Our only heat was wood and had just sold my maroon Chevy 4×4. What was I to do to haul wood? In 1979 I purchased the ugliest 1968 Chevy C50 2 ton truck for the mere sum of $1500 which was cheaper than a used pickup. (top picture in a snow storm was mine the other was an Internet picture)The truck had a long wheelbase with a short 17 degree freezer box. There was a four foot space behind the cab before the freezer box started. Like I said ugly. The wheelbase was 4 longer than normal. The seat was a fiberglass race type seat that was mounted to a piece of plywood and a metal frame to keep the seat off the floor.
The seat was the first to go. I went to the wrecking yard and they found me a nice big powered leather seat from and Oldsmobile. It was so wide that when the doors were closed the seat touched both doors and it was so deep that in 4th gear there was about an inch to the shifter. The ride was now very comfortable seat for 3 people. Heater worked well but the motor used a fair amount of oil. I was set to haul fire wood and I hauled it in the freezer box. I determined the next spring that I would sell the freezer box. I put and add in the local trader to sell the freezer box for a storage container or whatever I could get out of it and a fellow from Libby purchased it for $1200 delivered. Ron Jon and I went on a day trip to Libby.I am now into the truck $1500-$1200=$300 plus a $25 seat. On the way back from Libby I measured the oil consumption at about a quart in 60 miles and the truck a developed a miss. I pulled the all the spark plugs and put an air hose in each cylinder and there was one cylinder that blew that air breather off when I hit it with the air hose.
It was nice to have room to work without pulling the motor so I pulled heads and pan and I found pieces of a piston in the oil pan. No ridge, pulled the pistons, mic’d the cylinders with no other issues. Bought a low end overhaul set and 1 new piston honed it up very good and slipped it together. The overhaul set and 1 piston under $100 in 1983. Rings, bearings, oil pump and timing chain. It ran like a top. Went out to the mill yard and picked up lumber and made a flatbed with 6ft high side boards so I could haul fire wood and Christmas Trees and their bows. I would haul brother Jon’s lumber to the mill that he made with his stud 2×4 machine which I dropped them off where I worked.
In the fall of 1984 I bought a Chevy LUV to haul firewood and sold the C50 truck. Let’s see…. $325 plus the overhaul about $425 and I sold the truck for $2200 for profit of $1,775 and drove it for 5 years. I spoke to the fellow that purchased the truck and he had made 2x 3500 mile trips down south and had no problems and didn’t use oil. How lucky can that be!!!!
