One Really Fast Truck

Shortly after college I was struggling financially and was in need of a vehicle when my father came to the rescue by giving me my grandfather’s 1964 short bed Chevrolet pickup truck. My grandfather had purchased it new, worked it on this farm in Nebraska and passed it on to my father who drove it as his primary mode of transportation. Its six cylinder engine was worn out but it did run, so I became the third Hood to own it. I was friends with a fellow, Paul Jensen, who was the consummate back yard mechanic. Paul determined that the engine was cracked and could not be rebuilt so I was able to get a worn out V8 327 cubic inch engine from my father’s hangar. Paul and I drove over, loaded the short bloc and took it back to his garage where he taught me how to take apart and refurbish an engine. We were also able to scavenge a whole series of race parts from one of his friend’s crashed cars that sat in a back field. The motor now had a full race camshaft, 202 heads, highrise and four barrel carburetor and dual exhaust. The farm truck had been converted to one very fast piece of metal. I replaced the wood planking in the trucks bed, and after some bondo body work, my father painted the truck a beautiful dark corvette blue. That following summer I drove the pickup to my grandfathers Nebraska farm. He enjoyed the very fast ride down the road, shaking his head at the transformed farm truck he had purchased in 1964. Seattle, Washington