My favorite spoken line to the owner of this 1970 Ford F-250 4x4, when describing the money spent on the truck, is that he would have spent the same money restoring a Porsche or Ferrari and with change left over for his efforts. His bright and cheerful answer was that the money was spent over 43 years of ownership and it was not noticed it at the time.

But when I drove the truck while taking images and the video I realized how good a job Russ did, it is amazing. There is not one rattle or squeak and that 428 is outstanding. The truck drives better than it has a right too!

Russ recently sat in front of the camera and gave an overview history of his ownership and what he had set out to accomplish, in a short twelve minutes. This was the second recording, the first round was closer to twenty minutes and we decided to condense it a bit.

A brief overview is Russ owning the truck for over 43 years. During that time, there have been great economic gains inevitably followed by great economic plunges. During those up times money flowed like water over the Ford with Ford 1-Ton Gear sourced and installed, a Gear Vendor Splitter installed behind the transfer case and the driveshaft, the Custom Bed designed by Russ and created by local fabricators here in the Valley. Other buoyed times had the
Suspension re-bushed, the frame reconditioned and the Cab removed, stripped and painted. Russ has been repeatedly adamant about the lack of rust anywhere on the truck body and frame.

During the down times, the truck was stored in Russ’s converted, climate controlled Airplane Hanger along with his sea of other projects and multiple motorcycles.

During the up times, the running gear was all rebuilt including the Front and Rear Differentials, the Transfer Case, the Transmission and the crowning glory, the 428 Engine. A visual inspection shows Aluminum Heads, Billet Pulley Serpentine Drive Belt system, Chromed and polished Engine Accessories and that Massive Aluminum Radiator. Long wet and cold winters left a lot of time for browsing stacks of catalogs over the years, a little bit ordered at a time created a ton of wonderful additions and performance parts.

The bed was custom designed and fabricated to fit Russ’s purposes as you hear him speak of in the video. It was Powder Coated before being bolted to the frame and is a masterpiece in it’s self. There is an electrically operated winch connected to a swinging boom at the back of the bed which has been used in the past to lift complete engines and Dirt Bikes. There are multiple storage compartments under the bed, the back units with custom sliding drawers.

The interior was reupholstered including the Front Seat which is so much more comfortable then the stock unit new from Ford. The Dash Cap is cracked and missing parts, but a new unit was ordered, we are waiting for the back order to be filled for delivery. The 2 Saddle Gas Tanks were built 30 years ago out of plate steel and at the time were not coated inside, only powder coated on the outside. Over the decades scale has formed inside and before being used as a source of fuel, need to be professionally cleaned and lined to prevent dirt from passing into the fuel system.

35,808 miles are showing, I am not sure if the odometer was reset when the truck was finished or if they are unknown at this time. The selling price is $59,995. The VIN is F26YRJ35398. Please come by and see at Automania LLC, 895 SE Gladiola Drive, Grants Pass, OR 97526. http://www.automaniagp.com 541 479 8888 Oregon Dealer DA1286.

Automania LLC is a Consignment Oregon Dealer selling quality, privately owned motorcycles and cars of interest.