The timeline and plans reflect the owner’s original account.
Cole needed a working truck while employed as a stable hand and caretaker in 2021. Pandemic prices were high, and this 1977 was the only reasonably priced rig he found that could drive itself home.
While delivering a grill he was selling, the ECM failed in the buyer’s driveway. Instead of leaving him to call a tow truck, the buyer offered tools and help. A couple of hours and trips to O’Reilly’s solved it. Cole said that was the truck’s last trouble. About four years later, the same man found the 1971 F-250 Cole went on to buy and drive.
The work and the years behind it
A couple of years of ownership brought refreshed paint, racetrack trim, larger wheels and tires, and a $20 Marketplace push bar. Cole later sold the ’77. The buyer told him it was headed to family in Kansas for a complete restoration.
Read the owner’s original account and build details
Shared by @knocksroundclassics
Truck year:
1977
Ownership when this account was shared:
Only a couple years
How the truck came home
Back in 2021, I was working as a stable hand and caretaker — I just needed any truck that could get the job done. Prices were still sky-high with pandemic pricing, and this ’77 was the only reasonably priced rig I could find that could drive itself home.
The memories behind the truck
This truck had a way of making friends out of total strangers. One time, I was selling a grill across town and the ECM gave out in the buyer’s driveway. I was mortified, apologizing up and down, but before I could even call a tow truck, the guy offered his tools and his time to help troubleshoot it. After a couple hours and a few runs to O’Reilly’s, we had it sorted. That was the last bit of trouble the truck ever gave me.
Funny enough, about four years later, that same guy found a ’71 F-250 that I eventually purchased. That’s the truck I’m still driving today.
Build details, in the owner’s words
No major upgrades, but I did:
Refresh the paint
Replace the racetrack trim
Add larger wheels and tires (within good taste)
Slap on a push bar I found on Marketplace for $20
Plans at the time of the story
I’ve since sold the ’77, but the buyer told me it was headed to family in Kansas for a full, nose-to-tail restoration.
Keep the old Ford story going
Find your kind of truck in our Dentside merchandise, or choose a year’s front end from the Grille Series.
Visit Highboy University for truck guides. Read Bumpside vs. Dentside: Ford Truck Generations Explained, then meet the people behind Jeffrey’s 1972 Ford: A Tow Truck and a Mentor’s Name.
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