Tanks for the kind words Kenny, I need them once in a while to counteract the beatings
I get from my "big old wife".
Honestly though, I've got the time to experiment with these type of things now that I‘m
retired. My goal has been to ask how they built it at the GM factory and then try to duplicate the results here in my shop.
Over the years I've kind of pigeon holed the guys with these old trucks into several
groups. None of them any better or worse than the other, just different ways and
motivation in their approach to the work.
The first are the guys that actually do use them as daily drivers for work or as second
vehicle to handle the hauling chores around the estate. Their prime focus is usually
to keep them running and most are not really concerned about the trucks’ originality.
The second bunch of guys are the show guys and they are the real glutens for punishment. They're the hotrodders or classic car perfectionists who want their trucks to stand out above all the others. Most are show trucks with thousands of hours in custom bodywork, matching seams, block sanding and gallons of bondo till every line is straight as an arrow and 12 coats of color sanded base coat clear coat paint work. These trucks are the big buck items and are so perfect that it's a sin to drive them for fear that the radiator might pick up a bug or god forbid, a stone get thrown up and chip the paint. These are the trucks that make up the best in show winners and guys with a wall full of trophies to justify their work.
Then there are the guys that feel like I do. These old trucks have served their masters for 50, 60 or 70 years and deserve to be put out to pasture, to work no more and only be used on a nice clear summer day for a drive in the country or to the store for a loaf of bread and gallon of milk. To be used to take your date out on Friday evening to the next town over to the cruise night for a burger and malt. We’re focused on preservation, meaning keeping our trucks period correct and as close to the way they actually were when delivered back in the day. Which might include a foot print on the running board or a door ding from the fat lady that parked next to you with her five screaming kids.
I’m not into rust rods I’m all for cleaning up the rust, the dings and dents and whatever else needs repair, but enamel was the paint no deep shine clear coat. Ill fitting seams were the norm the day it was delivered and a plain black pine bed sufficed. I’ll never win a prize with the old gal for best of show, but I would sure get a kick out of eavesdropping while some expert on old trucks was telling his buddies, “See here guy’s, here’s one that’s all original.”
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL
