My 1949 truck has an odd story.
My grandfather bought it in 1951. From my early beginnings, till I went in the service, we used the truck for hunting and hauling trash. A pitchfork was always in the bed to help load and unload it. Also had a spotlight for assistance in hunting. :-) It was always this raggedy ole beat up truck. Heck, I remember one time I was in the back of the truck while my grandpa was loading a boat on a trailer. The parking brake slipped and the truck, trailer and me were slipping down the ramp into the water... He gunned the boat motor and ran up to the front of the boat, jumped in the bed of the truck (where I was standing) and over me to get into the truck to get it stopped. One of my fondest memories.
Well in 1998 I was lucky enough to get stationed back home. I helped him restore the truck in his shop. And he was proud as all get out... Later that year he unexpectedly died. Well, fast forward a few years and 9/11 hit. I was gone a lot, to say the least. My grandmother sold the truck to a friend of my grandfather's. No one knew until my cousin noticed it missing in the shop. Well, my grandmother wouldn't tell me who she sold it to...why I don't know? It really bothered me that the family didn't own the truck anymore. And for years I dwelled on that fact. Slowly but surely, the memory faded.
Fast forward to 2015...I was in Afghanistan. Was sitting in the USO at Bagram AB and decided to get on craigslist... Low and behold I saw a 1949 3100 just like my grandfather's. From the pictures, I KNEW it was my "Pop's" truck. Not very many 1949 trucks out there with a boat vacuum pump on the firewall to help with the wipers. I tried to refrain from showing my excitement when I was making contact with a third party seller. Who was a total a$$ I must say. The guy was asking 30K for the truck. Way too much. So my wife hired an appraiser to pose as a buyer. He came and looked at the truck and told us it was worth about 15K.
Well, we went back and forth and they wouldn't budge at $25K. So I dropped it. I lost the truck back in 2002, and I lost it again in 2015.
My wife wrote a letter to the guy (he is off the grid...no internet, just phone and snail mail) and he said it was "divine intervention" that I found the truck while I was in AFG and after 13 years. So he held it till I got home.
I bought an enclosed trailer while I was in the desert and when I went to pick it up in Oklahoma, I decided to swing by and look at my granddad's truck and to possibly buy it. My wife met me at the guy's house and as soon as I rounded the corner, I saw it. Then I knew it was for real. I met the owner and I walked straight to the truck and opened the door. First words outta mouth were, "it still smells like Pop." Looked over at my wife and she was bawling. The owner said, take it for a spin, so we did. As I was driving it, it brought back all the memories. The sounds, the smells, the noises. Was just like in 1998.
So we get back to the guy's house and I want to get down to brass tacks...I offered him $15K cash and he got all upset. We talked a few more minutes and I finally told him, "I'll give you $17.5K for the truck. If you don't take it, I'm gonna go back to the truck, take a few pics of it, and I'm rolling back to White County."
He didn't take the offer and so I took a few more pics and told my wife its ok, I have closure. So I was hauling ass home and I got a phone call from the guy. He asked where I was and I told him I was 40 miles away. I remember him commenting that I was moving out. He said come on back and get the truck for $17.5.
So I turned around and got the truck. Handed him the money and he didn't even count it.
I got it home and it sat in the trailer for 2 months. I didn't want to look at it cause I still had a few bad memories. But now, 2 years later its back to its glory days. Except 6 inches lower and an overdrive.
My kids call the truck "PT" for Pops truck :-)
Wife took all the pics that day except for the two I took. Here they are: