Ford F-150 302CID 5-Speed 4x4

[royster]

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I bought this truck some 6 years ago. It has been a remarkably tough work-horse. It has not demanded a lot of attention, though I've kept it well-maintained and sufficiently loved.

The fiberglass camper shell came with it, though before I bought it, it had been stored on the ground, and grandchildren used it as a trampauline. I modified it with wood-frame reinforcements to carry ladders and lumber overhead. Two cross-bars on top...2x4's scribed and cut to the contour of the roof...also feature 4 hoops (bolted at the bottom) for bungy cords, but also hanging the shell from my garage rafters. The garage has since been rebuilt and upgraded, (one of my greater acheivements in life) so I'm in the process of building a rack to put the shell on when I want just a truck. I'm a carpenter by trade.

I'm a "Friend Of Bill's", so I consider this my "sobriety truck". It took me to a lot of A.A. meetings, and still does. (5 year chip)

Last year I had thought to get a little pick-up truck for general use (F-150's get horrible mileage). From my high school days, I thought about a '73 Datsun, but those are hard to come by, here in the land of salt-to-melt-snow roads. It was by pure chance (or Fate, maybe) that one day, stopping at a 7~11 for cofffee, I saw the D-50 on a car lot. It was love at first sight, and it's been a great adventure fixing up the D-50, but the F-150 is certainly my life-line. In four-wheel drive it will go through 16" of snow faithfully.

Someone had put a 2" lift kit on it and it is a great height...not too high, requiring huge (expensive) tires, and not obnoxiously cocky. It enjoys a cameo appearance in my video "Essence Of The Fair 2013" (available on YouTube). Rust repair and repainting was done before I took possession of the truck, though the years have killed the clear coat, and the typical-for-F.150's rust is re-emerging around the rear wheel wells. For two years the odometer/speedometer was broken, so I have no idea how many miles are actually on it. It's an old truck, and there's just something sane about old trucks, I'm sure most will agree.

[royster]

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The story of my F-150, my garage, and the kittens that showed up (they're cats, now) might be interesting to few, others might think nothing of it. But the F-150 hauled in no fewer than 500 bags of concrete (80#) to build a concrete bridge over the creek that runs through the 14 acres I live on. It hauled a lot of lumber that allowed me to enclose the garage and install a wood floor. In re-fitting the garage, a stray cat showed up to eat my cat's food. She stayed because I fed her, and soon enough revealed her three still-nursing kittens living under a covered wood pile.

Just as the kittens were being weened, I found her dead near the creek, along with my own cat. What killed them that day was never determined, but it left three kittens orphaned. I raised them as best i couldm and they have turned out to be wonderful friends and mousers. It isn't often three sibling cats get to spend life together.

So the garage sort of represents my own resurrection. When I bought the D-50, I parked it in the garage and put it on jacks for a week, going over it with a fine tooth comb. What a joy it was (and is) to be able to do that, instead of an open shell, uneven dirt floor garage.

I have come to accept all these symbols as milestones of my life. The D-50, like myself, shows a lot of promise. Like me, it will take some work to get there.

But it's all been worth the journey.

One journey ends, another begins.

[royster]

If posting a YouTube link of this nature is unacceptable, please just delete this post.

This is the film I made of the Shenandoah County Fair..."A week of fair in 31 minutes". The F-150 is in the last section (there are 5) opening scene and it is asuggested that 9-year-old Devin has driven the truck to the fair, as he grabs his sling-shot and jumps down from the driver's side. Having paid admission he begins his way throguh the fairgrounds to the rides...all to the Guns N Roses song "Paradise City".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDs7O4j2VLA

The film took a week of video taping, about 20 hours studio editing and has been widely distributed (for free) through the 4-H youth group. I donated the work to 4-H as a fund-raiser: the film is not for sale or promotion (I do not own the music contained in it).

[noahwins]

I'm a "Friend Of Bill's", so I consider this my "sobriety truck". It took me to a lot of A.A. meetings, and still does. (5 year chip)

I know that guy, too! 10/1/11. I never knew how good it felt to drive with a full tank of gas, comprehensive insurance, valid registration and no booze, drugs or weapons in the car until I got sober.

[royster]

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Keep comin' back~it works, if you work it

[bobbyk]

"friend of bill" also...11/6/05 It's crazy to have lived two completely different lives. It really makes you appreciate the little things. I like your story.

[royster]

Interesting photo reflecting the D-50

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My two trucks

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[royster]

Hello, All ~

Coordinating with the passing of my dog, "Sunshine", 12 years ago, "Puppy"...my F-150 truck...ceased functioning on the same date: April 28.

The on-board computer code indicates there is trouble with the fuel pump, which is inside the gas tank. Years of rust make it rather impractical to keep putting money into Puppy. Just the rust is enough to reject it for State inspection.

This was my "sobriety" truck: I bought it about the same time I joined Alcoholics Anonymous, and he took me to many a meeting. He also hauled no fewer than 600 - 80-pound bags of concrete (20 bags per load) to build the bridges here at the farm. He could go through 16 inches of snow, and often did. No telling how many materials he delivered to here and other job sites.

I drove this truck for nearly 10 years.

Offered up for sale for $500 I had an immediate taker. So Puppy may continue down Life's Highway, regardless of the chemicals VDOT puts on winter roads. I'll be glad to see him still thumpin' down the road, but no doubt I'll miss the Big Guy.

My little D-50 continues to get me around, though I'll be looking for a new, full-sized truck.

Thanks for listening ~

Roy

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