Restoration of "One-eighty-seven"

[drpchuynh]

Last Sunday we fired her up! Here's the link to the completed video. If you don't have time to watch the entire video, feel free to jump to minute 3:50.

I tried uploading the video here but I think it's too large of a file. I spliced and edited the video with descriptive captions to help my viewers, especially the novice DIY-ers like myself, navigate the thought process of a master mechanic as he systematically works through the process of getting an engine fired up and idled correctly. Most of you on here probably do this in your sleep, so you'll find the descriptions elementary.[emoji23]

Have a great Labor Day weekend and enjoy the video!

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[dprchuynh]

Hello everyone! I hope this message finds you well. It's been a long couple of years. After my last update, which was exactly 2 years and 2 days ago, I spent 2019 moving a family of 8, along with 7 Datsuns, into a new house. Truth be told, the Datsuns, and all their parts, outgrew the space. We had to move!

So 2019 was spent renovating the old house and getting it to market. We were handed keys to the new house in February of 2019, along with an ultimatum that the front and backyard landscaping needed to be completed within 12 months to avoid HOA "nasty-grams" threatening fines. 

2020 started off promising. The economy was on fire. Work was great. We were planning to celebrate my 50th birthday in March with a road trip to wine country in #8701. It was definitely time to get back to restoring #187.

But all those plans were temporarily placed on hold upon news of my father's health in late January. Within 2 weeks of finding out he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer, he departed this world. It was a somber Valentine's Day 2020. We took comfort knowing he passed without much suffering. In fact, he reported no pain at all. Unlike many during the lockdown, we were fortunate to be at his bedside until his final breath at 77.

Please indulge me while I speak of him. He was a descendent of generations of Vietnamese farmers. As such, he was destined to become one, but as fate would have it, he was drafted and placed into service. At the beginning of the conflict, Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") were arriving in theater, but they came without pilots. So a batch of Vietnamese Air Force officers were hand picked and sent to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Tx to learn how to pilot the Huey. Interestingly enough, I completed my officer basic course (OBC) at Fort Sam Houston 4 decades later and separated from service with the exact same rank as my dad.

Upon returning home from Texas, he flew special ops mission, flying upwards of 3 to 4 sorties a day for 8 years. It was an amazing feat. One old combat vet that spoke at his funeral said, "When we would climb aboard the Huey, we would always check upfront to see who was piloting the bird. When we saw that it was MAJ Huynh, we knew we would be home for dinner."

During the war, he was introduced to his future wife, a young lady who was a descendent of royalty. Her father was the nephew to the king. What does that make me you ask? Absolutely nothing. [emoji1787] I digress. They married months later and had my brother in 68 and I followed in 1970.

On April 30, 1975, the Fall of Saigon, we were on the tarmac at Ton Son Nhat Airport awaiting evacuation to US naval ships off the coast. Needless to say, plans for an orderly evacuation were scraped when the North Vietnamese planes began bombing the airport. As such, Operation Frequent Wind was implemented. I don't recall much other than booming explosions and the ironclad grip of my mom's hand handcuffed around my wrist as she dragged us out of the belly of a Boeing CH-47 Chinook onto a Huey. Despite the uncertainty of our Huey lifting off, 30 passengers, mostly women and children, made their escape by helicopter onto the USS Midway. 

As a young boy growing up, I would watch footages of Bell Huey being pushed over the deck to make room for incoming helicopters, and not once did I equate those clips to my past. It wasn't until the 40th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon, when a large ceremony was held on the deck of the USS Midway, now a floating museum in San Diego, to honor my father and his squadron did I come to appreciate the significance of that aircraft carrier. 

The USS Midway evacuated my family and thousands of other refugees to the new world. Unfortunately my mom's journey ended in Hawaii after succumbing to malaria and pneumonia. She passed at 27, and my dad, then 33, a widow with 2 toddlers, began life in America with only the clothes on our backs, literally. 

