Fall of 1998 came and I’d had enough of the CRX, working three jobs, and was even starting to tire of the partying phase. When it came time for another vehicle, though, this time I was going to get a little more picky I said to myself and pick the perfect one. I didn’t look very long, but I must have done pretty good because I bought it in November of 1998 and had it until March of 2006, during that entire span it served as my daily driver, weekend escape, toy hauler, workhorse, and just about everything in between. I’d still have it today, were it not for a rather unfortunate circumstance. I don’t think “it” really does the vehicle justice, he was “Fred”, my 1992 Ford F-150 Custom.
When I was a kid my Grandma had a farm outside of West Plains, Missouri and one of the highlights for me and my Dad was the old farm truck – a 70’s vintage F-100 with a FE big block and most importantly the four on the floor with the big shifter sticking up through the floor. Lots of memories of my Dad rowing that big stick through the gears as we bounced through the fields in the old Ford, doing whatever it was that Grandma had us working on. On my 16th birthday my Grandma sent me a check, but more important a model of the 1993 Ford F-150.
Sure I wanted the real thing, really bad too. I absolutely loved -and still to this day think it’s one of their better designs – the 1992-1996 Ford F-150. When I was 17 and the other kids were a bit older Dad finally got his own truck, a new 1995 F-150 XLT 4×4, regular cab with a long bed and the 302. It was an awesome truck that I didn’t get much chance to drive but always admired it and enjoyed it when I did. Dad’s had two trucks since then, but I think the ’95 was his favorite.
As the CRX was itching to be out of my life, the decision was pretty easy – I wanted a truck. I was ready to go a bit older than the ’92-96 F-150’s that I wanted as my budget probably wouldn’t support them, but at a dealer auction with my mechanic we found my truck – and it was perfect. A 1992 F-150 Custom with the 300 six, five speed stick, long bed, regular cab, tow package and… that’s about it. Vinyl seats and floors, AC for comfort and nothing else but honesty. I rushed back to get a loan in order without ever driving it, trusting the mechanic and hoping the price wouldn’t break the bank too bad.. and it didn’t! A two year, $5,500 note was signed and I had a truck – which also coincidentally, in November of 1998, was the last car loan I’ve ever taken out.
A college kid with an F-150 may not seem like the perfect pairing, but after coming off the previous two vehicles I owned and all the time I spent in the box trucks – it was perfect. It was comfortable for my six foot two frame, rode nice and mellow, and the 300 six was perfect for what I did with it. I also fully admit – I just wanted a pickup truck.
I quickly mastered the art of the parallel park in downtown Lincoln – something that is, I admit, a slight feat in a manual transmission long bed pickup but even to this day I’ve still got it. When not in class I worked overnights at a gas station which worked out pretty well in giving me income and a place to do my homework, but not much of a social life. When I did, though, the F-150 did a great job of carrying two buddies and a bunch of beer somewhere to do something ridiculous – but always did it honestly.
On a rural Nebraska road, looking for a lake
On my “weekends” I discovered something else, that I could quench the adventure side of me by hitching up the family 16 foot Lund fishing boat to the back of the F-150 and heading out somewhere. I’d get off work at 6 or 7am, grab the boat and some coffee (or beer) and head out to the lake. Towing the boat, or towing a dual axle flatbed with a 1968 Galaxie on the back, Fred never once let me down and always got the job done.
Image courtesy of GTcarlot.com
I know this is a heated subject at times, but believe every good thing they say about the Ford 300 Six. It was not a speed demon by any stretch of the imagination, and when you railed on it, it sounded more like a moaning UPS truck than a hot rod – but I quickly realized that was, or wasn’t, the point. When I drove it like it was meant to, it always got me and whatever I was hauling where I needed to go without any drama or excessive noise. Keeping the revs low and not being afraid to pin the throttle to the floor were the name of the game, and it would just pull for days.
On the open road it would do whatever you wanted, too. Flogging it and putting it right up against the speed limiter (just over 90mph, on mine) was fine, but it really was most happy between 60 and 75 mph. Under that and hills would require a downshift; over and it would play nice but suck the tank dry with reckless abandon. Keeping it in the sweet spot you could just cruise all day long in overdrive, and get close to 20mpg to boot.
College came and went, but I kept my red truck. I looked at a lot of replacement vehicles over the years and even got close to one rather ridiculous purchase – keys in my hand, paperwork being signed and everything – of a brand new Ram Hemi Daytona in ridiculous orange but I ended up driving home my F-150 as the day closed. It could haul a load of servers in the bed as easily as it could haul a cord of firewood, all without debt, full coverage insurance and expensive repair parts.
