Don Rader's 1957 Chevy 3600 Dump Bed

25 July 2006
# 1598

From Don:

           Hello Stovebolters. Great find your website!!!

           Here is a photo of my '57, 3600 Dump Bed. I bought it on eBay before last Thanksgiving. It was in Colorado Springs and I was in Huntington Beach, California. He told me everything worked and that it was definitely not a beater. Sometimes the truth can be very elastic.

           The day I flew into Colorado Springs, they were having their first winter snow storm of the season. It was a Saturday, the day of the USC- UCLA game. I know because I was waiting in his house watching the game, anxious to get started on my 1200 mile drive in my new acquisition, while he and his brother were bleeding the brakes. He also secured a new wiper blade with a rubber band, another important safety feature for long drives in snow storms.

           The truck barely moved and barely stopped. It was cold and the heater didn't work. The good news is that the rubber band was holding the wiper blade smartly. Cars were going into ditches left and right. A giant, brand new SUV lay on its side on the freeway center strip, like a big dog taking a nap. I thought, if these guys can't drive in this stuff, how's a guy from surf city going to manage???

           The brakes were almost nonexistent but since I couldn't go over 20 mph on the ice and with gearing ridiculously low, I didn't really need them. The wipers iced up like airplane wings, giving me ice cubs for the next 10 hours. It wasn't until I got out of the Rockies, into Albuquerque, New Mexico that I realized one of the plug wires was lying on the exhaust manifold. The good news is that I still had seven cylinders.

           With a top speed of 55, it was a long drive home -- truckers cursing and honking at me the entire way. With only one motel stop for a hot shower and six hour snooze, I made it home safe and sound early Monday morning. As I dove into bed, my ears were ringing like the bells of Notre Dame.

           The frame on restoration is about 80% completed and I'm taking some well deserved time off to join a Chevrolet club, and goof off for awhile. It's great to be home!!!!

        The photo on the left is a "before photo" taken of the truck the morning I got home last winter.

Regards,

Don Rader
"orchidskip"
Bolter # 11718
Huntington Beach, California