Given the umpteenth times he has cheated death as a helicopter pilot, I thought my dad was invincible, capable of living well into his 90's, certainly long enough to enjoy driving #187 after the restoration. After all, it was he who bought me my first Datsun in high school, a used red 1979 Datsun 280ZX with 77K miles. We picked it up in Fontana from a gentleman that races top fuel for a living. I remembered our trip home. We got on the freeway and he gunned it. My dad rarely smiled, but he did that day, and we smiled all the way home. 

Now that I've laid my father to rest, I can once again turn my attention to restoring #187. Thank you for indulging me. 

Due to COVID-19, the panels that Rod ordered sat in quarantine at the border for months. The parts finally arrived last month and he striped the car to a rolling chassis in preparation for the body shop. Sorry I don't have anymore pictures to share but I will in the near future. 

Here's wishing you all a safe and happy Labor Day weekend! 

P.s Not sure why my father was the only one on that helicopter with a life vest on. You think he would have given it to me. [emoji1787]


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[26th-Z]

On 7/29/2018 at 9:42 PM, motorman7 said:

Looks beautiful, very nice job!   Just a few quick comments.  My  early '70 did not come with decals on the air filter so I am thinking that you would not need those.  I am not sure when the decals started showing up, but I would guess yours did not come with those originally.  Also, the timing chain cover looks unique.  Mine has ridges in it.  Maybe the early ones were flat like in your picture.

Confirm.  Flat timing chain covers and no decals on the air filter.

[26th-Z]

dprchuynh, what a great story and one I can relate to.  I have a close friend who was air lifted out as an infant from an orphanage.  I so distinctly remember those times.

[240260280]

I rarely use the word "Hero" but your dad was clearly one. That was one of the best posts on this forum.  He will be in our prayers.

[dprchuynh]

Confirm.  Flat timing chain covers and no decals on the air filter.

Thank you for the confirmation. It's amazing the variations of a single piece over the run of a few years.

I'm glad your friend made it out. Earlier that day, my dad's squadron made many trips to airlift Americans and civilians to the airport. Not certain when he was airlifted, but he might have been one that my dad's squadron extracted.

Those last minute airlifts where dangerous. There were so much traffic in the air that you could have easily collided, shot down by enemy fixed wing planes, and friendly fire, as the US Navy had no way of knowing if you were friendly or foe. So what my dad ordered his squadron to do was ditch the machine guns to save weight, but more importantly, give the US Navy a clear message that you weren't hostile. That's why you see in the picture, the machine gun mount was still there but no machine gun.

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[dprchuynh]

I rarely use the word "Hero" but your dad was clearly one. That was one of the best posts on this forum.  He will be in our prayers.

If for nothing else, or to no one else, he was definitely a hero to me. Thank you for the kind words.

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[drpchuynh]

Someone PM me asking if dprchuynh and drpchuynh are the same member.  Yes it is.  Since they did away with the app, I forgot my registration information. So I created another through Tapatalk just to update this thread. Needless to say, I am able to get back in.  All is well.

[Pilgrim]

I just read your story to my wife. I'm 70 and she's 65, and we lived through that era and watched the war on TV.  My high school classmates (class of '69) went over, and some did not return. I'm glad your dad and your family made it out. He was clearly a remarkable and admirable gentleman. 

[drpchuynh]

Thank you Pilgrim for the kind words. If you still keep in touch with your friend, please extend my deepest gratitude for his service and sacrifices. Deployment to Vietnam was no joke.

 

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[Pop's Z]

As a Marine Vietnam veteran(1966-1967) I honor your father. Peace to you my friend. Can't wait to see your restoration.

Cheers, Mike

[drpchuynh]

And as an American who risk his life to fight for my former country, my family and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts. It's a debt that we can never repay in full. All we can do to show our appreciation is to better ourselves as Americans by giving back and never forget the sacrifices that so many made in pursuit of our freedom. My respect to you and all those who wear the uniform. Thank you Mike for the kind words. Have a great Labor Day!

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