Pick up truck remembrance !
Bought my first truck off of Smokey Yunick in Daytona , about 1960 or 61 , cost 1,700 dollars , about a years wages for a 16 year old kid . Six cylinder GMC . About 1963 I saw mt first P.U. with an ...
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1. 1953 Dodge 4x4 my dad and "Buddy John" used for all their hunting and fishing trips - including into Mexico. John had a piece of 3/8" steel plate cut to fit in the bed to add weight on the rear axle for traction. It had a split front windshield and the hood was two pieces that lifted from either side hinged in the middle. It saw a fair bit of use as a farm and work truck. I have a photo of myself in my dad's hunting boots standing in front of the truck leaning on the grille.
2. The '55 Ford 3/4-ton flatbed (with the fence around the bed) my dad bought VERY used from a friend who owned a lumber company. It was dad's daily driver and we used it for hunting and fishing trips. In-line six, 5-speed tranny and LOTS of holes in the floorboards (a number of missing screws and a little rust). This is the vehicle dad taught me to drive in at age 13 (though my grandfather had started with me a little earlier in another truck...). Dad made me drive from Santa Teresa to Columbus, NM, on the dirt road along the boarder fence (the dirt and barbed wire have been replaced with pavement and different fencing, now). At 5'4" and maybe 120 lbs., I was exhausted by the time I begged off driving at Columbus. One night late driving up for a pheasant hunt with three of us in the cab, we went into a dip in the road that ended up being filled with water. Pressurized water shot up through the floorboards so forcefully, it felt like we were in an S-boat at 400 ft. getting depth-charged popping all its rivets. There's a story about the seat catching on fire one night in front of the house and a mentally challenged person knocking on the door to tell us... but that story is too long for here.
3. The 1964 Chevy Camper Special that my grandparents gave to my dad. In-line 6 with a five speed (granny gear for 1st) and the long bed. It had extra overloads in the rear and, empty, rode rather like an amusement park ride. It did much better with a couple of thousand pounds in it. Living in New Mexico, it was a pretty cool vehicle to use to pick up a certain gorgeous redhead for dates. Don't know if the truck had anything to do with it, but she married me and we stayed that way for 36 years until she died.
The first truck I actually owned myself was a '75 Chevy I bought new - I consider that "modern" and will stop there.
Rob
2. The '55 Ford 3/4-ton flatbed (with the fence around the bed) my dad bought VERY used from a friend who owned a lumber company. It was dad's daily driver and we used it for hunting and fishing trips. In-line six, 5-speed tranny and LOTS of holes in the floorboards (a number of missing screws and a little rust). This is the vehicle dad taught me to drive in at age 13 (though my grandfather had started with me a little earlier in another truck...). Dad made me drive from Santa Teresa to Columbus, NM, on the dirt road along the boarder fence (the dirt and barbed wire have been replaced with pavement and different fencing, now). At 5'4" and maybe 120 lbs., I was exhausted by the time I begged off driving at Columbus. One night late driving up for a pheasant hunt with three of us in the cab, we went into a dip in the road that ended up being filled with water. Pressurized water shot up through the floorboards so forcefully, it felt like we were in an S-boat at 400 ft. getting depth-charged popping all its rivets. There's a story about the seat catching on fire one night in front of the house and a mentally challenged person knocking on the door to tell us... but that story is too long for here.
3. The 1964 Chevy Camper Special that my grandparents gave to my dad. In-line 6 with a five speed (granny gear for 1st) and the long bed. It had extra overloads in the rear and, empty, rode rather like an amusement park ride. It did much better with a couple of thousand pounds in it. Living in New Mexico, it was a pretty cool vehicle to use to pick up a certain gorgeous redhead for dates. Don't know if the truck had anything to do with it, but she married me and we stayed that way for 36 years until she died.
The first truck I actually owned myself was a '75 Chevy I bought new - I consider that "modern" and will stop there.
Rob
