Save the Truck

Do you remeber your first vehicel? I can remember the smell and the sound of mine. Sometimes I think about that and wish I had never had to part with it. Sound familiar.

Hello, My name is Janay. I am a 29 year old mother of two. I have a 3 year old boy and a 7 month old girl. This fundraiser is for a very important person in our lives, Chris. He has been my husband for the last five years and my significant other for the last 12 years and a wonderful father for the last 3 years. We have been threw a lot over the years and I’m asking for your help so he can rebuild and keep his first truck. I know that this might seem trivial to some, but its a huge part of who he is and one of the few things he still has from his youth. 

The Back Story

 Chris is the oldest of three kids in his family. He is also a twin. His parents were young when they had Chris and his brother. A few years later his sister was added to the family. Sadly after years of trying to make things work his parents got divorced and Chris and his siblings were parts of the growing statistic. Chris went between household for a few years in which everything he held dear as a child was either lost in the numerous moves or given away. Finally when Chris became a teenager he made one of the hardest decisions he had to face. He decided to live primarily with his father in town which meant leaving the high school he was already attending and his twin brother .

 (Side note: His brother only lives 8 miles from us so they still see each other regularly, but this is what help shaped who he is and a huge reason why the truck is so important.)

 When Chris turn 16 his dad and him began looking for his first vehicle. After deciding he wanted an older truck he finally found his 1950 Ford F-1 at a local salvage yard. They bought the truck and began the process of making her road worthy again. They replaced the engine and rebuilt the transmission and the rest is history as some would say. Chris drove the truck everywhere and even got a job to support the up keep of an older truck and the gas required to drive a daily gas guzzler - lucky if we get 8 miles a gallon. (This was 1999 while Chris was still in high school and a minimum wage job paid $5.80 and hour.) 

 In 2001 Chris and I began dating and the truck was our only transportation. We both began to put money into her to keep her on the road. After a few engine replacements due to learners error and regular maintenance she was still trucking along. Then on Christmas morning of 2003 Chris hit a patch of black ice and got into an accident with his beloved truck. This prompted a complete rebuild from the frame up. He started by updating the suspension and adding safety features. Due to life’s little set backs and just the daily grind this was a very time consuming process. The truck did not see the road again till after we were married in 2007. The following year we found out we were expecting our son and this put the truck on the back burner again. He has continued to work on her over the years but with the arrival of our daughter this year the truck is just sitting in the garage.

 The Present and The REASON for this Fundraiser

About a week ago (9-1-2012)i found my husband sitting in his truck with his head on the steering wheel. I don’t know how long he was out there, but I could tell by the look on his face he was upset. When he finally realized I had found his hiding spot he got out of the truck and said we needed to talk. He told me that he wanted to sell his truck because its not being used and he never wanted that for her. I could see it was just killing him to even say that we needed to sell her because this is one of the few items that means something to him from when we were young, so I suggest making her a daily driver by updating the engine. With my support and that suggestion he seemed to perk up again. 

Over this last week he has been doing research and finally found a solution for this project, a newer mustang engine and transmission. The problem with this solution is the cost of the parts. We are a single income family now with two kids and a household to run. I am not saying that we cant pay our bills and take care of our family, but help with this would be huge for him right now. I am worried if we put it off, he will ultimately sell the truck because he thinks putting this kind of money into it again makes him a selfish guy. He has given up so much over the years for me, I cant let him give this up and maybe with everyones help he wont have to. 

I would love to surprise him with the money to start this project before christmas. I know its a short deadline and $4000.00 is a lot of money, but I feel its worth a try. I am going to sell everything I don’t need around the house and hope with everyones help we can make this happen for him. If you have read this then I want to thank you for your time and consideration. If you make a donation, I simply can not thank you enough for helping my husband keep something that has been a huge part of his life.