My first Stovebolt was a '54, 1/2 ton, deluxe cab, with fresh air heater, corner windows, stainless window/winshield trim, foot operated windshield washer and the optional hood bird. It was mechanically well cared for and ran like a Swiss watch. It was also a rust bucket. My father paid the $100.00 dollars for it and said that it was the, "family's truck", not just mine. I was the only one that ever drove it, though.
It was bought from a retired oilfield man who was a good mechanic and kept the truck up very well but he had no garage. He'd bought it from an older man who was semi-retired and would use the truck to transport the mail to and from the Southern Pacific depot to the Post Office every day. He was a WWI vet and carried a long barrelled pistol to protect the mail.
I used the truck from when I was in the 11th grade until about my second or third year of college. I used to drive to New Orleans on Hwy 90 about twice a month and back home, about 125 miles each way, 45 mph, during college until I burned a rod bearing in it. I used to sit cross legged with hand throttle pulled out enough to keep up the speed, sometimes...early cruise control. She never broke down on me and always got me home.
Once, after the Fall semester, right before Christmas, I was right outside Amelia, La, near Morgan City. It was really cold for down here. I was bucking a strong, cold north wind and suddenly I heard a, "ping" and the headlights dimmed a litte. I pulled over, opened the hood and I could see with a flashlight that the generator pulley had split. The front half was gone! I made it back the 40 or so miles back home with lights powered only by the 6v battery and temp rising. It never overheated and I had just enough juice left in the battery to make it home.
The next morning the battery couldn't turn the engine over once. That was a close one.
I wish I still had that truck.
Jacques
