Shared by @sean_sasso. The timeline and plans reflect the owner’s original account.
Sean wanted a Dentside, especially a Highboy. This early 1977 had been a show truck in the 1980s called California Dreamin’. Finding it on Craigslist was only the start. It took three months to reach the seller and another three to see the truck, which had been under a tarp in a parking lot for years.
It was last inspected in 1988 and showed 58,000 miles. When Sean posted it to a Facebook group, people recognized it from old shows. Even the original owner got in touch.
The work and the years behind it
The parts search tested his patience. Four months of looking led to a clean set of original Ford doors nearby. Three sets of headers went back before a custom set from Nevada worked. Almost every ordered part seemed to need returning, until the frustration became a joke. Rust repairs, engine-bay work, wheels and exhaust were completed. At five months into ownership, Sean wanted the California Dreamin’ name painted back on and 40-inch tires to return its 1980s style.
Read the owner’s original account and build details
Truck year:
1977
Ownership when this account was shared:
About 5 months now
How the truck came home
The truck I was looking for was a dentside Ford but I really wanted a highboy.
The memories behind the truck
An experience we had was finding parts for it. One issue was that I wanted original ford doors instead of aftermarket’s. So i looked everywhere and it was nearly impossible to find doors in the north east. After 4 months of looking and calling people, a guy near my area had an immaculate set of doors for sale, so I jumped on it immediately. Another issue was buying original style headers. Since the truck is an early 1977 it has some minor differences from the late 1977 so both years had different types of parts. When buying headers we had to return three sets of headers and eventually ordered a custom set from a guy in Nevada. Almost every part we ordered for this truck had to get sent back. It was aggravating at first but now it’s just a joke for us.
Build details, in the owner’s words
Some upgrades done was patching all the rust holes, patched the floor pans, and dressed up the engine and engine bay. We took out the body lift and bought some Mickey Thompson classic lll’s on 35’s. The frame was sandblasted and painted. We got a new 4 barrel carburetor and a new exhaust set up.
Plans at the time of the story
Some future plans is to return it to its formal glory. The truck used to be a show truck in the 80’s called “California Dreamin”. So I plan to paint the name back on it and put it up on 40” tires down the road, back to that 80’s style.
More from the owner
When buying the truck, I found it on Craigslist and the seller was very hard to get a hold of. So it took three months to get a hold of him and another three months after that just to look at the truck. It took some perseverance. The truck was left in a parking lot for a couple of years with a tarp on it. It was last inspected in 1988 and has 58,000 miles. I posted the truck to a Facebook group and couldn’t believe the number of people that recognized it from the old truck shows. The original owner even reached out to me about.
Keep the old Ford story going
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Visit Highboy University for truck guides. Read Bumpside vs. Dentside: Ford Truck Generations Explained, then meet the people behind Zach’s 1975 Highboy: Built with Dad, Kept for Good.
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1 comment
Love this truck! I can’t wait to see it after the paint job!