These days we see an amazing number of giant pickup trucks on the roads.
The age of the one-ton or more pickup truck is upon us and today a pickup truck is a diesel-powered giant of a beast with all of the creature comforts of a high end luxury car.
The pickups were smaller and lighter in the past, both in size and number of creature comforts available to their owners.
The big boys from the past were larger one-ton-or-better versions of the pickups that worked even harder and died even more horrible deaths from the experience.
The big boys from the past were not likely to be seen in Hollywood driven by beautiful people. They were never destined to be pampered and polished for Sunday drives. The big trucks got up early and worked late into the evening on farms and job sites.
They were not pretty and neither were their owners because good looks did not get the job done. The big trucks’ first days on the job were likely the first day they got dents because there is nothing like a baptism by fire for working trucks.
Their drivers didn’t care about a scratch or dent in their new trucks because their main concern was to work hard and earn a living. It was a tough world for truck and driver.
We do not see many of the big trucks at shows because they did their jobs until they were worn out and then they were replaced by another truck with fewer battle scars. We will track down every big truck owner we can find at shows because we want to get their story and shake their hands. They have saved a piece of truck history that has been gone and forgotten for too long.
The stories often have a family connection that binds the current owner with his own past and the likelihood the truck was owned by his father or grandfather. The connection is typically farm related and the current owner usually has a personal experience behind the wheel as a kid.
They want to honor the truck’s role in their family history by keeping it in the family and sharing its history with people at car shows. They are understandably proud of their family link to the truck and want to keep the memory alive and well with the truck.
Occasionally we run across big old truck owners who just like the look and style of the big old beasts. We also commend them for their investment in a bygone era of truck history and the ultimate cool factor found in one of these trucks.
Most of the owners have stayed true to the original factory build of the truck and do not stray far from the original buckboard ride and power-trains found in them. They want the real deal when it comes to the driving experience found in the trucks and we could not agree more with their decision to keep it real.
Stay tuned for their stories in future Star Truckin’ features here at MSCC.
Here’s an example from the past to show where we are headed with our future stories.
Jim Sutherland
