I have to say that options 1 and 2 on your list of 5 will do the best job ruining an old truck. Options 3, 4, and 5 at least leave some hope that someone will come along and save an ole stovebolt.
A large part of my inspiration, in getting the '41 back on the road, was derived from William Least Heat Moon's book "The Blue Highways: A Journey into America" which I read in 1982.
Being somewhat a romantic, I, like most folks, like to see some of the past preserved; and try within my means to do my part. I think Bob Dylan was on to something, way back when, with the
Big Yellow Taxi They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
A pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spa
Don’t it always gonna to show
You never know what you’ve got
‘Til it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They took all the trees
And put them in a tree museum
They charged the people
A dollar and a half just to seem 'em
Don't it always gonna to show
You never know what you’ve got
‘Til it’s gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot....All of that being said I am putting a 3:55 rear end, a 1957 235ci, and a 12v generator in my '41. Will it "ruin" the truck? In my opinion, no, as the truck will still evoke dreams of times past without ruining the flavor -- something like putting hickory chips in my gas grill.
This afternoon I purchased 3 used books pertaining to "Old Florida". Although I'm sure that most of Old Florida is gone and paved over, I still want to make my first Blue Highway trial run in the Sunshine State. Once I get the kinks worked out, and decide if I'm up to it, I hope to make a circuitous trip through the lower south, head north somewhere between LA and TX and then kinda east from the mid-west. From somewhere out there I'll sas shey towards home wherever the back roads may lead. Along the way I hope that folks will enjoy looking at the old pick-up, ask questions, and tell me their own stories about Old America.
