Now when it's all done, it'll take the best part of $20,000.00 to get it away from me!!!! I have so many hours in it, doubt that would cover the labor....

Dave,

I know just what ya mean.

68 Special

 

I have a 1971 F250 and love, it has a 428 and I wish it had more gears...

 

Yep, I like the old truck scene for the fact that you can do the truck however you want and enjoy it. Just look at all the posts-4X4s', customs, hot rod, stock restos, resto mods, race, beaters...thats what gives the old truck scene the distinct "American" spirit to it. It is open to personal interpretation and individual expression. I own 2 old musclecars that are resto mods (they weren't 100% original to begin with) and you should hear comments people will make due to the fact the paint isn't original, this or that has been changed, the factory never did that, blah, blah, blah. I love my old cars and enjoy them, but I can't tolerate alot of the folks out in that scene.

 

I know what ya mean. It is hard to make people understand the time and dedication you put into something that you like doing. In my experience I have noticed that most people who make comments about things other do I have learned they have never experienced anything or did anything when it comes right down to it.

One mans joy is another mans pain. I have built, painted, and modified cars all my life that took thousands of hours of my time ( not counting the endless beers) and it never fails I will have someone say they didn't like the color or why in the world would I do this or do that as if for some strange reason because they did not like what I did or how I did it, that I would change it to make them happy. Yea Buddy!!!!

I cannot remember a single time I ever told, or made any remark to anyone about something they do except for saying something good about what they did. I guess thats just me. I am the type of person who will not say a thing to someone unless it is good even if it is not what I like or the way I would do it. If they ask my opinion or advice I give it but if not I just give them hope. The world is to full of people who want to tell you how to do something who have never done anything themselves.

Do as I do, be nice and run the SOB out of the shop or garage and don't let them back in. Our time on earth is to short to have to mess with some SOB who is not willing to pick up a wrench and get dirty to show me a better way. I am a good listener so if the person who does not like what I have done wants to SHOW me how to do it better theres the tool box, and everything they need. If they don't back up what they say then I just get rid of them because they are taking up air I should be breathing and drinking up all my beer.

Thats what makes my 68 Special because while working on it I ran more nut cases out of my shop and in doing so I found I had more beer in the ice box. Talk is cheap grab a wrench or hit the door is my motto.

 

I agree wholeheartedly- even if I go to a show here in the Seattle area (Mopar,Ford, or mixed) and see cars that don't interest me or stuff I don't care for (color,mods,trim,interior,etc.) I keep my mouth shut. If the owner is there, sees me looking and comments about what I am peering at, I will keep it positive. At the very least, the rig isn't in the scrap heap and somebody is trying to do something. We all strive for perfection, or some facsimile of it, but being a perfect *sshole isn't something an intelligent,rationale person wants to be!

 

7d2 tutone,

I agree whole heartedly. You just summed it all up. Well spoken.

68 Special

 

My mama always told me, if you dont have anything nice to say, dont say anthing.

talking bad about my ride is pretty much fighting words.

Funny thing, my Mother inlaw and sister inlaw think I should not get powersteering,
and my father inlaw and brother inlaw etc. are all on my side, and they all have worked on cars and still do. I think I going to let my mother inlaw take my truck for a
drive.

 

I sold my 1998 F150 Lariat 4wd to buy my 1967 F100. I was tired of it going down $1500-2000 a year in value. This truck is all new after the previous owner restored it, gets lots of attention wherever I drive it, and will keep its value into the future. I've had classic cars in the past (all daily drivers) and I just love having a rolling piece of history that others enjoy seeing too!

 

Hi Riggs,

Thats the way ya show them you know what your talking about. When you let the mother-in-law drive you truck make sure she has to park where she really needs to crank on the wheel. I will bet you when she is finished driving she will have first hand knowledge as to why you want power steering. Another way you can show her is slip out and disconnect the power steering in her and when she wants it fited tell her she doesn't need powersteering. My old truck didn't have powersteering when I got it and I didn't at that time really care. Now that I am a lot older the truck has powersteering. I have learned now that when I was younger and stronger I wasn't really that smart but I did have pretty good arms. Sounds like to me your using your head.

