About September 1987, our family was in need of another vehicle since we had 4 drivers going 4 directions. At the time I had an interest in mowing some yards in and around the neighborhood with the help of our son, Matt, and getting mowers out of the trunk of cars was not a good plan. I had a friend at the Santa Fe where I worked who had this 1977 GMC that his daughter was using for her school transportation. It was getting to need tires, brakes, etc., and we made a deal for me to buy it. So for the next 28 years or so, it continued to be our 4th vehicle. It hauled dirt, rock, gravel, trees and mowers and took a pretty good beating.

In 2017 I decided to give it a break and a facelift and with the help of Jimmie, the owner of J&J Body Shop in north Topeka. Between Jimmie and LMC, you can see what he made the old pickup look like. I recommend him to anyone who needs any body repair and paint work. He replaced cab corners, fender wells,  tailgate, along with painting the interior and under the hood. For the leather seats and new carpeting he referred me to Gary Scarlett who works in a neighboring shop to J&J. They also did a great job. so now this pickup has a spot in our garage for a well-deserved rest. In some ways I feel guilty not using it and there are days where I think it needs a new home, but then again…