Having spent the past 20 years or so in similar low buck chevy pickups and K-5's,a van and many GM fullsize cars,I think we must have the same disease--I have been to nashville in my old 81 van in 1992,it was much younger then(so was I!)and it had 138,000 miles on its camel humper 250 six--I was terrified at first ,thinking I was nuts to trust an old heap like that to go that far and trust your life with it,well it wasnt that fast in the pocono's mountains in PA,and virginia seemed like it took forever--but a freind and I made the trip,it was a first for both of us ever going that far from home,we had some anxious moments at times when the tar on the highway made you think for sure a tire was getting ready to pop or a u-joint is failing,but we made it there and back with only minor annoyances,no real breakdowns considering the age and mileage of the van---It was cool to live out a dream for that summer ,we met a lot of artists at fan fair that we liked,and I still attend many distant concerts of theirs and they still are friends to me,sadly my friend died in 1994 of a heart valve problem rather suddenly,and life has changed a lot since then /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif--but the old "blue beast" still sits in the yard,awaiting the licence plates to be transferred back onto it,and despite some rust and other age related issues like leaf spring with a metal band clamped on for a main leaf eye(been like that since that trip!)and a few other minor sins,it still will pull me just about anywhere I want to--but after a nine month nap I'm sure things will start going downhill rapidly.My vehicles go to hell fast if you dont use them often,I think the climate where you are must be similar,I lose tranny and metal brake lines rather quickly around here,and master cylinders seen to not like sitting still for long either,and rear brakes always seem to rust up overnight and lock up real easy the next morning. I think you are right the memories are stronger in an older truck--it must be because you feel you rescued it from the crusher,almost like a dog you got at the animal shelter just before they were going to gas it,and you give it a new lease on life,its like the truck seems to know this,and usually (not always!) they treat you pretty darn good considering your original investment.I keep buying more GM trucks all the time,and I cant say I've had many lemons despite the abuse I give them. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I'ts ok to have "beaters" as long as they arent giving you a beating,right?.
