Hi everyone my name is Chris and I own a 1957 GMC 100 that I'm in the middle of restoring. I'd like to share the story of this truck.
In the beginning God created Heaven and Earth and General Motors created Herbie, a 1957 GMC 100 series pickup.
Herbie was bought to be a service truck for Plowman-Long Electric in 1958. Ken Long took Herbie to be his personal truck. Kenneth Hanley (my grandfather) and Ken Long went deer hunting and after killing a deer Kenneth put the deer in the bed of Herbie. Ken then griped because blood got on the bed then my grandfather said that is the way you should break in a new truck.
In 1963 Plowman-Long split their company. Mr. Plowman got the two GMC pickups that the company had bought in 1958 as part of the service trucks. My grandfather went to work for Plowman and Herbie was his service truck, which he used for five years.
The transmission went out on Herbie so my grandfather started to use his 1962 Chevy pickup. Mr. Plowman asked my grandfather if he would trade his 62’ pickup for Herbie and my grandfather said he would. Herbie was fixed and then used as my grandfather’s personal pickup. My two uncles, Kerry and Darrell, along with my mother, Debra, used Herbie as transportation to and from school. My mother named Herbie in 1968 after seeing the movie Herbie the Love Bug. My grandfather traded Herbie to my Uncle Kerry after he painted my grandfathers house. My grandfather then traded a double barrel 20-gauge shotgun to get Herbie back. Then he sold Herbie to my mother for $1 in 1993. I started to the restoration of Herbie in 2000, when I was about 16 years old. My grandfather helped me do the work on Herbie. In 2007 my grandfather passed away at the age of 80. Every time I look at Herbie I remember all the good times I’ve had with him. I’ve dedicated this total restoration project to his memory.
Thanks,
Chris
Last edited by J Lucas; 03/04/2009 7:24 AM.