68 Special

 

Dick,

Thats what its all about. If it was good enough for the fellows before me then it is good enough for me. I have never wanted to keep up with the times, just look where its got them. People drive what they call trucks today that are half plastic and what metal is on the vehical is so thin I can stick my finger through it. Now a days you have less material and truck for the buck. Back in the day when you bought a truck it was all metal and made solid. I have a 2003 Ford 150 SuperCrew with a 5.4 and there is now way it will ever last as long as the 68. Just think about it 40 years ago Ford really built a truck that would last and is still going. I also have two 1963 Ford Falcons still running which I drive alot. One of them is a hardtop that I am about to go really nuts with and fix up and I am going to keep the six cylinder in it. The truck has a 300 in it and I am going to put a 200 in the Falcon. When Ford made trucks and cars that are still running 40 and 45 years later it tells me there is no way I can improve on what they did (I can add modern touches) and I can really fix it up to look really good.

68 Special

 

i keeping hearing you guys say that these trucks won set any records for beauty or speed, well for those guys that are restoring and/or modding there old fords, in my opinion they may very well be the prettiest things to look at and decent 1/4 mile is well within grasp. Off the top of my head the only other make and model that looks as cool as these old fords is the model of old ford that followed it

 

trucks rule,there good for work ,there good for play, there good for cruisin on friday and saturday night,there good for 4x4ing, there good for hauling a camper, trailer,a racecar, a load of dirt,dogs,bikes,or more truck parts!!!TRUCKS RULE!!!!

 

hotroddually,

tell me what your gear ratio you have in both of your trucks.

 

you guys are right, love it, my truck is a weekend truck, Saturday comes along, I open the hood, just to look at my engine and start thinking of what I am going to inprove, my nieghbors probably think my truck is aways giving me problems..


68 Special,
next time my mother inlaw comes over I am going to say here are the keys lets go for a spin, she really likes the truck but dosent realize how much nicer it would drive with powersteering.

 

Hi Riggs,

In the 68 I have 300 inline 6 with a automatic with a 3:55 gears setup I put in years ago. Pulls really well unloaded on the take off and loaded the old gal will pull anything I hook her up to or put in the back to haul. In the Ford 150 SuperCrew I have a 5.4 automatic overdrive. I put in a positive tracK rearend with a 2:43 gear for highway running when I first bought the truck. I put this setup in because I do a lot of highway driving plus I haul cars that I find from all over the place. I was told by everyone that hauling cars I would not have enough gear ratio in the rearend. That was little over 4 years ago now and I am still hauling and never had a problem yet.

I have a little over a 110,000 on the truck now and 45,000 of that is hauling cars with my car hauler from place to place as I work on them and have certain things done in different places. For example, I hauled a 55 Chevy that belongs to a friend of mind from Hawthorne NV to Tulsa OK where I live to restore it and then to Thomasville NC where I have the interior work done. I use to haul my 69 Nova SS drag car to the tracks all around the area every weekend for a while. Have sold the Nova SS and I have narrowed my hauling cars to the ones I work on to restore for people.

Thats the kind of running I do. Its hell on the take off and I shift through the automatic manually like a standard but once I am rolling it is a long winded sucker on the highway. I set the cruise on 75 and 80 all the time and let her rip. At 70 mph I am running around 1600 to 1700 rpms with just the truck once I get into overdrive. Hauling cars is a whole different story. I use to pull with the 68 but I put her to rest from hauling or pulling once I put a new motor in.

The 68 had a little over 285,000 when she started using oil real bad so I rebuilt her and put her to pasture and now she is a weekend show gal around town. The 150 SuperCrew gets good gas mileage on the open road but not worth a crap in town because of the gear setup. Depending on what you do I guess you have to pay one way or the other.

68 Special