A week ago on Saturday, I was riding along on the motorcycle over in the old part of Olathe, when I came across this little gem sitting beside the interstate.. You can see the highway out in front of the truck. I stopped to investigate... Its a 1948... And went on sale in October of 1947... I was born in November of that same year...
As we ride all over Kansas, I am always looking at farm places to see what kind of old vehicles are out in the groves around farm places... Hoping to find an Advanced Design Chevy pickup... Advanced Design was the first post world war II pickup to be built once the war was over.. They started in June of 1947 and were made as 47s for four or five months, and then became 1948s. They were made up thru 1954 when they were redesigned into a more modern vehicle called the task force..
This is not a kit vehicle, it has a 1948 vin id number and has been registered since then... But I don't know its history which might be interesting to try and find out... The vin number has only 9 digits, as compared to the 17 digit numbers on modern vehicles... This is a 3100 which is the half ton truck it was also a short bed.. And I have learned that there were some long bed models back then as well.
But there isn't much of the old truck left... The actual frame and the cab you sit in with its old doors.. Some of the dash but not the instruments.. Mostly it has been redone.. Since some time in 2013 a fellow that lives in Merriam that I haven't met, has constructed what you see here... He purchased a modern day wrecked chevy truck and has harvested the engine and transmission.. A 5.3 liter V8 and an automatic 4L60 Tranny.. That gave us power steering and power brakes. The front axle is designed after a Ford Mustang II with rack and pinion steering..
Oh, and you have to love that vintage air conditioning unit there on the top of the motor...
After finding the truck on Saturday, I went back by in the car on Sunday only to find the truck gone from the lot.... My heart sank..........! But maybe it just went to a car show or something..... I reasoned to myself.. But at 9 AM on Monday it was back... By 10:30, we were inside the shop leaning on the fender of another classic Ford that didn't have an engine yet, but was painted a beautiful plum purple.. I finally asked the guy what his bottom dollar would be if he had the money in the next couple of hours.......... He threw out a number, and I just shook his hand, saying Deal!! Did I pay too much.... probably.. But remember he thinks he sold it too cheap...
I keep wondering if Loyce would have let me be so frivolous to buy such a thing on the spur of a moment... But then I think the look on my grand kids face as they rode by their house says it all about whether they like it... Don't you....?
Retired Rod
