My father, brother, and my "Holy Grail"..the elusive truck that will never be sold..

[robroller]

My father, brother, and my "Holy Grail"..the elusive truck that will never be sold..I had to share.. 23 years ago(I was 11 when this started) I asked my dad to pull over on Lindsay and Baseline so I could ask this guy if he would sell his 1949 all original truck that had been sitting for a few years. The guy was approx 50 or so at the time and absolutely refused, but was really cool to talk to. About every 5 years or so I would stop in and check if he would sell it all the while it sat unmoved in his backyard. The last time I visited was about 8 years ago now and he wasn't doing super great but still had a strong enough will not to let go of the truck. Three weeks ago I was going to stop by and see how he was doing and noticed some yellow police caution tape as I approached his yard and noticed his fence was mowed down. I looked in the back and saw that the truck had been hit head on by someone who came off Lindsay road..Truck is a total loss now, and I didnt have the heart to stop and ask what happened.. Fast forward to Monday this week. I finally figured I would stop by and sit and talk with the old man I couldnt take it anymore.. As I approached the front door I could already tell something was wrong as I noticed two newer vehicles a jeep liberty and his 89 chevy truck that he was driving had massive amount of black widow webs all over them, and another liberty that was clean. As I aproached the door it was open which is unusual here in AZ right now as it is 100 degrees and most of us have ac on already. I knocked on the door and his wife answered(I vaguely remembered her). She explained that he had passed away two years ago and that she moved in with her daughter in her home in Tempe so the house sat empty. Her daughter was about two weeks away from moving the 49 chevy to her house to start a small restoration on the truck when a distracted driver came through the fence and hit the 49 head on..(The vehicle was a 2000ish explorer). Long story short they didnt have the resources time or desire anymore to keep the truck and were getting ready to sell it to the highest bidder on craigslist. Being that I wanted the truck for almost 25 years I gave her an offer probly more than it was worth but it was me, my dad and my brother who was also into these trucks for years "holy grail" unubtainium truck... She accepted the offer and I came back the following day and got my ass handed to me by the truck..IT took me 5 hours yesterday and 2 hours today but I finally got it on the trailer today and brought it home..Pictures to follow..

[robroller]

[coralhead]

That "won't" buff out. Has a title?

[buggy5872]

That took a good hit. I would suggest pulling that front back out before you take anything apart. Looks like the cab is pretty bent and it would be easier to pull it back close with everything still bolted to the frame. Looks like it was a really solid straight truck.

[pvienneau]

Please post progress on the resto. It would be cool to c it as you break it down and build it back.

[codger30]

Robroller, for you beautiful story. You finally got the car after all those years, sad for the family, but if it didn't get totalled, you probably wouldn't have got it. Looks like it was in really great condition before hand too.
Well done, keep us informed with pics.
Cheers, Bryan (down under)

[Coach529]

Great story.........subscribed!!

[meter swinger]

Great story. You sure have some determination. I wonder what the exploder looks like after it hit the truck?
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[robroller]

Yup it has a clean one owner title (it was his first truck that he bought ever). The explorer was pretty bad I heard from the lady but the passengers came out just fine. There were parts to it all over the place and stuck in the grill of the 49. There are so many more details to this story and other odd things that happened that it may take me some time to continue writing them down..Such as me "finding" a car hidden in the trees that she was not aware was even there, and it even had a little plum tree growing up through the bumper..It was an early 80's vw rabbit I think? Also he had a 1948 willys jeep that apparently was used in some john wayne film about ww2 i think she said..Ill keep adding what I can remember, and I am afraid there isnt too much that is salvageable on this truck from the doors forward...The cab firewall is hosed pretty good..This story/situation kinda reminds me of running into an old high school flame that was hot as hell and unobtainable back then and now is kinda beat up but still doable...Is that wrong to say?