The 1980s was good time, I still even remember some of it! In the 1980s the Military vehicle collector was coming on to the collecting area. The MVCC had been started in 1976, and clubs were growing. No longer was it guys like me thinking I was the only one who wanted a military vehicle.
In the 1980s, the last big push of getting rid of the WWII rolling stock in Europe was on. You could go to any military surplus dealer and find NICE REBUILT WWII trucks, in lines!! CCKWs, Dodges, armored Scout cars, even big 5 ton White , and Corbitt trucks......plus the little WWII jeeps. The jeeps could be a little rough, but the bigger trucks were nice. Just think of a couple of years ago when you could bid on rows of rebuilt M35A2s, that is how it was in the 1980s but with WWII trucks. Just think of buying a 1942 CCKW, and driving it home with no worries!
The best vehicles came out of Norway, France, and Germany, the last big flood was the vehicles out of Greece. They looked rough, but had great sheet metal under layers of paint that looked like it was put on with a broom.
Now, take this in, we, the military vehicle collector was now buying the trucks to save them. The trucks had been coming over from Europe for years, only to be bought up by contractors to use to death. We showed up just in time to save the last of them.
One of the few, Frank USMC RET