautiful here, but it is hot. If it wasn't for the heat we would have a lot of folks living here. Which I guess is a good thing.

That's great getting your Jeep barn done. Feels good to get things completed for sure. With the drought, my 40 year old well dried up and had to drop my pump another 10 feet a few weeks ago. That took a day to figure out what was going on, but all good now.

Hoping to get back to work on the VC body in a month or so. However, it'll be hot. I know I'll need some body filler here and there, but tough to mix in the heat.

Take care and have a great rest of the weekend!

[70th Division]

Hello Zeph,

My goodness you are a productive fellow !!!!

That place looks incredible, and plenty of hard work getting it that way
Congratulations on the construction production !
Fence and barn look great!
Such nice pictures, and those look like beautiful mountains off in the distance.
What range are they ?

50 percent savings with Star Link is awesome, and it is a big amount of cash you can put towards the vehicles or your ranch !

Well done, just be careful on the roof !

Helping others is very important, and it is a reflection of who you are, helping others out like that.
Keep up your Good Works
I first thought your Wife would be lining you up to help the neighbors

The vehicles look great in the barn, but that lumber cost is ridiculous, as like with many things under "new management" .
Hopefully all that will change later this year.

I want to start building again, but also need to complete my 43 GPW, and my 45 MB first.
I could certainly use some helpers, but like you, usually on my own.
My jeep barn I built by myself, and that took a long time, but well worth it !!

That is where so much time gets used up, but I am trying to be more productive and efficient getting things done, and I try to get something accomplished every day.
I am really thinking on getting some outdoor lights to work at night, when it is not hot, to get more done.

Keep us posted on your beautiful VC project once you get back to it !!

Best Regards,
Ray

Hi Ray,

You do sound a lot like me. Always on a project. Which is good. Keeps the blood flowing as we get older.

The mountains to our west are just a series of small mountains where we would drive through to get to the coast a few hours west. Larges is Shasta Bally at about 6,200 feet elevation. Beyond these mountains we can barely see the Trinity Alps. We can also see Mt. Shasta to the north about 80 miles away which has an elevation of 14,100 feet. Then about 50 miles to the East we have Mt. Lassen at about 10,500 foot elevation. Usually they are snow capped, but not much snow on them at the moment.

We live at the northern tip of the Sacramento Valley, so up and out in all directions except south. Beautiful here, but it is hot. If it wasn't for the heat we would have a lot of folks living here. Which I guess is a good thing.

That's great getting your Jeep barn done. Feels good to get things completed for sure. With the drought, my 40 year old well dried up and had to drop my pump another 10 feet a few weeks ago. That took a day to figure out what was going on, but all good now.

Hoping to get back to work on the VC body in a month or so. However, it'll be hot. I know I'll need some body filler here and there, but tough to mix in the heat.

Take care and have a great rest of the weekend!

Hello Zeph,

Those are a lot of high altitude mountains in your area.
they must be beautiful to visit.
Being acclimatized to Florida, I discovered a few years ago, that high altitude and I don't get along too well.

I was looking at a government project in Saquach, Colorado, way up in the mountains.
I think it was just over 12,000 feet, and being and old mining facility was built in onto steppes, where each building was one level up on the side of the mountain.
So there were 3 or 4 abandoned structures stretched up the side of the mountain, all covered with rat dropping on the floors and rafters.
Well after hiking that area, up and down, and getting ready to leave, I realized that it was a little hard to breath or get enough O2.
Holding my breath inside the buildings didn't help, but I had asked, as always, about the issue of hanta virus in the area.
The BLM or Forest Service guy said, oh glad you mentioned that, and told the gathered contractors that there was cases in the Saquach area.
Very nasty stuff.

I was happy to get down to lower elevations asap, and drove down the mountain.
I did notice that many stores in town below the site had little oxygen canisters for sale.
Maybe I should have gotten one too

I did see a nice unrestored WC-52 being used up along the mountain road by a family that had a spread up there.
Actually I saw a lot of nice WW2 vehicles on that road trip from Denver to Saquatch.

I am looking forward to when you get back to your VC !


Best Regards,
Ray

[zepher11]

Hello Zeph,

Those are a lot of high altitude mountains in your area.
they must be beautiful to visit.
Being acclimatized to Florida, I discovered a few years ago, that high altitude and I don't get along too well.

I was looking at a government project in Saquach, Colorado, way up in the mountains.
I think it was just over 12,000 feet, and being and old mining facility was built in onto steppes, where each building was one level up on the side of the mountain.
So there were 3 or 4 abandoned structures stretched up the side of the mountain, all covered with rat dropping on the floors and rafters.
Well after hiking that area, up and down, and getting ready to leave, I realized that it was a little hard to breath or get enough O2.
Holding my breath inside the buildings didn't help, but I had asked, as always, about the issue of hanta virus in the area.
The BLM or Forest Service guy said, oh glad you mentioned that, and told the gathered contractors that there was cases in the Saquach area.
Very nasty stuff.

I was happy to get down to lower elevations asap, and drove down the mountain.
I did notice that many stores in town below the site had little oxygen canisters for sale.
Maybe I should have gotten one too

I did see a nice unrestored WC-52 being used up along the mountain road by a family that had a spread up there.
Actually I saw a lot of nice WW2 vehicles on that road trip from Denver to Saquatch.

