Evan, thanks for your comments. Back when I was a kid in the 50's/60's it was accepted fact that if a vehicle had 100,000 miles it was WORN out (because it was) . However a family friend in the 50's delivered bundles of the Arkansas Democrat newspaper from Little Rock to surrounding towns every morning. He'd buy a new truck every 2 years at the 100k mark. Everyone was amazed that he got that many miles out of a rig with very few problems and it still looked almost new.
Sadly he was a Ford guy. I started this thread hoping for similar stories from the Stovebolt crowd. At this point I'm hollering Uncle since it looks like it didn't happen with our babbitt babies.
RonR