I have only been able to monitor this list sporadically for the last
several weeks due to the press of work and other more urgent activities. My
poor old project 3600 has been sitting unwashed and unloved while I went
about my business, and the old girl was repeatedly shuffled back and forth in
the yard as needed to make room for arriving trailers and other "stuff." This
morning during the course of "more important" business I reawakened to
thinking about my project.
I had an appointment to see one of my accounts downtown this morning
and as things often seem to go, I was running late at the end and thinking of
routing shortcuts across town to put me back on schedule. As I held for
traffic leaving the parking lot, a pale yellow '48-'50 3100 lumbered by right
in front of me. What an uplifting sight it was resplendent in it's weathered
paint and mostly straight body!
Suddenly I snapped back to being here now and just enjoying being
alive. I still hit warp factor 6 on the way back to the shop, but I did it
with a much lighter heart. As a seeming reward for my good spirits, a purple
(!) '51 3100 lowrider smoothed in front of me at a stop sign and disappeared
down a side street. Both of these trucks were just working trucks and a
common enough sight here in SoCal, but I just SAW them today.
Back in March I spent a few days in Chicago, a city I love dearly,
but saw no trucks older than the mid-seventies. I guess if you love old
vehicles, salt free SoCal has to be one of the best places on earth. I may
complain about the hot miserable summers, but a 50 year old truck has not
rusted out and is still putting in a day's work. Somedays it's just good to
be alive!
Paul O'Neil,
1951 Chevrolet 3600 Pickup Project, See it at:
The Poor Man's Advanced Design Tech Tips Page
http://home.earthlink.net/~conntest47/
Fullerton, California USA
Hudson29@aol.com
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