New member from Central Oregon

[dpike97701]

Hello from Central Oregon! Been lurking here for a while and the information and camaraderie available on the forum is great. I've already learned a lot. I've just recently got back in to cars after a 25 year hiatus (marriage, family, etc.). A lot has changed. Recently acquired and just started working on a '51 3100 5-window. I've always wanted a C10, particularly a birthday year truck (69). Browsing the forum didn't help that craving.

I have a 14 year old daughter who would occasionally come in to the shop to see what I was working on. I'm currently stripping all the years of paint and body filler off the old truck and taking her back to metal to start over. I would hand my daughter the grinder and show her how to correctly operate it. She seems to enjoy it. She's starting to get interested in driving and talking about getting her license. I've known for a while that she likes old trucks. We'll spot C-10s out on the road, fields, barns and point them out to each other. After showing interest in the shop I decided the timing was right to find a truck and start working on it with her so it's ready when she starts driving.

I was aware of what looked like a pretty clean C-10 about a mile down the road from us (we live in a rural area). I would catch glimpses of the truck in his garage or occasionally in his driveway. I figured he'd never part with it. I bumped in to the man in a little country store and simply told him, "when you're interested in selling your truck let me know." He said, "well, I may be interested now." I looked at it the next day and brought it home with me.

I originally wanted a truck we could customize a little. After looking, and buying, the truck I can't bring myself to do anything to it other than return it to its stock glory. Its an all original 1969 C-10 long bed with no rust other than the minor body wear/scratches. The original AC has been removed and he moved the shift linkage from the tree to the floor. Paint, sheet metal, motor, tranny are all original.

My daughter is already asking when she can learn to drive a stick and drive the truck (we raise cattle and she already drives the automatic trucks around the farm).

I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions. The list is already building.

David