"It is done..."
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Cargo Master
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 2,512
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From: Cook Forest and Irwin PA
"It is done..."
(its a line from a number of movies when some act is set in motion....)
Yesterday I felt ambition and got out some wrenches and completed the scrapping of Ole Blue. It's ALWAYS cool when you can use an FEL to pull an engine/tranny/xfer case out as one piece.
All that remains now is 3/4s of a very rusty frame. I see myself using the sawzall to cut it in half later today and onto the neighbors metal pile it goes.
The frame rot was far worse than I thought.
The scrapping/replacement saga started last november when I decided the truck was unfixable and I went looking for a replacement. I found such in mid december - same year color options in philly, that came up from down south. I had planned to make the swap then, except the new truck got 10mpg due to a screwed up EFI system - purred like a kitten, just dumped fuel out the pipe. So I drove ole blue one more winter until may, when I pulled them into the shop to begin the swapovers.
Long story short - Old is scrapped. New is ready to be assembled with all the good parts, including a perfectly good MAF/SFI system. I am closed for futher notice until this project is complete.
Right after I negotiated the deal for new Blue, I wrote the epitath for Old blue and mailed to a friend who once wrote a story about toyota vs ferrari that was reprinted a number of places (he collects ferraris and Maseratis for fun - nice work if you can get it!) I will copy in my story now to close this chapter...
RIP BLue (1FTEF14N2LNB39022)
6/19/1990 - 11/3/2008
Yesterday I felt ambition and got out some wrenches and completed the scrapping of Ole Blue. It's ALWAYS cool when you can use an FEL to pull an engine/tranny/xfer case out as one piece.
All that remains now is 3/4s of a very rusty frame. I see myself using the sawzall to cut it in half later today and onto the neighbors metal pile it goes.
The frame rot was far worse than I thought.
The scrapping/replacement saga started last november when I decided the truck was unfixable and I went looking for a replacement. I found such in mid december - same year color options in philly, that came up from down south. I had planned to make the swap then, except the new truck got 10mpg due to a screwed up EFI system - purred like a kitten, just dumped fuel out the pipe. So I drove ole blue one more winter until may, when I pulled them into the shop to begin the swapovers.
Long story short - Old is scrapped. New is ready to be assembled with all the good parts, including a perfectly good MAF/SFI system. I am closed for futher notice until this project is complete.
Right after I negotiated the deal for new Blue, I wrote the epitath for Old blue and mailed to a friend who once wrote a story about toyota vs ferrari that was reprinted a number of places (he collects ferraris and Maseratis for fun - nice work if you can get it!) I will copy in my story now to close this chapter...
You once wrote of Toyota memories vs. Ferrari memories. Today Im writing of Ford memories.
This Saturday I will officially retire my best friend - the most faithful companion I ever had - 'ole blue'.
'Ole Blue' was built specifically to my order 17 and a half years ago. She was built with my options and my tastes. Just saying 'single color XLT' added 2 weeks to the build time. Adding Limited slip nearly doubled the build time. But it was worth the wait and worth the $16405 price - every last cent.
For those 17.5 years she started every time I put in the key.
She drove without mechanical incident to every destination I ever pointed her at.
I have towed big boats, little boats, equipment, tractors, RVs and just about every car owned by my friends and myself behind Ole Blue - with never a failure.
It got so I can tell how the truck was faring from the sing-song rumble of the motor and tires. I knew by touch when a shock or brake lining needed replaced, or when the spark plugs needed refreshing. I never needed to keep track of mileage to change the oil, the change in engine pitch when cold was enough. I have replaced as a matter of routine parts that simply wore out - never broke. Parts that most people didn’t even know would be installed. Parts that Ford itself seemingly forgot they designed.
In 1993 Ole Blue brought me and my family thru the worst winter storm system - one that lasted a week - the east coast has ever seen if you believe the weather man. I never got stuck, slipped, slid or needed pulled out. I drove Ole Blue in the coldest winter on record - when the daily high was -3 and the wind was worthy of a Boeing wind tunnel.
In 1992 I hauled my 2 full-size ATVs 48 of the 52 weeks into the mountains to ride and other years are similar.
