Pat, (and others)
I'm starting to feel guilty about this. :( Many others have asked the same
question over the last week or so.
I wish I could say "I've looked for years, tracking down endless dead end
clues, reading countless classified ads and finally breaking down and paying
an astronomical amount for a basket case which will take me forever to
restore."
But I can't.
The truth is, I just fell into this deal, just plain old dumb luck. I'm not a
member of the MVPA yet (my application went out this morning) and I wasn't
even looking for a military vehicle, let alone something as unique as a DUKW.
At some point in my past, I crossed paths with a DUKW in literature somewhere,
so I kinda' knew what it was and what it looked like.
I was traveling on a road I hadn't been on in 10 years up around a lake about
45 minutes from my house. As I came around a corner, I saw this old, faded
green/brown hull looking thing sitting in this guy's front yard. The bow
reminded me of what I thought a DUKW looked like, but I saw no windshield or
wheel openings along the side of the hull, so I just assumed it was some sort
of military surplus boat or barge and went on about my business.
Later that day, I stopped by and took a closer look at it. Imagine my
surprise when I discovered it actually was a DUKW! I had never seen the
removable side skirts over the wheel openings before, and the tires were flat
and the weeds had grown up around it making it look like it was sitting on the
ground. The cab structure was there, and two complete windshields in the
back. It looked relatively complete so I talked to the owner and asked about
it's history. He said it had been sitting in his front yard for 6 years, and
before that it had belonged to his marina and was routinely used on the lake
for salvage and maintenance work. He said just last week he had started to
consider selling it, but had not started the process.
I went home, started frantically searching for information about DUKW's and
feverishly trying to convince my wife that we needed this thing. A week later
I closed the deal.
I guess you could say finding this DUKW was a "fluke". (sorry, I couldn't
resist!) :)
When I consider the thousands and thousands of people who must have driven by
that "old military hull thing" over the past six years, I truly must have been
in the right place at the right time. Rest assured I realize what a unique
and highly desirable vehicle this is and no, I'm not going to do anything to
it to screw it up. My intentions are to restore the vehicle mechanically,
keep it in military trim (although probably not show quality at this time) and
enjoy it.
Mike Bennett 1944 DUKW (presently torn between feelings of guilt and joy)
PG&E
MAB5@pge.com
(209) 434-9343
Fresno, California, USA
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