1978 Ford F150 – Neil C.
“Built Ford Tough”
My dad bought this new 1978 Ford F150 Custom Aug. 17, 1978. He wanted a truck that could get him to work no matter the weather and one he could use to tow a travel trailer, haul wood, and other outdoor adventures including hunting. He was impressed with the look and the capability of the 70’s model Ford’s so when he saw this one at a small dealership in Ferndale, Washington, he bought it.
For years, dad used the truck as a daily driver. When it wasn’t heading to work, it was used for trips to the local dump, summer camping trips, hunting and of course, when conditions required four wheel drive, it was the preferred vehicle.
He and mom had four kids. Several times a year we would load up the truck with gear, my younger sister in the front seat and us other three in the truck bed and head out camping. He would haul a boat on the canopy rack and tow a travel trailer. Most camping trips were to places within Washington State and the occasional out of state trips to Oregon, California, and Yellowstone. The truck never let us down. If it would have, we didn’t have anything to worry about because dad was a heck of a mechanic and could fix anything.
On one of those trips to the dump back in the late 80’s, that truck saved my mom and dad’s life. While they stopped to make a left hand turn into the dump another driver rear ended them with their truck. My dad said he didn’t think the truck had slowed down from the 50 mph speed limit when it hit them. Luckily everyone survived without injury. The truck took a little battle damage. To this day, it has 3 little dents from the other truck grill. When I had it repainted, I made sure to leave the little dents in the tailgate since they tell a story and represent the built Ford tough platform that the truck was built on.
The truck was there on my first deer hunt and was also there for dad and I’s first elk hunt together back in 2001. The truck must have some kind of instincts because it led us to the right spot. Within a few hours of our hunt, we were successful and bloodied the bed of the truck with a spike bull elk. In 2002, we used the truck again and my dad was able to fill his elk tag for what would be the truck’s last hunt. After that, we started using my Ford truck and kinda retired the ‘78 Raven Black Ford from hunting trips.
Sadly, my dad passed away Nov. 26, 2021. Dad wanted to pass the truck on to me because of the many memories we had with the truck and he knew I was the only mechanic in the family that could take care of the old Ford. For several years before my dad’s passing, we had discussed restoring or at least do body work to rid the rust and a new paint job but never got around to it. The truck had approximately 129,325 original miles on it when I took possession. All but a few items were original to the truck. The starter, alternator, rear bumper and of course the battery weren’t original. Everything else was original to the truck.
I started the restoration in April 2022. The first step in the process was to replace the rusty old floor pans. After that, with help from my sons and a couple kind neighbors, we pulled the bed off to start the daunting task of removing the old undercoat and rust. I sandblasted, painted and undercoated the frame. While the bed was off, it gave me and my sons the opportunity to replace the rear gas tank, fuel lines, brake lines, emergency brake cables, rear leaf spring shackles, bushings, shocks and gas tank filler hose and the shroud to the mid ship gas tank.
An interesting side note for the 1978 and 1979 Ford F150 4×4 long beds with dual tanks is that the side tank is made of plastic and is cradled with a metal shroud. The shroud on the truck was all rusted out so it needed repaired. Those shrouds are not available for purchase and you’re lucky if you can find one in a junk yard. Anyway, lucky for me, about 1/3 of the original shroud was still good so with the help of a local metal fabrication guy and welder I was able to make a respectable shroud incorporating part of the old shroud.
Through the help of LMC’s excessive parts availability, I was able to restore dad’s truck. I did my best to clean up and reuse the original parts, but for those that couldn’t be restored, I turned to LMC. It now has a new rear bumper, interior light, drivers door outside bottom skin panel, both rear bed lower quarter panels, floor pans, rear window, a variety of hardware, a new seat bottom and upholstery, floor mat, rear gas tank, emergency brake cables, all new window seals, and many other parts.
My dad and I were very close. Everyday I worked on the ‘78 was heartbreaking missing him and to think he and I should have been doing this restoration together. Every decision in the process I thought what would dad do and that was ultimately the deciding factor in what I did.
Several years after buying the truck, dad was in an accident and did some damage to the rear quarter panel and destroyed the original bumper. When he took it to the body shop, they discussed adding a stripe and that is how the silver stripe came to be. When deciding to paint it, I thought hard and finally decided my dad had had the silver stripe put on for a reason. He liked it and kept it that way so I decided that’s what he remembered and drove the truck as for years, so the stripe must remain. After some body work and a new paint job inside and out, I had to get the seat redone. I lucked out and ran into an older gentleman that had been doing upholstery for years. He directed me to a place to get the original seat covering. A local embroider helped me design and embroider the memoriam. My dad loved the LA Rams so I thought it only fitting.
For several years, dad had a Mack truck bulldog on the hood. He loved that dog. I’m not exactly sure what happened to the original, but was fortunate to find one exactly like the one he had so I mounted it on the hood like he had in the past. I still have a few more items to do to complete the truck. The bed will get a spay in bed liner, the front springs and shocks will get replaced, and a couple more items done. Most of the engine bay and the engine will remain untouched as dad would have remembered it. The ‘78 is pretty much retired. It will be driven locally only on nice days and on occasion to local car shows. Maybe one day, we will take one last trip to revisit the last hunt in memory of my dad.
