For The Love of a Truck
By Dan Burger

How did we come to be a nation of truck drivers? It seems everyone is tossing aside their automobile keys and climbing into the cab of a truck.

We love the go-anywhere, do-anything benefits that only a truck (or its cousin the sport utility vehicle) offers. And in our you-are-what-you-drive culture, a truck, a pair of blue jeans, and a big, friendly dog will mark you down as OK in a lot of folks' books.

The recent truck-mania has its roots in the 1950s when trucks were purpose-built vehicles. Then, of course, the purpose was mostly work and sometimes recreational. Now the role is reversed. But you still see a lot of 1950s stature in 1990s trucks. Have you noticed the fat-fendered look is back? Maybe the reputation for versatility and value is making a comeback as well. Only time will tell.

A lot of those old machines were driven until their dented, shakin'-in-the-wind fenders fell off. A guy could really get his money's worth from a truck in those days. They were slow and steady, and bore an uncanny resemblance to the storybook turtle that made racing history with its slow-and-steady strategy. Even after 25 years of service, there were still quite a few of the '50s-era workhorses on the road.

Ten years ago the interest in old trucks was mild compared to today. Steve Flanders had a business selling Chevelle parts then, but saw greater opportunity selling truck parts. Now he owns Brothers Trucks, a supplier of parts and accessories for Chevy and GMC pickups. "In the past six or seven years the old-truck market took off," he said. Much of the interest comes from owners interested in customizing their old trucks and giving them a street rod feel. "Many of the '50s Chevys and Fords have reached cult status," Flanders said. "They tend to be customized more frequently than the other brands."

A larger parts supply for performance and convenience upgrades is one lure when making a decision to go custom or stock. Owners of Studebakers and Internationals may have a difficult time finding stock parts, but it's even harder to find custom parts because manufacturers are tuned-in to the more common Fords and Chevys.

"People once thought the old-truck businesses would die out," said John Wall, owner of a Ford truck parts business called John's F-Fun Hundreds, "but that's not turned out to be true. People are doing a much better job than before of restoring or customizing their trucks. They're making their trucks much more road worthy."

Four out of five customers at Brothers Trucks are interested in customizing, Flanders noted. But that hasn't prevented the growth of reproduction items that are necessary for restoration work. There are also many custom truck owners who maintain a close-to-original approach. It's all a matter of personal taste. In most cases the restorer has a stronger personal attachment to the vehicle.

Jim McKim's 1953 Ford F-100 has some personal history to it. It's been in McKim's family since 1963. Jim and the Ford were both 10 years old at the time. I learned to drive in this truck when I was 11 years old," McKim said. "My dad used to pull out the choke, put it in the granny gear, and let me sit behind the wheel and steer while he walked the fence lines." Jim kinda got attached to dad's truck, and when he got his license a few years later, the F-100 was more-or-less officially his. I remember driving this truck on high-school road trips when my friends and I would go fishing up in the hills." For 25 years it served double duty as a work truck and a recreational vehicle - on-and off-road - in the southern Idaho farm lands. "I fixed the truck up a bit when I was driving it to high school everyday. The engine was rebuilt and I gave it a fresh paint job - the same color of red that it came from the factory with. I think Ford called it Vermillion. About 5 years ago I repainted it again. But this time it's a much brighter red."

Until 1993 when McKim restored it, this truck was a driver. it never went into mothballs like many of the nicer survivors. "The box was shot," McKim said; so it has been replaced. When I sandblasted the frame I found a lot of small cracks and one pretty big one. The body is original though - nothing was replaced; it was just repaired." Forty years had taken its toll on the clutch-shaft bushing. The transmission was overhauled. "nothing much had every been done to it before this," McKim said. Some time in the past, one of the cylinders have been sleeved. When he rewired it, he was amazed that it had remained functional considering that much of the cloth insulation had deteriorated. "This truck has always been notorious for overheating, McKim said, "so now it has a large, four-core radiator and I moved the radiator closer to the fan.

"We use it very little now. It was more fun when it was a beater and we hauled wood in it and stood on the fenders. After you make 'em nice, you don't really want to put stuff in the bed."

This F-100 is a base model. It has painted bumpers and grille and nickel-plated badges. All the interior hardware is original. McKim only recently added a few "extras" like the stainless steel hubcaps and the chrome mirrors. He also runs it on 7.00x16 radial tires. It has a 239-cubic-inch Ford Flathead V8 engine, the stock 6-volt system, but a modern Optima battery is tucked into the battery tray located under the floorboards.

"This truck has also had starting problems," McKim said. It didn't matter if it was hot or cold outside." To improve cranking power he has tried an 8-volt battery and even two 6-volts hooked up simultaneously. "Neither of those methods solved the problem, but I've been happy with the Optima," he said.

The F-100 Fords were very popular trucks in their day. But there were a lot of other trucks on the road then too.

