We’re rolling along (pun intended) with our Sweet Ride series, and this week we’re chatting with Gary and Joy McCoola about their beautiful 1950 pickup truck. Read on for the scoop on how they came to own it, a little about it’s previous owners (the sweetest story - grab your tissues!), and hear about their favorite road trips.
Before we get into the details on your gorgeous truck, let’s chat a bit about the two of you!
I grew up in Edison, New Jersey and Joy grew up in Long Beach on Long Island. We met on the dance floor of a country-western bar in NYC when I was in college in 1981. I was attending NJIT in Newark - studying architecture. Joy was living in Manhattan and teaching. Between academic years at NJIT, I was working summer jobs in Colorado. It was there that I spent time sketching old vehicles and I came to appreciate the style of the 1947-55 Chevrolet trucks, what I consider to be "the classic American pickup truck". While finishing college, I worked in NYC and soon after moved to Durango, Colorado, where I also interned as an architect. Joy joined me there for a few years and after we married we moved to Glens Falls in 1985.
THE SPECS
Year, make, and model: 1950 Chevrolet 3800 Series, one-ton pickup truck with a 9-foot bed.
Mileage: 74,000 miles
Size engine: 216.5 ci "Thriftmaster" inline 6-cylinder rated at 29.4 SAE HP or 90 HP at 3400 RPM.
Automatic or stick: Four speed on the floor, though speed is a relative term. 1st is granny gear with top speed of about 3 MPH; in 4th gear it tops out at about 50 MPH so a comfortable highway cruising speed is about 47 MPH.
Approximate gas mileage: Maybe 12-15 MPG.
Years owned: 36 years.
Driven through all seasons or stored: I store it through the winter.
Favorite features: There is an opening in the front grill so that you can hand-crank the engine. The cab is ventilated by popping the cowl vent and driver's side vent. Manual choke and throttle on the dashboard; pedal starter on the floor. Nine-foot bed so that you can load it with plywood and still have space for other stuff. Hard steering and slow driving, especially in granny gear. My truck is the antithesis of the current rage in hot rod trucks.
THE HISTORY
How did you come to own it?
While living in Durango in 1983, I attended numerous estate auctions looking for cool antiques. I missed the opportunity (had no money) to bid on an original, low-mileage 1949 1/2-ton Chevy pickup with a custom cab - visor, chrome grille, rear corner windows and radio.
At a subsequent ranch auction, another Chevy pickup was available - 68,000 miles and in original condition, though a bit weathered. I set my limit and was bidding against one other person. At the hammer, the other bidder had won and I spent the next hour or so kicking myself for not bidding higher. Later, the auctioneer came to me and said that the successful bidder had to withdraw his bid, and instead of going back to a public bid, he would accept an additional $50 offer. No problem, I was the new owner of the truck with a price of $1,550.
Do you know much about its history or previous owners?
The truck is from Bayfield, Colorado and I am the second owner. The estate auction where I purchased the truck was a working ranch for about 100 years. Every tool, appliance, piece of furniture, vehicle, etc. ever used there was retired to a barn instead of being discarded. Everything was being auctioned so that the owners could sell the ranch and move to a nursing home. This particular truck performed many ranch chores and was used by the family's son and wife to travel through New Mexico on their honeymoon. It had been fitted with Oak slat hoops over the bed and covered with a canvas top - much like a Conestoga wagon. I had the hoops in the truck and was told that the canvas top was in a barn somewhere, but I never found it. Weeks later, when I finally got the title, registration and insurance, I went to claim the truck. By that time everything at the ranch was gone, except for the pickup truck. The owner, an elderly woman, gave me the key. I climbed into the truck, turned the key, pulled the choke, hit the gas pedal few times, stepped on the starter pedal and it fired right up. As the truck warmed up, she walked over and gently kissed the left front fender - saying good-bye to the last of her family's belongings. Needless to say, I had tears in my eyes and that was the saddest drive I have ever taken despite my joy in having the truck.
THE REPAIRS
How about the repairs? Do you work on the truck yourself?
I do minor repairs and maintenance myself. After owning it for about 20 years, the northeast humidity had taken its toll on the worn paint and the surface of the truck was an even coat of rust. I decided to have it repainted so that it would last another 50 years. The truck is about 98% original metal with no bondo. I replaced the tailgate and bed front and the floor of the bed only. The bed is Southern Yellow Pine with black paint finish as original. The truck has been restored as close as possible to original condition, except for the addition of a second rear tail light, rear directional lights, rear view mirror and an oil filter. The restoration was performed by Bob Adler of Stephentown, NY. He works almost exclusively on the Chevy "Advance-Design Era" trucks from 1947-55. He is a highly skilled painter, mechanic and engineer, and it was great to correspond with him throughout the restoration process. For instance, he hadn't worked on a truck manufactured in the Kansas plant before, so he was able to dissect how the painting sequence of the two-tone front grill in that factory differed from those painted in the east-coast factory.
Any must haves in the truck during road trips?
An adjustable wrench and a screwdriver are always in the glove box. They can fix just about anything that might come loose or need adjustment. The truck has never broken down or not started in 36 years!
THE RIDE
Your favorite local cruise?
About every weekend, I make it a point to drive the truck. Most trips are to the trash transfer station, farmer's market, Lowes, Ace Hardware and Curtis Lumber. I feel obligated to use it as a work truck, so I have hauled beds full of stone, cow manure, fire wood, slate tiles, newspaper, trash and lumber. I look forward to any load that will dampen the stiff two-stage rear leaf springs.
And your favorite long distance road trip?
When Joy and I moved from Colorado to New York in 1985, we used the truck. It was still in original condition and had 4-foot high Oak stock racks around the bed. After a thorough inspection by a local mechanic we were road worthy. We loaded everything we owned at the time into the back of the truck and were ready for our 2,200 mile journey. Within the first two hours was our greatest obstacle: Wolf Creek Pass - a 7-percent grade for 10 miles topping out at about 11,000 foot elevation. With the truck in third gear, about 25 MPH, we crawled up the pass. The truck was spewing a bit a blue smoke, but was running well. Once at the top, I thought that we would stop for a break, but I knew that it was all downhill from there to New York and we motored on. We generally followed the old Lincoln Highway, US Route 30, which was one of the earliest transcontinental highways. With a cruising speed of 47 MPH, a single taillight, hand signaling for turns, and headlights equivalent to an old flashlight, we drove only during the day. We stopped frequently in the many small towns and enjoyed the slow ride. Over the course of the trip, an old Volkswagen bus passed us and they were clearly excited to have passed a vehicle other than a farm tractor. Our trip lasted six days and on the seventh day we rested.
The Advice
What advice would you give to someone who wants to take the leap and buy their dream ride?
Look for a clean, running vehicle with no rust. Vehicles from the southwest are preserved by the dry climate and are not subjected to salted roads. I always look forward to western vacations so I can drive the back roads through small towns searching backyards and alleys for those vehicles waiting to be rescued.
