Well, yesterday afternoon, I drove by my friends house. From my house, I come up a side road to his place. From my road, I can see behind his barn. The '57 had sat on a car trailer for a couple of days behind the barn. Yesterday however, I noticed that it was gone. "By gum", I said to my wife, "Donnie has gotten rid of that car already!" My wife responded, "No, I saw it sitting in front of the garage, off the trailer earlier today." "Then where is the trailer?", I asked.
As I turned the corner, my question was quickly answered. "He's went out and found another toy!", I exclaimed. The '57 was off the trailer, but in it's place was a patina'ed vintage Ford truck. "That looks like a '35 or '36.", I said as we passed his house.
Later that evening, I had a chance to talk with him after church. I guess he found the truck along State Route 40 during the BIG yard sale. (Every year people set up there "wares" along "National Road" US 40. The "sale" goes on for miles and miles and miles.) Donnie said he bought the truck, a boat and an engine off of the same guy.
At any rate, I stopped by his house on my way home this evening. When I pulled into his drive, he and a friend he introduced as "Willis, his 'ace' mechanic" had the hood up on the newly acquired '57. Donnie said they had replaced the points, but still hadn't been able to get the car to start. I stood and talked with the for a while, then turned my attention to the "pre-effie" on the trailer.
The truck has some cancer along the bottom of both door openings on the cab, but the doors themselves are in pretty decent shape for their age. Looking under the truck, there was some rust concerns in the frame, but again, surprising little. Fenders each had their share of rust and dents. The bed was filled with a couple spare front fenders, an extra door and a second hood.
The interior needs work. The headliner is gone and the seat, while still intact, would require some attention. The floors must be gone due to the plywood that is currently serving as a floor.
The Flathead V8 appears to have fairly new wiring. Donnie was told that the truck had ran in the not so distant past. Donnie has plans of making a "rat rod" out of this old girl.
As I left for home, I turned and jokingly said, "Hey, when you get the '57 running, honk when you go by my house!" Donnie replied, "Ha! It probably won't be tonight!"......
About an hour later, I heard a "rumble" in my driveway. My son jumped up, looked out the window and said, "Donnie's in the drive in the '57!"
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