Columbus, GA — Mobile, AL

Well, we made it all the way to Mobile.

We picked up the truck from the shop this morning. Cliff’s mechanic friend Les had done all sorts of wonderful things to it (like adding an overflow bottle to the radiator…it’s an old oil quart bottle held in place by zip ties, but hey). He was even able to adjust the valves, well, all but one. He told us he was really worried about the rear tires…dry rot.

So we headed on over to the place both he and Cliff had suggested, American Tire & Auto. There was quite a line, so they told us to come back in about an hour. We found an Advanced Auto and got a VW air filter that will fit just fine until we can get a fastener for the existing filter (which the hood has been holding in place). We also found a Lowe’s to copy the key, but they said they didn’t have any that old. We went back to the tire place and waited some more.

when they were finally ready for the truck, they told Berck, “Uh, you’re gonna have to drive it into the bay…none of us know how to drive it. Then they tried to balance the front tires, but it just wasn’t working. We ended up with four new tires…white walls! And one of the old ones is serving as the new spare…the old one looked very bald, like it had been used as more than a spare. We discovered why the rear tires hadn’t matched…one side is half an inch thicker than the other.

The girl at the counter asked us if we were going to restore it. It really is a restorer’s dream. It’s got all the insignia, all five hubcaps (yes, even the spare). And we bought it to haul a trailer.

Berck is worried. He says it’s not cooling as well as it should. A new radiator costs $300 (yikes). And the truck started making a clacking noise as we headed down to Mobile.

But the new tires took care of the vibrating problem. It cruises fairly well at 55, 60 mph.