Taken from the old site...

Working on classic vehicles has always been a family affair for Bill Stone, from his father to his son. Bill grew up working on classic cars and machinery, and worked as a mechanic for John Deer in Texline, Texas. Bill and his son, 9-year-old Chandon, are busy in the shop remodeling a 1956 Ford Pickup -- which was given to Chandon by his grandpa.

"It's the gateway to freedom," Chandon said with his dad looking on.

Chandon and Bill have put plenty of work into the pickup already, Bill said. But the pickup was in great shape when they drove it in the garage, he said. So far the duo have done a lot of work on the frame, which had been undercoated with rubber. The rubber coating proved to be a challenge to remove, and after plenty of scraping, some aircraft paint remover and a couple rounds of sandblasting, it was gone. Now the two are working on welding in boxing plates to stiffen up the frame.

Bill is planning to install a 351 Cleveland he got out of a 1970 Ford Fairlane. He had it machined then rebuilt it. Bill also rebuilt the front axle. Other plans include an automatic transmission, power steering and brakes and air conditioning.

One of Bill's biggest recent projects was his shop. When he bought his home the shop was already there, he said, however he had to put up insulation and dry wall and rewire the electricity. He also put air lines in three-quarter copper tubing from the air compressor, which makes air available at multiple points around the garage, including at the sand blaster.

After the Ford is done, Bill plans to rebuild a 67 GMC Suburban that he owns. It is complete. He also is interested in rebuilding a 390 engine and transmission he got from a 64 Galaxy 500, and adding a new crank and heads to make it a 428 Cobra Jet. He'd like to install it in either a Turino or Mustang, he said.

Above all, though, Bill values the time he and Chandon spend working together. "We have fun getting to work together," Bill said, "figuring out how stuff works and talking." Chandon is currently learning how to weld.