Tempted by ridiculousness.. image courtesy of pickuptrucks.com
Of course there were things I’d change about it had I been given a do-over (and in context, these are rather amusing and important). In the winter I would have loved either a limited slip axle or four wheel drive – both would have been fantastic. It only once got stuck in the parking lot of my apartment complex, where my favorite history professor pushed me out, but that right wheel got a lot of spinning in the cold months. I also would have liked four wheel ABS, and believe it or not – a supercab. Sometimes taking more than two friends would have been fun, and the extra interior space as a bonus. Over the years that’s what I built online – F-150’s with the basic engine (by then the 4.6, as the V6’s I wasn’t a fan of), limited slip axle and/or 4×4, supercab and long bed. Yet.. never bought one.
On a rural Nebraska highway.. looking for a storm
It became increasingly relevant in 2005 as I got involved in ham radio mainly so I could do storm spotting (spotting, not chasing – big difference – we’re only slightly nuts), and as a bonus discovered “fox hunting”. I’ll give you a summary – it involved a lot of rural roads, just the kind of stuff that was right up my alley, and the F-150’s. A couple times I really wished for 4×4, but even down a muddy minimum maintenance road that came up out of nowhere – the truck always got me home.
My most fond memory was one of the last, our group was allowed to use the local National Guard training facility for some transmitter hunting – which is the day the cover photo for this entry was taken. Of course this facility had “roads” for Humvee’s and three of us decided what the heck – why not! A 4×4 Durango, 4×4 Ranger, and Fred headed into the woods where yet again – the F-150 held it’s own and went through stuff I never thought it would make it through not once needing a tow from the two smaller trucks. Covered in mud and sand after a day of merciless flogging it drove me home yet again without any drama.
I know one thing for certain, despite by that time the rust and faded paint – I’d still have this truck today. Yet with all great hero stories, this one comes to an end that’s both tragic – and embodies how well Fred saved my rear over the years. As spring came in 2006 we had our first severe storm and I was utterly jazzed to go out on the first spotter callout. Fred was loaded to bear, and I picked up another ham/spotter to ride with to our assigned point out in the county. Our assigned spot was a field entrance on a hill that had excellent sight lines due west and south, but with the torrential rain that we were getting hit with I started to worry about my chances of getting out of the spot as the ground softened. Funny, that, surrounded by green skies and a downpour of epic proportions my greatest fear was getting out of the soft spring mud/grass mix I was parked in.
Of course the F-150 backed right out without a hint of issue, thanks in part to it’s super powers and in equal part to the good all terrain tires on kept on it. Heading home after after some adrenaline filled time my passenger and I talked not even realizing that we’d both neglected to put our seat belts back on. As the road was still pretty wet and I had a passenger, I kept under the speed limit as we headed back into town. Lights on, below the limit, every precaution taken – but in an instant a new Chevy 3500 dually pulled out in front of us and… stopped halfway into the intersection. Going 45 mph on a wet two lane road without a median I locked up the brakes and considered that this wasn’t exactly how I thought I’d go out – but knew what was coming.
Despite the other driver not having a valid driver’s license since the mid ’90s, admitting it was his fault on the scene, and overwhelming physical evidence the second his wealthy family’s lawyer arrived at the scene and saw both of us being taken off in ambulances.. it was all over. A legal battle that lasted almost two years finally ended with my passenger, whose injuries were pretty serious, and my medical bills being taken care of. In addition she was able to finally buy herself a car – a nice new-ish SUV – which made me quite happy in the end. As my lawyer described the other driver adequately – “a squirrely little spoiled bastard” – seemingly it didn’t matter to the insurance companies who let it drag on forever, and gave me several grey hairs in the process.
As with all good heroes, Fred burned out in a blaze of glory rather than fading away. Yes that Dually absolutely totaled my F-150, which I knew the second I saw the bed sitting at an awkward angle while the hood was crushed back nearly to the passenger side. Somehow old Fred protected both of us in the end, despite all odds neither of us flew through the windshield and lived to talk about it. Not to mention me living to wear my seat belt every single day from that day forward.
On a cold March afternoon I cleaned out my stuff from the truck that had been my loyal companion for almost 8 years under the watch of the most grumpy ever lot tender at the private impound lot our county contracts with. I didn’t have a whole lot of time to reminisce but as I stood there and surveyed the damage I could only think of all the places we’d gone that neither of us should have been able to go, and how I’d wished I would have taken more photos of the truck in it’s heyday. It is somewhat ironic that I have thousands of digital photos dating back to 1998, but nary a one of the outside of my truck in it’s heyday – just the places it took me.
