[SacramentoJoe]

The truck was purchased new for $2,700 by my dad in December 1968. This truck came with absolutely no options. It did have a heater. No radio, or cigarette lighter. Nothing automatic. Even the choke is manual. My dad carpooled to his work with it, 20 miles away.

My mom has a fond memory of being pulled over by the CHP while they were driving the pickup to Reno for a weekend get-away. She kinda likes to brag that they didn’t get a ticket after my dad pleaded ignorance to the fact that the larger, load-rated tires on the rear would make the speedometer indicate lower (good one, dad). It still reads 10% slower (and that also means I have 10% more miles on it!)

Some of my memories as a kid include shoveling loads of sand and aggregate out of the long fleetside bed and into an electric concrete mixer when we were pouring our back patio.

I remember riding back in the bed with a load of grapes from my uncle’s vineyard in Antioch. It was fun “splatting” the grapes on the road signs at 55 mph as we drove back home along the Sacramento River. Now I am the one yelling at my kids to behave in the car.

I found this picture from his cabin album. This must have been the first snow of the year at Donner Summit. I notice the hubcap, the original mirror, and the tie-downs that were bolted to the bed. It looks like I have trim around the tail-lights, but its just the snow.