PAT & WANDA's 14th ANNUAL TAILGATE PARTY
Was held Friday, September 24 through Sunday, September 26, 2010.
reported by Paul Cook
The first thing to report is Flat Fenders were a majority with Mark McElyea's WDX, Ron Sawyer's "EMMA", Wayne Webster's 1948 PW, and John Webster's 1948 PW. Adding to the number of Power Wagons was Don Sawyer's and Paul Cook's 2005 models. There were three M37's - all with modified engines. Pat O'Bryan's had Chevy Power, Tom Parrinello's had a Dodge 360, and Lloyd and Nicholas Bluntzer's had a Nissan 6 cyl diesel. And no matter where we went, there was George Scott's Cummins powered Ram 3500 SRW.
In recent years we have seen less land available for good old fashioned cross country driving. Several years ago, clearing land and building construction accesses for a power line across part of Pat's ranch created some great new riding areas. All the challenging portions of the old trails are intact but there are many new ones to enjoy. We also had access to a second ranch where we followed our radiator caps any place they led us.
As always there was plenty to eat. Breakfast was served Saturday and Sunday mornings. We had lunch "fixin's" on Saturday, and there was a deluxe campfire supper Saturday evening.
Also, we followed our Texas tradition of a Donation Bucket for voluntary donations to help cover food, portable toilets, and other costs.
Pat's ranch had plenty of room for camping. There were many nice motels closeby in Brownwood for the few of us who preferred that to camping.
And of course, there was a Swap Meet, an Auction, and a Trivia Game. Over the years, we have come to enjoy an Auction and a Dodge Power Wagon Trivia game after supper Saturday night.
The Swap Meet was the usual opportunity for folks to get - or get rid of - things they needed - or did not need - for their trucks. I bought a heavy duty steel work bench and vise. There were some Michelin 11.00 x 16 XL tires with plenty of tread left. Their price was fairly low reflecting a soon to expire date code. They still would have been an asset to any truck that was going to be used primarily off road.
The Auction provided an opportunity to get rid of the rest of the things we didn't need and donate them to the Auction. The proceeds went to defray the event costs. It is amazing what shows up. It's even more amazing what shows up that no one knows what it is. And it is most amazing that folks will bid on the unknown items.
Trivia Game. Here is where we found out what you know about Power Wagons. You had to put on your thinking caps for this. You needed to take a last scan of your Owner's Manual and other reference books, and spend some time looking over the various trucks. They say, "the Devil is in the details." Some of us thought it was the Devil who came up with the questions. Those who did their homework ended up with some nice prizes.
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO RICK SULTAN WHO SENT US SOME OF HIS NICE HATS AND TEE SHIRTS FOR PRIZES IN THE TRIVIA GAME.
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REAL WORKING POWER WAGONS
There seem to be endless discussions on the various Power Wagon forums about owners who plan to use their trucks as everyday work vehicles. Here are two that are used that way, and have been for many years.
This is Wayne Webster of Judsonia, Arkansas, about 50 miles northeast of Little Rock. Wayne is a wood cutter and regularly uses his 1948 Power Wagon in his trade.
This is his son, John, and he's a wood cutter, too. His Power Wagon is also a 1948 model.
Those trucks were both well maintained and ran perfectly on cross country treks all three days of the event. Both trucks readily made grocery and ice runs into town and flawlessly performed every task - work or play - that they were given.
Some of you out there should recognize these trucks. Both have been to the Rally in Fairfield, Iowa. Seeing these trucks at Pat and Wanda's demonstrated how well these great trucks were originally designed and built. It was clear that the best way to keep them running is to keep them working.
Wayne and John regularly do all the maintenance. I saw fresh grease on the spring shackles. I am reluctant to admit that I have four trucks that need some attention from a grease gun. There were some repairs and replacements that you would not see in one of the glossy pages of a restoration manual, but every aspect of these trucks showed that anything that broke was promptly and competently taken care of. Either one of these trucks was ready to work hard. I had the pleasure of seeing them play hard.
It is important that I tell you these trucks were not driven the 580 miles to Pat and Wanda's. They would have made it just fine. But the trip would have taken a bit longer. The Webster's brought them on their semi.
Here are some more views of Wayne's truck.
Here are some more views of John's truck.
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"Leave no man
truck behind..."
"Leave no man behind" is a mainstay in almost all military branches all over the world, especially in special forces. It comes as no surprise that the military DNA of the Power Wagon continues to reveal itself in Power Wagon folks, many of whom have served in the military. When someone's truck has a mechanical problem while we are out on the trails, everyone comes together to help resolve it. This time it was a situation where the "fallen comrade" was actually rescued by another comrade who may have served together in the same motor pool.
Friday evening, we were on a pleasant trail ride. There had been some easy trails and some a bit more challenging. We were heading back in when we encountered one last challenge. This was a steep climb with many large rocks and a severe washout on one side. One had to drive over the rocks and not get the left wheels in the washout. I was riding in Tom Parrinello's M37 with a Dodge 360 c.i.d. V8. We had plenty of power for making the ascent but that power was our downfall. It rolled a large boulder back under the truck. That let the right front wheel spin for a moment and then stop the wheel abruptly as the boulder became a wheel chock. Bang! There were some other noises, none good. The M37 had no power to any wheels. I think it was Lloyd and Nicholas Bluntzer's Nissan diesel powered M37 that pulled Tom up and over the offending boulder to level ground at the top of the hill. One of the folks found pieces of the drive flange that held the "U" joint for the transmission to transfer case drive shaft. We still had one more moderately challenging obstacle but the sun had set and darkness was becoming a factor. Pat is the one who knows all the trails and the way around the really bad places, but he wasn't with us. We decided we'd leave the truck until Saturday morning when we would have Pat and daylight.
Tom truck pushing Pat's truck using the "PUSH STRAP"
We were able to follow Tom's path using the trail of Dodge SCAT.
Saturday morning Pat's M37 easily "rescued" Tom's M37. Tom removed the broken parts. There's one good thing about holding a swap meet and having items to auction off. With the parts found on the trail and a NOS "U" joint waiting to be needed, everything was there to fix it. Lloyd did the welding and Tom did the reassembly. The rest of us offered advice and commentary. Soon we back on the trails and NO TRUCK WAS LEFT BEHIND.
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More Pictures
Paul Cook: e-mail txpwrwgn@centurylink.net 512-932-2377