1976 Ford F250 – Trysten W.

I bought a Piece

I was looking for my first truck. I just turned sixteen and always wanted an old truck. When I was little, my dream was to have a ’72 Chevy. But after looking and looking for trucks that where actually clean and well-taken care of, I decided the ’76 Highboy was the way to go.

I have been saving money for about two years and had to sell my only love and pride, which was my dirt bike. We were on our way there, it was a four and a half hour drive to get there, but I knew there was no turning back ’cause this truck looked amazing in the pics I got from the previous owner.

We got down there, we were driving around the block searching, and I tell my dad, “That better not be it right there” and guess what? It was the truck that I wanted before I saw it. I started looking at the truck and it was bad. The whole bedside was completely caved in, there were three huge dents in the cab, there were holes in the floor from rust, and they also had the bed strapped to the frame (not bolted or anything). On their ad, where they were selling it, there seemed to be pics from 3 years ago, after a very careless teen bought this truck.

I took it for a test drive and I fell in love. I took it home after the long drive. I destroyed the clutch and I soon figured out why. They had one bolt holding the hole transmission in and it was the very bottom center one. So, the transmission was tilting back and I was soon shocked I even made it home. So, I threw a new clutch in it and got some trans bolts to tighten it up.

After everywhere I had to go, I got sick of the bed sliding everywhere from it being strapped down so we tacked it on there because the bolt holes did not line up. We soon figured out this was not the original frame of a Highboy. So, I was off searching for a frame for 2 months. I finally got one and swapped everything over onto mine. I went and got a practically brand new bed that had zero rust or dents and sanded it for 2 weeks straight, getting it ready for paint by myself. I finally got it put on and finished.

There’s just so many little things that have happened to this truck and it would take all day to explain. This truck is not perfect but every paycheck I get, I try to at least spend $250 on it, slowly restoring it. And it’s getting there.

Through all the stress, I’m truly glad I bought this truck. Everywhere I go, I get nothing but thumbs up and smiles about my truck. The breaking of things will probably never stop cause it’s like every two weeks something really major happens. But I have hope that it’s going to be perfect one day. It’s came a long way but I’m now saving for new doors and a new paint job![lmc_story_gallery]