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All,
A while back, member @Gof6 posted a "free to good home" M37. I got in touch with him to ask about it and we came to an agreement about it.
It is a 1954 M37 that his father was restoring. Before I get into the recovery, let me tell you (as Paul Harvey would say)........ the rest of the story....
The reason this truck was free with the condition "to a good home" as opposed to selling it, parting it out or selling it for the scrap value is because of the legacy of his father.
His father, John White, was a Vietnam Veteran who came home and raised his family. While I never met the man, talking to his son there was a strong bond between them and the fondness with which @Gof6 spoke about him told me the man loved his father very much. Mr. White bought the M37 and they enjoyed it, driving it around and talking about the day he would start restore it.
A parts truck was bought and Mr. White started the process of tearing it down, priming parts and working on the old girl. Unfortunately, while tearing it down, Mr. White was diagnosed with cancer and a year later passed.
The truck sat in his shop for the next 5 years. Last year, Mrs. White passed and it was time to clean out the shop. @Gof6 cleaned out the shop and moved the truck to his shop, where it sat until recently, when he did some soul searching about it.
He came to the decision that he didn't have the time or motivation to finish it and his father's truck was more important than money.
The caveat "to a good" home came about because he knew the passion his father had for the truck and he felt if he were here and couldn't work on it, he would want others to enjoy their truck.
It was explained to me that the truck would be given away only to someone who was going to use it, restore it and had the passion his father had, not sell it or pack rat the parts.
I completely agree and feel this truck will go a long way to helping others in our community.
After talking to @Gof6 I agree, and here's what's happening with the truck....
I need many parts that were there to complete my truck, but anything that is left over will be offered in the "Pay It Forward" section. The only thing I'll ask is to cover shipping.
Right now I don't have a complete list of everything available, but when I do I'll post it. I can't imagine a better way to honor Mr. White and the passion he had.
This is Mr. White in Vietnam and the man who's legacy I want to honor:
Now, on to the recovery:
Before I could even get the truck, a million moving parts had to fall into place!
The first thing I had to figure out was how to get everything home! The truck was partially (mostly) disassembled with no hubs under the front wheels, so rolling it into a car hauler was out. Fortunately I spoke to @Soupermike who has a M37, a need for some parts and a car hauler he could unload!
Then I needed to find trailers for me and my sweet lady @IRIS_Always big enough to haul everything...
Next came scheduling.... @Gof6 @Soupermike and myself all work either on call or out of town... I was trying to set up to go down during my kids Mardi Gras break. @Soupermike was off, but @Gof6 had to work out of town, but he has a great man working with him that would be able to help us. I was also waiting for my daughter (who recently got back from deployment to Europe) to drive in from Florida.
So we decided to meet Friday, the 25th.
The Sunday before I got off the rig, @Gof6 let me know he WOULD be home and would be there to help.
I also had gotten in touch with @fuzzytoaster about some new shoes for Bertha, so I started coordinating with him about swinging by and picking up the tires. He said "Don't plan yet as I'm waiting for the delivery".... more scheduling stress!
Tuesday my daughter drives in and I get this message:
"Tires are here" with this pic:
So the swing by is on!
All of the moving parts fell into place!
The plan is to meet @Soupermike in Lubbock, so he and I coordinate to meet at the hotel.
My little convoy left at 0600 Thursday morning to head west... on what turned out to be a HORRIBLE day for driving. Roads were iced, wrecks left and right and the high in Dallas was 28!
I get to @fuzzytoaster place and warn my kid (who loves MVs more than I do) that he is fixing to lose his mind.. .
Before we load, I ask if my kid can get the nickel tour.... can we say in heaven?
Now to load the tires... it's one thing to see the size "16R20 52" written down... it's an entirely different thing to see them in person...
Once I'm loaded, it's time to head west.... in the ice.... with now a ton+ of tires on my trailer...
We make it to Lubbock around 2000 and get settled into the hotel and I meet @Soupermike and his father, who drove over with him (and both a freaking great guys!).
I then coordinate with @Gof6 about meeting Friday morning. 0730 is coming quickly....
We wake up and head over to load. The first thing we need to do is get @Soupermike loaded as he has to drive back to New Orleans
Then we started loading the "loose" bed and and parts...
