white coated safety pins, Mr. Dean.

 

I have loved cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, etc since I was a wee tot. My favorite toys were cars and trucks (man do I ever wish I still had all those old Redline HotWheels and old Tonka trucks) When my buddies used to buy/sell/trade baseball cards I had trading cards featuring drag cars, land speed cars, custom cars, etc (man do I ever wish I still had those stacks of cards!)
When I was about 10 or 11 I started out tinkering on gas engines when I traded for a 1.5hp minibike that didn't run. Dad was kind of mad but let me keep it because he didn't think I could make it run. It took me several months of work and tearing into that little engine way too many times but I finally got it running. I got my motorccyle driving license at about 13 1/2 or 14, and my regular driving licence at 14 3/4. I've been buying, selling, tweaking on cars and bikes ever since.
Dad always had Ford trucks. Mom's grocery getter was a 66 Dodge Charger (big block) I played with Mopars for a while (67 Charger, 66 Satellite, etc) until I realized that owning a Mopar is kinda like stepping on your own *****.
I worked as a mechanic in several shops and as a "driveability technician" at a variety of GM dealerships for alot of years before deciding to go to college (with 2 kids and a mortgage) and try and make a different living.

Now, after cramming a 4 year college degree into 7 years (but I did end up with 2 bachelor degrees--Geology and Basic Sciences) I am a safety guy for an insurance company.

Life is strange
Bobby

 

I have a 1954 F250. The truck was my wife's grandfather's farm truck. It was sitting in a corn crib that was slowly falling down. The plates on it expired in 1978. In the summer of 1996 or 1997 we replaced the roof on my father-in-laws house. In return he gave me the truck. Man did he get the better of that deal.

I have been very slowly working on the truck ever since. I didn't think I would ever get rid of all of the mice. What a mess they can make. The truck is in good condition with only surface rust and a few assorted dents.

I re-built a 292 out of a 1961 Galaxie, installed a Painless wiring kit, put in all new brakes, cleaned off pounds of grease and dirt, put in new cab bushings. That doesn't seem like a very long list for the time I have spent on this truck.

I finally got the motor started this summer, it sounded good with a straight pipe. Now I need to install the transmission and driveshaft, then have the seat upholstered, new tires and it will be ready to put back on the road.

It seems like an expensive, dirty, time consuming hobby...but it keeps me sane.

 

I've always been into cars and had an older brother who once held the 1/4 and mile (remember them) drag race records for our little county in Illinois where I grew up. He had a Packard that ran a (then new) 283 small block and a Mack truck rear end out of a farm truck (he broke everything else). He always had neat cars and spent a lot of time messing with early MGs and Jags. While in H.S. I worked on all my buddies cars and basically never had the money for the buy in to a "cool" hot rod. Did what I could to my cars but it was strictly a low buck deal. When I got older I got into MGs and racing in the SCCA.

A few years back I went to some local rod shows and then the Daytona TurkeyRun with a friend in a 58 Ch__y truck. I've always admired the looks of the old trucks and decided I had to have a piece of American history and finally have my hot rod. I Sold off my MGs and parts collection and went in search of a phat fendered truck. Looked all over the southeast and couldn't find a suitable starter project.

Finally saw a very basic ad in the paper for my truck and discovered it was only about 8 miles away. When I heard the flathead V8 fire up I had to have it. I'm the third owner of my 51. The original owner was the Prev. Owners Dad...when he went to sell it he offered it to his buddies son and he bought it and drove it for the next 22 years. It started needing a lot of work so he parked it but kept it in running condition by driving it around in the orange groves around his Moms house. Old story, he got involved in a divorce and had to sell it. I'm the third owner. I call it Phat 51. The avatar is a picture of it the day I found it sitting behind his Mom's house.

OiLLeaks (got this name from my MG days...oh yeah, I had old British motorcycles too...guess it fits!)

 

Correction - the previous owner bought the truck from a friend of his Dads. Think I messed that up not that it matters....

