Real Vermont

We were just digging some holiday decorations down from the attic and I came across a few photographs from many years back. These were ones that my brother took of a couple of his project vehicles. Both of my brothers were heavily into building cars and trucks and especially into four wheel drive rigs that they would take up into the woods and either get stuck in ungodly amounts of mud, or out and out destroy. Good fun, albeit a bit different than the type of fun I have traditionally been into.

I think my brothers got the car bug from my father. Though never really into four wheel drives, he has always been into building hot rods. Over the years there have been numerous projects. In fact he just sold his latest one a couple of months back. He then picked up a new cab to use but got an offer for it that he couldn't pass up, so turned it right back around. He now has a near mint reproduction Ford Model-T frame that he is planning to build off from. Will see just what he comes up with.

Anyhow, here are those pictures. I think that they were probably from fifteen or so years back. One is a Chevy Chevette, which was a very popular vehicle in our family. I had one in high school and another in college and after I graduated. I made countless trips from Burlington, VT to Lexington, MA in that thing. The race 'Vette. My brothers both had numerous as well and in fact, my brother just sold his last one, which had been in storage, this past summer. This particular 'Vette has had a vintage Willys 4WD drive-train cobbled under it. This made for an interesting  if not entirely functional project. Of course it was adorned with flat olive drab green paint applied with a roller.

The other rig is a Suzuki Samurai. My brothers and father were heavily enamored by Suzuki 4WD products. This particular Sami had a gear reduction transfer to give the small four cylinder enough power to turn the 31" Super Swamper tires under the lifted body. It also had a winch, of course, and a custom built storage rack on the roof. It too was olive drab, a VT NEK woodchuck staple. 

Vermont is many things, to many people. This however is the Vermont that I grew up in and that I know. The old timers would refer to it as real Vermont, and it was populated by real Vermonters. Much has changed there, but you still don't have to drive too far down the gravel roads to find the real thing.