Kurts Cars - 1964 Dodge Pickup

I bought this 1964 Dodge 1/2 ton pickup in 1981 to replace the forever dismal failure of a car: my 1965 Impala. For $600, I traded in the Impala and drove this off Chuck Olson Chev's "back lot." The truck had a 251 cubic inch "Slant Six" cylinder engine, and a 4-speed manual transmission with "compound low" first gear for pulling buildings off foundations. The interior consisted of rubber mats and a Naugahyde seat. No power steering, no power brakes, and no radio. The steering was large enough to steer a Freightliner. The clutch was hydraulic, which meant there was no mechanical linkage to activate the pressure plate. Smooth, problem free. It was the perfect rig at the time, simple and unbelievably economical.

One story that sums up the Dodge happened early in my junior year of High School. I was giving my girlfriend a ride home when she asked if her friend could get a ride too. No problem...at least that's what I thought.

"Oh my god, I hope nobody sees me in this thing. I'd be soooo embarrassed."

Whatever embarrassment she might have felt, the truck got her home with 100% dependability. She really missed the point. Looks weren't the truck's strong suit, even if it would outlast everything on the planet. It's true that the Dodge was not perfect. Part of the bed that held the tailgate in place was rotted out. The cab was also rusted around the rain lip above the windows. The windows rattled, so I guess even without a radio there was music. Despite all this, I loved my truck. As I would come to find out, once I got a taste for pickup trucks there was no going back.

Since owning this one I've owned nine others.

In the end the clutch started going bad, and I chose to sell the truck instead of getting the clutch repaired. I don't remember why. The couple who bought it paid by check; when my Dad called them to verify something, he discovered that the phone number on the check was disconnected. He promptly went to the bank where it had been written and cashed it immediately. Phew. Next car for me was a 1970 Plymouth Satellite.

And that has a story all its own!