Hey all! I bought a truck in Osoyoos BC and I’m driving it back to Ontario. It's 1968 Ford F100 with the straight 6 and a four speed manual transmission. I had it looked over by a local shop in Osoyoos and they rebuilt the carb top to bottom, four new tires, engine seals and some general tightening and electrical. One of the mechanics Mike was a great guy and he even drove it to and from work for a while to make sure it saw some road time before I head out.

Anyway, I’m looking for any advice or even interesting places to stop along the way. I'm a first time owner as well, but really excited for this. I will be headed straight across Canada. Interesting bit is I looked up the VIN and the Truck was originally assembled in Oakville in Ontario before making its way out west. That was 50 years ago so she's going back home. Anyway if anyone wants to meet up let me know.

 

Here is a video we made of how this trip came to be. We are out in Vancouver working and now we get to go home next week. Can't wait.

 

No updates???

 

Check out a few updates on social media and more to come in the forum:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/articles...68-ford-f-100/

 

Hey Guys so we headed out of Osyoos in a hurry to get to Calgary ready for what was sure to be one of the most breath taking legs of the journey -the Mountains! With the truck running smoothly after an adjustment to the idle screw we were ready to go. Mike from JF Customs was one of the greatest guys to deal with and I could tell all the major areas of the truck had been looked, they even had one of the junior guys drive it two and from work for 2 weeks. Thanks again guys.

As we headed North we knew this would be a trial for the truck, she had been an acreage truck moving around town with its first owner, then used exclusively in the orchard for the last ten years before I bought it. We met the owner Uli who had a ton of info on the area and on the truck. We found out that the 90,000 miles on the odometer were in face original and the odometer had not gone around once. Awesome. Next stop Calgary!

Here we go!

 

Hey Guys,

So the original plan was to go from Osyoos to Calgary but the rain was setting in and so was the darkness. This was my first time in the mountains and so I was on high alert as the visibility dropped and the wash coming off the 18 wheelers increased. I found that the 6 cylinder was pulling great going up the steep hills, and then it happened...

Earlier in the day the truck started idling high and I had to turn down the idle screw, to get it down to a normal RPM. 3 hours later as we are going up a long very steep mountain pass all of a sudden I don't have any peddle. I down shift to third thinking the hill was too steep for 4th but still nothing, quick glance in the rearview shows me a 18 wheeler about 4 meters off my back bumper, luckily he was crawling up the hill so I had enough time to pull off the road and avoid being hit...barely. I pulled it over and it wouldn't run at idle without the choke pulled out so I jumped out and turned the idle screw up a little and she seemed to run. We didn't have any other problems but it was a really close call. Once it got dark we decided to spend the night in Golden, the blinding lights of trucks coming up a hill as you are going down can really be treacherous. I would suggest to anyone headed through the mountains to try to do so in daylight hours and with good weather. The sights were beautiful but understand that those majestic peaks also have deep valleys, often with no guard rails.

When we got to Golden an popped open a couple cold ones I thought about what that would have been like in a snow storm or what it must have been like in 1968 without the tire technology or the road widening that has happened in recent decades. Must have been a real white knuckle ride...

Anyway we are safe and sound here in Calgary. We are meeting up with privateer, he wants to get under the truck and have a look at my chassis and I'm more then grateful for the help and the learnings. I think I know now that the engine is sound, new tires - I'm excited to get under and have a look!

Yoho gas stop - need a new tailgate...


Front view!

 

D&D...great pics...I'm enjoying them tremendously.

I don't know if you've found this thread...but...you should check it out. I'm sure if you post up about your trip and any issues you may have the folks here will be anxious to help out.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum39/

 

Hey Thanks BIGKEN! I'll toss up todays adventure as well! Give me about 10 mins! Thanks for the help with the new thread! Main goal now is to get a big hole in the front right fender corner welded because I doubt it will pass inspection in Ontario... bummer. Ill check that thread now!

 

Well I am signing on for the adventure! Too bad I did not know about this earlier as I would have recommended going from Osoyoos to Nelson and from there go to the Ainsworth Hot Springs. Next you would continue north to Revelstoke after a free ferry ride. Maybe next time . I am glad you liked the mountains and no the road is not fun with rain spray and darkness lol.

 

You said it, if I could send a message to all the truckers in the mountains it would be - SLOW DOWN YOU CRAZY *******S haha, seriously though they must be skilled drivers.

 

When I moved from BC to Alberta in December 2011 it was the taillights of the big rigs that I followed in the snow and dark that kept me between the ditches...oops I mean the mountain and cliff! Once you get past the tight turns leaving Golden eastbound I hear it is mostly a straight shot to the Ontario border. Enjoy tomorrow's leg!

 

So Don and I got to Calgary in one piece. Stopping for the night to avoid blinding headlights was a great move. Last time I'll say it, the mountains are dangerous. Ok now on to the fun!

So through the magic of the internet and this forum Privateer in the Alberta chapter welcomed us to come over and hang out with him so he could look over the truck and give us his 2cents, which for me was very welcome. So we headed over to his place in Calgary and we went around back to see his truck. What we found were trucks! He had a 70's 250 which was his daily driver and then 2 other projects and a roadster he is also working on. Really cool stuff.

So we go the jack out and he was under the truck before I could even blink. We crawled around and looked at all the service points, the bushing and drive shaft, oil pan, cleaned up all the zirks and made sure everything was full of grease. It was great to see how little rust was on the floor pan and under the bed. Then we moved into the engine bay and he pointed out that my filter, distributer, and cables were all new which I didn't replace so thats great. It was a great day learning all about the truck and the inside scoop. Like my starter motor is rebuildable and where to get an alternator if I ever need one. His kitty cats were there lending a hand too which was great (Hi Susan and Frankie) I'm glad we shot some video because I doubt I caught all the awesome tidbits and information that he had to offer. He even looked around to see if he had a solution for my rust holes. Privateer I can't thank you enough for your generosity and help. If you ever head to Toronto you have a place to stay with me!

Its great to be part of this community and it blows me away how much advice and help I have gotten along this way and we are barely a 3rd of the way! If anyone is looking to meet up we are headed mostly along the 1 but can detour if needed!

 

The truck looks to be in very good shape! Thanks for documenting a Canadian Adventure.

 

Perry is always available to offer advice...glad you were able to hook up with him. I see inspection was supervised by the real boss!!!b

 

Enjoy your travels lads...