[ad_1]
At first glance, Kathie Durkel thought she might be familiar with the late-1940s Ford 3100 pickup featured in this column a few weeks ago.
“I noticed your column today,” he said in an email. “I might know that truck!”
In the late 1970s, his ex-husband bought a similar pickup. He thought it was a 1948, “but that could be because that’s the year I was born,” he said.
They named the truck “Stanley” in honor of his Polish grandfather. “Just like Stanley,” he said.
The faded green truck is more of an attention-getter than a practical form of transportation, Durkel said, especially since he’s never driven one.
“I didn’t drive stick at the time and I was pregnant,” she explained.
ICYMI:My Favorite Ride: Getting distracted by the rich patina of an old Chevy pickup
They live near the west side of Bloomington, so she and her daughter can walk where they need to go, to Fairview Elementary School or the now long-closed Ralph’s T-Mart grocery store.
But she recalled some adventurous and downright chilly trips to and from Nashville for appointments when she was pregnant.
“I wanted a home birth so I used a doctor in Nashville,” she said. “Stanley’s passenger window stopped rolling, which made for some chilly visits to Nashville in December.”
They sold Stanley in 1978, the same year the guy from the previous column bought his truck. “If you’re contacting the source of your story, can you see if he bought it from a guy named Phil on West Sixth? Or we might have been on 18th Street at the time.”
He said their next vehicle would be a more practical Volkswagen square back, a small station wagon of the type made from 1961 to 1973 that was better suited to hauling a family around.
The 1948 truck I wrote about earlier was purchased from a mechanic at Curry Buick, not a guy named Phil.
Is Stanley still there?
Looking for Ford and Plymouth
On October 4, I followed a slate-back Ford Ranchero a long distance down Walnut Street before the driver pulled into the McDonald’s drive-thru across the street from the newspaper office where I worked.
I got out of my car and ran to where he stopped in line to order. I told him who I was, that I write a newspaper column about people and cars, and could I call him to find out more about his Ranchero?
Sure, he said and I wrote down his name and phone number. “And my boyfriend’s daily driver is a 1963 Plymouth,” she called as I walked away.
Score! But there is a problem. I can’t find the notebook of the reporter whose number I wrote down. So Riley, call me: 812-318-5967.
Catalytic converter thefts have soared
Thieves get hundreds of dollars for the platinum, rhodium and palladium inside catalytic converters, emission control devices attached to car exhaust systems.
Catalytic converters are stolen a lot. I cut two different Honda Pilots. One is parked in a bright lot in downtown Indianapolis, the other on a corner in Chicago under a street light.
Last week, I received a call from fellow journalist Jeremy Hogan, whose home security camera captured two men quickly stealing the catalytic converter from a 2004 Toyota Prius parked outside his house.
In mere seconds, they lifted the car, cut its vital catalytic converter and fled into the night.
Statistics from State Farm insurance claims for stolen catalytic converters show that the crime is on the rise.
For subscribers:Stinesville deputy fired after police car crash and drunken driving arrest
In 2019, State Farm paid $77,870 for 58 catalytic converter theft claims in Indiana. In 2021, the value jumps to over $973,800 for 648 catalytic converter thefts.
From January to August of this year, $770,470 was paid for 461 catalytic converter theft claims.
Nationwide, State Farm paid $4.6 million for 2,535 catalytic converter theft claims in 2019, then $62.6 million for 32,265 in 2021.
In the first eight months of this year, the company paid $70.6 million for 31,835 stolen catalytic converters.
To reduce risk, State Farm advises parking in a garage or well-lit area and having motion detector security lights and cameras. That’s right.
A better solution? Pay a few hundred dollars to the mechanic to install a device that protects your catalytic converter and deters thieves. Replacing it will cost more.
Have a story to tell about a car or truck? Contact My Favorite Ride reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.
[ad_2]
Source link