hello from McPherson KS

[lsversaw]

My name is Scott Versaw and I am a pending graduate of the Auto Restoration bachelor's degree program at McPherson College in McPherson KS. Yes, you can get a bachelor's degree in auto restoration, but McPherson College is the only place to do it in the USA.

Having said that, I'll add that at 62 years old I'm the oldest student among the 100 or so Auto Restoration students. It's great to be around young, enthusiastic car guys and girls (there are 5 girls in the program right now) who appreciate all kinds of vintage machinery. We've got kids who appreciate Model T's, Packards, Franklins, Pierce Arrows, Jeeps, Land Cruisers, Subaru WRX and STis, AMCs, trucks, International Harvester, military vehicles, hot rods (especially the traditional types, like '32 Fords with flathead V8's), British sports cars, and Miatas (yes, the early Miatas are now 25 years old), to name a few. It's refreshing. See my comments under the "what will happen to our trucks" thread for a completely biased and opinionated viewpoint.

Are there any other McPherson graduates on here?

I have a 1972 3/4 ton 2WD long wheelbase Fleetside. Options include p/s, p/b, tilt, dual batteries, the biggest front and (leaf) rear springs available, Dana 60 rear axle, and Cheyenne Super package. Wood bed, at least before most of the wood returned to dust. No tach, but with full gauges otherwise. No A/C, but it came with a close-to-period-correct add-on underdash A/C unit. In a way I prefer the add-on A/C, because I don't like the underhood clutter of the factory A/C. It's got the 350 CID engine, which is just fine by me, and a TH350 trans, which is not. The TH350 is probably the weakest part of the drivetrain, and I'd like to replace it with a 700R4 or 4L80E.

I bought the truck in Phoenix. It had been stored inside for a while. It's got plenty of insignificant surface rust but the only structural rust I've found is the main battery box (easily replaceable) and one cab support (also not too dificult to replace).

I haven't done much to the truck yet but I've driven it from AZ to my (former?) home in Colorado (no Colorado jokes, please) and from CO to McPherson. It's also been a daily driver when my Miata was not available. As I work on it I will try to stck with a theme of "well-used but very well-cared for shop truck".

I'm not going to keep the truck original, but I'm going to keep the original parts in it whenever I can, and to use correct parts when I have to replace something. I don't mind upgrading stuff to better, later versions -- like to HEI from points/condenser -- but I want to stick with factory replacements when possible. I want the next owner, if there is one, to say "wow, this guy did it right".

My current project is to clean up the underhood wiring. I'm rewiring the non-original HEI (it's only one wire) with the proper color/gauge/routing, and removing wires that are no longer required. When I'm done it should look like the factory did it.

This site is a fantastic resource for owners.

[kcsa75]

Welcome neighbor!

Mark your calendar now for the Midwest All-Truck Nationals in September in Riverside, MO (Kansas City).

[68shortwide]

I had thoughts of going there but ultimately decided to stay local and go to Ranken Tech here in STL for high performance and enginebuilding, awesome to see guys my age go for high end resto work though. Welcome to forum!

[rharp]

Hello from Andale, KS!

[LT7A]

So how are things with this truck? Interesting story and I like the approach that you outlined and it would be cool to see the progress.

[68Gold/white]

Congrats on a nifty ride!!!
Glad to see that pickup saved from near future scrap...

The TH350 transmission is not as weak as many perceive it to be. It's not terribly great in stock form, but spending a little $$$ on it, it can be a great transmission, spending even more $$$ on it can make it an awesome transmission!!!
The farm truck (street outlaws...) ran a TH350 for years in his "Farm Truck" it held up fine, of course it likely had a lot of $$$ thrown at it!!! He switched to a TH400, only because he thought it was the best thing to do, having no problems from the TH350 at the time of replacement...

[71blksuper4x4]

Welcome Scott! Another Kansas guy here. I took a week long sheet metal welding class back in 09 or 10 at the college. It was a lot of fun. Good luck with the project. Trevor