[73737373]

I've driven and own what special-k is talking about. I have a low mile original, a restored one and a high mile original, big blocks, all loaded out and what comes to mind is the difference between the older trucks and a newer one, anything built in the last 10 years, is the sound when driving. There is a noise, and not necessarily a bad one, in the cabin that is hard to quantify. Imagine being in a new Silverado with the windows rolled up, AC on, Bose stereo, cruise control set at 75 MPH, sitting in a nice comfortable leather seat in a cab that has miles of sound deadening insulation and was designed in a wind tunnel to eliminate wind noise. Hate to use the term, but its a pretty "sterile" environment. Rewind the clock 45 years and picture the same: air noise coming in around the windows, fan motor whining away, AM radio blasting, road/engine noise coming thru the 1/2 inch pad under the carpet and a fairly high coefficient of drag working against you the faster you drove and that's a recipe for a relatively speaking, austere kind of experience. That's what driving one is like, you just "experience" it more.

And when I redo an old truck and put it back together, I never add any sound deadening material...if they came like that from the factory, then that's how they're going back together. I have newer vehicles, so I don't bother trying to change an older one into a newer one. Owning an old truck is like a long marriage, there's times you wish your wife would change and you try to "update" her, but in the end, you're kind of glad she didn't change and you still have the old girl, warts and all. That's so poetic, I think I'm going to shed a tear!!!