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Great classic truck! Useful, charming, and sexy.
This really neat pickup has seen only 85,500 miles!
The previous owner only drove it a few hundred miles a year, as did I. The
reason I'm selling is only because I have finished hauling home-remodeling
materials, engines, and so forth, and no longer have the space for it due to
having too many projects!
The exact model is 1962
Ford F-250 Styleside, 3/4-ton, full-length-bed. It's a 2-wheel-drive with a
4-speed manual transmission - 1st gear is super for hauling anything up to the
size of a house!
The photo above
shows the truck in front of my house. Below is the truck in the country with its
previous owners.
Such gorgeous design! Trucks today simply do not display such style:
It's in great working shape but
certainly not a show truck,
basically a "20-footer" - that is, from 20 feet away it looks good,
but when you get closer you notice little things like scratches, cheap
paint, some surface rust in the bed (treated with rust-stopper), some rust at
the front of the hood and bottom of the gate, and so on. But the classic lines
easily overcome any cosmetic issues.
It runs and drives great, and I use it every week or two to
haul things for my house, to help friends move, and so forth. Sometimes I take
it out on the town just because it's so cool. You know you're driving a real
truck when you're on the road in this great machine!
Now for more photos of the truck!
Here is inside the cab. Original rubber floor mats are still
in place, though a little cracked and so forth. Note the original owner's manual
on the leopard-print seat cover:
Here's a close-up shot of the dashboard. All the gauges in this view work
(charge, fuel, temp, oil pressure, speed, odometer), as do the climate controls
(heat, fan, vents). The blinker stopped working a long time ago and has a funky
second unit strapped to the column which does work - but it's ugly and should be
reverted to the old one! Gorgeous dash:
The vintage-pattern headliner is still in nice condition. The structure of the
sun visors is in great shape, but the visor covers need to be replaced if you
don't want to look at the wood core. I also removed that nasty sunshade, shown
rolled up on the passenger side in this photo:
Here's what the inside of the doors looks like. Very rugged and cool-looking.
The window regulators, vent windows, and door-handles all work as they should:
The big, huge bed. Some surface rust but no rust-through! Unless you've had a truck
with a bed like this, you have no idea how useful it is:
The rear gate. Those handles latch it tightly closed. It has some rust on the
bottom but it works great. You can fold it down horizontal or undo the supports
and let it go completely flush against the bumper:
Engine was overhauled just a couple of thousand miles ago, including a complete valve job with
hardened seats
so you can run regular unleaded gas without additives. Carburetor was rebuilt
last fall and has less than 200 miles on it. All-new cap, rotor, plugs, and
wires. New fuel pump and new in-tank fuel line. There's an electrical short
somewhere, probably due to loose wires near the regulator - but I haven't cared
enough to track it down because it works just fine as long as you disconnect
when the truck is not in use! Plus that keeps the bad guys from stealing it. Battery is less than a year old, and I added a
quick-disconnect to keep it from draining when parked for extended periods.
Radiator works great, as do all the mechanical systems.
I absolutely love the details
truck-makers used to lavish on their products!
Here's a shot of the Ford F-250 emblem on the side of the open hood:
Front driver-side. Note the built-in steps behind the door. Great for easy
access to the bed:
Rear driver-side. Note some little dents behind the wheel:
Front passenger-side. Some paint chips.
Note that the hood isn't bent, it's just not latched all the way down:
Rear passenger-side. Step on this side, too. Note more minor dents:
In its current condition, the authoritative
Old Cars Price Guide
puts this truck's value at between $3200 (#4 condition) and $7000 (#3), as I
would rate it on the lower end between those two (I judge vehicle conditions
lower than most). I considered putting in a little work to sell it for $thousands in profit,
but instead just kept it in its current patina
condition and enjoyed driving and using a unique truck that is
quickly going up in value! These old Ford trucks have gotten very popular
lately. So why buy a generic modern truck when you can drive a unique
classic like this one... and for less money?
Here are some online price guides:
Manheim Gold Book
NADA Classic Car Price Guide
Lightning-bolt-gear hood ornament! I love the details on this
truck. This is the emblem at the front of the hood (same design as on the center
of the steering wheel):
Mechanically, this truck is reliable and starts and drives and stops as it
should. The only mechanical thing that needs attention is hunting down the
electrical drain, but that doesn't cause any trouble unless it's parked.
Summary
- Runs and drives great! Last year, I took it on a
600-mile trip hauling two engines with no problems. I drive it almost
every week to haul all manner of things, and it never causes problems.
- About 85,500 actual miles.
- Lots of work done a few thousand miles
ago:
- Head rebuilt with new valves, guides, seals,
and hardened seats (so you can run regular gas).
- Engine overhauled.
- New alternator.
- Over the last year and 1,000 miles, I have replaced the following:
- all new tires (also comes with an extra, complete set of old
off-road wheels and tires!)
- battery
- cap and rotor
- spark plugs
- points, plugs, and wires
- fuel pump
- in-tank fuel lines and gas-gauge float
- carburetor (rebuilt)
- oil changed regularly with new filter (it uses readily available
cartridge filters)
- comes with new distributor (not needed, but nice to have!)
- miscellaneous other items
- Kansas Antique plate (yearly tax less than
$20).
- Cheap to insure (I use
Hagerty Collector Car Insurance)
at less than $100/year for full coverage with no deductible!
This great old truck now has a happy new home!
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