Everyone in my life in a significant way has ridden in Ole Blue, many times during trying weather conditions.
I have had nookie with my wife in Ole Blue, I went to see my son for the first time in Ole Blue.
I can find any wire in the harness, any bolt on the frame by memory. I can touch every control in the cab with my eyes closed. We drove cross country many times, for the most part non-stop at times. I got gas mileage the EPA sticker said was not possible and I snaked thru the turns like a sports car simply because I knew the exact point where 10/10ths is on that truck.
But finally the ravages of salted roads has caught up to her. She may purr like a kitten still, but the cancer is spreading faster that I can weld. Alas I can replace every single part on that truck except the frame. The frame is the only part no longer stocked. The frame is the only part I need.
Old Blue has eaten up well over 226000 miles and still says: "Is that all you got?" That engine still idles rock solid and still pumps out the same oil pressure it did when new. I would think nothing about hooking up my flatbed trailer to her TODAY, except I start to worry about the integrity of the frame rot.
When someone tries to get into a Ford vs. Chevy vs. Dodge vs. Toyota truck debate with me, I end it before it gathers steam and point to Ole Blue and either say nothing, or for the true non-believers simply state: 'You cant kill a Ford'.
Well ok. Mother Nature can.
Today I should not be as melancholy. I have in my hand the bill-of-sale for a replacement 'Ole Blue'. I will call her 'New blue'.
Same year, mostly the same options, far less miles, and from the pictures of the condition, someone loved her in an area of the country where there were not mobile salt shakers running around 6 months out of the year.
For me, 'new truck' is a misnomer, to be taken with a grain of salt. (no pun)
I looked at 100's of truck listings out of thousands online. I found up to 1996 - when they were prettier and more modern, but in truth I fixated on the 1990. The reason is simple from 2 standpoints.
First, pragmatically, all of my parts I have on Ole Blue or in my parts shed will fit New Blue. I will not be buying engines or transmissions or brakes or shocks or anything for a long time.
And second, when I transfer over enough stuff to give me the same level of comfort and options, it is possible, that when going down a road at night, I will feel at home.
This Saturday I will officially retire my best friend - the most faithful companion I ever had - 'ole blue'.
'Ole Blue' was built specifically to my order 17 and a half years ago. She was built with my options and my tastes. Just saying 'single color XLT' added 2 weeks to the build time. Adding Limited slip nearly doubled the build time. But it was worth the wait and worth the $16405 price - every last cent.
For those 17.5 years she started every time I put in the key.
She drove without mechanical incident to every destination I ever pointed her at.
I have towed big boats, little boats, equipment, tractors, RVs and just about every car owned by my friends and myself behind Ole Blue - with never a failure.
It got so I can tell how the truck was faring from the sing-song rumble of the motor and tires. I knew by touch when a shock or brake lining needed replaced, or when the spark plugs needed refreshing. I never needed to keep track of mileage to change the oil, the change in engine pitch when cold was enough. I have replaced as a matter of routine parts that simply wore out - never broke. Parts that most people didn’t even know would be installed. Parts that Ford itself seemingly forgot they designed.
In 1993 Ole Blue brought me and my family thru the worst winter storm system - one that lasted a week - the east coast has ever seen if you believe the weather man. I never got stuck, slipped, slid or needed pulled out. I drove Ole Blue in the coldest winter on record - when the daily high was -3 and the wind was worthy of a Boeing wind tunnel.
In 1992 I hauled my 2 full-size ATVs 48 of the 52 weeks into the mountains to ride and other years are similar.
Everyone in my life in a significant way has ridden in Ole Blue, many times during trying weather conditions.
I have had nookie with my wife in Ole Blue, I went to see my son for the first time in Ole Blue.
I can find any wire in the harness, any bolt on the frame by memory. I can touch every control in the cab with my eyes closed. We drove cross country many times, for the most part non-stop at times. I got gas mileage the EPA sticker said was not possible and I snaked thru the turns like a sports car simply because I knew the exact point where 10/10ths is on that truck.