Dan Steiner owns and drives a rare 1949 International KB1 half-ton pick-up. He bought the truck in 1976 for $100.00. "My dad was driving a '54 International at that time and he met a guy who told him: 'I have something you might be interested in.'" On his dad's advice, Dan went to look at it. "It was sittin' in a garage under a pile of junk," Steiner recalled. "The license plates were nine years old. The body was intact. It needed paint, but the only thing that was missing were a couple of stainless steel pieces from the grille." There were only a few small rust holes in the fenders, and the metal strips in the bed had come loose and were damaged. Steiner found replacement strips at a local Chevy dealer and discovered the grille trim pieces in a junkyard. The original tailgate was in bad shape, so he and his dad fabricated a replacement.

It needed paint and the engine was frozen, still it was a bargain at the $100 asking price. The odometer registered 24,000 miles. "I rebuilt the brake system and the carburetor and replaced the king pins," Steiner said. "My dad was talking about my truck with an International dealer one day and the dealer remembered that he had a set of NOS king pins in his parts inventory." Sometimes when your searching for restoration parts you just get lucky that way. To free the frozen pistons, Steiner removed the spark plugs and poured diesel fuel in the holes. After a few weeks, he coasted the truck in an attempt to bump-start it, and the pistons came free. It's run fine ever since. The transmission has never been opened.

One item that Steiner has never tracked down are the rubber rock guards that protect the front portions of the rear fenders. The running boards end at the back of the cab and allow some stones to chip away at the rear fenders. "I used epoxy paint that held up real well for a while," Steiner said. "But now it's 10 years old and the rear fenders are beginning to show some chip marks."

"I've had plenty of offers to sell it, but I can't do it," Steiner said. "I don't drive it a lot, but it gets an occasional run to town. There are times when I need transportation and I'm not afraid to get in it and go." There's no synchromesh gears in the four-speed transmission of a '49 International, so piloting it takes some double-clutching skills that are pretty much a lost art these days. Modifying the truck with a modern engine and transmission was never a consideration for Steiner. "I have thought about getting a second one just like it and making it a street rod," he said.

Roy Tuttle considered modifying his original-condition 1950 Studebaker pickup by replacing its 170-cubic-inch six-cylinder engine with a V-8. But he changed his mind and went the restoration route. "I want my truck to be different - something that nobody else has. And I liked the challenge of restoring by staying essentially stock. Studebaker trucks are hard to find, but people make a big fuss over this truck and its little flat-head engine."

The transmission is a three-speed on the column with overdrive and it allows 55-mph cruisin' with ease. The overdrive was an option in 1950. It operates with either an electric solenoid that operates a vacuum system when the driver lifts his foot from the accelerator or manually via a cable and a knob on the dash board.

The truck was "pretty rough" when Tuttle began the restoration process. Early on he found a parts truck that cam in handy. He was able to use the hood, doors, fenders and bed from the donor vehicle. The project took four years to complete and he did "about 90 percent" of the panel replacement and fabrication work. "The body work was the most challenging part - it was loaded with cancer. I did everything but the final paint, Tuttle said. "I attempted that, but I got the sealer coat too heavy and it attacked the base coat and caused cracks. I stripped all the paint with 4 gallons of acetone and Scotch Brite pads. After that I was ready to sell it!" He eventually had it painted by a pro.

One change from originality that Tuttle allowed himself was paint color. It's a GM paint called Flame Red. he also moved the turn signals from the tops of the front fenders to above the front bumper, which he also fabricated because his original was badly damaged. In the rear he repositioned the tail-lights/turn signals just below the bumper. He also switched the stock 16-inch wheels to 15-inchers. His 6-volt electrical system is wired to factory specifications, and the 3-inch-wide whitewall tires are set off by the stock chrome hubcaps over painted rims.

Tuttle found many of the mechanical parts at his local NAPA Auto Parts store, and he said the Studebaker Drivers Club and several Studebaker-specific parts suppliers have been helpful. But he's been stumped when it comes to a replacement single-barrel Carter carburetor. Rebuild kits are available, but his carb still "leaks a little around the throttle linkage." It's a small price to pay for owning a unique truck.

Rick Coleman has owned a nearly original 1957 Chevy pickup for seven years. It's still running around quite nicely by virtue of its 283-cubic-inch V-8. The only paint that's ever been on it is the black lacquer applied at the factory. The chrome and stainless steel trim have never been replated. None of the body panels have been replaced and even the bed is original condition.

It's been fund for Coleman, but he recently bought a 500-cubic-inch Cadillac engine that he said is destined to power his pickup. "I'm a hot rodder at hearts," he said, "and I've been itching to do something with this truck. I'll keep it very stock-looking, but I want something that will run."

Some would lament the loss of an original-condition truck, but a truck has always been many things to many people. One man's utility vehicle is another man's hot rod. What we do is all for the love a truck - and the love is getting stronger every day.