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<p>In April – I think it was April – I bought another old pickup. My friend Aaron Perry noticed the old International Harvester on an auction bill and told me about it. I was scheduled to be out of town the day of the sale so Aaron bid on my behalf and won the prize for less than half my maximum price.</p>
<p>One might wonder why I would need another old Binder – my wife, Kate, certainly did. I told her I needed a parts truck to keep my <a title=”Daily Driver” href=”http://www.mydailydriver.com/” target=”_blank”>Daily Driver</a> on the road, and this new-old truck, a 1965 two-wheel-drive <a title=”Model 1200″ href=”http://www.ihsto.org/GWBB_2006/originalpickup.JPG” target=”_blank”>Model 1200</a>, had all kinds of good usable parts, including a really nice box. </p>
<p>The first time Aaron, his dad and I made the trip out to <a title=”Lincoln County” href=”http://www.lincolncoks.com/” target=”_blank”>Lincoln County</a>, Kansas, to retrieve the pickup, there had been so much rain all we managed to do was get really muddy while my 2003 Dodge got stuck a few times. We wound up using the come-along to winch out the <a title=”Dodge and trailer” href=”/multimedia/image-gallery.aspx?id=1032&seq=2″ target=”_blank”>Dodge and trailer</a>, rather than loading the International. After about an hour and a half of trying to pull the IH truck off its hillside resting place, we gave up and decided to beat it back down the ½-mile-long mud trail that was the only way in or out of the field. The fact that it had started raining again played a significant role in that decision.</p>
<p>A few weeks ago, I chased the remaining packrats out of the truck’s cab, removed the seat and cleaned the interior up a bit. With the loader-equipped <a title=”Kubota” href=”http://kubota.com/f/home/home.cfm” target=”_blank”>Kubota</a> tractor, I managed to back the truck into my shop. Within an hour, I had the beast up on jack stands and its wheels off. There the old Binder sat, until I was hit with a lightning bolt of motivation last Saturday.</p>
<p>My dilemma now is whether the truck is really a parts truck, or do I need a spare running truck for those days when my <a title=”Daily Driver” href=”/blogs/old-trucks-make-good-commutes.aspx?blogid=184″ target=”_blank”>Daily Driver</a> needs some repairs. Kate is pretty clear on the answer to that question, but I’m not so sure. What do you think?</p>
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<a href=”http://www.grit.com/biographies/oscar-h-will” target=_self>Hank Will</a>
<em> raises hair sheep, heritage cattle and many varieties of open-pollinated corn with his wife, Karen, on their rural Osage County, Kansas farm. His home life is a perfect complement to his professional life as editor in chief at GRIT and Capper’s Farmer magazines. Connect with him on </em>
<a title=Google+ href=”https://plus.google.com/u/0/117459637128204205101/posts” target=_blank rel=author>Google+</a>.</p>
