New dust collector project
 

I have had a fetish for '69-70 Chevrolet C10 pickups my whole life and have owned several '67-72 models. I had a very clean '69 to build and restore when we moved 5 years ago, but sold it in 2020 to finance finishing the inside of the bare pole building into a heated shop. I bought 2 '67's a couple years ago, but just can't get into that front end like I do the '69-70 model. So.... Monday I left home at 4pm and drove straight thru the night to Mannford OK to buy another abandoned '69 mutt to build into a driver. I did stop and take a 3 hour nap in Iola, KS, so it wasn't entirely non-stop. I got to the location at 8:45 am Tuesday and looked the truck over and made an offer less than he wanted, but he accepted, since it wasn't quite as clean as advertised. I called my wife and told her I was loaded up and would be heading home. That's when she asked if I had checked the weather for Tuesday and Wednesday and I said I hadn't...why ? apparently, I had missed seeing a warning about a blizzard set to hit the entire length of I 35 from KC to home...:eek2: CRAP ! I pushed the truck hard to get thru KC before rush hour and made it at 3pm and was starving and tired. I stopped long enough at Kearney, MO to eat at a Taco Bell and guzzle a gallon of coffee and kept going. I ran into the crazy strong wind and, at times, torrential rain, in central IA and the snow storm in northern IA and drove thru near white out conditions and deep snow the rest of the 160 miles home. A sane person would ask themselves, "was it really worth it for a derelict truck" ?? :rolleyes2:. No, but I made it home safe. I have an old trucker mentality of "keep going and you'll drive out of it". That did work many times in the Pete over the years, but I drove into the worst of the storm to get home and am very happy to be here.
Here's a pic of the truck at the previous owners home. It has "a lot of potential"...:biggthumpup:

Glad the trip was a success........and you being safe at home.

Yay!

You off the grid up there Mitch?? They've been screaming at us for days about this Red Alert Weather Warning, 65MPH wind and inches of snow, blizzard whiteouts. It wasn't that bad, but I live in town sheltered by many trees. I'm told the wind was a issue in the open country.

Not off the grid, just don't listen to much news...too depressing.
Yes, the wind was a huge issue on the freeway, especially in IA with no trees to break it. It affected my ability to hold even 60 mph at a reasonable rpm in 3-4th gear. I could watch the gas gauge move and the instant read out was 7-9 mpg. Earlier in the day, when the wind was still out of the South, I was running 70 mph and getting 13.6

Glad you got home safe Mitch!! Reports are that the I-35 corridor is/was a real mess. There are gates to close off the Interstate between Hampton and Mason City because it's an open area prone to drifting, surprised that you were allowed to travel through.

I am jealous. Nice start; especially with your skills.

Just a lot of rain thru that area when I went thru, the snow came later. My wife read an article this morning about the snowfall amounts in MN and Albert Lea was the hardest hit, and that I DID drive thru, albeit before the snow was done, but there were already plenty of cars off the road at 11PM. At some point, they called out the National Guard to help get all the people and cars back on the road.
This morning I had to clear a path with our 24" snow thrower to get a run up the driveway to the top. 175 ft long at about a 4% grade. Hard to tell how much snow we got, with all the blowing but at least 6" and maybe as much as 8"

The things we do for the hobby.
Back in the day a buddy and I drove to Ann Arbor Mi. to purchase a '70 Chevelle cowl induction hood. The thing is I was driving an '83 Ford Escort. Yep, strapped it to the roof. Had to roll the windows down for the straps and climb in Dukes of Hazzard style.
No issues at the border coming back. Just weird looks.
Yes the hood is still in my basement. I sold the car.

Looks like an advertisement for Chevy trucks.

Built to stay tough!

K

“like a rock”

Great job making it home safe. Definitely a tough run!!!

Neat truck. I like them as well. I found this in a junkyard a friend brought me to. The owner will not sell it and has probably a dozen or so 69-72 GM pickups.
This one is special
396
Turbo 400
Shortbed
Says Midnight Special on the side of the bed.

Supposedly it was a complete truck back around 2000 when it got junked. And over the years has been picked and stolen from.

Damn shame when owners let them sit outside and rot and have good parts stolen. I can tell mine sat outside for a long time too and unfortunately, the hood was off and apparently laying upside down as the left front corner has pin holes from water sitting in there for years... one of the issues I had with this truck and almost left it there, until he agreed to lower the price.