Timepiece Bricknose is Like Totally Rad

Wacky Conversation

Miami Vice called and wants their chase truck back! It is impossible not to use gnarly or tubular when describing this painted-up 1989 F-250, let alone rid the lingering ghost of guitar-saturated pop ballads from its stereo speakers. Perhaps even wackier than the graphics is figuring out exactly how the discussion rolled out with 1990s, custom-celeb painter, Dan Patterson.

Photos courtesy of BaT.

Clip Number

For its age, the truck itself is in really good shape—only noticed after bypassing all the clip-art splash, pinched from every diner menu and Styrofoam coffee cup of the late 1980s. Adding to the retinal attack, the asymmetric layout leaves little chance to stop and absorb the dynamic details. Then again, Look Away by Chicago was number one on the charts for 1989.

Wild Choice

Delivered new to Pundmann Ford in St Charles, Missouri, the F-250 4x4 began a sedate life working for a lawn care company. Things took a turn for the wild under its second ownership when Patterson was commissioned around 1995 to apply his artistic interpretations to the truck. Selecting Patterson to do the job was no arbitrary choice.

Involved Legacy

With a focus on Ford products, Patterson was responsible for the paintwork on a multitude of show cars and trucks starting in the late 1970s, all the way through until the mid-1990s. He is best known for painting Ford's Bigfoot series of monster trucks. Patterson passed away in 2005 but his legacy lives on with his involved and eye-popping artwork.

Smoothed Flawless

Recently scooped up at auction, the F-250 is a well-preserved time capsule and a glaring example of different aesthetic preferences. Reportedly cocooned in a garage for almost twenty-five years, there are a scant 91,000 miles on the clock. The paint is in near flawless condition. Any dings or injuries incurred while in its landscaping role have long since been smoothed away.

Upgraded Years

Originally painted a solid Cabernet Red, some of the truck reflects how it rolled out of Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant—some thirty-plus years ago. Paint job aside, the F-250 has been tastefully upgraded with 16'' Progressive wheels, wrapped with meaty Toyo Open Country tires. A 'surf's up' Go Rhino chrome roll bar was fitted, along with 'beach-runner' Optilux auxiliary lights.

Real Better

The overly red interior is near perfect, with no cracks or sun damage to the plastic and vinyl parts. Powered by Ford's 302 small-block V8, the F-250 gets 'real truck' credentials with its five-speed manual transmission and dual-range transfer case. Because it was a better match, but bordering on blasphemy, the bench seat was swapped with one from Chevy Silverado.

Totally Tacky

Attention-getting would be an appropriate way, to sum up the modern art panels on this 1989 F-250. Some may still turn away from the over-the-top design. Agreeably tacky now, the truck's custom treatment still stands as a unique example of what was once considered cool. It still sort of is, and using the era-correct parlance, 'it's like, totally rad...'

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