My first car was a 1966 Mustang. It was purchased in 1980 while I was a junior in high school. My parents made me save for it, I paid $1300, my dad assisted and taught me how to do repairs. After a year I sold the Mustang for $3000. From that point on my dad always went in half on purchases. We restored several cars. To this day we, including Max, my son, have several old cars.

In 1986 my dad and I both bought new F150’s. I traded mine for a new ‘88 GMC while dad kept his until 3 or 4 years ago. I was bored one afternoon checking out craigslist ads when I found this ‘86 F150. The photos looked good. It had low mileage, a one-owner truck fairly close to home. It had been well cared for. 69,000 miles and no rust. It had always been garaged until the past few years. The truck had quit running, and they were ready to get it out of the way.

After towing it home, replacing fuel pumps, distributor, several sensors and a polish job, it’s back to being driven daily. I still have a list of small improvements and upgrades, but have plenty of time.