It's kinda strange...I mean, I feel like I've just had to put a bullet in my best horse 'cuz it pulled up lame, and then had to load up the carcass to send over to the glue factory. Now all that's left are the memories of the many miles and adventures that I shared with that trusty steed.
You see, my previous ride had a bad transmission, and after the third time it went out, I washed my hands of it. I think I had $900 bucks in the bank at the time, and I was disposessed! My good friend April assisted me in my plight. Saved me, as it were. She carried me around to a couple of dealerships until I found what seemed to be the perfect thing. A 1985 Nissan 720 pickup. Burnt Orange in color it was, but the body was straight, and it ran pretty good. April made up the difference for the $1,100 price tag, and I drove that old truck out of there.
Once I got it off the lot, I realized that the speedometer wasn't functioning, therefore the odometer wasn't counting the miles. It read 182,000 and change when I bought it, and I never did fix it. I drove that pickup to work... forty miles a day for at least a year (maybe two), then I moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I spent nine months out there, and made four trips back home (Knoxville, TN) in that truck during my stay. My contract ran out, and I moved home. Before too long I got on with another technical firm, but it was two counties away. 100 miles a day for two years. Then I was promoted, and moved to Nashville. My girlfiend (at the time) lived over here, so I would drive home every other weekend (around 300 miles one way) to see her. I did this for roughly six months before the head gasket finally gave up.
Although I bought the minivan, I still held on to the pickup. It got dragged home behind my Uncle's pickup, and has been sitting in the side yard since then. I got the new head gasket, and attempted to fix it, but I ran out of tools, and ran out of time. Not to mention the fact that I was working on it out in the yard, which is not the best circunstance to rebuild the top-end of a motor. I've had people ask if it was for sale before, but none of them ever bit.
Towards the beginning of last week, I found a note laying on my computer desk that said " if you're interested in selling your truck call ...-.... . I was too tired to call the person back, so I disregarded it. On Wednesday, there was a knock at my door, and I found a DHL driver outside, so I expected him to give me a package. Instead, he told me he was the one who left the note, and so I showed him my truck. Anyway's, I sold him the pick-up, and it's one of the hardest things I've had to do.
If I'd had a proper shop, and a little more time, I'd have made something of that truck, but I didn't, and it was rotting. I sold it for $200. Good return on my investment, but damn! I hated to see it go.
Posted by Johnny - Oh at January 29, 2006 11:39 PM | TrackBack