A while back, member @Gof6 posted a "free to good home" M37. I got in touch with him to ask about it and we came to an agreement about it.
It is a 1954 M37 that his father was restoring. Before I get into the recovery, let me tell you (as Paul Harvey would say)........ the rest of the story....
The reason this truck was free with the condition "to a good home" as opposed to selling it, parting it out or selling it for the scrap value is because of the legacy of his father.
His father, John White, was a Vietnam Veteran who came home and raised his family. While I never met the man, talking to his son there was a strong bond between them and the fondness with which @Gof6 spoke about him told me the man loved his father very much. Mr. White bought the M37 and they enjoyed it, driving it around and talking about the day he would start restore it.
A parts truck was bought and Mr. White started the process of tearing it down, priming parts and working on the old girl. Unfortunately, while tearing it down, Mr. White was diagnosed with cancer and a year later passed.
The truck sat in his shop for the next 5 years. Last year, Mrs. White passed and it was time to clean out the shop. @Gof6 cleaned out the shop and moved the truck to his shop, where it sat until recently, when he did some soul searching about it.
He came to the decision that he didn't have the time or motivation to finish it and his father's truck was more important than money.
The caveat "to a good" home came about because he knew the passion his father had for the truck and he felt if he were here and couldn't work on it, he would want others to enjoy their truck.
It was explained to me that the truck would be given away only to someone who was going to use it, restore it and had the passion his father had, not sell it or pack rat the parts.
I completely agree and feel this truck will go a long way to helping others in our community.
After talking to @Gof6 I agree, and here's what's happening with the truck....
I need many parts that were there to complete my truck, but anything that is left over will be offered in the "Pay It Forward" section. The only thing I'll ask is to cover shipping.
Right now I don't have a complete list of everything available, but when I do I'll post it. I can't imagine a better way to honor Mr. White and the passion he had.
This is Mr. White in Vietnam and the man who's legacy I want to honor:
Now, on to the recovery:
Before I could even get the truck, a million moving parts had to fall into place!
The first thing I had to figure out was how to get everything home! The truck was partially (mostly) disassembled with no hubs under the front wheels, so rolling it into a car hauler was out. Fortunately I spoke to @Soupermike who has a M37, a need for some parts and a car hauler he could unload!
Then I needed to find trailers for me and my sweet lady @IRIS_Always big enough to haul everything...
Next came scheduling.... @Gof6 @Soupermike and myself all work either on call or out of town... I was trying to set up to go down during my kids Mardi Gras break. @Soupermike was off, but @Gof6 had to work out of town, but he has a great man working with him that would be able to help us. I was also waiting for my daughter (who recently got back from deployment to Europe) to drive in from Florida.
So we decided to meet Friday, the 25th.
The Sunday before I got off the rig, @Gof6 let me know he WOULD be home and would be there to help.
I also had gotten in touch with @fuzzytoaster about some new shoes for Bertha, so I started coordinating with him about swinging by and picking up the tires. He said "Don't plan yet as I'm waiting for the delivery".... more scheduling stress!
Tuesday my daughter drives in and I get this message:
"Tires are here" with this pic:
So the swing by is on!
All of the moving parts fell into place!
The plan is to meet @Soupermike in Lubbock, so he and I coordinate to meet at the hotel.
My little convoy left at 0600 Thursday morning to head west... on what turned out to be a HORRIBLE day for driving. Roads were iced, wrecks left and right and the high in Dallas was 28!
I get to @fuzzytoaster place and warn my kid (who loves MVs more than I do) that he is fixing to lose his mind.. .
Before we load, I ask if my kid can get the nickel tour.... can we say in heaven?
Now to load the tires... it's one thing to see the size "16R20 52" written down... it's an entirely different thing to see them in person...
Once I'm loaded, it's time to head west.... in the ice.... with now a ton+ of tires on my trailer...
We make it to Lubbock around 2000 and get settled into the hotel and I meet @Soupermike and his father, who drove over with him (and both a freaking great guys!).
I then coordinate with @Gof6 about meeting Friday morning. 0730 is coming quickly....
We wake up and head over to load. The first thing we need to do is get @Soupermike loaded as he has to drive back to New Orleans
Then we started loading the "loose" bed and and parts...
