Life began for “Betty” in the Ford plant in San Jose, CA. She was ordered and shipped to the dealership Benzel Ford by the original owners. Her build was 14 days behind schedule. August 30, 1974, she made her voyage to Ritzville, Washington. Her owners picked her up September 16, 1974.

Betty’s early life was full of purpose, transporting canoes to and from the water daily. She was sold sometime during 2008 to a dealer in classic trucks located in Lewiston, Idaho. A private owner purchases her. That owner had big plans of restoring her. He changed her original color of Vineyard Gold and Wimbledon White to Chocolate Brown. Her mechanics were in desperate need of repair. Her power steering lines were cumbersome and leaking, the alternator was wired backward and the battery was shot. She never made it out of the garage.

I found a love for Ford highboys after reading a Ford blog one night on four-wheel-drive vehicles from the ‘70s. During this period of my life, my mother was very ill and her days were numbered. She conveyed before she passed that she wanted each of her three daughters to go buy something they just really wanted. My search was on from that day on. My poor husband would watch me search day after day for at least a few hours a day. One day, after searching for over a year for a Ford highboy in excellent/or good condition which is, quite the task, I found a truck that seemed like the truck for me. I flew to Galveston, Texas. with my sister and a friend. This trip did not bring me my Betty but allowed me to enjoy the ocean, beach, and wind in my hair.

Day after day, I would search all the classic car websites and even craigslist in different surrounding states close to Missouri. One day I was scanning the local craigslist in Kansas City and low, and behold, after two hours of being posted, I found my Betty. I was starstruck, and the rest is history. Betty was purchased for a fair price and came to me with most all of her original parts; leaking hoses, charging system wired backward, mismatched brake pads and paint that was applied in a private home garage, with no filter and ventilation.

She has received many updates and parts from LMC Truck.