Chevy Ave Restorations

1964 Chevy Pickup Restore begins...

2010-01-21T08:40:00.004-05:00

Found it in a horse pasture in Tennessee in the summer of 2007. Here's how it looked on our property in Tennessee. We've been looking for a pickup to restore so here we go. It's a 1964 Chevy Pickup longbox 1/2 ton. It has a 327 4BBL with a 3 speed standard transmission. Ran good but had lower end noise in the engine.

Caravel after polish

2008-05-09T14:27:00.003-04:00

The elbow grease is worth it! Look at that shine!

Caravel before polish

2008-05-09T14:13:00.003-04:00

One of our winter projects included polishing this nice Caravel. It looks small but seems huge when polishing. Check out the next post for the beautiful results.

1966 Shasta Interior Pictures

2008-02-15T14:31:00.003-05:00

It cleaned up well in the inside after many years as a hunter's camper. Replaced ceiling covering with good old fashioned contact paper. Blends well with fold down bunks above dinette and couch.

1966 Shasta paint job

2008-02-15T14:04:00.005-05:00

Revived this cute 1966 Shasta with a fresh coat of paint. We'll be towing this to car shows this summer with our 1966 Chevy Impala!

Holiday Wishes from Chevy Ave Restorations!

2007-12-19T14:32:00.000-05:00

Our 1960 Tradewind getting into the spirit! Leading the way through the white and drifted snow is our 1995 Chevrolet Caprice.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

1975 Argosy paint job

2007-08-20T15:29:00.000-04:00

The Argosy shines with a fresh coat of paint!

Prep to Paint 1975 Argosy

2007-08-20T15:03:00.000-04:00

Sanding and more sanding...

1996 Excella Classic headliner repair

2007-06-08T12:30:00.000-04:00

The aluminum way!

1996 Excella Classic headliner failure

2007-06-08T11:58:00.000-04:00

Headliner failing and sagging. Owner needs chemical free, glue free solution. Presented owner with 4 options to repair and decided on the aluminum option. See next blog entry for the beautiful finished product.

New Bellypan on 1960 Tradewind

2007-05-13T15:43:00.000-04:00

Enjoying our own 1968 Sovereign

2007-05-12T16:40:00.000-04:00

Here's our own Sovereign in action at the Herkimer Diamond Mines KOA. Nice site on the West Canada Creek. Very peaceful and even found a few diamonds!

1960 Tradewind Project Pictures

2007-05-12T15:57:00.000-04:00

Finally have a chance to share more pictures of the 1960 Tradewind project.
I will share more soon.

Ready for Spring!

2007-03-14T20:10:00.000-04:00

It was 65 degrees today in Central NY. Here's a shot of our 92 Excella Classic, Rob's 65 Caravel and Rob's 58 Overlander deep in the 2/14/07 blizzard. Not so distant memories of snow!

Axle and Gray tank installation

2007-03-14T19:57:00.000-04:00

Removed the old hydraulic surge brake axle and installed the new electric brake axle.

Installed gray tank and plumbing. It has both black and gray tanks for modern camping needs.

Tongue Coupler

2007-03-14T19:24:00.000-04:00

This is the 60 tradewind we have been working on for a customer. Here are shots of the old tongue coupler. We replaced the old 2" with a 2 5/16" coupler. See how nice the new coupler looks.

tradewind tin

2007-02-22T20:50:00.000-05:00

These pictures are of our 1960 tradewind,
here is a shot of the new floor.

The new floor was installed over a totally
rebuilt frame. I will post pictures of the frame
and what we used to fix it better than it was new
next time.

Here the side panel is being removed.
See the skin flaired out at the bottom?
Looks like the wheel came off and tore
its way back through.

This part was easy.

When we got it off, we cut it up and used it to reskin
parts of the door inside and out. (saved money)
This keeps curb side all original skin too.

Here the skin is removed and rib repaired.

Fixed torn out out rigger (from wheel coming off)
that a PO fixed with a 4x4, and the the rib was also badly damaged.

Here is a shot of the new skin installed.
Look at that shine!

Now to make the rest of the skin match.

Our own 1960 Trade Wind

2007-02-08T00:13:00.000-05:00

Here are a few before and after pictures of our Trade Wind. We have replaced and put in an all new floor in this 1960 California Trade Wind with bunks on the curb side. We also have polished (first cut) some of the trailer as well as repaired the door area skin. Looking good! Our trailer is out of the shop now while we work on another Jody's 1960 California Trade Wind, that I last posted about. Soon, my nephews Sovereign of the Road will be arriving as GSM is completed with the exterior shell restoration.

1960 Tradewind Interior work

2007-02-07T19:42:00.000-05:00

We removed the inside skin to replace the elevator bolts and this is how we found the ribs and reinforcements. No insulation to be found.

This is the way they should look.

Our current project - a 1960 California Trade Wind

2007-02-01T09:30:00.000-05:00

We have a 1960 California Trade Wind model in for some work. Work to be accomplished on this highly desireable trailer is; replace the current 2" hitch coupler with a 2 5/16th coupler. Install a gray tank. Replace the old leaf spring axle with a new leaf spring axle, as the original had the original hydraulic brakes. This will give the trailer new electric brakes resulting from the upgrade. And, when we put the gray tank in, we will address rear frame issues while we have the belly pan off and have access to it. Follow us as we dig into this beauty and make these upgrades.

Chevy Ave and Airstreams too!

2007-01-27T19:54:00.000-05:00

For the past twenty plus years, as a part time job on the farm, we've been in the business of restoring mostly GM products - Chevrolet's is our specialty. We have three mid 60s Chevy Impalas, two 2-doors and one Wagon. Last year, we purchased a 1968 Airstream - a Sovereign, the biggest they came back then. My nephew, Rob Baker, has been restoring a 1958 Airstream - the Sovereign of the Road, also the biggest they made then. He's owned a few Airstreams since 1998 and we've recently obtained one of his to restore - a 1960 24' single axle Trade Wind, center twins with a curb side bunk. We'll be restoring his Vintage tow vehicle for him - a 1959 Buick Electra just like his Grandfather, and my father had when he was towing his early 60s Airstream around. We did his 1965 Jeep Wagoneer last year that he uses to tow his wife's 65 Airstream Caravel with last year as well. Here's a picture of the Jeep and Caravel coming home from the Norwich Memorial day Car show - taking 2nd Place and bringing home a trophy. This look is what we are now venturing into. We are starting to take on Airstream restoration jobs, as we find it is a niche that ties nicely with our vintage Chevy Ave Restorations. Plus, I've got a little alumintus too! So, follow along here on our different projects, as we'll document Airstream customization, and restorations along the way. Here are a couple more vintage shots. As we work on our 1960 Trade Wind (we're working on two of them right now), we'll post updates. Welcome!