Let me introduce Lurch, my 1927 Chevy one ton cattle truck. I pieced him together in 1995 from the parts of three dead trucks. The chassis (and what's left of the sheet metal) from one truck, the engine and tranny from another, and the bed with a cattle cage from the third. Being that my middle 'name' is Rustoholic, I like keeping Lurch in a state of arrested disintegration. I repair him mechanically, but I try very hard to keep his original patina and parts intact. Case in point, the front tires date from the middle of the 1930's. Yes, they are 75 years old! See the pics and you'll see what I mean. Originally, he would have had a complete cab with roof, windshield, and doors, but the wooden body frame rotted away so these parts disappeared. Hmm, a nature-made open touring vehicle! Since he didn't have any seats, I upholstered him using a jean skirt of my wife's for the bench and an old pair of my pants for the seat backs. I put a picture of my least favorite Politician behind the zipper. 😉 Like all old men, he leaks a little. To help keep from messing up the roads, I put Depends under his engine: a cookie sheet and a baking pan to catch the 'drips'. For the more scientific minds out there, he leaks 3/4 teaspoon of oil per mile. The plywood cows are decorations from a past Black and White Ball in San Francisco. I found them in a junk shop in Berkeley. Happy California cows! He and I enjoy driving around the SF Bay Area to the delight of the public who cannot believe this hunk of junk is still powering himself around. The longest trip we made was for Halloween in 1996. I drove him to work for the day (102 miles round trip) and I was dressed as a cow. The trip took 3 hours each way, he got 10 mpg, and everyone had an equal opportunity giggle. My manager at the time could not look at me or talk to me that day. She said the costume was too disgusting. 😉 I have since decided that he'd rather ride on the trailer for long distances. I put him on the trailer backwards because he has such a heavy butt and for safe towing, you need more weight on the front of the trailer than the rear. Lurch tells the tale about how I learned this lesson in his Stovebolt Saga. Click on the first link below for the details. For more info about Lurch (in his own words), follow these links: - https://www.stovebolt.com/features/sagas/meltz/meltz_lurch.htm - https://www.stovebolt.com/features/sagas/meltz/2007/index.html Cheers, Dean Rustoholic Meltz Old and Ugly is Beautiful!!
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