So what defines the soul of your truck?

[spudly]

I'm at a crossroads trying to figure out how I want to do the bodywork on my truck. The truck was my Grandfather's and then it got sold and worked it's way through various owners until I came across it on craigslist and brought back in the family. My issue is, should I scrap the original sheet metal that is damaged, bent, rusted (although not so much since it has been a California truck all it's life), etc. with replacement pieces? Or, do I try to fix the damaged pieces and keep the truck "original"? Also, I'm nowhere near a paint and body guy. My only bodywork experience comes from beating the fenders on my Jeep out of the way after I do something stupid then hitting them with some Rustoleum.

By changing out the sheet metal, am I loosing the soul of the truck? I know right now there are some pieces that are replacements on it, however I do have all the original pieces in various states (dented, bent, etc). The one piece I do not have in it's original state is the tailgate. It currently has a re-popped piece on it and it just doesn't feel like I remember it. It feels light and sounds hollow when I close it. I will probably end up looking for an OEM replacement in decent shape to fix this issue.

I need to fix large dents in the PS rocker and the PS rear cab corner and the bed needs major straightening. Are the bedside re-pops as light as the tailgate re-pops? It looks like GMC Paul's has the LWB bedsides along with the front section as well as the rocker and corner panels, so I could build a "new" bed and then just patch the other areas (I can weld).

So how do you define your trucks soul? I know, I know deep thoughts.

[Pl4yboy]

My dad bought my truck when I was about a year old, and totaled it within a year. Head on crash with another truck on a one lane dirt road, coming around a blind corner. With the help of a friend, they salvaged most of the parts, minus a front clip, motor, rad support, blah blah. When I was 4 my parents divorced, and my dad, being the ass he was, sold it to my grandparents for $1, to keep my mother from getting it (Thanks Dad). When I was about 8 he bought it back from my grandparents for $2 (GJ Grandpa... nickel and dime him). When I was about 13-14 we started restoring it.... and this is it today.



This thing is a part of me... I love it more than anything else in the world. No one understands our passion I guess.

[garold99]

duct tape

[special-K]

I`d say keep the original body as much as possible.I belive old vehicles have souls and you lose something when it is torn down and split up at some point.

[Longhorn Man]

soul is from within.
Your skin replaces it's self all the time... yet, you are still you.
You could retain all the original sheet metal, and make the truck totally different than what it is.
You could replace ever piece of sheet metal, and install a fiberglass cab, and a cammed out nitro sniffin hemi... but make it look, and feel like grandpa's, and preserve it in YOUR eyes.

[70cst]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

soul is from within.
Your skin replaces it's self all the time... yet, you are still you.
You could retain all the original sheet metal, and make the truck totally different than what it is.
You could replace ever piece of sheet metal, and install a fiberglass cab, and a cammed out nitro sniffin hemi... but make it look, and feel like grandpa's, and preserve it in YOUR eyes.

Geeeee...I'm on the same page as The Longhorn Man. The soul of the truck comes from within. Tires, spark plugs, brakes and so forth will need to be replaced with time on these trucks. The soul of our trucks are in the design and the looks which do not grow old. That's why they have reached ICON status. JMHO

Read the below article.
http://www.sporttruck.com/techarticl...cks/index.html

[Shane]

the ass in the driver's seat

[lks dcvn]

Interesting question...but I think you may have answered the question all by yourself.

You found your grandfather's truck after searching for some time. Regardless of who has sat in the seat, driven the truck, painted this, replaced that - it found it's way back to your family and into the hands of somebody who wants to keep the soul of the truck intact.

Maybe your grandfather helped you in finding it and bringing it back home - you just didn't know about it -

[weasel29gm]

When a ride has been in the family or owned by you for a long period of time, its a part of you. I've had mine over 20 yrs. So its a part of me. As far as '' soul '' goes its a machine, kinda like usin' cancer for rust. There not the same. A old gun, knife, tool etc. may not have value to someone else but to you its priceless.

[cstanley]

i think my blaze kind-of wears its soul on its sleeve
i don't know if it would be the same without the stickers...

otherwise, i'm in agreement with longhorn man. the soul, by definition, is intangible. it's not an object, but a fender is, therefore its replacement cannot affect the soul.

I'm sure there were some replacement parts on Christine...

[bobthecop]

The soul in my truck comes from the work that I have done, not what I paid someone to do, the custom, the stock, what I have done to make it uniquely mine.

[nuke1]

i tend to agree, my truck has been in the family since new, dad bought it and i got it when i was 15, i restored it and and have not driven her in 7 years now, but she is mine and that is all that matters to me. But i am also in a conundrum, i now want to hot rod her with a full on road race frame, slammed to the ground, shortbox etc, and i almost feel guilty wanting to do this because i wonder if she will be the same truck after, even changing the color bothers me a little , so what to do i also ask. But you are what you make it, your heart and soul goes into making your dreams , so in all honesty she will always have the same soul,with a piece of you and her. that is my 2cents. Have a good day.

[Frizzle Fry]

Originally Posted by bobthecop

The soul in my truck comes from the work that I have done, not what I paid someone to do, the custom, the stock, what I have done to make it uniquely mine.

Well said.

[Weezer67]

I agree with many of you. The soul of a truck is who owned it and gave it, the memories, and in my case the blood and sweat that went into it. I hope my children will always remember me when they think or see the old truck.
Weezer67
Dodge City, Kansas

[Sweet72]

Gettin' a little mushy aren't we? My truck ain't got no soul and never will...

