[POWERSTROKE]

The farming area I grew up in was a very high production area for livestock, hogs outnumbered people by several times, cattle did too. Every small town had a couple feed mills to grind & mix livestock feed plus a couple livestock trucking companies. Dad drove for several of them at different times. Gasoline powered semi-tractors were the preferred prime mover for all these companies. It wasn't until the very late 1960's that one or two company owners were brave enough to buy a diesel.

There were several companies that ran Ford Super-Duty gas engines exclusively, one happening to be owned by the owner of the local Ford dealer. Lots and lots of IH Red Diamond 450-6's, and everybody had a BIG V-6 GMC. Some companies had several. So I was exposed to BIG V-6 power at an early age riding shotgun with Dad. The guy Dad drove for the most even had a TORO-FLOW V-8 diesel in a Chevy C-70 short nose conventional.

I wasn't very old when I started driving, feed trucks, dump trucks, grain trucks. About '75 I started hauling ready mix concrete in a '74 Diamond REO with 555 V-8 Cummins & Allison ,5-speed.