Forty Years with My Truck

[rpatowers]

I’m the original owner of my 72 short bed step side 4 x 4 and this June will mark my forty-year anniversary with it. I was just 17 when I got it and I'll be 57 in May.

I got my truck in June of 1972. I had just finished by junior year of high school and I’d been working summers and weekends since I was 14. My dad bought my truck for me ($4,200) and I promised to pay him back - which I did. I turned over every paycheck I made to him for the next three years - I just kept a little bit for gas and beer! On the first day of my senior year I drove my new truck into my high school parking lot wearing my new block jacket. Boy, I was Johnny Potatoes! Life just doesn’t get any better than that!

After about a year I put on new tires and chrome rims with baby moon caps. The tires were Armstrong Norsemen (anyone remember those?). I cut and sold firewood in those days (among other jobs) and my truck got quite a workout. I cut wood on a local ranch and I’d load up the bed with green oak, put the truck into four-low, and drive out of the most ungodly-steep places. I’ve also hunted deer a lot (I mean A LOT) with my truck, and I’d bet there’s been over 100 deer hauled in it over the years.

The next thing I put on my truck was a roll bar. I think the brand was “Hobart”, but I may be wrong. Lots of folks put roll bars in their trucks beds in those days – you just don’t see that any more. Then I lifted the truck about 3” by adding more springs in the back (better for those heavy loads of wood) and blocks in the front (I’m not kidding). My truck kept that suspension for about 25 years, until I put in a 4” leaf spring lift about 10 years ago.

Early on I installed a Franz old filter. Those were a filter in which you installed a roll of toilet paper as the filtering element. You were supposed to just change the paper and add a quart of oil every 1000 miles. Other than that, you never were supposed to change the oil. I wonder about the soundness of this practice now, but my oil always looked new and my engine continued to work without problems until it reached about 150,000 miles. Then I had it rebuilt

I’ve had lots of different tires on the truck over the years. During college I had “Concord Deserters.” After that I used Armstrong Tru-Tracks several times. The last two sets were the ubiquitous B. F. Goodrich All Terrain TA Radials. I also had white spoke rims on the truck for awhile – not a good look on my truck.

About then years ago the truck was looking pretty sad and I decided to restore it. I didn’t do a frame-off restoration, but I did quite a lot of work. I first got the frame straitened (I took out a stop light in 1978 (Jack Daniels for breakfast) and the frame had been tweaked a bit ever since). I replaced worn-out body bushings. I installed a Chevy 350 crate engine, a new radiator, and had the transfer case and transmission rebuilt. I put in a new suspension with a 4” lift and Rancho shocks. I had the truck painted inside and out in its original color, which is GM 518 medium green. I had the bench seat re-upholstered and put on a new set of TA radials and the aluminum rims. I’ve kept the truck indoors since them and I must say the old boy still looks pretty good! I’ve continued to use my truck for hunting and general hauling so it has its small dents and scratches, but my truck was made to work and it still does!

It’s now time for me to put more money into my truck. I need to do major work to the brakes and steering. I also want to install some bucket seats (which will be more comfortable for my old back). I’d love to do a frame-off restoration but can’t afford it at this time and, when it really comes down to it, it doesn’t really need it.

Anyway, there’s the story of the life and times of me and my truck. I thought maybe some of you you would enjoy it. I will never sell my truck. I tell people I will be buried in it! I will have one life and one truck!