A lot of blood, sweat, and tears were put into this truck to make it what it is today. It all started when I saw the boys at my high school driving their old trucks to school every day. Most girls want a vehicle that will get them from point A to point B with good gas mileage, but not me. I wanted an older lifted truck and being raised in a family that loves old vehicles, I knew it wouldn’t be impossible.

I got a job at a local grocery store and saved every penny I made, and when I had saved enough money I started looking for the perfect truck. My dad found this 1977 Ford truck on eBay that was rust-free and had “very little dents” on the body, located in California. It was the perfect truck at the right price, so I had it hauled to my house, bought sight unseen. I was so excited and started working on it right away.

My dad helped me work on the motor, transmission, interior, and exterior. I was very involved with my school, worked as many hours as I could get at the store, and I still found time to restore this truck. Every night I would be either sanding the green off the body or working on the motor. With our busy schedules, it took a little over two winters to finish the truck. I did get help from a couple of my dad’s friends with the bodywork, paint, and buffing. Their work made it look sharp.

It was exciting to see this old truck come together and especially when we started adding the paint, chrome, and the extra parts on it. Two days before my senior prom, I was able to drive it to school. Everyone watched me drive through the parking lot with it and they were surprised to see it done since they’ve heard a lot about my build. Seeing them in shock made me feel so good about the hard work I put into this project.

I enjoy driving and showing the truck at car shows and learning more about how to work on one. After the restoration, I’m always inspired by others and seeing the creativity that people do to their builds. It was a great experience, from saving money, selling old parts for new parts, and knowing how to build a truck from the ground up. With the help at LMC, I was able to find parts that I needed, and it was and always will be exciting to receive them in the mail.