Once a green hooptie...

In February of 2017, Phil summoned the courage (and the money) to start restoration efforts on his Grandfather's Bronco. Phil, his Brother Ken, and me (his nephew, Nathan) hitched the Bronco up onto a rented U-Haul trailer and drove from Virginia to Hamel Illinois.

(Editors Note: There is nothing in that part of the country... Flat is FLAT, and NOTHING stops that cold Winter's wind...)

What did we load onto the trailer? A Bronco with more rust than metal, no brakes, and a clutch that sort of functioned. Pair that with gravity and tires that rather surprisingly held air we were given one shot to get the Bronco on the trailer.

(Insurance companies, avert your gaze)

Wait, it made it on the trailer? Awesome!

At least if it fell off, we'd know where it went with the amount of rust it was leaving behind...

Then we were off like a herd of turtles!

The Bronco must've weighed less the more we pushed on through the hills, it was losing so much rust... Never fear though, it's a beauty now.

After driving all day, we finally made it to our hotel in Hamel, Illinois.

A word of advice to car drivers, don't hang by a trailer in the wind. If that trailer catches a big enough gust and you're smaller than the truck and trailer combined, it'll make a longer day for everyone involved!

The following day after copious amounts of food was consumed (I didn't take Illinois as being big into Barbecue, but I'm always happy to be surprised) we got to meet the guys at Gateway Bronco who restored the Green hulk into what it's become today.

It was clear there was going to be a long journey ahead for GRMPS69...