MCMXXV

Over the past week or so in my free time, I have been fabricating some new shackles for the rear leaf springs of the old truck. The original shackles are quite long and I hoped that a shorter shackle would allow the truck to enter/exit the garage without first loading up the rear end with Chevrolet enthusiasts.

Today I finished up the 4th shackle and installed them. It definitely dropped the rear end of the truck. Unfortunately it was still not enough. On the positive side, it no longer takes three folks sitting in the bed to get under through the threshold. Now it requires only a single medium sized passenger who weights about 64 lbs. Knowing this, I feel certain I can get the truck out of the garage now by myself with the assistance of 2 fifty pound bags of clay.

The original shackles along with the bolts have been placed in the magic box of original parts. The parts will stay with the truck so that any future owner can restore the truck to the original ride height.

Jordan and I took the truck out for a spin today. After we returned home, we drove up and down the driveway a few times. He was practicing using the brake and shifting gears, first to reverse, and then reverse back to first. Next time he may even get to press the gas pedal.