New guy from northern Indiana...

[Bassdude404]

Let me apologize ahead of time for the lengthy first post here...But it's a bit of a story about how I managed to find myself registering here...

First a little about me..Drive truck (18 wheeler) for a living, and been a gearhead my entire life...Dad was a professional mechanic and at a young age I was helping and learning from him...I've had some (what some would consider) odd vehicles in my past, mainly three different Cadillac hearses, the most recent one I sold and bought a '67 VW Beetle which is in line for body work and paint after I finish up a couple other projects that have taken priority over the Bug (modding some new saddlebags for my 2007 Honda VTX 1300R)...Also been around motorcycles pretty much my entire life, and the $$ I had saved up to start buying body panels for the VW, I spent to buy my wife her own bike ('96 Honda Shadow 100 ACE) and got her out riding her own this past summer...




And a few years back we picked up a really cool '95 Chevy S-10 extended cab 2wd truck (4 cyl/5-speed manual)...Previous owner lowered it and put some wider wheels/tires on it, really sharp little truck until a deer decided to pull a kamikazi mission on it...After that we bought her a '99 GMC Jimmy, as she wanted 4wd (roads she takes to work can get pretty bad in the winter)..The Jimmy is a nice car, but man I hate working on that thing!!...Pretty much everything is a total pain to get at, and currently trying to get the rear wiper to work again..I have a like/hate (notice I didn't say love!!...lol) with that car...Though she is approaching 280,000 miles on it (still original engine), I just hate working on it...













Now with that out of the way, on to something more relevant with this forum...

Back in late 1970, my dad bought a brand new '71 GMC 3/4 ton 4wd pickup to replace the '68 Chevy 2wd truck that a deer decided to play chicken with...Both the deer and truck lost that round...Dad used the truck to haul wood, plow snow, had a slide-in camper for it, etc...Used it as a truck!!...And it was mom's daily driver to get back and forth to work...Occasional tune-up, brakes, tires, exhaust, and gas was all it ever needed...VERY reliable piece, and served us well through the years...When I was reaching driving age, got my permit and spent quite a bit of time behind the wheel of that very same truck...Even after I got my license and my own car, sometimes borrowed the family truck...

1987 dad bought a big boat to use on Lake Michigan, and the GMC was showing it's age...Bed supports had been replaced a couple times (rusted out) with lumber, rocker panels and cab corners/supports also getting rusty...So rather than torture the old girl anymore by hauling a big ass boat back and forth to St Joe Michigan, he bought a new 3/4 ton 4wd Chevy truck to replace the GMC...



A few years prior a family friend had a mid seventies Chevy shortbed that he put a lift kit and oversize tires on...Mom mentioned that she wanted to do that to the GMC...Dad arranged to have her drive the Chevy, hoping that the rough ride, and having to climb in and out would change her mind about it...Well that didn't work at all!!....Made her even more excited about fixing up the old truck...So dad started getting body parts, and we even found a decent used complete bed for it, and he started doing the repair work to make it look new again...Well dad passed in November 1989 and never got the truck completed....Mom had it finished and drove it for years on nice days...No more plowing snow, or winter driving, and got it's own spot in the pole barn dad built to store the new boat in...One day a brake line let go, and she stopped driving it...Been sitting now for probably ten years..She tried to sell it (much to my dismay), but she was asking a tad too much ($8k), so when potential buyers realized that it needed all new brake lines and whatever else to get it running again, they all passed on it...

So up to present time...Week ago last Friday I was in the garage working on my saddlebag project, and I get a call from mom..She had bought a new storm door for the house and needed help installing it..So I got some fiberglass laid up, dug the bike out and rode to mom's to help her put the door up...Well, more like her helping me, but that's cool...lol..Knowing that I had stuff to do, and dropped all that to help out, she of course was extremely appreciative...Got all done and ready to head back home, got a kiss and hug from mom and more thank-you's...Then this conversation...

Me (just joking around)....."No problem, just remember me in your will"..

We both laugh, and she spreads her arms wide, motioning to the property and says "You can have all of this!!"...

Me..."Just make sure that GMC is still here then"..

Mom... "You want that truck??!!"....

Me..."Hell yeah!!...I learned to drive in that thing!!..Everytime you told me somebody was coming to look at it I was hoping they wouldn't buy it because I wanted it then...Just had no place to keep it!!"....


Mom immediately comes back with "It's yours!!"....

Asked her what she wants for it and she said nothing...Just fix it up and help her get in it so she can drive it one more time...

So I get a one-owner, numbers-matching 1971 GMC 4wd truck that has TONS of sentimental value for me attached to it...I remember helping dad with tune-ups, learning everything, including to NOT trust him when he handed me the coil wire while he turned the key...Damn near pissed myself over that one!!!...lol...



How it was back when I was learning to drive, in the background of this pic.....Not bad, but kinda rough and used up...



And a pic of it when mom was still driving it around before the brake line let go...



Needs some work, brake lines/coolant hoses/fluids changed/carb cleaned/plugs and wires/etc...But a helluva deal on a really cool classic truck that needs zero body/paintwork, and the interior has been redone as well...Just needs mechanical TLC...Gonna leave it sitting right where it is until next spring...I'll order an entire stainless brake line kit and do it right the first time, rather than patch and splice (fixing the next weakest link as they break) and have it look like crap...Once I know it'll stop, then do the rest and get it running again...

[kcsa75]

Welcome! You're among friends when you're here.

[slowcpe]

Welcome from So. Indiana. Cool looking truck

[xRAY76]

hi, and welcome from central Indiana (Franklin)

love the 4x4