1971 Chevy C10 – Vernon A.

Poppy’s Pickup

In the spring of 1971, my grandfather drove this truck off of the Keith Marsh Chevrolet lot in St Joseph, Mo. He was needing a farm truck to replace the 1964 Chevy he sold a short while before. He wanted nothing fancy, just something to use. The truck was a Custom/10, 6-cylinder 3 speed. No power steering or brakes and radio delete. He used it haul whatever he could put in the bed. It has hauled a lot of rocks he pickup out of the fields. During my senior year of high school, 1974, I was involved in a head on collision in my 1967 Chevy Caprice with a 1974 Plymouth Fury. Needless to say, the old 67 was totaled. My senior prom was coming up and I had nothing to drive except our 1973 C60 two-ton truck. Not wanting to go in the C60, my grandfather suggested I take the blue pickup. Mind you at that time the truck only had about 4000 miles on it, so it was like taking a new vehicle. I drove “Poppy’s pickup” to my senior prom. Poppy passed away in 1989 and the truck was sold in his estate sale. The truck had a whopping 39,100 mile on it. Not being able to afford to buy it myself, I watched it sell to my uncle. In 1999 my uncle passed away and I was able to buy it from my aunt. In ten years, the truck had managed to accumulate an extra 127 miles. When I bought it from my aunt it was showing 39,227 miles on the odometer. I brought the truck home and began to get the motor purring as a kitten, but to no avail. The old 6- cylinder had just set so long the block was full of rust and it just ran hot all the time. Repeated block flushing did no good. So, time to upgrade. The truck had virtually no rust, so a new paint job was an easy redo. Poppy’s pickup now has 52,000 miles on it, 350, automatic, power steering, power brakes, and vintage air.
The interior is all original. The seat even has the sweat stain from Poppy’s arm still visible. My son Jake drove it from the church with his new bride to the reception venue in 2014. It has such great memories for four generations. I am 65 years old, so prom was a long time ago. It will go to my son eventually and then hopefully to his son Will (5th generation). Maybe someday it will be drove by a 6th generation. Thanks, Poppy, for a great family keepsake. I know you are looking down and smiling to see it still in the family.[lmc_story_gallery]