A 'virtual garage' of antique Chevy & GMC trucks from around the World
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1949-55 Chevrolet 3600
 |
"Ruthie" |
Owned by
Brian Smith |
12 November2007
# 2121
From Brian :
Here is a picture of my 1949-1955 Chevy 3600 Mid-Life Crises. The story is simple and commonly told.
One night, after too many pops, I was perusing eBay and came upon this truck before going to bed. As I had done many nights before, I put my bid down knowing full well the odds of me obtaining my dream would be squashed on that addicting web site. The next morning, I logged in to check my work emails and much to my surprise the first email was "You have won!"
Now it was not the kind of surprise you get when you scratch a lottery ticket and win $50, but more the surprise you get when you retrace your steps from the night before and wonder why the ice cream is in the kitchen cabinet and the cat is in the dryer.
Getting a clearer view of the truck, my first thought went to my wife Amy and how the heck was I going to "sell" this thing to her that was already sold to me? My second thought was how the heck am I getting that thing home from Minnesota? My third thought was how in the heck am I going to sell this thing to her that was already sold to me and how the heck am I getting this thing home from Minnesota?
I had saved money for an AD over the years and obviously (as you see in the picture above) I could have brown bagged it to work on a few more occasions. The money spent on the over-priced pool (a/k/a laundry) table I had to have, probably could gone towards a truck that included parts from the same decade. Amy, being ever so cool, gave me the "these are purchases we make together" speech ... again ... and with much assurance that she would not notice it in the garage, I was flying on a red-eye to Minnesota to bring Ruthie home
I hailed a cab to the U-Haul closest to the airport and unfortunately, they only had the largest truck available to tow their largest car carrier .... great gas mileage by the way. I drove two hours north to the part of Minnesota where your closest neighbor is an hour away by rail, and hauled my lovely Ruthie back home to Chicago. For all that could have gone wrong, the trip was pretty uneventful.
About one month after picking up Ruthie, we found out my wife was pregnant. I thought the sensible thing to do was to sell my dream. Amy, who means the world to me, "gave" me the option to do what I wanted with Ruthie and even encouraged me to keep her.
After finally owning my 20 year old dream, I put it up for sale. About a week into the sale, I received an email from a gentleman interested in buying the truck. I told him why I was selling her and informed him of the price and he seemed interested. Later that night, he emailed me saying he was in the same predicament many years ago. He went on about how he, too owned his dream but his family grew so he sold off his truck and not a day goes by that he doesn't think about how he should have kept it. He wrote about the many trucks that just sit and wait for someone to come along and restore them. He suggested I hold my dream until the time was right to complete it. He continued "There is no time-line when it comes to restoring history" and "Having the truck will bring satisfaction. The time will come." I thought this guy is a psycho and how the hell did he get my information?
I received two other emails from other AD lovers that had similar stories. Needless to say, I was very touched by the fact that others faced the same difficult decision and took the time to reach out and share their story with me. Of course, I forgot to ask with all the words of wisdom how their marriages ended up ...
Don't get me wrong! I have wanted an AD truck for as long as I can remember, a very well known fact for all who know me. I have saved scrapbooks full of truck pictures taken as a youth on our family vacations to Colorado. It was not the spur of the moment idea it appears. I hope to put this truck back to original form over the next several years. I am not in a hurry as family obligations come first. This is the first mechanical project I have ever done and I really enjoy working each component back to its original condition. I have really learned a lot along the way.
I have been on Stovebolt for several months now and have reached out to several members for advice and help. I have traveled very close to South Dakota for rims, Minnesota for an engine, Wisconsin for a rear, and Ohio for bed-sides. I have always run into the same hospitality with every run and really enjoy talking to others that share my sickness.
I am looking forward to sharing this hobby with my one year old son someday, and have already accepted the fact that the possibility of him crushing a fender with his bike could be a reality.
Thanks to everyone on this site for sharing their knowledge, especially the gentleman who shared his experiences from long ago. I am glad I took his insane advice!
Brian Smith
-30-