Yes. I removed it. Took every sticker off the back window except one of the American flag. If I wanted to look like a tool, I would have left them and bought a flat billed hat to wear while listening to Florida Georgia Line. lmao
"New truck"
- Thread starter hickslawns
- Start date
Yes. I removed it. Took every sticker off the back window except one of the American flag. If I wanted to look like a tool, I would have left them and bought a flat billed hat to wear while listening to Florida Georgia Line. lmao
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What the hell did you do that for. I bet you removed 50 horsepower and 40 torque from it. How are you gonna win tug a truck matches without stickers.
For Giles and gang. Here are some of the old trucks I have done. Keep in mind, these were not to show, they were redone to be functional work trucks.
1983 Chevy we didn't do much to. It was decent the first several years I owned it. Just put a flat bed on it when the bed got too bad.
Couldn't find any before pics of the 77 Ford. Here are some post work pics. The flatbed we snagged for it was about useless and ugly. Sure was better than the old bed.
This is an 86 Chevy. It was decent, but went from decent to a rusty mess quick. Here is the before pics.
Here are the after pics. Welded in new floors, rockers, cab corners, bolted on new doors/fenders, and mounted a flat bed onto her.
1983 Chevy we didn't do much to. It was decent the first several years I owned it. Just put a flat bed on it when the bed got too bad.
Couldn't find any before pics of the 77 Ford. Here are some post work pics. The flatbed we snagged for it was about useless and ugly. Sure was better than the old bed.
This is an 86 Chevy. It was decent, but went from decent to a rusty mess quick. Here is the before pics.
Here are the after pics. Welded in new floors, rockers, cab corners, bolted on new doors/fenders, and mounted a flat bed onto her.
I sure did enjoy working on the old trucks, but it got old always working on the old trucks. With workers now versus 10yrs ago or 15yrs ago, you just about need a truck that drives itself. Freaking kids today don't know how to drive a stick or carburated truck. They need fuel injection, creature comforts, auto pilot, and something to dispense cookies when they don't screw up.
That said, "The 78" holds a lot of sentimental value to me, but isn't a whole lot different than any of the others. I wish I could find the good pics I took right when it was all done. These are some later pics after the lady ran a stoplight and totaled it. We bent, banged, and mangled it back together, but it was really never quite the same. Drove alright, but never had that same "fresh" look.
We have since upgraded to newer trucks, skid loaders, and backhoes. Newer trucks are more comfortable, push snow better, and simply look nicer. Cost us more money, but we aren't working on them like the old trucks with carbs, distributor caps, etc. Just simply more reliable. I think it will be fun having an old truck around again. The '84' won't be an exact replica of the '78' because we won't work it. The taller lift kit and tires were never practical on a work truck. The 78/84 will just be painted the same color (eventually), be lettered like the 78 was, and be designed to turn heads. Probably drive it in parades, park it at our retail location, maybe put a push bumper on it to work the dirt track races. The idea will be to just pull some thumbs ups, and start conversations as well as to drive around town as a billboard. You going to remember the name on the side of a 2006 white Superduty Ford or on a bright red old Chevy? The old Chevy won't blend in like most work trucks nowadays.
That said, "The 78" holds a lot of sentimental value to me, but isn't a whole lot different than any of the others. I wish I could find the good pics I took right when it was all done. These are some later pics after the lady ran a stoplight and totaled it. We bent, banged, and mangled it back together, but it was really never quite the same. Drove alright, but never had that same "fresh" look.
We have since upgraded to newer trucks, skid loaders, and backhoes. Newer trucks are more comfortable, push snow better, and simply look nicer. Cost us more money, but we aren't working on them like the old trucks with carbs, distributor caps, etc. Just simply more reliable. I think it will be fun having an old truck around again. The '84' won't be an exact replica of the '78' because we won't work it. The taller lift kit and tires were never practical on a work truck. The 78/84 will just be painted the same color (eventually), be lettered like the 78 was, and be designed to turn heads. Probably drive it in parades, park it at our retail location, maybe put a push bumper on it to work the dirt track races. The idea will be to just pull some thumbs ups, and start conversations as well as to drive around town as a billboard. You going to remember the name on the side of a 2006 white Superduty Ford or on a bright red old Chevy? The old Chevy won't blend in like most work trucks nowadays.
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That was a concern. You gonna be a badass, ya gotta look a badass. :smiley_crocodile:
This truck will NOT be used for tug a truck, mud drags, or pulling sleds. It might get some groceries, ice cream, or deliver some estimates though.
Thanks Chad. It was probably the biggest rust bucket I ever re-did. We started cutting on the cab to make repairs and abandoned the project. We would have had to have hand fabricated metal to fit between the replacement floor/rockers/cab corner panels. I had to bite the bullet and find a cab which was repairable. It had the engine rebuilt by us. Painted the block Chevy racing orange just to get my Ford buddies fired up. Swapped the transmission out. All new brakes, brake lines, tranny lines, fuel lines. . .Exhaust. . . It was hurting when I bought it.
I derailed my own thread. You guys asked. i went thru some pics, and delivered. Thank you! It was fun looking back. These trucks were always in various stages of repair/rebuild. Some fresh. Some still had holes in floor boards with exhaust fumes creeping in. Plenty of nights laying in Carharts in the snow working on stuff. It isn't that I am really all that old. I am only 40, but next month we enter the 18th year of business. Stuff sure changes as the years go by.