So I ventured into the prime storm and transmitter hunting season with my “second vehicle” that I’d come into a couple of months earlier, but couldn’t have been more opposite from the trusty F-150 that had served me so loyally for so long. If you guessed somehow I’d find adventure, you’d be right.
Great story about a loyal friend. It appears that by ’92 there must have been crumple zone technology designed in. The front took the offset collision very well and left the cab intact, much like the newer Suburban in the background at the impound. Glad you and your friend made out okay in the end.
I know the F-150s of that, and the next (10th) generation got a lot of panning for safety reasons but I’ve also seen some pretty wicked collisons of the ’97-’03 generation where folks walked away who shouldn’t have. I am forever grateful to the Ford engineers who built that truck – it did what it was supposed to, that’s for sure.
My friends grandfather at 94 years old went into the ditch and hit a colvert at 70 mph in a 94 f 150 with 2 german shepards in the cab not wearing a seatbelt. You’re completely right about people walking away who shouldn’t have it was one of the worst single car accidents I’ve ever seen and he walked away fine.
I seem to recall that the “aero” 92-96s had some minimal crumple zone vs. the “brick” 87-91s. Can anyone confirm this?
Very enjoyable article – Ford’s 300 six was one of the best engines they ever made – up there with the Chrysler Slant Six for durability.
These F-150s are among my favorite pickup designs ever too. Its face brings back good memories of my childhood, as these were everywhere. That’s scary about the accident that ended Fred’s loyal service.
A neighbour of mine in a ski park did that too a 79 F 100 he hit a big strainer post made a hell of a mess but with a new guard grille radiator support panel and some beating pulling and welding it went back on the road.
Great story. I hope your companion suffered nothing permanent. More adventures please.
Technician, General, or gone higher but kept your call?
Syke
N3CHT
Tech, still haven’t upgraded. Due to a lot of reasons I’ve fallen out of interest in the hobby a bit – but eventually I’m sure I’ll get back into it. My 10 years is up next year so as I renew I’m considering testing up to see how I do!
There’s a pretty nice similar-looking red ’96 (with automatic trans) for sale in my neck of the woods this morning:
http://iowacity.craigslist.org/cto/4729007660.html
Man oh man, that’s slightly killing me! Great shape, little rust, and almost the perfect drivetrain. I’m tempted to pick it up for my daughter to have when she turns 16 in two years.. I’m sure she’d LOVE it :).
You’ll find out in coming weeks, though, that somehow through it all I’ve come to pickup nirvana…
Good story , very well written .
Glad you came out O.K. in the end .
My first truck way back in 1967 was a ’59 Ford F-100 shortie stepper , I6 , basic as they had but a terrific rig and impossible to kill .
My first car was a ’60 VW Beetle , also named ‘ Fred ‘ .
-Nate
Agree about the 300 six. Nothing but good memories. Let it go to become a teacher with a long commute. Should have just used it instead of buying a Honda.
I had a base model ’92 F-150 as a company truck, equipped exactly as yours was except it didn’t even have A/C. They were perfect units for what we used them for, and mine saw quite a few muddy logging roads that should have required 4 wheel drive and always got me there and back. It was a good honest truck.
One thing I hated about it was the seat, which was basically a vinyl upholstered plank and kept me on a first name basis with my Chiropractor. We had about 2 dozen of these units and all were very early production models that we got in October of ’91. Ford made some changes to the 300 six that year to try and quiet it down a bit which resulted in rapid piston scuffing and wear. About half of our units got warranty replacement engines in the first year or so, but Ford Canada was good about doing it without a hassle. Later ’92s and ’93s were no problem. I still think the 300 was the best fleet engine Ford ever built. They were indeed thirsty if you worked them hard though.
The Mazda sourced 5 speed was nice to use but not robust enough to stand up to commercial use, so we switched to automatics for all subsequent batches, but I far preferred driving the 5 speed version. I wasn’t alone on that either, when I left the company there was a bit of a race to see who got my unit which was the nicest of the few remaining 5 speed units left. If all you wanted to do was drive the auto was fine, but if you wanted to use the unit as a truck should be used the 5 speed made all the difference.
I’ve heard the same thing about the Mazda 5-speed many times. I have to assume that it was originally designed for their much smaller engines. The 300 is a torque-beast.
I didn’t mention it, but I think mine was on it’s way out towards the end. It had around 170k on the clock, and it had a pretty decent whine and some grinding when going into fourth and OD – but it held out long enough.
At the time I was pretty active on Ford fourms where the M5OD got no love at all. Seems like tiredoldmechanic’s experiences mirrored many others – when pushed at all, the M5OD was pretty fragile.
That said, to this day I miss rowing through the gears… nothing like it with a big torquey motor to back it up!
I think I should change my screen name to “tired old building contractor”. I have owned my fair share of pickups, but my last two were the best. In 1987 I bought a brand new F-150 with the 300 six and a 4 speed manual transmission. It led a rough life but was a very reliable truck that was rigidly maintained. I pushed it to 287,000 miles before selling it to a landscape contractor. After that I bought a lightly used 1993 F-250 Supercab. This one has 4 wheel drive, 5 speed ZF manual transmisson, 460 V8 and is loaded. This one has been a truly magic truck. Unbelievably reliable and will tow anything. I am retired now so the dismal gas mileage is of no concern. I am very happy with this being my last truck.
This was a nice write up by Ben Dinger about the whole pickup truck experience.
This was a nice write up by Ben Dinger about the whole pickup truck experience
+1
Just wait for the sequel, third, and fourth installment. I’m spoiling it a bit – but like you’ve, I’ve found truck perfection in the end. Through one of the most amusing vehicluar journeys, coincidences, and what have you…
Nice story. We lived in Omaha for a couple of years when I was in junior high. I remember some nice storms and tornados. I miss the dramatic midwestern weather sometimes out here in temperate Seattle. Thought about getting into storm spotting after I got my tech card, but there isn’t anything out here to spot.
There’s nothing better than an honest truck.
K7RCC
Very nice. I always liked these. A friend’s dad had a 69 Econoline with the big 6 and a 3 on the tree. The drivetrain would make some interesting noises if you drove it hard, but it ran until the rust got too bad.
Ben, thanks for sharing those great memories. It’s nice that you can get trucks in the official color of Nebraska! Actually you see more red cars in Nebraska than anywhere else in the country I think.
Looking forward to hearing more stories, sounds like you have some more planned.
What’s most amusing is that I’m probably one of few in the city that isn’t a die hard Huskers fan – but somehow have ended up with two “Husker Red” trucks now.
It’s no joke, there are a ton of red vehicles in this city. It’s starting to tame down a little, but dealers still don’t have much problem selling red vehicles. It’s amazing the cars you’ll see in “Husker Red” – everything from Tahoes to 911’s.
I bought a new 1991 F150. Shortly after the warranty ran out the push-pull headlight switch got to where you “fish” in or out to find the spot the lamps would work.
Thinking it looked pretty easy I bought a new switch and undertook to replace it. All the wiring attached to the side of the switch in one big gang connector. When I popped it off the old switch, I found the inner part to be scorched and heat distorted.
It all became someone else’s problem very soon.
Great write up. My BIL still has his ’95 F-150, 300 with the E4OD, stripper. Same colour but doesn’t even have A/C or a headliner for that matter. Nice basic truck, gets the job done. The body is pretty well shot on it now. Mechanically the 300 has been rock solid for it’s 170K miles, although he has had lots of ignition issues over the years (including some now) that has sometimes stranded him or caused the truck not to run. He’s had 3000 lbs of scrap metal in the back which is probably 1000 lbs overloaded, but the truck didn’t complained. It drives like an old pick up should a little floppy but solid. My only complaint was the bench seat is awful with a very round seat cushion and the leg room is tight compared to the GMT400 regular cabs. But Ol’ Red as its known is seeing will be sold off soon, as he just bought a late model F-250 gasser to replace it. I am sure it may see another couple of years of use before the body completely falls apart.
Thanks Ben, sorry to read of the dramas from the crash. I can relate to lots of this especially the versatility, I have taken my ute to deserts, mountains and the race track. Looking forward to the next parts.
My F-150 Crew is the first vehicle I’ve owned for more than 5 years that I don’t have any want or need to replace. I still love it and so long as it stays reliable I don’t plan on parting with it anytime soon. It faithfully does everything I ever ask of it and then some.
Another very nice writeup! I’ve never owned a truck, but if I ever do, I’d want it to be something like this. No fancy electronics, nothing extraneous (except, as yours did, A/C would be a must), but just a good honest vehicle to put in a good honest day of work with.
Waiting for the next installment!