Posted by Dan Shockley on Monday, January 31, 2005 at 9:50PM :
In Reply to: Re: Newest Edition to the Stable - 1947 WDX w/ Belt Pulley posted by Doc Dave on Monday, January 31, 2005 at 8:01PM :
Boy, now you are asking some sensitive stuff. Well, this truck is really the result of my obsession with Dodge Power Wagons. After 5 years of search, buying and obsessing over power wagons, it all paid off. I have a friend at work that was telling a friend about my obsession. I went and met AD one day after work to go find this old army truck with front and rear winches. It was gone! We drove around looking in farmers fields and would-be junkyards. I did buy an M37 winch truck, but we never found the truck with two winches. That was months ago. Last Tuesday I got a call that he had found it. It was sitting in a corn field about 5 miles from where he had last seen it. I went out after work and couldn't believe what I was seeing. It never crossed my mind that the rear "winch" was actually a belt pulley. The spare has never even been on the ground! I was able to locate the owner with the help of a neighbor. He lived about 20 miles away. The truck was not for sale, but he would consider trades for nearly anything. I dropped off AD and decided to drive up to meet the guy. I called ahead to make sure that it would be alright to drop in. He said that he had been thinking and he wanted a a specific item for trade. By the time I drove the 20 miles, I had found him three that I could get loose from their owners. We had a nice visit and I agreed to pickup the truck the next day, though the details of the trade had not yet been worked out. It was supposed to rain all weekend and I knew that I wouldn't get it out of there. We closed the deal today, and I got the 1955 title. The engine number is still the same as what was on the my copy of the title. I bet it is the original engine!
There are no secrets to finding great trucks. It just takes patience, work, and a little bit of luck!
Dan