Previous reports that the truck has endured multiple engine swaps over the years also all appear to be hearsay. Holman said a new engine was never installed when the truck was in the company's possession. He also said it was never repainted, however that conflicts with the current owner's own assessment that Big Red had been painted a different shade of red at least once prior to his full restoration.

And on the subject of paint: We want to be fully transparent here and remind you that a source for our first article told us the truck had been painted blue when he saw it in private hands in the early 1980s. This nowappears to be untrue. That same source gave us other information that turned out to be completely accurate, however it's impossible to square the alleged blue paint job with definitive statements from Holman and the current owner saying that never happened. The timeline of the restoration that followed its sale, which we'll detail below, makes it possible that the truck had a blueish layer of primer on it when the source saw it, but that's pure speculation.

Holman-MoodyRegardless of the paint situation, H&M had clearly had enough with Big Red by the late 1970s. It was falling into disrepair, it took up tremendous space, it needed to go. Holman spent years trying to find a buyer. Eventually, he did—the current owner, who told us he had been fascinated by the turbine truck since its dazzling World's Fair debut nearly two decades prior, finally purchased Big Red from Holman-Moody in a private transaction in the early 1980s. And boy, did he have plans.