Story
Once again, thanks for hosting the pics. I know there not much to look at. So here is a short story to the best of my knowledge of how all of it happened. It goes like something like this. One day one I was a small kid ridding in the back of my Dad’s late 70's bronco. I saw a panel truck sitting in the woods. I didn't know what it was at the time, but I knew I liked it! Man did I like that! Ironically it was sitting on Uncle Roberts old property and my aunt Tootsie still owned the land (yes, I’m from and live in the South). As I grew up I loved panel turcks, any and all panel trucks. When I was maybe about 12, 14, 16, I’m not exactly sure, I was watching an old John Wane film with my Dad. They was an air strip and an ambulance pulled up. It was a sixties panel truck. I had always liked the older panel trucks I didn't even know about these kind!!!!! So, man I really liked it, I like the older ones of course. But these were unique. Years and years later, about almost two years ago, I was looking in the local traders post, like I usually do. I've been buying them for years, I was looking for a boat, and would buy the boat and bike one. Every once in a while I might buy the car one, and very really I would buy the truck trader. So I was looking through the truck trader, and there it was, 1964 Chevy carryall. It was a carryall suburban, I had seen the panel truck version on TV when I was a lot younger, but I had never seen the suburban models before that I knew of. I was, I ... can't describe, man, WOW! I jumped, and I really mean Jumped right out of the chair and ran, and I actually ran to the phone. I called and the man and the man's wife answered the phone. (most of the time when you call about something no one answers or it's already sold, people buy the trader early on Friday and nab the deals before anyone else has the chance, or at least I think they do) I talked to her for a minuet asked about this and that, then I told her I would take it and to hold it for me. She said, well there other people coming to looked at it today and pretty much the first person to get here with the money gets it. I got the directions, said goodbye, flew out the door ran to the car, NASCARed it to the bank and headed down the road with the directions she gave me. Got lost, got directions from post man, through my mind the entire time I could see someone shaking the mans hand, after the purchase, I thought that I would pull up and see someone else closing the deal. Then, there it was I saw it from down the road, all man!, Oh no, there is a brand new truck in the driveway and an older truck that's probably the owners, and look there is someone close to the truck, it's sold. I pull up, get out, walk up to it. A man in the yard says, there it is. All man it's not sold! walk around it a few times, ouch, that sides messed up. I have to have it though! Talked to the guy a while, then told him I would get it. Sat down with the guy did paper work, handed the man 300 dollars! and the truck was mine. It turns out that the truck had been put in the traders post the week before, but the owner had been on vacation and this was the first he had answered any calls and had people wanting to come look at it that day. I picked it up the next day with my friend, his Dad his trailer and a heavy duty winch. Talked to the previous owner and he said two other people came after I left wanting to buy it and I just got there first with the money. He said they were mad too! I would have been very very disappointed if it had been sold before I got there. Since I got it, I have weighed out different options on how to restore it. I even went as far as to just look for one in better condition. Spent thirteen hundred, yes $1,300 dollars renting a truck and trailer driving down to Florida to buy a 66 suburban with fact ac fact 4x4, the list just went on and on, had two pictures of it, guy said it had 4 rust places on the truck. I was going to pay 4,800 dollars for the truck, had cash in hand! Pulled up, with in just one minuet I knew I wasn't going to get it. Four rust spots?! There were four hundred rust spots, rust through holes on the front fascia alone not including the hood! As for the rest of the truck. Junk total junk. Told me there was no bondo on the phone. The first thing he said to me when I got there was I would have it media blasted to see where all the rust and bondo is! He even took a pneumatic die grinder to the body and sanded some of the paint and said look no bondo, no bondo, no bondo, where there is a little bondo here but I didn't lie to you though. Yeah right, be ware of Michael Bursa from Largo Florida, his perception of vehicle condition could only be described as extremely extremely extremely exaggerated, but that trip and experience is a whole different story. As for my truck it's rougher than a night in jail as one old boy once said. It's got blocks on the springs that lift it up just a little. It's been off-road already from what I was told. It had a winch on the front and was used to go deer hunting. The guy I bought it from bought it from his brother in law, but he had it for 7 years tinkered with it never got it running, I could go on and on about that situation. (A shop manuel shows you how to do everything to a truck except how to undo tinkering!) How ever it does have an engine and battery in it and it did turn over. I was expecting it not to even have an engine. The back glass is missing so is on of the slider glass. Though it does have the option rear sliding glass witch I love. It has no original seats. There are some older seats in the rear, but I think they actually came out of a sixties panel truck, the suburban and panel truck seats were different I believe. There is plenty of rust all they way around. The back doors shut perfect. I need to buy another parts truck and get a good front clip for the whole truck. It needs every thing pretty much. But on the bright side, if it were really nice me and my Dad would not have the heart to convert it to four wheel drive. I bought my Blazer, the week before I found this site and started posting. I was searching online and was looking for information for it and found what I was looking for. I bought the blazer out of the traders post too. I seen it and decided to call the guy. He said, you know I didn't think I would get any calls till Friday, that's when it's suppose to be in the trader. However I had seen it online before the magazine had come out. I went and looked at it Thursday before the trader came out. Talked him down a little on the price handed the guy four hundred and fifty dollars and became the new owner of a 1975 k5 blazer. He advertised it as a rolling chassis, it was a complete truck with engine. He said it was blown, I wasn't really interested in the engine at the time of purchase, but maybe it's rebuild able. I don’t think he was very mechanically inclined. Not to say that I am, I’m just as humble as my suburban when it comes to know how and specs and pretty much everything else, but I'm surrounded buy people that can help me out down here and even online. Well anyways I tried to make it short but I guess I didn't do to good of a job. Thanks again for offering to host the pictures. I'm going to post this message to K5 too, so that my not so short story could be heard.
Thanks once again
