So one night, I was down in the Menominee River Valley taking pictures of all sorts of awesome industrial stuff (as I am wont to do), and I stumbled across an old 2wd baby blue '67 F-250 reg cab long box. The only thing definitive I know about it is that it hasn't moved in forever, it has 8-bolt steel wheels, a full-floating rear axle, and what appears to be a 4-speed. It doesn't look too rusty, and I had this awesome thought about buying it for $300 and making it into a super-cheap rat truck.
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| Because all cars look better at night, and this is how I found it... |
I assume it has something in the range of a 361 or a 390 V8 and a 4-speed, so I figured I'd just freshen those up, maybe add a 5-speed if the 4 is too bad. I was going to chop 2-3 inches off the roof, build a roll cage that would go through where the back window used to live, and hide some short stacks among the box-section of the cage (I'd also have cutouts to normal muffled pipes that empty under the box for longer hauls). I'd get a '71 grille and black it out and mesh out the main grille holes and put a bull bar on the front. I'd also put on a Mach 1 style shelf hood scoop, and a visor on the cab. I'd cut the box down the in incremental steps as I go back (maybe). I'd also get custom steel wheels to look like the dually rims, and have a pair with drag radials and another with super singles off a semi with standard dually rims up front.
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| Sorry, I only have a tiny version of this one, but it looks so good! |
The interior would be very racy feeling. I'd build my own cluster for the dash with aftermarket gauges, a radio, and a bank of safety-covered toggle switches to run everything. I would get rid of the key and run everything from the switches (power, fuel, electronically run power steering pump, exhaust cutouts, flamethrowers, etc). I would put in 2 hidden keyed shut-off switches like you see on race cars so I could still park it in the city. The rest of the interior would basically be seats and a big console for hiding stuff.
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| Also Badass, racy, and visceral, but not the style of truck I'm talking about. RWD |
This truck would be very visceral and give off a badass vibe. This truck is loosely based on the trucks in the beginning of Fast and Furious (the 4th one). I would use mine for having fun and also towing. I'd be hauling, in all respects of the word...
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| Look deep into your soul, and tell me you don't think that's awesome. |
Then i got to thinking. Why do I need a rat rod muscle truck when I already want a rat rod '72 Torino? (See previous blog post) Sure I could score the truck for super-cheap and have something really cool, but in the end, it will just mean more garage space. Then I found a way to solve all my problems - a '72 Ranchero! I would do the full-on idea from the grille, interior, roll cage, exhaust, and tires from the truck, but I'd find a big block and a 5-6-speed stick to go behind it. This thing would be a no holds barred pick-car that could haul gear, pull a trailer, smoke the tires, drag race, and get sideways in the Milwaukee streets. It would be sweet! If only I had a more fitting picture to go here...
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| Best picture I have of a '72 Ranchero |
I almost think I should get the pickup, build it, sell it, and use the money to get the Ranchero...
