47-59 How did you find your truck? Or did it find you?

[mick53]

I bought my truck in 1980. I lived in southern California at the time and had just gotten out of the Navy. I worked construction before enlisting and needed a work truck. There was a used car dealership about 2 miles from my house. When I was truck shopping at the dealership way in the back corner behind the building was my 53 3100. They said they didn't want to sell it because it was in too bad of shape mechanically. After some talking and lying about not driving it in it's current condition I bought it for $500. It was 2 miles home and broke down 3 times on the way with very little brakes. I spent a couple of days on it and it was road worthy kinda. I drove that truck a couple of hours a day on average for the next nine years. I road tripped it from LA to Indiana and back 5 times. It used almost as much oil as gas. It has never had a working gas gauge or speedometer. I figured out if I put my tape measure down the filler neck I got about 10 miles to the inch on my tape measure dip stick. I used a tach for speed. I moved to Indiana in 1989 and parked it. In 2017 I decided to see if it would run with the intention of driving it again. At that point I fell had off the slippery slope and now and doing a frame off to the extreme. I have so many memory's in that truck I could never sell it. I have now been working on the drive train and axles for 3 years and hope to start on the chassis soon. I was going to retire 3 years ago but am still working (sometimes) to finance my build.

[skihor]

Originally Posted by LEEVON

Welcome to the forum. Let's see this bad boy!!!

All of my pics are on my phone and I can't figure out how to load them, sorry

[skihor]

[QUOTE=skihor;8799062]All of my pics are on m

[iowaboynca]

2012- My wife saw it in town and told me to go get it...owner needed cash and we settled on $3k for a "running" truck. (it was running but the rest had something to be desired)... We named her "Charlotte" i'm still working but its going. Probably better update my build page.

Part II
Bought this for my 14 yr old daughter last year. My buddy had it, i helped getting it titled in his name from his grandma. Fast forward to last year he realized he wasn't going to work on it and he wanted it to go to someone who would work on it otherwise he'd have to send it to the scrapper. So I dragged my daughter out when we went to load her up. She was being stored on the old Castle AFB in Merced. On the way home, she agreed it was pretty cool to go get her. We named her "Betty".

(p.s. my daughter wants to keep Betty in patina)

[Janky59]

My Fleetside came to me via my oldest brother. He was next to oldest and I am the youngest, so from a family of 6 there was a 15 or so year spread between us. I say “was“ because he passed away in 2008. But as a kid he was a cool older brother to look up to - rode motorcycles, had a 442 Olds, ElCaminos, Corvettes, Nomads and so on. I always loved the cars he had, the hot rod people he hung out with, the shows he’d take me to. He built a couple lead sled ElCaminos in his later years, one featured in “Classic American Trucks” by Harry Moses.
He had this Fleetside a few years before he fell ill, I’m guessing he bought it in the early 2000’s, I can remember him leaving his driveway during a visit in ‘03-‘04 or so. Well, in a few years his health would be to the point he couldn’t drive anymore, and like I mentioned, passed in ‘08.
The truck sat in his building for the next 6 years, until I got word his widow would be selling their place (the home I grew up in) as she was getting along in years and needed to move closer to her grown children. I thought to myself if I didn’t reach out and try to acquire the truck I’d not have another chance. So, we struck a very reasonable price (she was going to give it to me, then her children got involved) and it was mine.
I live a hundred or so miles away from it and having sat so long it needed going thru to get it roadworthy so I reached out to his network of hot rod friends and got it freshened up by one of his buddies. I drove it home in late ‘14 where I continue to make it my own. This pic is it being trailered to the mechanic to bring it back to life. A little piece of family that moves me down the road.

[vintovka]

My story is now over 50 years old old and counting. See link for story

[MARTINSR]

It found me for sure! My truck was owned by my brothers best friend. He drove it to school, he and my brother hotrodded it making an intake for the 235 for a 4 barrel carb. You can see the velocity stack on the carb up at the top of the cowl! The first motor my brother ever rebuilt (he as done thousands since!) and one day I was told it was for sale. His buddy said he wanted $200. I had a deliver newspapers for another month to have the money as I remember. I was 15, didn't even have a drivers license, only a permit. My mom had to ride in the truck with me driving it home for the first time. The photo of it in the driveway is the first one I took of my new truck. The second photo is me a few months later chopping the top. Yeah, I was a car guy from the start!

Brian