A lost friend, and a full circle

[1STMP]

26 years ago, I carted an old 1940
Plymouth pickup to my home in Roswell,
NM. It was beat to heck with a bent and
twisted frame, an engine that was froze
up. I bought it from a friend who was
also my boss at the time. He was die
hard Mopar, and had 23 various models
of the brand to prove it. $51.00 and a
bill of sale, the old truck was on it's way
to Roswell.
A fellow engineer and I started design
drawings for a tube chassis that would
incorporate a 440/727 along with the
cab and front sheetmetal of the truck.
Over the course of the years invested,
the truck was dismantled, and the various
parts and pieces ended up in Texas, the
location of my new job. (Design team for
the FMTV). My son just shipped out to
Iraq, so my new job involved extra efforts
to make sure our boys over there were
well protected.
At the time I moved to Texas, my fellow
engineer friend ended up in Indiana,
working for GM.
The chassis drawings were finalized,
and we ended up with a rolling chassis
at his shop.
He has since retired, and moved back
to Rio Rancho, NM to be in close
proximity to his grandchildren.
We're going to be breaking the cam in
this weekend. While checking google
maps for his address, there was a devine
revelation. My ex-boss from years ago,
has recently passed away. My engineer
friends new residence is less than a mile
from my ex-bosses home in Bernalillo.
(from where we picked the truck up)
The old truck is home.
Don't give up on your projects. There's
heart and soul in every one of them.

 

[moparedtn]

I love the stories surrounding each one of these old cars - probably as much as the cars themselves.
The human part of the hobby is a big part of why I enjoy it so, truth be told; the cars assume
individual personalities because of their owners along the way, sort of like people do.

Thank you for sharing this story. I appreciate that very much.

 

[Skytrooper]

That is pretty darn cool !

 

[1STMP]

I love the stories surrounding each one of these old cars - probably as much as the cars themselves.
The human part of the hobby is a big part of why I enjoy it so, truth be told; the cars assume
individual personalities because of their owners along the way, sort of like people do.

Thank you for sharing this story. I appreciate that very much.

I miss my friend.
Thank you for your understanding.
This project will forever hold his
memory. He earned it.

 

[moparedtn]

I miss my friend.
Thank you for your understanding.
This project will forever hold his
memory. He earned it.

Hey, a lot of us have been there my friend - and many still are.
My own GTX ("Fred") has friends and family all over him - it makes him priceless.

 

[Triplegreen500]

That is very cool.

Similar to that - to help make your point that they all come "home" eventually - is my '72 Satellite Custom wagon. In college, I found the car for sale at a bowling alley in Thurmont MD. Bought it for $500, just because it was cool. This was...1992? Fast forward through many years of driving, racing, changing engines, storing, driving again....and in 2011 I bought a new house and moved to Cascade, MD. Probably 2 years after that, I dug the wagon out of storage again to start playing with it. Wiping it down, I noticed the dealer sticker on the tailgate: "Winebrenner Motors - Highfield-Cascade, MD".

Without even thinking about it or even realizing it...I'd brought the car home! Winebrenner is no more...but I still think it's cool that my new home is also the car's original home.

Great story, can't wait to see that truck!

 

[Ironbuilt]

Great story, thanks for sharing.

 

[1STMP]

Great story, thanks for sharing.

 

[Ironbuilt]

View attachment 1085884 View attachment 1085885 View attachment 1085886 View attachment 1085887 View attachment 1085888

Thanks for the pictures. That's awesome, great craftsmanship.

 

[Budnicks]

pretty cool double frame-rail tube chassis

thanks for sharing
I like it

needs more tire under the back
I assume it will be a lot lower stance too

cool project, hope it comes out the way y'all planned

I like the fact it's a MoPar in a MoPar body
especially being a Plymouth Truck/pick-up

what's the plan for it's final usage ?
just a cruiser or a racer/cruiser street/strip type build

 

[1STMP]

pretty cool double frame-rail tube chassis

thanks for sharing
I like it

needs more tire under the back
I assume it will be a lot lower stance too

cool project, hope it comes out the way y'all planned

I like the fact it's a MoPar in a MoPar body
especially being a Plymouth Truck/pick-up

what's the plan for it's final usage ?
just a cruiser or a racer/cruiser street/strip type build

The ride height is a little high at this point
to make it easier to load on a trailer. There's
PVC tubing cut to length where the coils
would normally be adjusted. Since we don't
know what the final weight is as of yet, the
springs haven't been ordered. I'm hoping
to run it as a street/strip set up but the
motor is a mystery. The guy that built it
for me passed away, and his grandson
couldn't find the paperwork, though the
builder kinda knew what I wanted. I just
want to get it running for now to see
what she'll do.
The rear axle is narrowed 6"" per side
to allow for drag tire clearance. The wheels
on it now will be space out.

 

[DeltaV]

Great story and truck.

I see you're relatively new to this site. We love our Mopars and pets. I see a dog sitting next to your car. What kind of dog?

FMTV and the MULE were interesting for sure.

 

[1STMP]

Great story and truck.

I see you're relatively new to this site. We love our Mopars and pets. I see a dog sitting next to your car. What kind of dog?

FMTV and the MULE were interesting for sure.

That would be Tripper. He's half Border
Collie, half Red Healer. He gets mad at
the lawn sprinklers and can clear 6'
catching a frisbee. He's also very well
behaved and strict with his boundaries.