When I first bought my truck in 1977 it was my daily driver, my transportation to local college summer courses and a worktruck when I worked for my brother's construction crew. Even took a trip to Wildwood NJ with my girl over one special weekend, and it was my way to college for the fall summer semester 3 hours away from home. In college it was used to get to campus, to haul teammates to and from practice, to make holiday runs to the distributor (since they were closed and would not deliver), and to haul my team mates in a parade honoring the 1977 National Champions.

It was a second car, a soccer ball holder, and a soccer goal mover as I began teaching and coaching. When marriage came and house buying followed, it helped move stuff from apartment to apartment and then to our first house. Then it also became a trash hauler, a brush hauler, a mulch getter, and as we tried to economize it was our second car, or my first car, as my only drove the car.

Then in 1998 I got it painted and it was still my daily driver as we only had the truck and one car. It also became the subject of our Christmas cards, but it still was used as a truck: hauling brush, mulch, top soil, tables from our church for my wife's yard sale, etc. Only now I am more careful with it. It has been used in Halloween parades with my son and his friends. It is used to get the Christmas tree every year. I used to sell old truck parts at the Carlisle Truck Show and I would load it up with parts for the 2 hour trip to Carlise. It was even used in a wedding this fall to haul the groomsmen (young boys) at an outdoor wedding in the PA mountains.

Around 2000 we bought a new mini-van and I got the old van so now "Old Betsy" is not my daily driver but is still used as stated above.

Check my gallery for a brief history from 1977to the present!

 

Abe, you have one of the best gallery's of photo's!! I love the Christmas Card Photo's. Your truck is more than just a truck, it's a member of the family. I wish had the memories associated with my 51 that you have with your grandpa's old 54.
Mybe my grandkids will feel that way about Bubs. All I need now are the grandkids....No Rush, D or R......

 

Thanks, Doug. I wish I had some pics of the truck when Grandpa owned it. I only have one poor quality pic. But I am hoping my uncles and aunts will have a picture they will find sometime. There are some guys on this site that do have pics of their truck with their Dad or Grandad driving it, or better yet if them in the pic as a kid!

 

I recently offered the use of Grover to our high school's drama department to haul gear after a play. All of my daughter's friends are now in a conspiracy to get me to drive my truck in the next Christmas parade.

I have no idea what they might have in mind to decorate Grover.

 

Grover create a gallery so we can see your truck. We want to see Grover in pics

 

Stress reliever. Turn up the sounds and let the good times roll.

 

I do need to do that, because I haven't updated my gallery since I bought the truck and hooked up with FTE about ten years ago.

I wish I had pictures of my wife and I taking the doghouse off back when I overhauled the engine. My wife is only 4'10", so she had a little trouble lifting up her side.

The G-man would probably like to see what the engine looks like, too, since I bought it from him. I painted it Cummins Engine Yellow, which I think is a tad brighter yellow than the 239 is supposed to be. I still haven't gotten around to repainting the valve covers, so they don't look too hot. I have to admit I wouldn't mind showing off how I mounted a tool box in the bed.

I just have to appropriate my wife's digital camera, I suppose.

 

My old girl is used as a portable work bench. 12' flatbed gives me place to work on stuff since all the benches in the shop are covered with parts and pieces and stuff. Pulls my car trailer to fetch friends broken down cars. Pulls racecar to track and is a workbench for everyone there also.

 

My truck was intended to be a daily driver to save on gas from the F150 Supercrew gas sucker!!!! Now that the wife has taken over "THE GREAT WHITE", I drive the little SUV around and Project F100 has been on the backburner. Lately I have been adding things to it to make it suck less gas then it does right now....8-9 PSI going into the carb due to a mechanical pump (5lb electric fuel pump purchased); dana 44 with 4.10 original gears (changed out to a 9" with 3.25) and working on a door to keep it shut (door striker purchased)....after this, she should be back on the road by this Friday for a cruise....STRESS RELIEVER FOREAL!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I plan on driving the mayor through our fine city in a parade. After all card night has paid for a lot of the rebuild! lol