[BigDaddyDave]

I don't know if my truck has a soul,but it does have a personality, she is 100% female! She spends far more money than i do,she hates to see it raining,knows shes stuck at home when it does. I know without a doubt,that she laughs at me when a wrench slips, and one of my knuckles opens wide,and shoots blood across the driveway,while working on her. She is cold natured,try to leave,before she is ready,and you will be late to work. Stop and look at another truck,and chances are she will get jealous and refuse to start.

[Shyguy]

My son and his wife have been talking about the same thing while trying to restore the pickup that use to be her grandfather's.

It is a '69 LWB C-10 with a six cylinder, three on the tree, no important options other than the rear auxilary springs and plenty of rust.

They are keeping the cab and frame, of course a lot of repairs have to be made to the cab to keep it. The rest of the sheet metal is too rusted to be repaired.

They are putting a 350/350 combo in it, power steering and power disc brakes.

It will be painted the original color.

I think what it boils down to is how my daughter-in-law will feel when she drives her grand dad's truck and the memories it will bring back.

Danny - Southeast Missouri

[ChevLoRay]

There are those who will say that these vehicles are inanimate, and therefore have no soul. I understand that premise. I also understand that WE assign the soul to our trucks, so they will have character. That character that we assign is what defines our trucks, cars, boats, etc. If you have given your truck a name, it has a soul. Mine doesn't have a name, but it does have character. Some like it, some don't. It's just like a person. Each of us is unique, and each of our trucks is unique. I say that even if we view two trucks and say that they are identical. Identical twins (human type) may look "identical", but I can guarantee you that they each are unique. Same thing for our trucks.

I agree that we give our trucks character, and the soul that they have is real. Not a religious soul, in that sense, but still "soul" as we define it.

Fix what you have to fix. I've had surgery and I still have a soul.

[69C10@16]

I agree with the fact that the truck's soul is defined by the blood, sweat, stress, and tears you have put into it. Blood because your bound to slip a wrench and mash your knuckles. Sweat because its not easy work. Stress because sometimes you just dont know how in the world your gonna fix it and sometimes where the money is coming from to fix it. Tears becuase sometimes that slip of the wrench really REALLY hurts.

As far as your question though, "By changing out the sheet metal, am I loosing the soul of the truck?", we can't answer that. Only YOU can decide. Ask yourself this, when you look at or drive the truck, are you going to be thinking the entire time "That panel isn't the one that was on it when my grandpa owned it." If it weighs that heavily on your mind, don't change it. If you think it won't bother you, go for it.

That's my two cents.
Good luck with the decision,
Newton

[71big block]

I bought my truck new in the fall of 1970 and other than a few oil changes no-one but me has ever worked on it. I've built many engines for it along with a few transmissions, 1/2 dozen brake jobs & exhaust systems, 1 replacement rearend, a on frame resto 15 years ago and a full frame off resto in progress now. It is as much a part of me as my heart or anything else.

When it is done this time I will have done everything myself: 572 cid big block, turbo 400 trans, 14 bolt posi diff, all body work (new floor, rockers, cab corners, a pillers, glass) a million other things and because I work at a paint factory I'll even have made the paint myself!

It is me and I am it.

[HavinSomeFun]

When I was about 3 years old I would sit on my dads lap and steer the mint green 70 Chevy around the pasture. That truck is long gone, as is my father. The soul of that truck is in my memory forever. Those found memories are why I enjoy these trucks today. I rebuilt a 69 a few years back and had it painted mint green with a white top. It made me miss my time with my Dad so much I sold it..... I have built several since then and I am currently doing a 67. However, none that color combo. I think the Soul is within you, the owner and whatever it means to you.

[Robert1970C20rstbukt]

My Grandpa bought the old pickup in 1979, it's been in the family for almost 30 years now and we're never gonna sell it. heck everybody in town that's lived here long enough to know my Grandparents knows exactly who the truck belongs to.

[nyncompute]

I had a friend who had bought an original incredibly rare car (Its a F**d)out of the country. He got the car and proceeded to have the entire aluminum body re-handmade retaining only the serial numbers and plate (yea! really rich) . The value, was in the fact that it was a certain number in a sequence of rare autos . Kinda weird. Still priceless. Still the same irreplaceable car.
Reminds me of the old joke where the the guy restores an old axe .. just needed to replace the head and the handle. But since it occupies the same space it's intrinsically the same object.

[spudly]

Cool feedback, I appreciate it.

This is the first "classic" vehicle I've ever owned and is also the first that I will be attempting to rebuild to hopefully look good in the end.

As you can probably imagine I've always been a fan of the 67 -> 72 trucks, but could never bring myself to buy one because it wasn't "the one". Now that I have "the one" I'm over-thinking things and making the process more complicated than it has to be.

I definitely feel that my Grandfather had something to do with me find his old truck. I had long since given up on trying to find it and figured it was gone. Then in a completely random craigslist search for Jeep parts I turn up his old 71 K20.

Of course now that I have one I think I want another one Or Frizzle Fry can just sell me his Tahoe when he's done, but then there's no fun in putting it together

[spudly]

Oh and one more thing for the weird circle of life thing.

The truck was built at the Fremont, CA GM plant, then sold in Fontana, CA, made it's way around the state (Lake Elsinore, San Diego, Chester, Susanville, Roseville) with four different owners after my Grandfather owned it and is now back down the road from where it was built. The GM plant is now the NUMMI plant (joint GM Toyota plant) that I pass by almost every day.