LUVTruck.com

Hey guys, I just registered to this website because I have recently become nostalgic about my Dad's old 1974 Chevy Luv pickup.
He drove a yellow Mikado Luv through most of my childhood. When I was about 14-15 or so the 1.8 threw a rod and came totally apart. This was probably 1985 or so. The truck just sat in the backyard. I was just about old enough to get my license and I was really getting onto hotrods at the time. So my dad, being the true dreamer that he was decided that it would be a great idea to drop a v8 into it. It was a great project for the two of us. I really enjoyed that time with him. I learned a lot. He bought an old 66 Impala with a 327 and a 2 speed Powerglide as a donor vehicle (don't say it. I know). We pulled the engine and transmission out and dropped it in the Luv. After much fabrication and tweaking we had it running. It was my first car. It still looked totally stock from the outside. The paint was all raggedy and had primer spots on it but I loved that little truck. I drove it around town with my friends having a good time racing with the other hotrods around on a friday night. It was fast as hell. I remember the first time I dropped the hammer down and held it. That little truck ran up to 100 mph so fast my mind was blown. Not to mention it was all over the road at 100mph. I remember thinking god please let me get this thing slowed down. lol
I was planning on fixing it up slowly, getting it painted with some sweet wheels and stuff. It was my ride.
Then, on that fateful day...
I was hanging out with my friends at the local mall doing what teenagers do. We had a line of cool cars and hotrods leaving the mall and peeling out onto Sharon Amity road and I was going to show them what the Luv could do. The 2 speed Powerglide was very touchy getting from 1-2 and didn't have a neutral safety switch. I was boiling the back tires walking it sideways up the road trying to get it into 2nd gear and it slipped all the way to neutral. That poor 327 over revved and sprayed it's guts all over Sharon Amity road. There was a huge puddle of oil and metal chunks where I stopped rolling. My friends stopped and came back and were like "WTF happened?". It was a tragedy. I got it towed home. My dad being the sweetheart that he was wasn't mad or anything. He just said "oh well". We parked it in the backyard again.
My dad or me either one ever had any money. He was a city worker and never made much so he was tapped out. I was only like 16-17 with no job, I had nothing. I had no way to fix it or anything so I got back on my bike. I hate to say it but I lost interest I guess. So, it just sat there looking sad. After a couple of years of working I actually bought a brand new 1988 Jeep Wrangler and never looked back at the poor old Luv. After a few more years my sisters husband and his friend wanted to know what was up with the Luv and we just gave it to them. They were gong to see if they could revive it. They towed it out of the backyard and got to his garage and started taking it apart. The block was cracked, head was cracked, it was toast. They messed with it for a while and then gave up selling it to someone else.
Hind site is always 20/20. For starters we should have kept that 66 Impala intact.
Secondly I wish I had got back on that Luv after I ruined it. All that work and it didn't last very long.
I was young and dumb and looking back I wish I would have done things differently.
I have thought about that truck and that experience many times over the years.
My dad passed away back in 2014 and I inherited is 1984 Chevy C-10. My son and I have been fixing it up. We replaced the tired old 305 with a hot little 350. It's been a lot of fun for us. I hope my son remembers this time the way I remember the time with my dad one day.
All of this has made me nostalgic for that 1974 Mikado Luv. I don't currently own one. I don't really need another project vehicle but part of me kinda wishes I still had my dad's old truck.
Well thanks for letting me join this page and take a trip down memory lane.