My old truck is MINE again!

[Jolly Roger VX'er]

Hey Gang! I'm on cloud 9 because I'm now the proud owner of the only 2 vehicles I've ever bought new! Back in '96 I bought my first "NEW" vehicle. It was a 1996 Dodge Ram 1500 2X2 shortbed "StarCraft Conversion" truck. I planned on owning her for a long time!

I was living in Erie, PA close to the lake where snow-fall is reasonable when I bought her. I then met a gal who made my heart go thumpety-thump and after a few years of dating & serious talk of marriage, I moved in with her out in the country about 20 miles south of the lake into the dreaded snowbelt; where snow-fall can be insane!....4X4 country! She was into horses & that lifestyle and also had a (white) Dodge Ram 2500 5.9 L 4X4. We decided to part ways with my truck in 1998 and trade her in for a "used" '95 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 4X4 (white w/gold accents). After trading, I lowered my car-payment $100 a month plus put us in a cushy 4X4. After about another year together, we mutually broke up.

I ended up buying my own place 30 miles south of the lake, still in the dreaded snowbelt...lol. 'Cept after whacking a deer with the Grand Cherokee...getting her rebuilt....trading her in for the VX in 2000...flash-forward 7 years later to the present.

I was down at the local tavern talking to the pretty barmaid I've know for about 5 years (she's into tuner cars...lol..her fav. movie is "Fast & the Furious") and I decided to show her some pics of all the rides I've owned in my life. I get to the pic of the Ram and the guy next to me looks over and says "I've seen that truck...it's for sale...near Franklin, PA on route 322." I figure he's probably wrong...probably saw a chevy or a ford...doubtful it really looked like my old truck. He insists he saw "that truck".

I took a vacation day off from work for my Birthday (March 29) and it was a beautiful, sunny, spring day. I decide to take the VX for a jaunt down to Franklin, PA about 40 miles away just to see if I can find this truck the guy saw. Well...I seen it and thought to myself "huh...it is painted up like my old truck...even though I've never saw another painted like it." Well, I get to looking her over and bam.....it's got the red-colored spray-on bedliner I had done..it's got the "ram-tough" decal on the tailgate I put on...I opened the hood and it still has screening I installed to keep bugs out of the radiator...I open the owners manual and there is my handwriting from 9 years ago!

I didn't tell the salesman. I worked a deal and got a good trade-in for my Monte Carlo Z-34 and paid the difference in cash..Yippee. I got the title yesterday! Thanks for listening! There are 3 pics in my gallery if you would like to see more!

[Chopper]

Aaahhhh....just like Black Beauty....a "warmfuzzy" ending. Hand me the tissues. Nice truck, I'd want it back too. It's always easier to find another woman than a proper vehicle, next time, trade the woman for the 4x4.

[Jolly Roger VX'er]

Aaahhhh....just like Black Beauty....a "warmfuzzy" ending. Hand me the tissues. Nice truck, I'd want it back too. It's always easier to find another woman than a proper vehicle, next time, trade the woman for the 4x4.

LOL...I can't pass all the blame her way though..I couldn't afford 2 vehicles back then and the typical 12-24 inch lake-effect snows we typically get here "intimidated" me into getting a 4X4. Now that I have the VX for those situations, the truck being 2X2 is okay. Plus, it gives me a few advantages:

1) Fills my need for V8 throaty-exhaust sound that is the only guilty pleasure the VX can't full-fill for me. I still love the whine of my VX SC & sound of roaring airflow from my cold-air intake though! Now I have the best of both worlds...lol.

The first night out on the town after getting my truck back, I had some biker gals swooning...lol.

2) being 2X2 and 5.2 L the truck isn't too bad on mpg. I've been getting consistant 16 mpg w/mixed driving and busted a 17.5 mpg the last fill-up. Two people I know with Rams having 4X4 plus 5.9 L are getting 11 mpg.

The mileage seems right on with what I remember getting when I first bought her...I'll have to see if she still can get 19 mpg on the highway!

3) I was seriously thinking about buying a new pick-up (probably a toyota tacoma) to be the VX's stable-mate. I wasn't looking forward to 4-5 years of debt via car payments again after paying off my VX (5.5 yrs. for that one!)
So this truck came along at the perfect time and seems to run & drive as well as it did new.

4) Conversion pick-ups were a fad. Not sure why they didn't continue to sell. Could be out of style like disco..lol..but, from the positive response from friends & family and turning heads of strangers..I'd like to believe it's just not cost-effective for new truck sales. New trucks are 'spensive enough without any add-ons. This truck came from the factory exactly as pictured minus the grille-guard & decal on the tailgate. So when I traded her in I always thought I could get another down the road at a later date...WRONG!

PS..with the exception of the starcraft logo decal on the lower door panel that trails stripes rearward...all else is real paint. All the paint-codes are inside the door panel. 5 different colors of paint...lol. red & silver primary, white & black & dark gray striping.

[TexVeX]

That's a sharp second ride and I can certainly relate to wanting back a vehicle you got rid of. I still wouldn't mind having back my Eddie Bauer Bronco II or a replacement. Really cool that you got your truck back, hey isnt that a country song in reverse.

[Dino]

AWESOME!

I did a similar thing with a BMW 325 I had. Sold it to a guy for $1600.
Then I fixed up a Mercedes 190E that I got real cheap. I saw my Bimmer a year later up the street from a house in Paia I had recently moved to. I thought, I miss that car. So I offered him a straight up trade for the MB and he said YES!

It felt soooo cool driving the Bimmer again! I kept it for a while then sold it for $1500 again!!


Nice looking truck! Congratulations!!