Pick up truck remembrance !

[wanderingbob]

Bought my first truck off of Smokey Yunick in Daytona , about 1960 or 61 , cost 1,700 dollars , about a years wages for a 16 year old kid . Six cylinder GMC .
About 1963 I saw mt first P.U. with an air conditioner , musta been a rich man as they added about $400 to the price !Hung down under the hard metal dash board .
Some of you older gentlemen will remember when ya saw your fist four door truck , maybe 1968 or so and in Florida mostly belonged to the state or county . Now if we see a two door truck we point it out.
Remember when a spare tire and a back bumper were an option ?
Oil change at 1,000 miles then Chrysler came out with a 3,000 mile oil change , all PU tires were 16 inch until some fool started putting 16.5 tires on em . Tires sizes like 600x16 , 650 x16 , now we gotta be a mathematician to figger out what they mean .
In those days we regularly put 2,500 or 3,000 lbs on a half ton PU and no one on the internet scolded us . Six or seven flats a year was about normal , pinched a tube !
Now I drive my Ram Tradesman 70,000 and buy another set of Michelin's, never having a flat , kinda takes all the fun out of it .
No fancy trailer hitches , we stuck a ball on the step bumper and strung wires allover the place . My first trailer brake was hand operated by a big long handle strapped on to the column !
What do you guys remember ?

[MO_Trout_Bum]

Can't resist chiming in on this topic. First truck was 65 F100 long bed, overload springs, 6 cylinder, manual steering, manual brakes, manual choke, 4 speed granny low transmission with reverse over and up by 3rd gear, oil bath air cleaner. Pulled my buddy's van out of a ditch on a gravel road with it, and van was still in park, buddy but his head on the windshield. Bought for $375 and sold it a few years later for $350. What a beast! Still have dreams about driving it.

[Hedgehog]

My first truck was a 1988 Toyota 4x4 pickup. They sticker was a hair over $11,000 and the only option it had was power steering which if I remember correctly was $300. No radio and a 22re four cylinder

[MitchF150]

Yep, that old 71 F250 still only gets around 10 mpg, even with a new engine no matter what you are doing with it.. Running empty, towing, coasting down hill... I think the rear gear is 4.10 in the thing. Never has had a tach, so no idea what it's running, but it just screams rpms going 60 mph and basically maxes out at around 90.. I know, because that's all I got it up to when I was a teenager when I would take the truck out without dad in it! ha, ha!

Mitch

[seaeagle2]

In 1980 I bought a 1964 F100. 292 V8, I had to cut a hole in the metal dash to install a stereo (radio wasn't a factory option). I converted the 3 on the tree to a Hurst floor shifter. Had the gas tank in the cab, manual choke, no power steering or power brakes. Floor bulb windshield washer.

[JRscooby]

About '83 I bought a '56 Olds from the 2nd owner. While we where dealing I spun the quarter pound knob to turn on the radio. "That don't work" A while later the music started. I'VE HAD THIS FOR 3 YEARS, DIDN'T KNOW IT WORKED

[colliehauler]

wanderingbob wrote:
You old fogeys should remember the AM radios that had a vibrator tube built in , rectifier or something . If the radio would not start you would smack it on the bottom to make it go ! And my 50 model flathead , you had to change water hoses spring and/or fall to put water thru the cab heater !

I never had to hit the bottom to get the old 6 volt AM radio to work in the 55 Dodge, just wait for the tubes to warm up.

[wanderingbob]

You old fogeys should remember the AM radios that had a vibrator tube built in , rectifier or something . If the radio would not start you would smack it on the bottom to make it go ! And my 50 model flathead , you had to change water hoses spring and/or fall to put water thru the cab heater !

[ppine]

And a $10 AM radio from the junkyard on the floor.

[JRscooby]

wilber1 wrote:
Vacuum wipers. Argh, who dreamed up those things? Climbing a ten mile grade at night in coast mountain rain, having to back off the gas every few seconds so the wipers would give a swipe and you could see where you were going for a few more seconds. Terrible things. The only thing good about them was the vacuum hoses were great for synchronizing the SU carbs on my Mini Coopers.

Yes, vacuum wipers left a lot to be desired. But think about what they replaced. If the windshield got wiped it was hand powered.
And with 6V generator that did not put out much at lower engine speeds electric wipers could of killed the engine.

[colliehauler]

Bedlam wrote:
My family did not have trucks or RV's. It wasn't until late '82 I got my first truck. Dad worked on his own vehicles not because he enjoyed it but because he could not afford a mechanic. I learned to wrench on bicycles and motorcycles because that was all I could afford until I had a full time job.

I would bet a lot of us would fall into that category. I've changed motors, transmissions along with other maintenance.

Last year I seen something I had not seen in many years some teenagers were changing a motor in a truck in a driveway. The last motor I changed was a Dodge truck I bought with a bad motor from work back in the eighties. Bought a used low mileage 318 from a wrecked truck. Then sold the truck.

[rjstractor]

I think I've owned almost more trucks than I can count...

1964 Chevy C10- was completely junk when I bought it and I'm surprised it ran as long as it did after I bought it (3 months)

1986 Mazda B2000- nicest driving mini truck you could buy at that time, but ridiculously underpowered by today's standards.

1987 Mazda B2600 4x4- gutless but very tough little rig. The weight police would wring their hands black and blue at the loads I towed and hauled.

1978 Ford F250. 460 V8 (not stock, swapped in), two tone orange and white. Beautiful truck that would pass anything but a gas station.

1972 Ford F100- 302 V8, 3 speed column shift. Had it for a short time when I was poor, and used it for a daily driver for a while. Was a terrible daily driver, but wish I still had it!

1992 Chevy K1500- 4.3 V6, 5 speed manual, not a lot of power but a pretty capable 1/2 ton. Got better mpg than the aforementioned Mazda B2600 and was twice as big.

1994 Ford F250- 460 V8, 5 speed manual. Was like driving a giant sports car than didn't handle very well. Nothing seemed to slow it down.

A few years without a truck, then..

1984 Chevy C20 "light 3/4 ton". 8 lug wheels but only 7200 GVWR. 305 V8 with 4 speed auto. Worn out, gutless gas-guzzler.

2005 Chevy 2500HD. 6.0 V8, 2WD, regular cab. Set up for landscaping with a dump bed. Super tough truck that could easily haul ridiculous payloads and not complain.

A few more years and.... my current truck, 2000 Ford F250 4WD Supercab, 7.3 diesel 6 speed manual, bought from my dad who was the original owner. Probably not for sale at any price.

[NJRVer]

My dad bought a used pickup around 1960. Forget what year it was.
It was a hybrid:
Dodge cab with a Ford bed

OR

Ford cab with a Dodge bed.

Can't remember that either as I was only 3 when he got it.

I am leaning to the Ford cab and Dodge bed because at that same time frame we had a Ford station wagon also. The one with the lift up rear window that you had to hand tighten the knobs to keep the window up when you opened tailgate.

[Bedlam]

My family did not have trucks or RV's. It wasn't until late '82 I got my first truck. Dad worked on his own vehicles not because he enjoyed it but because he could not afford a mechanic. I learned to wrench on bicycles and motorcycles because that was all I could afford until I had a full time job.

[wilber1]

Vacuum wipers. Argh, who dreamed up those things? Climbing a ten mile grade at night in coast mountain rain, having to back off the gas every few seconds so the wipers would give a swipe and you could see where you were going for a few more seconds. Terrible things. The only thing good about them was the vacuum hoses were great for synchronizing the SU carbs on my Mini Coopers.