At 10:43 AM 11/27/99 -0800, you wrote:
>List,
>Since there was a request for this -- how 'bout 4 examples and my role in
>each?
>
>1.) When in high school, one of my friends was trying to sell his '58 Dodge
>Panel. It looked great and ran well but the rear end was on its way out and
>was making quite a noise. My friend, Tim, and his group of friends had
>acquired the label of "stoners" at school and they had worked quite hard at
>maintaining the image. Tim and his group one day after school set out to
>solve the problem. I opted out since I really didn't enjoy being around
>Tim's other friends. Anyway I was with Tim when he sold his panel -- Tim
>was acting quite strangely until he had his money and the guy had driven
>off. Tim then told me that during the evening when his group was trying to
>fix the rear end things weren't going to well so they starting drinking beer
>and smoking some illegal substance. The group's solution after brew and
>weed was to partially drain the rear end and then add sawdust and --
>hotdogs! I never knew whether this was true or not but whenever I saw that
>old '58 Dodge Panel I certainly did smile and chuckle.
>
>
>Jerry
>
>'69 2000
>'86 GTV6
>
Jerry,
Wow, does this bring back memories! During high school ('77), I bought a
'60 Dodge Panel. What a great truck that was. I had an auto shop class, so
one of the first things I did was swap a 318 v8 into it. The engine came
from a '65 Belvedere that my sister rolled, pretty much destroying the
whole body. Around the same time, my brother was junking a '70 Cadillac
DeVille that I snagged the front bench seat out of. The leather didn't have
a mark on it. My Panel was quite a fine ride with a big, black leather,
6-way electric seat. It was an Army/Air Force vehicle at one time (coming
from Homestead AF, Florida) and so was well preserved with its thick coat
of Army green paint (on the inside), I had it painted white on the outside.
It didn't have any side windows and for quite a while I ran the tall 16"
snow tires all the way around (which was practical for the Michigan
winters). The truck was great for hauling my dirt bike which I was into
back then. I always thought the hard wood floor with its metal strips would
look very cool nicely refinished. I did have my thoughts of grandeur for
the truck and dreamed of making it a four-wheel drive vehicle by replacing
the straight, front axle with a differential unit. I had a lot of good
times with the truck. It transported me from Michigan to San Diego and
served me well for many years here in SD too. Unfortunatelly, the Panel was
broadsided during a rain storm. I was crushed to lose her (to me, "the
Coach," to my friends, "the Roach Coach").
Well, the Panel did get me started into the car hobby. And if you look at
this as a hobby, I've moved on to a great group with the roadster!
Joseph Roach
65 1500
95 Pathfinder
66 Barracuda (another restoration project is under way)
pssst ... Anybody know where I might be able to get a Dodge Panel?
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