Looking for my truck!

I know this is a long shot, but thought it was worth a try. I am trying to find out what happen to a truck I had which my father sold without permission while I was away.

The truck is a 1940 International 1/2 ton. I worked one summer to get this truck from an old farmer who had stopped using it many years before. I drove it to high school for a while until I got a newer one that was a little more dependable.... and faster.

I had left it with my father while I was in the Army (Desert Storm Vet). When I was stationed in Alaska, I guess he decided to sell it and when I came back it was gone.

So here are some details. As mentioned, it is a 1940. I don't remember the "D" series, but it was a 1/2 ton although it had lots of over load springs in the back. It would have been purchase in Offerle Kansas somewhere between 1995 and 1998. The truck was non-operable and partially disassembled I believe. It had a bad white paint job with black trim, and a super ugly green cloth seat. I don't know if it still had the purple wheels or not. The license plate was a kansas antique tag XQQME but again, not sure if he included that. The left front fender had a large dent in the front and both back fenders had many old hand hammered rivets. The exhaust had be modified for a "stack" on the rear of the cab, right side. It would have been titled in my name, Darren Ehrlich.

I am hoping to find the person who bought it, or who has it now and find out what happened to it. If it has been restored that's great, I would like to see it. If nothing has been done to it I would like to see if it is available so I can perhaps get it back. I had big plans for this truck and as we all know it's a rare one, I haven't seen many like it for sale. If you have it, or know who does, please contact me, darren_ehrlich@yahoo.com Thanks!!

Best of luck!
I hope you are able to find it back!
I would also suggest that you post on SmokStak.com as it has a quite large viewership and may be seen there by someone who doesn't visit here.
Again I hope your search is successful!
Bill

I don't understand how someone can sell something they don't own? Here in Nebraska you would land yourself in jail pretty quickly for that sort of thing. I would go to the DMV and request a title search or duplicate title. If it hasn't been parted out you'll find it, but the law might give a talkin to pa over the whole deal.

What I mean is unless you specifically sold it, the new owner more than likely don't actually own it. Possession isn't 99% of the law, titles are. If your signature was forged on the sellers line of the title it's not going to be a good deal.

I heard plenty of warnings over the years about buying old vehicles with sketchy pasts, that's what is really wrong with alot of them and they were pushed into the trees. So when I "bought" my D30, I made it a condition of the sale that I had to be able to get a title for it. Since the previous owner had died and the owner who bought it in 1970 never titled it, I had to go through a huge process to get a bonded title, that took a years time. I've heard too many stories of people who bought things improperly, restored them, and the legal owner tracks the vehicle down making claim with the local law enforcement agency by his side.

Good luck finding your truck and let us know how you come out.

And if you are the unlucky person who now does not own a truck, because it was sold illegally, sometimes your only recourse is to go after the person who sold it to you. However, if you bought it and got a title for it, and kept your receipts for all the work you did, you might be able to get reimbursed for that. Luck in finding your vehicle.

COPY AND PASTE "my father sold without permission while I was away"
I think that a few persons missed this little fact. I am not so sure that I would hang my Father out over some old truck. There are dozens of old Binders out there. Someone posted something that started with, "I don't understand.................." That should be the end of it rather than form an opinion with less than enough information. My Dad died in 1989 and I would like to have him here. Dad would have been 97 last week.
The Personalized Licence plate sounds like the best part on that truck. Very clever.

Darren,
Do you live in the same area now? I'll keep my eyes and ears open.

Dean

Also, sometimes military personnel going overseas grant a power of attorney to a relative or spouse. Was that the situation here?

COPY AND PASTE "my father sold without permission while I was away"
I think that a few persons missed this little fact. I am not so sure that I would hang my Father out over some old truck. There are dozens of old Binders out there. Someone posted something that started with, "I don't understand.................." That should be the end of it rather than form an opinion with less than enough information. My Dad died in 1989 and I would like to have him here. Dad would have been 97 last week.
The Personalized Licence plate sounds like the best part on that truck. Very clever.

Since I made the above statement, I'd just like to let everyone know that I didn't intend to form an opinion. Rather, I intended to give this veteran some options and let him know there could be consequences. I am sorry for the loss of your father. However, what fueled my post was a similar incident that happened to my father in law when he went to serve in Vietnam. He left in 65 and when he came back on leave he discovered his dad sold his ford model T truck. I guess his dad never even bothered to forge my father in laws name, simply signing his own on a Wisconsin title than his name didn't appear on. That ended their relationship. To this day he hasn't been able to find another one.

I probably should not have said anything because who we are is a result of the life we lived. My experience is just that and most likely will not resemble that of another person.

Hi everyone, thanks for your comments. So far I have not had luck going through the DMV. Hoping to find the VIN, then can trace with that.

Good news is, I managed to purchase a '38 D-2 this weekend. So even though it's not my original truck, I will be able to build the truck I had always wanted to. In great shape for a '38, was stored inside for a long time. Lot better than most of them I have found online. Anyway, I am a permanent member of the IHC club now. I will still look for my old truck, just so I can know that someone has her that loves her if nothing else.

On another note, my father passed this past March. I wish we could have been closer all these years but sometimes things just don't work out that way. I hope to see him again in the next life, and maybe we can patch things up then.