But finally the ravages of salted roads has caught up to her. She may purr like a kitten still, but the cancer is spreading faster that I can weld. Alas I can replace every single part on that truck except the frame. The frame is the only part no longer stocked. The frame is the only part I need.
Old Blue has eaten up well over 226000 miles and still says: "Is that all you got?" That engine still idles rock solid and still pumps out the same oil pressure it did when new. I would think nothing about hooking up my flatbed trailer to her TODAY, except I start to worry about the integrity of the frame rot.
When someone tries to get into a Ford vs. Chevy vs. Dodge vs. Toyota truck debate with me, I end it before it gathers steam and point to Ole Blue and either say nothing, or for the true non-believers simply state: 'You cant kill a Ford'.
Well ok. Mother Nature can.
Today I should not be as melancholy. I have in my hand the bill-of-sale for a replacement 'Ole Blue'. I will call her 'New blue'.
Same year, mostly the same options, far less miles, and from the pictures of the condition, someone loved her in an area of the country where there were not mobile salt shakers running around 6 months out of the year.
For me, 'new truck' is a misnomer, to be taken with a grain of salt. (no pun)
I looked at 100's of truck listings out of thousands online. I found up to 1996 - when they were prettier and more modern, but in truth I fixated on the 1990. The reason is simple from 2 standpoints.
First, pragmatically, all of my parts I have on Ole Blue or in my parts shed will fit New Blue. I will not be buying engines or transmissions or brakes or shocks or anything for a long time.
And second, when I transfer over enough stuff to give me the same level of comfort and options, it is possible, that when going down a road at night, I will feel at home.
RIP BLue (1FTEF14N2LNB39022)
6/19/1990 - 11/3/2008
Posting Guru
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 2,358
Likes: 3
From: Nebraska
Wow... I thought I was the only one who felt that much for their truck. 
I got my 95 F-150 in '02 in high school and it's been driven almost every day since. I know in the back of my mind someday it won't be around and it's hard to imagine. This spring, replacing timing cover gaskets, I tore the one I had and had to wait three days for a new one. This was the first time I actually couldn't drive it. It was a very strange feeling.
I hope for your replacement to bring you many trouble-free miles and memories just like the last one.
I got my 95 F-150 in '02 in high school and it's been driven almost every day since. I know in the back of my mind someday it won't be around and it's hard to imagine. This spring, replacing timing cover gaskets, I tore the one I had and had to wait three days for a new one. This was the first time I actually couldn't drive it. It was a very strange feeling.I hope for your replacement to bring you many trouble-free miles and memories just like the last one.
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Joined: Oct 2008
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From: None of your buisness
Wow. I have been lurking around this site for a while, but never made a post. This story has finally done it.
I'm a Volkswagen guy through and through, But I own a 1990 Ford F-250 Custom. Standard cab, 4X4, 4.9, with that color blue that Ford just could not figure out how to get it to stick to a truck, and I love it to death. It was given to me by my father in law.It has been stolen, found on the side of the highway, out of gas, covered in mud, in 4 lowand still it starts everytime I put the key in it. More than I can say for my GTI.
This story brought a tear to my eye and made me more proud than ever that I am doing every thing I can to keep this truck alive and well. 174,865 miles strong, maybe a water pump here, and some u-joints there, with a little transfer case seal here, and a clutch and pilot bushing there (no doubt the theiving *******s) and a motor mount.
Anyway, my name is Christopher, and I am proud to introduce my self here.
I'm a Volkswagen guy through and through, But I own a 1990 Ford F-250 Custom. Standard cab, 4X4, 4.9, with that color blue that Ford just could not figure out how to get it to stick to a truck, and I love it to death. It was given to me by my father in law.It has been stolen, found on the side of the highway, out of gas, covered in mud, in 4 lowand still it starts everytime I put the key in it. More than I can say for my GTI.
This story brought a tear to my eye and made me more proud than ever that I am doing every thing I can to keep this truck alive and well. 174,865 miles strong, maybe a water pump here, and some u-joints there, with a little transfer case seal here, and a clutch and pilot bushing there (no doubt the theiving *******s) and a motor mount.
Anyway, my name is Christopher, and I am proud to introduce my self here.
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