I originally bought my ’66 F-100 for dump runs. We had an acre in Los Gatos then, and I paid $500 for it in 1987 to haul off brush and tree trimmings. Anyway, that was the excuse I needed to finally fulfill my desire for an old pickup after living in crowded LA. And I still use it for that purpose about as much as any other. Endless remodeling and sloppy tenants make me a fairly regular fixture at the Lane County Transfer station, where one sorts recyclables and dumps the rest into the giant pit, in the bottom of which a giant Cat lives that pushes it into big trucks that actually haul it to the dump. Anyway, I often meet kindred spirits there. And sometimes ones with a story to tell.
I backed in next to this fine veteran that is right up my alley patina-wise. I got to chatting with its owner, as owners of old Ford trucks are likely to do, as they check each others ride out. Or more like checking out the more interesting of the two, which his undoubtedly is.
It’s his first vehicle ever, bought 33 years ago. That would be 1978, when this long-lived truck was still almost youthful. I snapped a few shots and then we headed to do our business at the pit.
As we met up there again, our conversation continued, for quite a while. He showed me pictures of his home-built camping trailer that folds up to look like a covered wagon, with its propane tank hidden in an old wood barrel.
He told me about some of the modifications he’s made, like a limited-slip axle that he picked up for free in someone’s yard. I should have asked to look under the hood, but I know it’s the six, which would be the first year for Ford’s new OHV engine, which came in a 215 CID version that year.
I’ve always been more of a fan of the Chevy trucks of this vintage; well, in fact I called the ’51 Chevy 3100 CC “My All-Time Favorite Truck”. For some reason, it seems like the Chevys of this vintage always outnumbered the Fords by a huge margin.
Well, ugly or not, you gotta love a truck with this kind of history and patine. How many paint jobs are trying to peek through here?
After a while, he said he needed to get back to work; and as he said it, he pointed in the direction of the bottom of the pit, where the big Yellow Cat sat waiting: “I drive that thing”.
Cue the ‘Sanford and Son’ theme… which I will have in my brain for the rest of the morning. Now, so will you!
Actually the S&S truck was a year older, but you get my drift.
Bahhhdabaaahdabahhh http://www.hark.com/clips/nnrzwjggnf-sanford-and-son-theme-song
Try the extended version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-fqf_TTJO0(Sorry, you’ll have to copypaste)
’70s TV show themes kick massive butt, ‘specially when written by Quincy Jones.
The inside shot of the cabin reminds me of what drew me to cars as a kid…it’s irresistable.
Btw, still have the acre in Los Gatos? I was up there yesterday…quite an appealing area.
No. It was our house, and actually quite close in to town. The house was built in 1866, one of the older ones in the area. Sold it when we moved up here in ’93.
I’ve got a 2004 F-150 purchased in 2006. Its a basic model, manual windows, bench seat, rubber floor covering… I honestly hope to have it as long as Paul and our Cat Driver have had their trucks.
How about a CC on your 66 Paul?
I loved the 61-66 Ford/Mercury trucks. Especially the early Unibodies.
I had a 63 F350 briefly. Hard truck to drive, it was a farm rig all it’s life so I’m pretty sure most of it’s parts were swapped in at some point. It was equipped with the 262 six, 4 speed(3 speed w/granny low) and a 5.38 rear… I was lucky to hit 40mph in that thing.
Inevitable. One of the last chapters of the Auto-Bio covers it (and coming back for a repeat eventually), but maybe we’ll do it and the “slicks” some other way.
Paul, is your pickup the car you’ve owned the longest? If not I bet it’s in the top two. I think it’s great to see vintage vehicles being used for their original purpose. The ’52 and your own pickup are proof that you don’t need to have a 350 Chevy and THM for reliability in an older vehicle.
Yup. And the whole idea with it has been to do the least possible to it; just to keep it running as a hauler. I’ll write up my experiences with it soon: I’ve spent maybe $1500 total in repairs and maintenance over those 25 years. Cheap haulage!
I had two old Ford pickups; a 1950 that looked a whole lot like that one, and a 1951. The 1950 was a V8 with a 4-speed granny box that preferred the driver to double-clutch, and a ratchet rear end. It was a tough old rig that I once used to pull a stalled loaded F5 flatbed off a railroad track. All it took was a couple of guys in the pickup box to give it some additional weight; the granny first just eased it right off. This truck was pretty mean-looking too, faded paint, no straight body panel or uncracked piece of glass on it, and a heavy steel framework/rear bumper around the back of the box. My 1951 was an old federal government truck that had lived in dry eastern Washington, and was a 6-cylinder 3-speed. It showed less than 40,000 miles and the doors and windows worked like new, the seat was nice, all the sheet metal was straight. It had brand new tires – including spare. I haggled with the salvage dealer who had the truck, and after we made a deal he came out of his office, looked it over, and said, “Well, you got a good deal there!” I took it home and washed it, causing the moss-green paint to become several shades darker. I got it painted in 1966 Chevy Aztec Bronze with black interior, put chrome wheels on it, drove it for a year, and sold it for more than I had in it.
As a 52 F-3 owner, seeing one of these trucks warms my heart. Its defiantly a 215 six, if it was a V-8 it would have the V-8 logo at the front of the hood instead of the wings. Whats really cool is that the carb on that motor has a glass float bowl, makes working on it so much easier in that you always know if its getting fuel. While a 215 is not as cool as a flathead V-8, the horsepower ratings are almost the same. Its also a base model, as it only has one stripe of chrome on the hood, the higher trim levels have 3 rows of trim.
Hey, Thanks for the compliments. I’m that guy who owns this old truck. I had googled images of “covered wagon camp trailers” and I see a familiar pic. Kinda wondered if I’d see pics of my camping wagon since I’ve had a few folks take pics of it. Never thought I was gonna see pics of my pickup.
A quick little history for those who might have questions
Bought it in ’78 for 200 bucks, and drove it home on a freezing cold day in December. (no pass. window and a cracked left wing window)
Had the ? original 215 , but with a tag on the block saying it was rebuilt. Also had a column shift 3spd. trans. Didn’t have the glass bowl but found one in a junkyard and the owner said I could have it for free.
Drove it a year with a rattling wrist pin bushing
Overhauled a 223 OHV 6 and bolted it right in. Also installed a 4spd. (double clutcher)
1982, drove it up the Alcan to Fairbanks and back
Retired it from about ’89 – ’99 (harder on it than if I had kept driving it)
’99, put it back on the road
’01, drove it from Oregon to Madera CA, then to Salinas CA, then up the coast, through 2 Redwood trees and back home
Continually get people asking if I want to sell it, uh, that would be a NO. Too much history with it.
Look me up on Facebook and see more pics of it and my wagon camp trailer.
Hey Cat Guy; glad you found the post I did on your truck. I never did have the chance to ask you about the engine. Thanks for stopping by.
was gonna post a pic but it didn’t work.