by Justin Eddings
Hello,
Just wanted to drop you a line and let ya know about my 1961 custom roadster that my dad and I built from the ground up together. Growing up as the last of 3 baby girls I was named after my dad and wanted to fill the shoes of the last chance for a boy and I was determined to live up to that, growing up I was always playing on his creeper and building piles of putty shavings in the garage.
So finally when I was 45 yrs old and dad said he found me my dream vehicle, 61 International Scout and said if I bought it we could customize it together and I could have my own so I was all for it.
So that winter our project began, we stripped it down to bare bones, tore the original motor out, sandblasted it and prepared the body. The Scout was actually a mail delivery truck, which meant that the steering column was on the right and we changed that over quickly. Not only did I learn lots in the garage during this project it was also the beginning of my welding/grinding career 😉 My dad had all the faith in the world that the more of the bad welds that I had to grind down that I was sure to get better welds, and I think I did.
We went to the junkyards and got a lot of the parts, including the S-10frame, then we lowered it. The goal was to get a Roadster, and we got it! Chopped the windshield 4” , removed the cap and all the window panes. We did all the electrical, brake & gas lines, I was just amazed daily at my dad’s talents in everything that had to do with a car. He did all the painting himself, I did help with masking and sanding 😉
Getting close to finish we put a 400 turbo transmission with a ZZ4 Crate motor in her, slapped 4 Foose wheels on her & got a custom pinstriping job by The Wizard and she was done, Lil’ Chief was on the road. I have been having so much fun going to cruises and just getting to tell everyone that it’s all mine!
Car Images:
