1974 Ford F250 – Cameron S.

The time was coming close for me to get my driver’s permit, but I didn’t want to have just a normal modern day vehicle. I wanted something to work on, something I could make nice, something I could drive to car shows with my family and something that had a manual transmission. My family is full of hot roders and car enthusiasts and I wanted to go to car shows with them especially the Lake George car show we go to every year. Being in a Chevy family, I was often looking for squarebodies on marketplace, people’s front yards and asking around. As I kept looking around and anxiously waiting for an opportunity to come up, a friend of ours reached out and asked if we are interested in looking at a truck. It was a 1974 F-250 4×4 Ranger XLT with a 360 FE engine and 4 speed manual transmission. It was saddle bronze with yellow pinstripes going down the dentsides. It had a solid frame and with that I automatically was ready to buy it. Our friend had bought it from a guy who used to drive it on the farm he worked at. It came with the bed cap and a front bumper guard. I drive it around the fields as soon as bought it and started vacuuming it out. At that time we were in the middle of putting up a garage so I couldn’t take it home just yet. I spent the rest of the summer working and dreaming of restoring and driving that truck. At the end of summer the garage was done and the truck was on the property. I drove it around the field one last time before parking it in front of the garage and taking it apart. Whenever I wasn’t working, I was working on the truck. Sometimes I would be out working on it until 3:00 in the morning dismantling the front clip, emptying the cab and unbolting the bed. I wire wheeled the frame and painted it with black rustoleum. I also went and bought a rust free red body from Colorado. As winter approached, we started pushing the frame into the shop and I finished painting the frame as well as the painting the engine ford blue. Then we started putting it back together which was a bit of a challenge keeping all the bolts together and keeping them in the right place. The cab went on first and the front clip followed. It was kind of tricky to get the wiring right at first. After that it was easier stuff like interior and doors in. The gas tank was the fun part. I wanted more space in the cab so I ordered a 33 gallon tank for a full size bronco and managed to bolt it in the back of the narrow frame. Once that was in we dropped in the bed and put the filler tube and gas lines in. We did a couple more adjustments and working on the electrical and engine and it was out of the garage. We still have body work to do and upgrades on somethings but it’s ready to drive just in time for some car shows and swap meets. While it’s been a few years since my family has gone to the car shows together, we are starting to get back into it including my dad with his 1967 chevy c10. I have to thank my Dad and my Uncle Joe for helping me build this truck and LMC Truck for having the parts and pieces needed to make this truck driving possible.