The MINI is gone and I’m fully committed to making The Truck my daily driver. But the day will come when the Land Rover is out of commission for a few days (longer?) and Barb has made it clear I won’t be borrowing her Lexus. So I’ve been thinking about a back up ride. Something that will get me to the coffee shop and the catfish place and back. The more beat up looking the better. Would love to find something like one of these (with the exception of the last truck).

Turns out these are difficult to find because everyone wants one. And if you do find one, it ain’t cheap.

Something about a rusted, beat up old pickup truck really speaks to me. I think I’d trade the MINI for this, straight up. And “derilict restoration” is a thing.

Spotted this beauty today in Springfield, MO. That is art on wheels. I could buy an old truck like this but no amount of money could buy the memories that go with the rust and the dents. The difference between buying a “distressed” motorcycle jacket on Rodeo Drive and wearing one for 20 years in a outlaw biker gang.

But that’s the romantic in me. If I could talk to the guy that owns that truck he’d probably say something like, “Fuck yeah, I’ll sell it. Don’t mean nothin’ to me but 20 years of shitty minimum wage jobs.”

Spotted this beauty outside our local AutoZone. 1974 Chevy. The owner spent two years restoring it (NOT factory). Says he’s had offers but would never sell it. Appraised at $22,500 which seems laughable to me but I’m told restorations are never valued at what it cost to get them there. He added a second fuel tank (“she really gobbles gas”).