Saturday Car Show, the adventure.

[Colin Britton]

Well I was invited by a local car club last week when I took my CCKW to their cruze in night last week to joint them at a car show on FT Bragg as part of their group. ( See post in lighter side of armor for story)
So I wash the GMC, clean windows check the fluid levels, grease the driveline and suspension, check tires and my transfur case oil level( cause I have'nt replaced that leaking driveshaft output seal vet)
Everything checks out and off we go down the street to get gas, ice for the cooler and some soda's and a couple bottles of gatorade. Did you know it gets hot in an open cab CCKW? So I turn up the A/C by running with the windshield 1/3 open.....
I fuel up, pack the cooler and finish up the idle conversation's that people strike up while I'm gassing her up.
FIre her up turn on the lights and away we go...... About a mile and pffffft she's dead, and I coast to the shoulder.
I check the fuel filter, drop the bowl and see if its full of cr@p. Nope clean. Check the electric fuel pump, got power and pumping fuel. Pull the coil wire and check for spark. Nothing.
Thank god for cell phones, call my buddy/neighbor and have him run to NAPA and pick up a 6V coil.
So I'm sitting there waiting about a hundred cars drive by, about 10 beep their horns, about 20 waved as they drove by checking out the truck and 30 went by gawking and 3 stopped to help. 1 was a nice lady offering, the other two were military, 1 was a military married couple out to run errands and the other was a mechanic in the Army. And as he had pulled up so did my buddy with the coil.
Put it in hook it up and bang, she fires right up and off I go, 1 hour late.
So running down the road and get onto the outer skirts of Ft Bragg happily motoring along at about 38 MPH when 2 MP cars pass me in the opposate direction. When the light's come on on both cars and they do a quick 180. And I pull over to let them get by me to the call. Nope they whip in behind me with holsters open and hands on weapons. Oh, did I mention the fact that the Workman replica 50. cal was mounted up on the Gun ring?
So Two MP's come up on either side of the GMC with the other two providing cover from behind.
I have my Military ID out and ask "what's up"? And he states that I had waved him down and why? And why am I driving a military vehicle in civilian clothes, where is the vehicles dispatch and why is a weapon mounted?
I then state to the young MP that the truck was a 1945, I was shifting and steering and NOT WAVING, it has no dispatch, I can drive the truck in civilian clothes cause it's MINE and I'm on my way to the car show on Ft Bragg! They said "Oh"! and turned and walked away, I left.
I finially got to the show almost two hours late, but I made it.... But the judging was done by crowd participation with chips and I had missed alot of the crowd. But I managed to take 3RD place in BEST TRUCK ANY YEAR.
But people running the event said if I had been there from the start (on time) I would of won.
But the adventure continues, on the trip home I get caught up in a huge thunderstorm with the rain pouring down and no doors, people driving like
idiots and 1 brake on the right intermediate axle that wants to start skidding while the rest are breaking nicely on the wet roads.
Man vaccume wipers suck! Slowing down to nothing when accelerating and working fine when your coasting. Thank God for Rain X!!!
But it was fun in the end and a fine CCKW story.

[dr deuce]

GOD: I LOVE the smell of napalm in the morning!!!!

Just your typical CCKW trip I love it!

Great story. Thanks for sharing it

[Lucky Forward]

Collin,
I particularly enjoyed the part about the MPs. I am retired HPD Officer in Houston (31 years and a day) I am truly amazed that civilian law enforcement normally thinks MVs of WWII are all current military and leaves them alone. (most of the time) I don't know how many times I have driven my Dodge Command car and folks thought I was current military. I am more than a bit amused that current military can't tell the difference either. Now that's funny!
Denny

[Colin Britton]

A few years back a guy in our LHD (living history detachment) was busy working/restoring his recently aquired WC-56 Command Car, in his back yard was his restored WC-51 (a former WC-55 that had been converted back to a WC-51 when the Army removed the 37mm AT gun off the back, but the mouting brackets and holes were still in the bed when they found out the idea did not work) visable from the road, and a repainted but not stenciled Ben Hur Trailer. When the 2 State Police cars pull up to his driveway and they get out of their cars.
He stops working on the dodge to see what they want and are there for when the lead officer states " We had got a call (a neigbor across the street) that someone was stealing government vehicles from Ft Bragg at this residence". But he knew upon pulling up and seeing the two dodges that the were WWII vehicles. They asked questions about how the restoration was going and where do you find these vehicles? And other nice small talk about antique vehicles. Finishing up they said "Nice trucks, and dont worry about the call we're done here". They went across the street to talk to the neighbor and tell them (they were watching) and explained to them that the were not stolen army vehicles they were way too old and were sold by the goverment along time ago and they left..... Case closed.
It's true and scary, shocking how clueless people can be at time's. But a funny story to add to the tale of the car show and my excellent adventure.

[John V Cliche]

they whip in behind me with holsters open and hands on weapons. Oh, did I mention the fact that the Workman replica 50. cal was mounted up on the Gun ring?
So Two MP's come up on either side

Yup , been there, done that....... ......only ( in my case they were Civis not MPs )

Steve Workman strikes again.


506

[dr deuce]

Workman took my IRAC .50 cal and did an excellent job copying it to very minute detail....