Truck Diary

Where to Begin? That’s been one of the questions that have been plaguing me most of my life. I have all of these wild and crazy dreams and then get this wild and crazy notion to follow some of them. Sometimes, I wish my common sense would rule out my inner child obsessed with an unobtainable fantasy world. Anyway, a few months ago, I decided to follow one of my childhood dreams – Owning a Semi truck. It started when I was a kid and dreamt of driving 18 wheelers just like my dad did for his living. Some call it “White Line Fever”, and I guess it still lives inside of me. Well, two months ago, I bought a 1974 International Transtar, from Craig’s List and decided that I would restore it to some sort of worthy driving condition. I took it to CB Kenworth/International in Bangor, Maine and had it checked out and had the mechanics start working on it. First, I had three batteries installed; the truck only came with one. After a thorough check, I was given an interesting list of items to repair. Then, the radiator started leaking and next the radiator was getting a new core. I figured my plan would be to start with the big stuff and then progress to the smaller stuff. That’s my plan so far, after the radiator job; I had the front axle replaced with another one from a 1974 International Paystar. After a few grand on that aspect of the truck, I figured it would be time to bring the truck home but on the last minute, decided to have the oil changed across the street. So on Saturday, after returning from the Pine Tree Chapter of the American Truck Historical Society show in Owls Head, Maine, I drove it across the street to Dysart’s Truck stop to put in some fuel. After that, I drove it over to Dysart’s Service to have the oil changed on Monday. I also asked the service guy there to check the speedometer. It wasn’t working. Tuesday they called me and said the speedometer needed a repair kit. I authorized it and then the next day I called to get the damage and they were unable to fix it. The cable wasn’t broken but one of the gears on the axle that ran the speedometer wasn’t spinning. So they put it back together with a new axle seal. I guess the axle seals have to be replaced every time; you take off one of the Dayton wheels on the front. That makes three new axle seals since last week. Two for the replacement axle and now a second one for the passenger side on the new axle. Well, I picked it up today from Dysart’s, and they said the truck was having trouble starting. Oops, I forgot to say that three of the replacement batteries died last week when the original battery from the truck shorted them out. I got four new batteries last week and now they tell me it won’t start. I did have a little trouble starting it on Saturday, but that was because I was playing with the kill switch. Anyway, I cranked it a few times, pushed in the kill switch and the old Detroit Diesel cranked up. I still have an air leak to fix but I drove the truck back across the street to CB Kenworth. When I put the blinker on to turn left, I had no blinkers. Funny, they were working on Saturday? Before I finish, I also forgot that the driver door now doesn’t open. It’s locked and won’t unlock. So, next week, Vinnie and the guys at CB Kenworth will be fixing the speedometer, lights and the door. I can’t wait for that bill. By the way, this project has cost me about $10,000 including buying the truck, having it transported and the parts and labor to fix it. Thankfully, I’ve managed to pay for it mostly with cash, a little credit and budgeting of my spending with a little savings thrown in for flavor. My adventure in old truck restoration has just started and I plan to write about my adventures, heart breaks and money thrown everywhere as soon as I make it. I know I’m crazy but I would rather follow this dream, then have the dream and do nothing about it. Life is too short and experience is the learning tool that I’m always searching for in my toolbox. Till next time, Tom

This entry was posted on July 23, 2009 at 7:22 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.