I thought you and Moundhill might like these pics Taylor.
Maybe I will find another line of trucks for Giles. . . . Found one of my daughter. She couldn't have been much over 2. She is now 14. Couple pics of an old spray truck we used for vegetation control at commercial facilities like factories, steel foundry, junk yards, large gravel lots, etc. Some snow pics of equipment lined up and the next pic is another truck salting as we were loading the bobcat. Also a pic of a 99 F250 we used to have. That was a nice truck. Liked it better than the 03 Chevy 2500HD we replaced it with.
Funny thing here is we really don't have much of this equipment anymore. I think the red dually is in one pic. We still have that Dodge.
I thought you and Moundhill might like these pics Taylor.
Maybe I will find another line of trucks for Giles. . . . Found one of my daughter. She couldn't have been much over 2. She is now 14. Couple pics of an old spray truck we used for vegetation control at commercial facilities like factories, steel foundry, junk yards, large gravel lots, etc. Some snow pics of equipment lined up and the next pic is another truck salting as we were loading the bobcat. Also a pic of a 99 F250 we used to have. That was a nice truck. Liked it better than the 03 Chevy 2500HD we replaced it with.
Funny thing here is we really don't have much of this equipment anymore. I think the red dually is in one pic. We still have that Dodge.
Another of the 77 hi-boy for Chad.
Another lineup for Giles.
Forgot about this one. 79 K20. Short wheel base. Full time 4x4. 400 small block. 400 turbo trans. It ended in the scrap yard when the frame was done. Parted the engine and trans first.
Here was our first dedicated sweeper truck.
This was a fun truck. It was parked on job sites as a tool truck/materials truck. Had the 4cyl Cummins diesel. Sucker got 20+mpg. Wouldn't get out of its own way, but ran down the road at 57mph getting good mileage. lol
Always liked this old girl too. Ran like a dream. 454 never questioned what was behind it. Clean old truck.
One more line up pic for Giles but it is newer trucks. Heck, we have upgraded the backhoe since this pic. Twice. lol
I'm sorry I got side tracked. I enjoyed digging up the old pics. The more I posted, the more I realized how far we have come. I don't want you to think I am bragging. This is 18yrs of slowly/steadily updating equipment. Grew the business a little at a time. Been fortunate to land some nice accounts and retain them. Some are gone. Some replaced with better ones. Some accounts, I am glad they are gone. Just saying, none of this happened over night. Truthfully, many of those old trucks kept our monthly payments down but kept me busy wrenching. I won't act like I am debt free today. Tried to keep debt down over the years, but you can almost never fully escape it. I suppose I am one of the lucky ones who have managed to stay self employed this many years, but there are days I wonder if I would have been better off with a state job or something. From the outside looking in, I suppose some of you guys may think I have it all figured out. I feel like I have a decent handle on it, but with self employment. . . Things change fast. This could all be gone in the blink of an eye. I don't take any of it for granted. I know where I started. It was with a bunch of old, tired trucks. Being able to buy another old truck for enjoyment is going to feel pretty good. I think it is always good to stay true to your roots.
Another lineup for Giles.
Forgot about this one. 79 K20. Short wheel base. Full time 4x4. 400 small block. 400 turbo trans. It ended in the scrap yard when the frame was done. Parted the engine and trans first.
Here was our first dedicated sweeper truck.
This was a fun truck. It was parked on job sites as a tool truck/materials truck. Had the 4cyl Cummins diesel. Sucker got 20+mpg. Wouldn't get out of its own way, but ran down the road at 57mph getting good mileage. lol
Always liked this old girl too. Ran like a dream. 454 never questioned what was behind it. Clean old truck.
One more line up pic for Giles but it is newer trucks. Heck, we have upgraded the backhoe since this pic. Twice. lol
I'm sorry I got side tracked. I enjoyed digging up the old pics. The more I posted, the more I realized how far we have come. I don't want you to think I am bragging. This is 18yrs of slowly/steadily updating equipment. Grew the business a little at a time. Been fortunate to land some nice accounts and retain them. Some are gone. Some replaced with better ones. Some accounts, I am glad they are gone. Just saying, none of this happened over night. Truthfully, many of those old trucks kept our monthly payments down but kept me busy wrenching. I won't act like I am debt free today. Tried to keep debt down over the years, but you can almost never fully escape it. I suppose I am one of the lucky ones who have managed to stay self employed this many years, but there are days I wonder if I would have been better off with a state job or something. From the outside looking in, I suppose some of you guys may think I have it all figured out. I feel like I have a decent handle on it, but with self employment. . . Things change fast. This could all be gone in the blink of an eye. I don't take any of it for granted. I know where I started. It was with a bunch of old, tired trucks. Being able to buy another old truck for enjoyment is going to feel pretty good. I think it is always good to stay true to your roots.
I spy another cummins... Same color as mine used to be! Yours is a dually though. I'm fighting not posting pics of my old/current rigs.
Probably should have started another thread before I derailed this one. Dig them out Dave. Start another thread. What the heck. We love trucks and stuff. And goofball guys in coyote holes. Lol
Lol, can't wait to meet some more of you guys. You are on the list of "must meet people" from here.
My uncle had an old Hi boy back in the day that was his work/plow truck. Rusted out floor boards, side panels rusted, but that thing pushed some snow. It was a stick shift, don't know what year.
Moved it to another property and parked it out of the way for now. Spring is here. It is my time to crank on the business, not on an old truck.