I am looking forward to when you get back to your VC !


Best Regards,
Ray

Hi Ray,

I haven't been up that high in elevation for a long time. Have hiked to the top of Mt. Lassen, but going to the top of Mt. Shasta takes some effort. I think a couple of people died up there recently. Happens quite often with the cold and the elevation. Being in the valley 50 miles away we're only at 500 ft. elevation, so not bad at all.

That Hanta Virus is bad stuff. Had a relative get it, and he was on the flying bed in the ICU for over a month. Really bad stuff. I always think about it when I'm cleaning things up. I wear a mask or hold my breath. Would hate to get that for sure. Way more worried about Hanta Virus vs. COVID.

Getting closer to getting back to the VC1. Moved one of the boneyards out of the way of the entrance to the new shop. My wife wanted to have a birthday party for one of the grandkids tomorrow, so been knocking out cleaning up over the past couple of weeks. Been over a 100 degrees the past week, so its been kicking my arse.

I've been averaging 16,500 steps on my iPhone when I have it with me. Today, I had over 19,000 steps today. Usually when I'm out in the shop all day and never sitting working on my projects, I hit about 4,000 to 5,000 steps in a day, so have stepped it up a bit with hitting over 16,000 steps everyday the past two weeks.

Doesn't really look like much, but here is one of my boneyards in front of the new shop entrance that I tackled. Lots of rotted flat tires, so had to get good aired up tires mounted on everything. Thankfully, my other boneyards had enough wheels and tires available that could be mounted up. Bad thing is my wife is discovering all my boneyards as we clean up. Still have a couple hidden. lol:



Just picked a spot to consolidate a few things:







I think we're all ready for the party tomorrow. Once this is over, I think I'll have time to knock out the new floor and paint for the kitchen remodel. Once done with that, I can get back to the VC1!

[70th Division]

Hello Zeph,

Those are a lot of high altitude mountains in your area.
they must be beautiful to visit.
Being acclimatized to Florida, I discovered a few years ago, that high altitude and I don't get along too well.

I was looking at a government project in Saquach, Colorado, way up in the mountains.
I think it was just over 12,000 feet, and being and old mining facility was built in onto steppes, where each building was one level up on the side of the mountain.
So there were 3 or 4 abandoned structures stretched up the side of the mountain, all covered with rat dropping on the floors and rafters.
Well after hiking that area, up and down, and getting ready to leave, I realized that it was a little hard to breath or get enough O2.
Holding my breath inside the buildings didn't help, but I had asked, as always, about the issue of hanta virus in the area.
The BLM or Forest Service guy said, oh glad you mentioned that, and told the gathered contractors that there was cases in the Saquach area.
Very nasty stuff.

I was happy to get down to lower elevations asap, and drove down the mountain.
I did notice that many stores in town below the site had little oxygen canisters for sale.
Maybe I should have gotten one too

I did see a nice unrestored WC-52 being used up along the mountain road by a family that had a spread up there.
Actually I saw a lot of nice WW2 vehicles on that road trip from Denver to Saquatch.

I am looking forward to when you get back to your VC !


Best Regards,
Ray

Hi Ray,

I haven't been up that high in elevation for a long time. Have hiked to the top of Mt. Lassen, but going to the top of Mt. Shasta takes some effort. I think a couple of people died up there recently. Happens quite often with the cold and the elevation. Being in the valley 50 miles away we're only at 500 ft. elevation, so not bad at all.

That Hanta Virus is bad stuff. Had a relative get it, and he was on the flying bed in the ICU for over a month. Really bad stuff. I always think about it when I'm cleaning things up. I wear a mask or hold my breath. Would hate to get that for sure. Way more worried about Hanta Virus vs. COVID.

Getting closer to getting back to the VC1. Moved one of the boneyards out of the way of the entrance to the new shop. My wife wanted to have a birthday party for one of the grandkids tomorrow, so been knocking out cleaning up over the past couple of weeks. Been over a 100 degrees the past week, so its been kicking my arse.

I've been averaging 16,500 steps on my iPhone when I have it with me. Today, I had over 19,000 steps today. Usually when I'm out in the shop all day and never sitting working on my projects, I hit about 4,000 to 5,000 steps in a day, so have stepped it up a bit with hitting over 16,000 steps everyday the past two weeks.

Doesn't really look like much, but here is one of my boneyards in front of the new shop entrance that I tackled. Lots of rotted flat tires, so had to get good aired up tires mounted on everything. Thankfully, my other boneyards had enough wheels and tires available that could be mounted up. Bad thing is my wife is discovering all my boneyards as we clean up. Still have a couple hidden. lol:



Just picked a spot to consolidate a few things:







I think we're all ready for the party tomorrow. Once this is over, I think I'll have time to knock out the new floor and paint for the kitchen remodel. Once done with that, I can get back to the VC1!

Hello Zeph,

What a great boneyard full of nice vehicles !!!

Those big Dodges are super nice, and is that a 3/4 ton Carryall in the background ?

You really have a beautiful place, and it looks to be always improving !
I bet the party was a great success

Keep up your good works !!

Best Regards,
Ray