Posted by Brett Wilsey on Saturday, March 16, 2002 at 11:20PM :
In Reply to: What hooked you? When ? posted by Sean on Saturday, March 16, 2002 at 7:34PM :
I can go back to 1963, the year I was born, to start my story.
It was that same year that Grandpa bought his third and final flat fender Power Wagon. He turned 79 that year. The one distinct memory I have of him driving this PW is when my mom, brother, sister, and I got stuck in very deep snow trying to get to his place ( must have been '69 or '70 ). The only roads going to his ranch were dirt and they didn't really have ditches so with more than a foot of snow on the ground you couldn't really tell where the road was. We were driving an old 2wd Chevy pickup that was good in snow but it had finally reached it's limit and couldn't go any further. Still several miles from his place mom walked for help. I, being the oldest, could have kept up with her but my younger brother and sister couldn't have, so us three stayed with the pickup. More than an hour later we finally seen the headlights of Grandpa's Power Wagon coming through the snow. That still remains as one of the most welcome sights in my memory.
Years passed. Grandpa passed away in '88 or '89 at 104 years old.
Just last spring a friend and I got on the subject of Power Wagons which sparked my interest. Was the old truck still on the ranch? I was pretty sure it was. Did anyone in the family want it? Not likely. I was right. I went and got it at the end of August.
So I now have the WM300 that came to rescue us in the snow that day in '69 or '70.
It's not running yet. The engine was very stuck after setting for 20 to 25 years. The engine is now being bored. I'm sure I will start assembling it within the next couple weeks.
I've got a couple more stories of Grandpa and his Power Wagon's that I'll share in the future.
Thanks.
Keep the faded paint side up and the rubber side down.
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