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I bought my first car, a 1959 Ford F250 Camper Special, when I was 15. I bought it from a guy in Moab Utah for $500. Got the truck running and driving and it became my daily driver all throughout high school. Blew up the original engine after a couple years and replaced it with a fresh rebuilt Y block I found on Facebook marketplace for $1800! In my senior year I went on a date and while driving on a gravel backroad I hit a deer and lost control and launched my truck off a 25 foot cliff into some boulders. We both walked away without a scratch, and had to hike 2 miles to find service. Lets just say I never got a call back after that!! I parked my 59 up at my uncle's ranch in Veyo. Bought a 1958 F-250 a couple weeks after that for $1100 from one of my uncles who forgot he had it on his property. Got that one running, stole some parts of the 59 to get it running. A week after graduation someone ran a red light and I totaled my 58. Walked away with a bloody nose and a bruised sternum haha. Parked my 58 up at my uncles ranch with the 59. Went off to college the following week and forgot about them. My uncle called me a few months later and said they had a huge wildfire and that everything got destroyed. The 58 paint had bubbled and melted off and the tires exploded, the 59 stood strong and only burned down to the red primer on the driver side. My last unit in college required us to build a project. I had the thought to bring both trucks up to Wyoming and salvage what I could and make 1 truck from what I had left. The trick with the project is that I had 3 months to complete it. Got my trucks shipped up to my school (which arrived 2 months before the project deadline). Tore down both trucks, Rebuilt the engine, Regeared the differential, fixed all the destroyed parts from the wreck the 59 was in. Sold my 58 without an engine for $2000 to one of my professors. And a day before graduation I finished my 59!! So I loaded up all my belongings in my truck and trailered it down to my home town In southern Utah. Once I got home, I got a job offer at a classic car restoration place in Sherman Texas. So I loaded up my tools and drove my truck out to Texas. Got pulled over on a reservation for no other reason than I wasn't allowed on reservation land during covid. I made it to texas and drove my truck everyday for the next couple years out there. The most I drove was 80 miles everyday and she never let me down. I had a job opportunity in Indianapolis to work on a pit crew for a Pro Mod team. And I made the hard decision to sell my truck. I sold it to my tattoo artist in the form of trade work. 10k in tattoos for my truck. I helped him fix the few issues it had and would work on it every time I'd get tattoos. It wasn't my truck anymore but it was still being taken care of. My last tattoo I got was in december, I tattooed a 1959 Fridge on my back (Rat Fink style). A couple weeks ago my tattoo artist passed away from a heart attack. I flew out to Texas to attend the service and help his wife with moving anything and showing her how to take care of all his cars. She gifted me the 59. She wanted it to go somewhere it would be cared for instead of rotting on the side of the house. Flew back to SLC and got a transport set up and my truck will be here in 6 days.
Definitely Not going to get rid of my truck now Picking up the truck in MOAB New engine I bought Beginning of my senior year The wreck off the cliff The wreck off the cliff Going to the ranch to sit New 58 Totaled 58 The wildfire Heading to college Mid rebuild Mid rebuild Completed exterior Completed engine Last pic in Texas before trading
What a great story! I loved the follow-up with photos. I can tell you are the kind of guy that gets things done. Thanks for sharing your story with us and keep 'em coming.
Interesting story. What is the story behind the square holes on the side of the bed?
Agreed, very interesting story. Anything could happen in a New York minute. Boxes cut into bed were once a popular storage accessory sold by camper dealers back in the early days.
In all my many years gawking at older Ford trucks, I have never seen these type of boxes. They sure make sense as there is Sooo much wasted space at the fender wells otherwise. Was there an actual steel box inserted?
