Hello once again Big River members!!

Hope all are doing well! 

Hope all of you had a Happy Easter! Please remember that Saturday, May 7^th is the date for the Show at the O'!  We will need to be there at 7:00 to set up and get ready for the show. Bring 2 twelve packs of drinks and please wear your club shirt. Again, thank you very much to Tommy Hudson for putting together this show! 

Mothers Day is that Sunday, May 8^th. Happy Mothers Day to all the Mothers. Hope you have a wonderful day! 

Our next club meeting will be May12th at Penn"s Fish House on Lakeland Drive, Jackson. Please make every effort to attend.
 

See you all soon!!

Judy

Our deepest sympathies go to the Bullock family. Charles Bullock's mother Doris Arnold Bullock-Daughdrill, 85 died April 16th at St. Dominics Hospital. She was laid to rest in Monticello, MS. on April 19. Our deepest sympathies go once again to the Sanders family. Another one of John Sanders' brothers, James Sanders from Quinlan, TX passed away last month. Newt Mason's brother John Mason had to have his other leg removed last month and is still undergoing dialysis along with wound care & rehab. Please continue to keep John Mason in your prayers. Bobby Buckley and Bobby Clark remain on our thoughts and prayer list as they each have ongoing health issues.

Thoughts and prayers go out to all who were affected by the recent rash of destructive tornados last month. Wishing you a speedy recovery and that your lives can be put back together as soon as possible.

Big River Classics Monthly Meeting
April 17, 2011
Reported by Wayne Hart

BRC held its April meeting at the Western Sizzlin in Flowood. Members attending included JoAnn Barbuto, Bobby & Jessie Buckley, Allen Carpenter, Bobby & Diane Clark, Tay & Dot Everett, Wayne & Jane Hart, Tommy & Patricia Hudson, Newt & Carolyn Mason, and Paul & Judy Webb.

Early that Saturday morning Bill and JoAnn Barbuto, Larry Holder, Jane and I along with friends Johnny & Rebecca Middleton met at the Shell Station on Yandell Road in Gluckstadt. Instead of going the long boring way of I-55 to Winona, we decided to take the scenic route and headed up Highway 51. Traffic was light and the only aggravation was some fool driving a dump truck who evidently had a long way to go and a short time to get there. In other words he drove like a d@#% fool! Anyway we finally got free of him when he took a side road.....idiot! We finally made it to the Montgomery County Coliseum where the show was going on around 9:00. As the morning went on a few more cars and trucks arrived but turnout for this show was also noticeably light compared to past years. Regardless of a lighter turnout I think the CRC club still did well. As always they had hotdogs and burgers for sale as well at the gentleman with the John Deere machine churning home made ice cream.  Their annual auction went on before the awards presentation which helped raise addition funds for their charities. Unfortunately no BRC Chevys snagged any awards this go round. But that is not what we went for! If you go to a show and leave disappointed that you did not win then you are going for all the wrong reasons! Going to support another club, to be around friends, meet new friends and to enjoy the old classics should be what you were there for in the first place. After the show Larry and the Barbutos headed back to Madison while the Middletons and Jane and I went to Woody's BBQ and had a late lunch with Rebecca's mother and some of her in-laws. It proved to be a great day when all make it back home safe and sound.

Camellia City Rod Run
April 16, 2011
Slidell, LA
Reported by Dot Everett

Tay and I had planned to leave Friday night and spend the night with our son and his family.  The weather was so bad and seemed to be going the same way we would be traveling, we decided to wait and go early Saturday morning.  We left about 6 a.m., saw some of the destruction from the tornado in Clinton.  The weather was beautiful in Slidell, except for the wind.  It was very strong at times.  The last number I heard for participants was 244.  It was a big show with cars, trucks, and motorcycles.  We saw several people who usually participated in our show (Ken & Kathy Pitre, Jules & Cindy Ducros, Tony Warino, Kenny Thomas).  Some expressed disappointment that we didn't have a show this year.  Our '55 received an Outstanding Award and $25 because we traveled the farthest.

It was a beautiful Saturday night and the temperature was just right for a night out under the stars.  BRC members Bobby and Jessie, Newt and Carolyn, Bobby Clark and Will Matthews were among the many that ventured out to the cruise-in.  We also saw Ade and Linda Fleming.  They were there passing out flyers for their August car show.  We enjoyed burgers, ice cream and visiting with a lot of our ole car buddies.      

Monthly report on Project "W"
Wayne's 57 Chevy Truck
Reported by Wayne Hart 

In my last report I had painted my frame and moved it inside and was getting ready to start building the rolling chassis back. Since last month I have cleaned up and sandblasted the stock front axle and primed and painted it black along with the spindles, steering arms, shock mounts, tie rod bar, and all the other various parts to do with the front suspension. I installed a new king pin set and put the spindles back on the front axle. I was afraid that if getting the new king pins and bushings back in was as hard as hammering and beating them all out, it was not going to be a fun job, but it turned out to be a little easier going back together. I painted my new monoleaf lowering springs and got both of them installed under the frame with new rubber grease seals that fit on the shackle pins. After closer look I discovered that the original  pins that connect the rear of the springs to the frame were significantly worn so I had to order new ones....mo money, mo money! That order arrived quickly from LMC so then I finished hooking up the monoleafs to their rear position. Now that the springs were in place I was able to bolt the front axle back on. Next I bolted on the brackets for my new 5 lug disc brake conversion kit. After painting the new brake calipers and rotors I got those mounted in place. The steering arms were bolted back on to the spindles and I have the tie rod and tie rod ends temporarily back on connecting each side until I get some new tie rod ends which also will need replacement. I made the decision last month that I should go with power steering so I found a bracket kit at P.O.L. to mount a steering box, so I ordered that. I made my first trip to the Pull A Part salvage (junk) yard and took a steering box off an 84 Chevy truck. I have it cleaned and painted and bolted on with the new bracket kit. Before I could put the steering box on I had to relocate the shock mount on the drivers side to the rear side of the front axle. This involved drilling out the rivets to remove it and drilling new holes to reinstall it in the new position now slanting to the rear of the front axle. This procedure also involved swapping the lower shock mounts from left side to right side and relocating the top shock mount on the passenger side to match the driver side position. My new under-bed gas tank was one of the last things I bolted on to the frame. Click a picture below to see progress. Don't pay any attention to the messy shop!

I also went on ahead and bit the bullet last month and bought a set of Cragar SS wheels for the truck. If I can find the right rear axle and get it in place I will not be too far from having a rolling chassis. Guess I might as well buy the tires for those Cragars next. The price of oil is getting worse every day which means tire prices will do the same.  Again, mo money, mo money. Can't take it with you I've heard, but not planning on going anywhere. Hope I have as much progress to report next month.

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Progress Report
Tay Everett’s '79 El Camino
Reported by Dot Everett

Can’t believe it’s been 4 years that he’s been working on that truck. The paint is beautiful! He’s down to the tedious wiring now. He got the engine to fire this week, but says there’s a cylinder that’s not firing. Couldn’t prove it by me. It made a lot of noise! Since Tay is back working 4 days a week and only gets “wiring” help once or twice a month, it’s going slow right now. Once the wiring is finished, it’ll be a breeze (I guess). Keeps him busy and makes him happy, what else matters.