Dad's new truck

[skytop]

Reminiscing – Dad’s new truck
Richard Lentinello on Apr 19th, 2017




Dad’s new C-10 in 1969. Photos courtesy Debra Ross-Andrade.

[Editor’s note: This “Reminiscing” story, edited by Richard Lentinello]

The summer of 1969 was the summer of wild times and music at Woodstock, and the summer that Neil Armstrong placed the first human footprints on the moon. The summer of ’69 was also when my dad purchased a new Chevrolet C-10 Fleetside half-ton pickup truck from Carl Chevrolet in San Jose, California.

This was Dad’s first purchase of a new vehicle, and he ordered his truck with the custom cab option, a 350-cu.in. V-8 with a four-barrel carburetor, and two-tone paint, white over yellow-green. A construction worker for most of his life, Dad selected the “no rear bumper” option available at the time and had the dealer install a heavy-duty aftermarket Barden step bumper. A pair of “West Coast” style truck mirrors was also installed.

The truck spent the next 40-plus years as Dad’s daily driver, and although other cars (mostly Chevys) were bought and sold over the years, the ’69 pickup was a constant and often served as our family’s sole source of transportation. Mom would rise early each morning and drive Dad to work, so the truck would be available during the day for shopping, taking grandchildren to school and other daily chores. Later in the afternoon, Mom or I would pick Dad up from work. On weekends, the truck would be put to use either hauling materials for home projects, or hauling dirt bikes into the surrounding hills for my brother Larry and his friends. This was the vehicle in which I obtained my first driver’s license, and my first speeding ticket. I remember coming home and handing Dad the ticket and keys. He looked at the ticket and remarked, “I didn’t think that truck could go that fast.” I then handed over my newly acquired driver’s license, which he held on to for two months. I have not had a speeding ticket since.

When Larry enlisted in the Army, he was sent to nearby Fort Ord for basic training. Every Sunday, we’d get up early, load a picnic lunch into the truck, and make the two-hour trip to Monterey to enjoy lunch and a brief visit before heading back home to San Jose. When Larry married, it was the ‘69 C-10 that carried us to his wedding in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Today, I can’t imagine having made that trip in the pickup. Although rear coil springs gave the truck a car-like ride, and it was equipped with air conditioning and power brakes, it didn’t have power steering. And, since trucks of that time weren’t very well insulated, the road noise was excruciating.

An avid hunter and fisherman, Dad eventually installed a camper shell to provide security for his sporting equipment, and shelter for Trump, his English pointer who served as an excellent hunting partner and faithful companion. Every evening, Trump would hear the truck round the corner and excitedly anticipate his daily training session in the front yard. To Trump, the truck represented a day spent traveling with his master, and then romping through field and stream in search of game.


Dad with the truck in April 2013.

The truck was never garaged, and Dad, being a stickler for maintenance, had it repainted once or twice over the years. The engine and automatic transmission were overhauled as needed, too. Sometime in the late ’80s or early ’90s, the original engine was replaced with a new crate engine, which is still in use today. During its 40-plus years of serving our family, the C-10 has never been involved in any body-crunching mishaps. On one occasion, though, a minor engine compartment fire erupted as Dad and Mom were returning home from an errand. A recently replaced starter cable had been installed a bit too close to the exhaust manifold. Heat from the manifold melted the plastic insulation on the cable, causing a direct short, which sparked the fire. Dad always had an extinguisher on board, so was able to calmly pull to the side of the road and extinguish the blaze before firefighters arrived. The fire itself caused only minor damage, but what upset Dad the most was that someone had walked away with his extinguisher, which he had set at the curb while talking with the firemen. Dad purchased another extinguisher, which to this day, although many years beyond its expiration date, remains mounted above the driver’s-side seat back.

Dad gave up driving at age 91 and turned the truck over to me and my husband, Steve. We have refurbished the interior to original, and plan to repaint it soon. We continue to use it as a workhorse, hauling building and landscape materials, as well as feed and other supplies for use around the homestead. Since we’ve been using the old C-10, the long-forgotten practice of Steve walking around to the passenger side and opening the door for me has returned, one of the benefits of needing to use the key to unlock the doors, rather than today’s convenience of simply pushing the unlock button on an electronic key-fob.

Like the memories of the summer of ’69, and those first footprints that remain indelibly etched on the lunar surface, our little C-10 has endured the tests of time and continues to be a working member of our fleet today. One of our favorite things about using the old truck is listening to the original AM radio, which sounds as good today as it ever has, not to mention the renewed appreciation we have for power steering.