At Home Depot, it’s usually a sea of late-model big 4×4 HD trucks, so this veteran of the 1970s caught my eye. Well, that and the multi-color paint job, with two different colors on the bed alone.
Here it is in its full glory.
Looks like the bed was welded up from two two donors.
He needed him a tool box. No big deal if you have a welder. Cool old truck!
If I’m not mistaken, that tool compartment in the bed side was a factory option.
This might be more complicated than it seems.
Wasn’t the tool box part of the long-wheelbase box?
You’re thinking of the standard integrated spare tire carrier on the 140″ WB F-350.
Yep, that’s it!
Thanks
The tool box was a factory option and available on the regular wheel base long bed trucks. I don’t understand why it went away and hasn’t come back as I would love to have that on my pickups. Perfect place to keep things like a ball mount, tow strap, tie downs ect.
I agree!
I was having a hard time finding room to pack gear into my truck for a night photography mission last night, and something like this would have been helpful. Unfortunately, I’ve got fuel tanks on both sides taking up the space where one of these tool boxes would go.
Those tool boxes seem like a great idea but the problem is that they always leak. Everything that goes into them gets ruined and then eventually the box itself rots out. That’s why we don’t see them anymore.
I think that in 2020 they could do a better job of sealing them than they did back in the 70’s and IF the parts were made of steel would likely have better rust proofing.
Drain holes need to be drilled in the bottom of truck storage compartments and accept that everything “perishable” stored there is going to need a light spray of oil on it.
Looks like a ’79 based on the square headlights…..Top trim levels in F series got square headlights in ’78 while lesser trim levels got round headlights.
All F series trim levels got square headlights in ’79.
That was a HD 4×4 in ’79. Somebody needs to save that truck!
I’d say it has been rescued and being used to do what it was intended to do work.
Wow how many trucks were cobbled up to make this thing? Not just the two sections of the passenger side of the bed; the tailgate is red, the driver’s side bed looks black. Front door is grey; rest of truck is white. I like the result though.
Must be a Ford thing, I had a 76 Mk2 Ford Escort that wore many colours donor panels from junkyards to keep it intact I painted it rattlecan primer grey with black shadow coat, that way it looked like someone was doing it up rather than just nursing it into the ground
I used to regularly see 1973-91 GM Suburbans and crew cabs sporting this look. I suppose having 19 straight model years with directly interchangeable body panels made it quite easy (the front clip changed for 1981, but the body lines matched perfectly between old and new). Oddly enough, the standard 2 door trucks usually didn’t get these piecemeal repairs… though installing the newer front sheetmetal as a whole on an older truck was and is quite common.
This Ford takes the taco for the most body panel donors I’ve seen on one vehicle. I see at least five? I think my previous record was a 1978-80 Suburban I spotted with four different colors.
Well the regular cab pickups were much more common so almost as easy and cheap to just pick up another one. The Crew Cabs were never that common back in the day so much more reason to patch/piece together what you have.
This is one more work rig doing it’s Yeoman Duty .
Like them or not, Fords are stout rigs, ready for decades of hard work .
I see rings like this all over Southern California where the parts pickings at Pick-A-Part yards are plentiful and good .
-Nate
“…welded up from two two donors.”
VERY GOOD!
YES !!
This baby rocks the kasbah ~ (appropriate era rock tune reference)
A totally Legit work truck contributing it’s own recycling program ! Most likely a 460 motor-vator under the hood; and are those bead lock aluminum alloys ? Cool beanz !!
Just perch your pretty little Wolverine work boots in those forged alloy steps, grab onto a ‘grab handle’ and pull yourself into the saddle. This coat of many colors work horse has got it’s chores to tend to