OilLeaks

 

Okay, I'm DYING to build a vintage/classic truck from the ground up!
How? Where? etc etc
I'm not looking to go 'completly original' or anything, just a nice clean repro.
Where should/can I start?? Most suported truck/model/year?

The questions are endless at this point, but hopefully you get the idea.

 

i was born with it i have my grandpas truck 49 f1 it was my bros the he died we did it when i was 17 26 years ago now it's getting a frame up all oraginall except aftermarket engine parts i have a fenten 2 carb manifold and will be putting alum heads and headers bro rebuilt the moter 15 years ago and never ran it so it's brand new sorr i dont puntuate or spell worth a damm

 

Good stuff, the most supported is the 53-6 F100.
Where to get started isn`t hard, they always follow me home.

 

Very interesting thread and how everyone got started. Back in 76 when I started driving, my first car was a 65 Mustang and from then on I have only owned Ford cars so i thought it was time to own and rebuild a Old truck. So of course it had to be a ford and I really like the lines and look of the 53-56 effies. 30 years later I finally get the chance to make that dream come true. It's gonna take some time to finish but when its done I can step back and say I did this.
This is a great site and love the great info everyone is supplying.

 

Welcome Army

 

Neat truck and gallery David/army, I like every 53-6 Ford truck I see.

 

grew up in a family , both sides, that raced, owned ol' rodz, trucks , muscle cars what have you . i was at a dirt track two to three nights a week during the season from the time i was hatched and thats the truth . all of us in this family have got it bad , some worse than others . right now i've corrupted my youngest grandaughter who is 2 , and the middle one , she's 4 . they are always wanting to help papa with his truck and ride around in it with me , and shhhh dont tell , they like doin' silly stuff like burnouts etc. . just took reese the 4 year old with me and the wife to her first car show , the sneek a peek for the cruise for charity here and we went on a little cruise around this end of town on all of ours journey to the stat fairgrounds . she called mom and would not stop talkin' about riding in pappy's truck , all the cool cars , the burnout contest , on and on and on . she also was here at 7 am helping me wax the rust make sure everything was good to go , changed the oil , and generally just got filthy wrenchin' on bessie . yep another one is hooked . bad grandpa !!!!!!!

 

Neat story 55 f350, this gave me a big smile.
Start `em young before too many other things come along.

 

The 56 has always been a favorite of mine. My truck use to belong to my uncle and has been in the family for 31 years now. Originally my Dad was going to buy it and do the "Pro street" thing with it, kinda a father son project. My father passed before we made the purchase. So in honor of dad I told my wife I just had to have it. My Uncle felt horrible about the incident and knew I couldn't afford to buy the truck from him at the time, think he was asking 3,500. My uncle thought it would be cool if I built the truck in the memory of my father/his brother and sold me the truck for a dollar. I feel so lucky to have her and I'm sure she will be in the family long after I'm gone.

 

Back in the 50's Dad and my Grandfather were in the landscaping business. Grandpa had a '53 F350 stake and Dad had a '56 F500 dump. When I was around 10 or so I rememBer Dad rebuilding the engine in the 56. That was around 1960. Dad taught me to drive on that F500. 292 with 4 spd and 2 spd rear axle. Grandpa bought a new F350 in 1961 when the new body style came out. Two of the guys that worked with Dad also had F100's, a '53 (with stacks, fender skirts and spotlights.) and a '56. I have been a fan of these trucks ever since. In the early 70's dad picked up a '55 F600 dump truck for his backhoe business. (tractor also a classic Ford). He kept that truck until he went on to other ventures. Not long after that he found a '56 F100 original chassis cab with a flatbed. This truck was a worker! 6 cylinder, 4 spd heavy duty trans with 32 rear. Some years later, Dad swapped in a 292 from a '57 F100. In 1993 he gave me the truck, which I hauled from Missouri to Florida and stored until last year. It is now body off, frame almost ready for sandblasting. This first version will be pretty much stock with some modern upgrades, disc brakes, 9" rear etc. I LOVE THESE TRUCKS!