1959 GMC 1/2-Ton Stepside

Owned by Marilyn Taylor "smileychick" Bolter # 22101 Cottonwood, California Talking about this truck in the DITY Gallery

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From Marilyn :

After much prayer and looking on the internet in hopes of finding an older truck, I found my new Baby! She's ugly now, but I can't wait to begin restoring her. I plan on getting her up and running first as I don't own any 4 wheel vehicle right now. Then as I can afford to, I'll do the rest.

I am a self-taught motorhead, and have some friends from church that are going to help me with the stuff I don't know. So, it'll be an adventure. Also, I'm going to let any kids from my church, who want to, get some hands on experience with the project. I was a single parent kid, and know what it's like to want to learn, but have no one to teach me. So, for me, this truck is also a ministry. Pray for me!

I came previously was an over the road truck driver, and circumstances had me moving back home and finding a local job. For the first year, I rode my bicycle to work in 100 degree plus weather. This year I started saving for a truck -- specifically a "sixties or older six cylinder, three on the tree.

On a Friday three weeks or so ago, I had a little less than $2, 000 in the bank. When I got off work, I looked on Craig's List and there was this truck posted three days ago for $1800. I prayed on it and went to sleep. The next morning, I KNEW that if I called and the truck was still there, that it was mine.

Well, I called and the guy said that he'd gotten some calls for it, but no one showed up with money. Needless to say, I was there within 15 minutes.

Unfortunately, that was just the beginning of a two week long struggle to actually get the truck. I had to leave it for a week, just so the guy could "round up" the various parts which he had strewn about his property. Even then, most of the brackets are missing, as well as the generator, air intake, etc.

Another week was wasted because the guy I'd hired to flatbed it forgot to tell me that he was going out of town. Finally, after three or four phone calls, a friend came over with his trailer, and we were off.

The really hard part of this is yet to come since I live in a place where you can't work on your cars. I do however, have a couple of friends from my church who have said they'd let me use their shops and tools if I need to.

So that's where we are. My truck is at a friend's shop a few miles from my house and I'm hoping to get the key to the shop soon so I can work on it when I'm not at my job. Since I'll be laid off for the winter soon, I figure I'll have a lot of time to get it together then.

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