I Had a nice drive today

[Jmclendon]

My wife and I have 3 large dogs (Mastiff Xs, round about 80-100lbs each). For the last couple of years, we've been loading them, a couple of dog crates and our suitcases into a mid 2000s VW TDI Golf whenever we go for a trip anywhere.

I'm a reasonably tall dude. So, if you've ever seen how little space there is in one of those sardine cans you'll get it when I say it's the least amount of fun a person could ever have with their knees behind their head (that'll be the most off colour I get. Don't panic.)

Despite the great mileage and such, after awhile it just got to where the whole process was driving us nuts. So, we started talking about getting a truck of some kind.
Now before I continue, there's one thing worth mentioning about living in Australia. Cars are freaking expensive! For example, let's say you're looking at buying a new Nissan Navara. Be prepared to cough up 40-60k AUD depending on what you're interested in. Further complicating things, remember those dogs I mentioned before? Yea, they're not going to fit in the bed of a Navara. Or any other standard Aussie 'Ute' for that matter.

Consequently, I started looking at US imports. I took it for granted that they'd be more than what I wanted to spend. But, I figured at least they'd have a tray that I could fit something larger than an obese midget into.

One slight problem. There's a big difference between "that's a bit more than I want to spend" and "holy jumping *********..... I could buy a house for that much." No joke, if you're after a new(ish) GMC over here, it's going to cost 150k AUD. That's not a typo. When I was growing up, my father never spent more than $1000 on a car that I'm aware of. Admittedly, he was a mechanic, so that helped. Actually, he was one of those mechanics that normal mechanics wish they would be some day. We're talking the kind of guy that can somehow keep an old Rabbit running by starting a small fire under it in the morning when it's cold outside. Next level magical stuff. But still, I wasn't old enough to take a drink until 2004, so it's not like I was a kid when petrol was 10 cents a gallon or anything like that. I guess what I'm getting at is my heart skipped a beat when I saw how much people were willing to spend on 'American Iron' over here.

After having resigned myself to the fact that we were going to have to get some kind of boring Toyota flat-tray something or other, I stumbled on a 1961 GMC that an old man was selling in the e-classifieds (Gumtree, to be specific). The price wasn't too bad, and the truck looked/sounded pretty solid. More to the point, when I looked under the hood all of a sudden all of the things my father used to pound into my head started to make some sense.

I'm not sure if this will make sense to most of y'all, because I get the impression a lot of the folks on this forum have been wrenching on cars in some capacity for awhile, but it was nice looking under a hood and not feeling like a complete moron (seriously, for all I know our Golf is powered by gremlins riding hamsters). There was also the added bonus that I felt like in some way the old truck represented something from my childhood that I hadn't previously realized I was missing.

Looking back, I think I can remember pretty much every car that we ever owned. Living in a rural part of the States, cars aren't just something you drive to and from work, they're a part of everything you do. When there's no public transport, and you're at least half an hour from the nearest grocery store, a car that doesn't let you down is one of the most important things you'll ever own.

The thing is though, there's never been a car in the history of ever that's never let someone down. That just becomes part of the story. ****, I drove around for about a year in an old Ford Fairmont that had so much rust in the fuel tank that at you had to carry a portable air compressor in the back-seat so that you could occasionally chug off to the side of the road and blow the rust off the fuel filter through the fuel line. Then it was just a simple matter of sucking the gas back up through the line so that you could reconnect the fuel pump and get back on the road again. Some folks can deal with it, some can't.

Maybe it was being desperate and poor. Maybe it was watching my father somehow will an old car to life with nothing but an old rag and some WD-40. Either way, I'm lucky enough to be someone that can deal with it.

Anyway long story short, I bought the truck off of the old man that owned it and so began the journey. I've spent a crapload of money, time and effort getting the old truck on the road. There's still issues of course (for those keeping score, yes, I still have a mismatched cylinder head..... for the moment I've just accepted that I'm running 2 types of spark-plugs). But, I'm still pretty **** happy with my decision. Every time I get behind the wheel, it's like stepping into a past that I'm not quite ready to walk away from just yet. Yea, it's on drum brakes, it doesn't shift properly if I'm stupid/impatient, and it'll never win best in show as far as looks are concerned (then again, neither will I). It's slow to accelerate and I'm only now starting to realize how *****ty people can be if they're in a hurry and they think you're holding them up. But, it suits me. I might be living in Australia, but America will always be my home. Somehow driving around in an old beast with the steering wheel on the 'wrong' side just feels right.

I've been using the truck as a daily driver to and from work for about a month now. But, today was the first day that he's been on a real drive. It was about 40 minutes each way (we had an hour break in-between) and it was proper highway driving, not the pottering along that I've been doing.

The day was a complete success (ok, I might've had a moment with the gears and there was a small tire-skid while coming to a stop, once. But, it was totally the other dude's fault LOL). Again, this might sound a bit silly to y'all, but it was nice to be chugging down the road. No AC, no radio, just my wife and I and a bench seat on a sunny Saturday morning. Like the subject says, I had a nice drive today.

[bobdylan]

Great story. Keep them coming. I can relate, I have had old Land rovers with the steering wheel on the wrong side and non syncro trans, that you had to double clutch. and getting the single finger salute from impatient drivers.

[TJ's GMC]

Awesome story, I can understand. I will say there's nothing like driving an old truck on a summer evening enjoying the sunrise. Did that many times through the summer.

[Funky61]

Great story; Need a pic with those Big Dogs in the Back.

[GMCDAC]

Great story and attitude about your truck! I can understand the feeling! When I drive my wife's 06 GMC, it's so comfortable and smooth but it only takes me "places".

My GMC's are comparably primitive, not as comfortable and require more work to drive. Those trucks do more than take me places, they take me back in time.

DAC

[hubarlow]

Love the story, but somehow I mange to be FASTER on the road with the old GMC than most people with their "new" cars. I do tend to confuse people when I am driving because I tend to shift without the clutch (why clutch when you do not have to) and for some reason they think I am trying to race. Every now and again, this seems to encourage someone to pick up the pace and "Beat the old guy" in a race. I am not racing, just getting the gear speeds synched by matching RPMs with the speed of the truck. Enjoy your American Iron. G'day, Mate! ;-)

[cikmontanan]

Nice story for all.