You have to love small town America !

[Grumpy old man]

Last week I found a '67 short wide bed project on Craigslist in Kentucky and I made the deal and sent a deposit to buy the truck with a bill of sale only .Well I went to my local DMV here in East Tn and found that they will no longer register any vehicle with just a bill of sale like they used to .

Since I already had the vin I decided to call Kentucky dmv located at the local county clerks office and asked for the previous owners name and address ,I explained the story on buying the truck and not wanting to find out later that there may be a problem or maybe it was stolen and they gave me the last owners name and address over the phone . Well I tried to find a phone # but had no luck so I called the local police station in the town the last registered owner lived in and again explained my story on the truck and how I needed the title .

The lady on the phone was unable to give out any information on the owner but was more than happy to tell me she knew them and gave me the personal cell phone number to the local postmaster who she said was a good friend of the last owner and probably had their home number .

I called the local postmaster and again I told my story about the truck and the title the local police officer and the local DMV and he was happy to give me their home # and asked I remind them to bring a covered dish to Wednesday night church services !

Well... I called the # provided by the postmaster who's personal number I got from the local police in the town I got from the local DMV in the next state to where I live about 160 miles away !

And again I told my story on finding the truck on craigslist in another state and buying the truck with a bill of sale yet finding out I need a registration or title from the last registered owner and after talking to Kentucky DMV and calling the local police and the local postmaster to get their home number to call and check that the truck was never stolen and if they had an old registration or title and Not to forget the covered dish for Wednesday night's church services ......After a few moments of silence .........He remembered that he had junked the truck in 1974 with a smoking motor and if I would just hold on for a minute he would look and see if he still had the title ..................... When he came back on the phone he told me this story .....

He and his wife were married before he left for Vietnam and he bought the truck for them before he left and and it served them well until the engine went bad and he junked it in 1974 the truck had 47,000 miles and they had always wondered what had happened to "their " first car together and he would be happy to send me the original title and all the original buyers paperwork witch he still had if i would just send them a picture when it was done !

You have to love small town America !!

[CC69Rat]

There are still some good people in the world. Great story, thanks for posting. ..

[R.L.]

Enjoy the truck, great story.

[stomper]

Great story!

Didn't really understand completely but i get the jist of it.

Reminds me.... I grew up in a midwest farm town of 220 but I moved to a west coast big city 20 years ago. Some time ago I had to call back to my the county courthouse for my birth certificate. The woman who answered the phone knew my dad and remembered me as a kid. When I told my dad he says, "Oh yea she was a Johnson girl. She married so-and-so..."

[Grumpy old man]

You have to understand this chain of events(phone calls ) took less than an hour !

[BugzC10]

Great story!

[67ChevyRedneck]

Neat story. I would recommend asking the original owner if they would be willing to file for a lost/duplicate title. Kick in a little $ for the fees and to make it worth their time.

The reason:

When you go to register it in TN, they're going to take the original title away from you. They WILL NOT let you keep it.

If you have the "duplicate title" you can turn that in, get it in your name, and still retain the original paperwork.

A little bit of a pain, but worth it in the end.

[Grumpy old man]

I Think they would and I'd be happy to cover any costs , They were surprised and happy it hadn't been scrapped/crushed after all these years


If only these old trucks could tell the story of where they have been all these years !

This old truck started life in Flint MI 46 years later a project in East Tn

the picture of the truck is my avatar

[Longhorn 70]

Were Andy, Aunt Bea, Sarah or Barney involved at all?

I'd love to live in a town like that.

[Grumpy old man]

Originally Posted by Longhorn 70

Were Andy, Aunt Bea, Sarah or Barney involved at all?

I'd love to live in a town like that.

Yeah , I think aunt Bea works DMV and Sarah answers the phone at the police station , and Barney ... Well you know what everybody said about Barney !

[specialtyretail]

Cool story. truck people are so cool...

[mmiddle]

This is the kind of town I live in. Everybody knows everybody.

Great story

[67chevy1]

Yeah Grumpy I would also like a pic because this sounds like a truck I called about and had just been sold. I was a little late. Did they happen to have an old long bed also?

[Grumpy old man]

my avatar is the picture of the truck , I Also bought a 67 short bed dropped frame with 5 lugs and disc brakes 2 extra doors 2 extra fenders , and I found 2 nice short wide beds in NC and then today I bought a 67 long bed with a 6 and a 4 speed trans and 2 extra doors pictures look funny because he has the original 3 on the tree shifter and the floor shifter . I've started buying all the good parts trucks I can while the prices are decent .

[pritch]

My zip code is EIEIO. Wouldn't have it any other way!

[71swb4x4]

Great story OP!

[tsetsaf]

Well written story!

[mikey531]

Grumpy Old Man, Great read! I would make sure I drove over to see them when the truck is done and let them re-live the memories of the truck they had.

[68Stepbed]

Love the story! I like small towns. Sevierville and Pigeon Forge used to be that way back when I was a kid. My dad used to be the assistant manager at the local Food Lion grocery store about 20 years ago. It's cool to see how many people still remember him.

[Eddie H.]

I grew up in a town like that. There weren't even any street signs, because everybody knew where everybody else lived. We didn't even have locks on our doors, and everybody left their keys in the ignition. You could send a letter to anyone in town with just their name on the envelope, and the postmaster would make sure they got it.
I miss those days.

[oklalawnboy]

Great story! I had an original title for my 76 Monte and the Oklahoma DMV let me keep it but stamped void on it.

[MusicMan70]

Kudos to your persistence and just a well told story. Love the part about reminding them to bring a covered plate; simply awesome.

[stomper]

Originally Posted by Eddie H.

I grew up in a town like that. There weren't even any street signs, because everybody knew where everybody else lived. We didn't even have locks on our doors, and everybody left their keys in the ignition. You could send a letter to anyone in town with just their name on the envelope, and the postmaster would make sure they got it.
I miss those days.

I sent a letter once to my buddy in my hometown with his one word nickname and the 5 digit zip code. It made it. His uncle was the postmaster.

[CG]

Honestly I seldom read the long stories. Couple of lines and I'm good. Most of us really aren't great, or even good writers, me included.

Now that being said ... That was an excellent write up. Neat story, and you made it fun to follow ... Thanks =)

[Grumpy old man]

Thanks to everyone for the positive responses , I have bought more than a few trucks this week (6) everyone a project and will continue with some pictures and stories on each one I found , How I found them and what it took to go pick them up as most of these buys were made so the previous owner could have extra cash for Christmas and their families The next 6 days will have me running loading and hauling trucks i bought from pictures on line and have never seen in person and are located in Kentucky, Tennessee , Two different ends of North Carolina and west Virgina ...Should be interesting to say the least ...Now where do I hide them all from my girl ?..........