hell yeah! i feel the same way. i paid 400 bucks for mine and it works better than newer trucks that people pay $35,000 for! so since i dont have a rediculous truck payment i can afford other luxuries in life like my big screen tv and people are always curious and jealous about how and why i am so financially stable. i tell em because im no dummy thats why!

 

The first truck i ever had the chance to 4-wheel was a buddy's 74 Highboy,and since i like the style of the Bumpside better than the dentside,i figured id get one! got 2 currently,and will probably get another shortly. they are both beaters,but i can enjoy them minus the worry of damaging expensive sheetmetal! i'll probably buy,barter,and trade til i find a really nice one eventually,but i will keep the nicer of my current two as my budget beater 4by......

 

It's mine, I built it the way I wanted to. Not a cheap build and wasted waaaaay too much money and time detailing things......But I sure do like it!!!!!!!! Next one is going to be radical, this one is kewl, just a bit too mellow for me....

 

5 generations have ridden in her. My wife's grandfather bought her new in 1970 and when my grandchildren rode in it that makes 5, AND she never lets me down. Maybe my grandson may drive her someday :-)

 

GrreeeAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAt!!!! !!!!!!!!!!

 

it was my first vehicle, got it when i got my liscence, sold it and bought it back, it was what i was known for at the high school and around town, everyone just thought it was a cool ol truck

 

Have had tons of projects...

but this is the one I will actually keep 72' F350 crew cab (all the rest are gone)

Todd

 

Other than I love the look of them, I had an uncle who had a reallly nice '68. I wanted that truck so bad, but I didn't realize he was sellling it, and a cousin of mine snagged it from him. Oh, and that same cousin totaled it...

 

I bought my first bumpside, a 70 F250 2wd, in the early 80's for a beater truck. I had a couple more but parked the last one in 91 when I got married. Fast forward to early 07. I'd been divorced 4 years, had the bills under control and wanted a toy. Found a wrecked 67 F100 which followed me home a few days later. While I was looking for parts to fix it I found a nice original 72 F100. It's not perfect but looks good considering it's been a PA truck all it's life. Needless to say I bought it. I'm the second owner. Someday my daughter will own it but for now it's my toy.

 

I found my '68 F250 sitting in a field where it had resided for the previous 10 years. Bought it from the original owner for 300 bucks, it's spent its whole life within 5 miles of where I'm sitting as I type this. Except, of course, for road trips. The previous owner did a lot of towing with it.

I was initally quite impressed with the condition of it when I found it, no major dents (and only one minor one) and almost decent paint, a really clean original truck. I already had my '72 and first thought I'd swap grilles as I liked the '72 grille better...at the time. But the more I looked at the '68 aluminum grille with the Ranger badge in the center, the more it grew on me. Funny, now I find I prefer the earlier ('67-'69) all-metal grilles to the later grilles with the plastic inserts (except for the earlier painted grilles...not too fond of those.)

What makes it more special to me however, are some of the upgrades and modifications I've done on it, such as the Edelbrock installation, the T19 swap and the GV installation. And the fact that it's fun to drive and never lets me down. I'd hop in it right now and drive it across the country without any qualms (except when I had to empty my bank account into the dual tanks...)

 

Just to add on to what a great truck Dan has. His truck towed mine from Elko, NV to Vallejo, CA (900 mile round trip) over a few mountain passes, including the huge Donner Pass. The trailer had to weigh around 2000 lbs and my truck weighs 4700lbs. Dan's F250 ran without a hiccup (although it drank up all the gas in Northern NV and Cali. ) Here is a photo of Dan's truck resting after pulling mine up Donner Pass.

Thanks to Dan and his '68 for saving mine from an Elko junkyard.

 

The Front Bumper:



When I went to see this truck, I was sold the instant I saw it....the seller would not even let me test drive it...instead I went on a "test ride" as the steering was so outta whack, I'm sure he feared I'd never buy it....but the bumper was everything...and the fact that the truck is cool over all.....

So, I paid him the $3500 he was asking, without even dealing....and I've been happy with my overpriced truck ever since!

 

I have had my '69 short box since '93. My dad bought it from a guy that drove it to work in the winter. for some reason it had different gear ratios front to back. One day all the snow melted while it was parked at work in 4wd. It bound up when he tried to move it and he blew the front end out of it. I do not remember what my dad paid for it, I paid him $500 for it and have invested $15,000 in it since then. I love that old truck and plan on keeping it till I die. It was my mechanical education. I learned tons because of this truck. I love to drive it in the mountains and just putt around on old skid roads and such. I built the 300 for this type of use and I absolutely love the way it works.

I was given the red '71 by a friend of mine that wanted it to go to a good home. I am really enjoying it as a project. I needed a good heavy duty work truck for hauling wood and snowmobiles. I have a 410 sitting in the garage waiting to be rebuilt for it.

They are family, everytime I work on one they remind me of spending time with my dad growing up working on old Fords in our free time.

 

This story is like a lot of the others here. My Dad bought it in 1976 as a lease return? If I remember correctly it had less than 7500 miles on it. It is a F250 Explorer, fairly bare bones, AM radio, rubber floors, no air, 360c.i. dual tanks. My Mom and Dad used to drag a 26' travel trailer into eastern Washington a couple few times a year with it. My brother and a couple of sisters drove it when they were in high school, I borrowed it several times to move myself and/or friends. My brother and I one day decided to switch the letters around on the front to say DORF. My Dad thought it was funny and left it that way. My Dad passed away in 1987 at the very young age of 52. The truck sat at my Mom's for years. My son's and I are freshening it up, My brother in law who is a Ford master tech built a 390 for it, mild cam,Eddy intake, holley carb. The C6 has been redone with a shift kit, split rims are long gone, replaced by aluminum wheels with 265-75-16s. Body is straight, but surface rust around the stake pockets, window channels and bottom of the tailgate. We will never get rid of it. My boys 17 and 16 fight about who gets it. It still says DORF on the front.

 

Try Sonora,Ebbetts,or Monitor passes,sometime! all of a sudden the Donner pass will seem like a "starter" or "training" pass! years ago,my almost brand new 88 Ranger died on the western side of Ebbetts,the mid 70's F350 tow truck that towed it to a repair shop in Woodfords was 390 powered and the tow truck driver drove the pass faster than i could and thats with my truck in tow! About 6 or 7 years ago,i was coming back from a fishing trip in Bridgeport,i turned westward onto hwy 89 heading up the monitor pass,and the Automatic in a 74 Dodge decided it would only operate in 3rd gear! i knew i would never make it over monitor,then ebbetts in 3rd gear! i turned around,barely,added all the tranny fluid i had,drove down to hwy 395,got more fluid,and headed north on 395 to interstate 50,and managed to survive echo summit without much problem! I imagine that Dan spent a little time watching his temp gauge over the passes,i always do! I hope you got your truck a while back,before fuel prices went totally crazy! id hate too see the gas bill for a trip like this today!