There's a website called
Freecycle that you can place ads for anything you want to give away. A couple of months ago somebody had an ad on the local group for a '68 C30 with a Holmes wrecker. "Rough condition, no wheels/tires." So I responded and found out that a couple other people had looked at it and backed away. Actually, I knew that if I brought it home I would be sleeping in it, but since I was trying to give away the 18" split rims and tires that came with my '47 ton dually, it seemed like a match made in Stovebolt heaven.
The guy said it had a good 283, so I thought maybe I would pull the engine and get rid of the rest of it.
Before I got out there to see it, a buddy of mine responded to the same ad, and somehow connected that it was me in line ahead of him. He sent me an Email, and I told him that we should just go out there together and see it. I insisted that I had dibs on the engine if I wanted it.
The deal was, this young guy had been given his grandpa's last wrecker, and had kept it for years, while nature had its way with it. The cab was so rusted out that when you stepped on the clutch the right fender would raise because you were pushing the seat back and the leverage was warping the cab. It had wheels and tires, but the guy was not throwing them in because he had spent money on them and was hoping to recoup some of it.
Well, my buddy wanted this thing so bad, that I felt sorry for him. The engine was the only worthwhile piece. His story is that his father in law has a VERY nice '67 1/2 ton shortbox with a 396 and factory air, and all he uses it for is pulling farm wagons into town. My buddy wanted to restore that one, and the wrecker is for the purpose of replacing it on the farm.
So I let the engine stay with the truck, gave my buddy the old split rim wheels and tires off my '47 so he could get it home, and I even told him he could have the 16.5s that are on it now when I get around to picking up some 16s. We drove it probably 40 miles to get it home. The brakes were iffy at best, but it ran like a top. The lights were screwy and showed signs of rotted wiring and bad grounds, but I stayed close to him and we made it by dark.
He has now bought a new (used?) cab for the one he wants to restore, and the wrecker will get the other cab when he is done.
Me? I got an adventure out of the deal, and nothing to explain to the wife. Still looking for a SBC for the '47 though.
