I bestowed that superlative on this ’56 F350 back in 2013, when I finally caught up with it, having seen it hauling big loads of cardboard to be recycled for as long as we lived in Eugene. But I stopped seeing it about two or three years back, and wondered what happened. Was it something to do with the truck, its owner Mike, or?
But I found it sitting here, not very far from my house. It looks like it’s out of commission. I don’t know what the story is, but I hope Mike is ok.
Here’s how it looked back then:
This was the oldest working truck in Eugene, and it well deserved its title. But I suspect eventually someone will get it running again, but not likely to earn its owners keep.
CC 1956 Ford F350: The Ultimate CC Still Hard At Work Six Days A Week
It even appears to sport the correct CC color (CCCC)! It looks peaceful there, just resting on the front lawn watching the young whippersnapper trucks pass by all day long. I’m sure it could tell a lot of stories though after 65 years, retiring right on schedule.
Wonder if it’s ten year younger baby brother might be stepping up and taking over the crown?
From the looks of the grass under and around it I don’t think it has been sitting too long so maybe it is still a runner.
I know from here the value of recyclable materials has dropped hugely due to China no longer accepting them. Perhaps he has had to pause operations.
That occurred to me too. It has gone up recently. But maybe Mike retired; he was getting up in years.
His cardboard run might be done with a compactor type truck now, bit more efficient that way.
Thanks for the update, Paul. Here in the Salt Belt, I’d think this kind of longevity could only come with a vehicle kept off the streets—like exclusive use on farmland or an “auto dismantler.” I’d also like to think that there’d be someone in Eugene who’d want to keep it going, if only as a hobby truck.
That yellow ’56 Ford F350 reminds me of an old house paint paintbrush yellow ’62 Buick Special I used to see running around town… then one day I stumbled across it in a junkyard with the front end smashed up… I grabbed the aluminum V8 and stick shift setup out of it for my MG Midget since I knew it had recently been running…
It’s nice to see a ’56 Ford that hasn’t been made into a hot rod.