“Stray Truck Rescue”
This is my 2001 Dodge Ram 1500. I wasn’t looking for this truck, but it must have been looking for me. The truck belonged to a close friend of my mom. She retained the truck after her husband passed away. Upon multiple attempts to get it running properly and several mechanical bills later, she gave up on it. My mom and her friend decided it would be best served sitting in my driveway. I was told to do whatever I wanted with it, even if it meant taking it to the scrap yard. I decided the most humane thing to do was to give it a drink. So, I poured about a quarter tank of fuel into it and took it out for a road test. Although it started with no problem after warming up, it began to stutter and stalled. I noticed that this truck had 74,000 original miles and the more I looked it over as most “strays” do, it began to soften my attitude towards it. The truck was sick due to an upper intake gasket leak. I had a long time friend at his trusted local shop, “Newton’s Auto Service”, do the repair. Now, I had a healthy truck and began to think what else I could do to improve it. The truck still looked like a “stray” with some beat up bumpers and an unsightly deteriorated dash. My nephew was a Dodge lover and purchased many parts from LMC Truck. He gave me a part’s catalog and I began to invest some sweat equity in it. The Kevin Tetz videos were extremely helpful as I reviewed this truck with a new painted bench seat frame, bumper work, front/rear, new heater core, evaporator core, fuel pump, and a toothbrush motor detail. The truck had very little rust despite its age. The rocker panels were just starting to need attention. And my last project is to install some slip on rockers from LMC to complete it. LMC truck has been a real friend in taking on this project. I can’t thank them enough for helping me with the parts I needed and providing me with a much appreciated customer service. This truck has become a labor of love and it’s a true example of something worth saving in this disposable world in which we live. It has also pulled on my heart strings because my nephew Jacob, who connected me with LMC Truck, tragically passed away in November of 2022. It goes without saying how much he will be missed and adds to the reasons why I should keep this truck. I had many thoughts of selling it. Even though for a stock standard cab truck, it has a new Penny Shine. With all that has happened since it wandered into my driveway, it looks like this “Stray” has found a home. Brad.