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I've been meaning to post about my trucks history for a while now. My truck may not be rare, or pristine, but I still think she sums up the appeal of older trucks just the same.
Elizabeth is a 1985 f250 4X4 that I purchased from my boss, the original owner, in 2006. He purchased this truck to use around his business ( small engine/ power tool repair) and a few sidelines ( firewood, Christmas trees and plants).
Elizabeth is equipped with a 300/NP/Sterling drivetrain, and not much else. She was ordered with an eye for economy.
I started working at the shop in 2000, and by that time, Bess ( as she was commonly referred to) was in sad shape. The bed was pulverized by firewood, the cab was rusted out , and she had been inexpertly maintained by shop workers who didn't really care about doing it right. I wound up being in charge of her care and feeding for the next five and a half years.
By 2006, the old girl was put out to pasture, having been largely replaced in her duties by a shiny new Chevy 1 ton dump truck. By this time, it's been calculated Elizabeth had hauled 3500 cords of wood, 8,000 Christmas trees, 300 trailer loads of plants, thousands of pumpkins and cornstalks, hundreds of mowers, and who knows what else. The original 300 blew up ( when a truck goes through a 300, it really works for a living) , was replaced with a crate engine. The front axle was replaced twice, the tailgate five times. It was stolen ( filled to the brim with pumpkins) and driven to Tennessee, driven through a red light and into the side of a panel van, and just plain abused. For twenty years she had been the main, and often only, workhorse the shop had.
I bought her for 500, fixed the worst damage, and drove her year round for five years more or less as is. Back then, she looked like this,
Not bad by any means, but rusty and banged up and a bit dowdy. Elizabeth needed a makeover. She needed some skin care, and something had to be done about the bed cellulite that had developed . She needed some sex appeal, to be less Bess and more Liz.
I combed Pull-A-Part every weekend for months. I scored better fenders, front trim that wasn't broken, and a bed ( from a bricknose, but still) that could still be considered a rectangle. I stockpiled parts for an early Spring offensive.
Now, this truck is my only means of getting to work, so anything that gets done is accomplished on a long lunchbreak or the weekend.
For weeks, she looked, well, a little naked,
I put on running boards so my wife could get in and out, replaced the decrepit remains of the interior and ruthlessly hunted down every spot of rust like a war criminal. I spent a week just cleaning/painting the frame a few feet at a time.
I had just gotten everything together and painted when a woman in a Mazda slammed into my front right wheel in an intersection. Luckily, a bent front axle pivot arm was the extent of the damage to my vehicle ( her Mazda? It was considerably more compact after Liz clotheslined it). I was able to find a Dana 50 from an f350.
I wound up scoring a period brushguard, an aluminum sidesaddle box and some extra trim. I found an immaculate set of 60's-ish f250 hubcaps for the red steelies I put on. Liz was finally looking good.
She now looks like this,
Which is more to my taste.There are nicer trucks, faster trucks, and way more powerful trucks, but not a lot of trucks can boast such a brutal working life with so few problems ( she has been unable to move under her own power Twice since she left Dearborn in 1985. That's a tough record to beat). The longest down time she has had for repairs in the years I've owned her is four weeks, including the time spent bedless but driveable. It's hard not to like a truck that has that measure of dependability. Now she is starting to look as good as she runs. She has lived to see a lot of other trucks wear out, and is currently sitting next to the Chevy that took over her duties. The Chevy looks awful by comparison.More awful, I mean.
Liz has finally gotten to the point that people tell me they like my truck.
I couldn't agree more.
Interior look really GOOD! Intresting, I had the blue version of that seat cover when I got Blue Mule back in 91! I tossed it when I got a better seat as it was wore out.....
Have you pulled the floor mat up and check what's under for rust? Also check and clean out the cowl, the seam sealer is probly not doing it's job and you will get rusting and water leaks from the cowl area. Its a good time to prevent further problems on a good truck.
Eddiec1564, I stripped the cab and replaced the driver side floorpan and both rear cab corners. I painted everything with Ensign 395-A and tossed the waterlogged ( they used to pressure wash the cab of the truck out) insulation.
When time permits, I'm pulling the interior , installing peel,n,seal and sealing everything up.
Eddiec1564, I stripped the cab and replaced the driver side floorpan and both rear cab corners. I painted everything with Ensign 395-A and tossed the waterlogged ( they used to pressure wash the cab of the truck out) insulation.
When time permits, I'm pulling the interior , installing peel,n,seal and sealing everything up.
Like a 5,000 lb velveteen rabbit. That was all from hauling logs for firewood.
Here's a photo of the (gasp) Chevy spare tire holder my boss retrofitted many years ago ( don't worry, I finished the frame before I put the bed on). It works fine with the stock wheels and hasn't rusted solid yet, which is what took out the original tire bracket.
01-12-2015, 01:38 PM
