I’ve been around Fords all my life. My father loved Ford products and wouldn’t drive anything but Ford. As a young man my best friend, Miles Burd, started building dirt track cars and racing them, all Fords of coarse. He and I had a love for 1956 and 1957 Ford Fairlanes. Back in the mid-to-late-1960s we never had a problem finding them for sale, or parted-out ones in the salvage yard. Miles raced them for over 35 years before he retired in the late 90s.

My Ford truck story started back in June 2001. My stepson and his fiance had just moved back to New Holland, Pennsylvania, from New Orleans and asked me to keep my eyes open for a cheap truck for them to purchase. I missing out on a few that I looked at, but as it was meant to be, one day I was driving down a back road near where we live and I noticed a 1978 Ford F-150 truck for sale. It looked like the truck from the TV show Sanford and Son.

As there was not a price listed on it I went to the front door and knocked. A lady answered the door and I asked her what she would like to have for it. She told me that her husband had passed away six months earlier and she could not drive a straight stick. She said the truck was in good mechanical condition, and had been serviced regularly at a local garage. She then continued to telling me the story of how much her husband loved his truck. He only drove it one mile to work and home. On Sundays he and her would drive to a local restaurant to have breakfast.

When she told me that the truck only had 20,500 miles on it my jaw dropped. She said the mechanic that had taken care of it said she should ask $4,500 because even though it was over 23 years old, the condition was excellent and it had low miles. I made her an offer of $3500 and told her if she didn’t get her asking price to please call me. I remember telling my wife that even though I had a small truck, I would like to have this one and sell my small truck to my stepson.

One week later she called and said I could have it for the price I offered.The truck had the original bias ply tires on it from the assembly line. She said that she would include two new tires on it, and for me to get a quote on the best tires I could fine and she would include that in the deal. That same day I bought it and had new Michelin tires installed. For some reason her husband loved pin striping- there must’ve been 500 yards of white pin striping on it. My wife and I spent over 12 hours with a hairdryer removing it from even the rubber gaskets of the front and rear windows.

The truck served me well over the next 15 years, and at 39,000 miles was still in fair condition. After my retirement as a HVAC technician in 2016, I knew that one of my three vehicles would have to go. I knew my truck was off the table. After talking it over with my wife we decided to sell my midlife crisis car, an ’05 Ford Mustang that only had 13,000 miles on it, in order to bring new life to my truck.

The restoration of my truck began in June 2017 (most of the parts purchased from LMC Truck). We started the tedious task of dismantling and cataloging all the parts, nuts, and bolts. One of my best friends, Donnie Holloway, was such a big help in this restoration project. After nine months and over 1900 hours, she was completed on February 20, 2018.

Even though we think she is very nice there many small things we would like to do to her over the next several years. My wife and I have a combined family with five grown sons. The boys all love what I have done with the truck. My wife and I plan on using the truck when we go away to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary this June. I am like a kid and can’t hardly wait. This project has taken me back to my youth and the many hours spent driving Fords. Remembering all of those hunting and fishing trips driving a Ford truck. Thanks to LMC and the customer service people who helped by providing great parts and service.