bigwin56f100,
Still a very nice looking 56! Your first impression must have been pretty good! Was it in that good of shape when you got it? You have preserved it well!
Regards,
Chris

 

 

All my trucks are stockers and I've never been afraid to run them down the road. Here is a pic of my panel in Tennessee at the smoky mountain run in 2013

 

I almost forgot... the first impressions of driving my 55 F350. I saw it on Craigslist in March of 2016. I emailed the owner, he called and I verbally agreed on a price. But it wasn't until April that I able to drive to North East, PA, near Erie, more than 200 miles away, to buy it. Here is how it looked in person on that day:


I liked it so much that I didn't test drive it before I gave the owner the cash! So on the drive home I was impressed. It drove nicer than the way i expected an F350 to drive. It steered easy, took bumps well, and didn't have a lot of noise in the cab. We stayed off the interstate on the way home so it was longer drive home. But it sure was enjoyable! Here is are two pics on that april day:

 

Abe,
Sounds like the 350 met and exceeded your expectations! And you picked it up in my back yard! Ok 40 miles from me!
Good pictures and it was and is in very nice shape! Just looks right with the flat bed.

Kevin,
Wow you drove that truck a lot!! Like the panel too!
Regards,
Chris

 

I am really happy with the way my truck turned out. It is very basic but that's what I like about it. I plan to make it better later but for now it runs and drives. I've put about 1200 miles on it this year. The only thing I don't like about it is the '85 swing pedals for the brake and clutch, which is a little touchy, and the angle of the Dodge gas pedal I put in. After a long drive my right ankle gets tired from the angle.

 

The first times or more recently?!

My dad and I fixed up the truck and got it running in 1986 when I was 10. I learned to drive it, which was fun learning to drive on a standard with double clutch! (Crashbox 4 on the floor). I drove it around my grandpa's farm for several years until one day it died on me in the field, probably around 1991. We pushed it into the barn and then life got busy.

In 2017 I decided I finally needed to drive the truck again (after looking at the truck in the barn every few years and thinking I should), so I brought it to my current home and fixed it up. Replaced all rubber/wires/brakes/brake lines/plugs/coil/water pumps/gas tank and lines/headlights/engine and cab mounts/etc... and I've been driving it for about a year. The engine and transmission, I did no work on. It runs great with no smoke, and ok compression. It runs like I remember, and honestly it was more than I was expecting for a 68 year old vehicle and technology. It always starts up easily and hasn't left me stranded yet. I don't push it hard and I don't drive over 55, but hey... it's all stock so it's probably not a good idea to do that anyway. I use it weekly for errands around town, taking kids to sports, taking junk to the dump (and other truck stuff). I love it and will never sell.


Me in 1990, age 14, sitting on step.

 

Brian,
Awesome picture and story of your family truck! Do you have a current picture too?
Thanks!
Regards,
Chris

 

Yes, Brian, great story! Thanks for sharing.

 

Here's a couple. Family picture and then dressed up for Trunk or Treat as Tow-Mater (I know, wrong vehicle... but the rust makes it work) this past weekend, though you can't see the tow hitch very well in the back, made out of wood and a come-along.

 

Brian,
My first impression is that you don't plan to remove that patina on your family F1. And I see young ones not to far away from driving the old Ford into their lives too!
Thanks for sharing these!
Regards,
Chris

 

My first experience......

I bought my Dad's truck ('55 F100) from Mom after Dad died. So first drive was all smiles thinking how proud Dad would be that I kept the truck in the family, then yes some tears followed. Then several drives after that it was still most enjoyable then suddenly terror followed when I had to brake suddenly going 45 MPH and the trick slid sideways on the highway. COMPLETE TERROR!! The kind of terror that foes in slow motion and everything in the world flashes through your mind. Even with that though, that first ride is always on my mind when I drive it.

 

The actual first drive in my 53 was on to the trailer and off at home. The PO had installed a Volare IFS, sorta, and I was afraid to go farther. After working on it for a number of years I finally got to drive it down the road, just had to wear goggles because there was no windshield. That was 10 years ago and around 90K miles. Yes, it's been a daily driver and has pulled a teardrop camper all over this country. I now own a 97 F250 as a daily, but the 53 doesn't get to rest long. I have thoroughly enjoyed my old and somewhat newer resto-modded truck and hope to do so for years.

 

I guess my first impression was tainted a tad. My grandfather had a well used '50 F6 dump that was used to haul gravel from the creek to spread on the farm's lanes. That was the first truck I had driven beyond idling around the hayfield in his new '66 F100 (I was 11.) In high school I had a Sea Sprite '55, 3 on tree 272. That was in Ft. Lauderdale where every afternoon you got a thirty minute monsoon that flooded the streets for 15 - 20 minutes. I mention that because the old truck had about 270° of play in the steering wheel. Hitting those deep puddles with all that slop, wet brakes and bias ply tires was a learning experience. That truck was in near mint condition, other than the worn out steering gear. Fast forward 40+ years and I got the urge for another and found my current truck in Toledo. Looked good, 215, 3 speed, bone stock (o.k., it's got radials on it.) Steering was still sloppy but only by about 90° this time. I don't recall the steering wheel being so close to my belly back in the '70s as it is today, they must have made the wheel smaller in '55. ;-)

 

Folks,
Awesome posts! I feel like was almost there riding with you! Was thinking the steering wheel to seat back dimension is getting smaller also!
Regards,
Chris