Lucky's first full day home.

Trucks have a life cycle. It goes like this...
Daily driver, farm truck, hunting truck, then the scrap yard. Usually by that point their dents, leaks, and wear make them unwanted.
Not this time.
Hey everyone! My name is Jon and I live in rainy South Carolina with my wife, Daughter, two Cocker Spaniels, and two cats. I work for Michelin in a rail yard. A few years back I bought a Nissan Titan. "This is going to be perfect!" I thought to myself. I expected Japanese reliability. I didn't get it. I liked the truck but after replacing the cats and headers for $2000 and dealing with the HVAC, and dealing with other little issues, the transmission quit and so did I. I didn't want another payment as Im the only one working and money is really tight but I needed a truck.
My wife sent up the Bat signal to all her friends.
"Chris has a truck he isn't using." She tells me.
We then spiral into a labyrinth of who is Chris and it is determined that he is the brother of Amy. The truck is an unknown. So we ride by his house. Through the trees I see the shape of a Dakota... Silver... Extended cab... Was this It? General condition was hard to tell. A deal is made to go and see it after he gets off the next day. Tentatively I float an offer to trade a rifle and a shotgun for it.
So South Carolina winter climate is water. Not rain. No, rain would mean that there would be dry. There is no dry, only Old Testament level precipitation. In the waning daylight and in the rain I trade the rifle and shotgun for the truck. Chris tells me a Mennonite farmer had sold it to a girl's camp and he had bought it after the brain box had gone out while they were hauling hay for the goats. He then replaced the brain box and used it as a temporary hunting rig. I get the title and head for home...
South Carolina is famous for pine forests and this truck had sat under pine trees for YEARS. There is a film covering the entire truck. Under the best of circumstances it would be difficult to see out of it. As I left it began to rain in earnest. I turned on the wipers and the WalMart blades promptly disintegrated. Then the headlights went out.... so I rolled the window down and hung my head out like a Labrador. Other cars (most of them with the blinding word of God level bright headlights) are flashing me apparently to let me know my lights aren't working and I wont be able to see without them. "I know μżĄ￦Г! My lights arent working! These bulbs havent been changed since Monica Lewinsky's dress was clean!" I shout at some dude in a Chebrolay Z sebundywun tahoo denally dullie with the bright as the word of God headlights.

I forgot to mention that Chris had told me the truck had front end... Issues. The handling on this thing is wooly. Turn the wheel sort of like The Price is Right you got no idea what's going to happen.

Finally, I make it home. My daughter in the chase car has named the truck Lucky. Right off the bat Lucky needs to be cared for. The front suspension is shot, as are the brakes, headlights, starter and steering. Cosmetically Lucky is beaten up pretty bad. His motor is strong-ish? Lucky though has one big huge trait in his favor... I can work in him. Parts are cheap for him. For all his dents and leaks and wear like me he is still standing. So begins Lucky's story.

Thanks for reading!

 

Welcome to DF! Excellent story! Had me lmao! If you haven't already, head over to the 2nd gen Dakota section. Lots of knowledgeable folk's there can help you out if you have any questions.