It ain't fun anymore... Antique Trucks will be my savior

[unclebilly]

I've been a Porsche owner for about 15 years. I paid $4700 for my first 911 and bought it off of this board. Since then, I have bought a few more including some sweet 930s.

Those were the fun days of Porsche ownership. Myself and numerous other Pelicans built some awesome cars, we raced them, we drove them hard, we had a community, we had fun. When we couldn't figure out how to fix something, we had guys like Warren and Grady who would reply to our posts and PMs. These guys were the genuine article. Guys like Bill Verburg are still around and help out.

About 4 years ago, things started to change. The value of our cars was going up, some guys cashed in, other held on.

The 911 Technical Forum ain't that 'Technical' anymore. There is nothing on the first page that hasn't been discussed at least once before.

Now the typical Porsche enthusiast is a pretentious dork who thinks things ought to be stock (or else). There is no longer appreciation for the hot rods that we built that could hang at the track all day long and be competitive with the modern cars (even the 996's). The corwd at Parade this year was mostly old dudes in their Cayman GT4s that had no appreciation for te marque, the history, or our older iron that made Porsche what it is today.

I've had some antique Ford trucks for almost 20 years waiting for restoration and it's time. I look on boards like ford-trucks.com ( https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum41/ ) and The H.A.M.B ( https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/ ) and that same fun spirit we enjoyed here is there. Guys admire one another's builds, people offer help to each other, they meet up, lots of advise and experience is shared.

My next move is NOT to build up the 77 Euro Carrera 3.0 or the 71T that I have squirreled away. I'll be building up my 53 Merc M100. I already bought a cop car for the front suspension and running gear...

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

I'll be building up my 53 Merc M100. I already bought a cop car for the front suspension and running gear...

Very cool! So, Merc built a pickup?

[ckelly78z]

I fully understand, My 944 is very nice, but I find that parking it in a lot to go into a store gives me stress, so I just don't drive it much. It is currently for sale, and I have been looking at 67-74 Ford F100 shortbed trucks (possible Crown Vic suspension swap, and Coyote motor swap) as a replacement project car/truck. At least it will versatile, while also fitting at local car shows much better than a Porsche, and still fit in the garage.

[Rodsrsr]

Very true. I was talking to a guy at cars & coffee recently who said something similar. Building pro street hot rods back in the 80's was fun because you could take a Road runner, Challenger, Camero ect and mod it all you wanted since they were so plentiful. Now they're too valuable to modify which takes the fun out of it. Those cars like the early Porsche's were made to be modded. Kind of funny because I have a "highly" modded coupe which I drove that day and parked it among lots of other beautiful original cars but people tended to gather around mine. I really don't have much interest in looking at a bone stock restored 911T, seen a million of them. Now a 911T with 3.8 shoved in the back sitting on some 315's would be cool, even though it's molested.

[unclebilly]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Very cool! So, Merc built a pickup?

Yes - Merc Pickups were Canada only and no different than their Ford counterparts. That hood is off the 56 in the background. The Merc hood (in the box says "Mercury" on it as does the tailgate).

Initially, I am going to leave this rust free truck with the patina. I will probably build the 56 as well.

I'm pretty excited about this.

[sammyg2]

I remember a kid in high school that I envied.
The object of the envy was the truck his daddy had given him on his 16th birthday.
A lowered chebby stepside, complete with custom rims, interior, and paint.

One of these days those 70's C-10s are gonna come back in style ......

There are still plenty of them around, parts are easily obtainable, crate motors are easy, air bag suspension is getting easier and cheaper, and those trucks are COOL!
I'm betting they'll be the new 55 ford F100.

[vash]

i want to live in a world where a 1966 chevy shortbed or F100 is my daily driver.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

I remember a kid in high school that I envied.
The object of the envy was the truck his daddy had given him on his 16th birthday.
A lowered chebby stepside, complete with custom rims, interior, and paint.

One of these days those 70's C-10s are gonna come back in style ......

There are still plenty of them around, parts are easily obtainable, crate motors are easy, air bag suspension is getting easier and cheaper, and those trucks are COOL!
I'm betting they'll be the new 55 ford F100.

Nice! I had a friend with a similar short bed step side, black with rallye wheels, lowered, 305 with a Holley, headers, and a full dual exhaust, and a Hurst shifter. Bad ass truck. I had a 1979 Silverado that was a POS but had a fresh 350 and would power brake for days.

[Tobra]

C-10 is already skyrocketing Sam.

Billy, you have the "M" grill for it? I guess it is more of a "V", but I always thought it looked like an M

[sammyg2]

Always a day late and a dollar short .....

[Skytrooper]

I am working on a 1971 Dodge 440 Charger R/T

[Craig T]

I just finished a 72 K10. It was a fun project and VERY easy compared to 911's. Parts are cheap and available from a plethora of online source (e.g. LMC), even junkyards, CL, etc. A new GM 350 crate motor with warranty is less money than rebuilding a 915 tranny.

I have PS, PB (disc fronts), and A/C. It's no 911 canyon runner, but I love driving it and get thumbs up everywhere.

[Evans, Marv]

I like my '69 911. It has been a project for years & I still enjoy working on it, but I'm hoping that will come to an end as I'm pretty old now and just want a car to drive & enjoy. I actually have never been attracted to pickups (although I have one to drive & use for a truck) or muscle cars or most other sports cars as cars/projects to work on and modify. The only other change I might consider in the future would be to sell my car and buy a quality speedster replica to drive. Actually you guys are lucky you are still in a stage of life where you look forward to new projects. I don't think I have all that much time for those sorts of things.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Craig T

I just finished a 72 K10. It was a fun project and VERY easy compared to 911's. Parts are cheap and available from a plethora of online source (e.g. LMC), even junkyards, CL, etc. A new GM 350 crate motor with warranty is less money than rebuilding a 915 tranny.

That is way bueno, Craig.

[RKDinOKC]

My cars are just that cars. Are they nice? Yes. Would I be miffed if one got messed up driving, yes. Will I stop driving the cars I have that i like because there are idiots out there. NO.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Craig, that's way nicer than the one I looked at for you. It turned out fantastic.

[Borders Reivers]

If you're gonna do trucks, do TRUCKS.

Brother-in-law Vernon Sawyer owned a few hundred, well several hundred, trucks. He always kept a few perfect 1967 Peterbilts in his fleet.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

What exactly isn't fun anymore?

[scottmandue]

I lament that pickup trucks have become 'classics' and are getting out of my reach $$ wise.

Mind you I don't want anything shiny... a $1500 beat up used work truck would work just fine for my occasional runs to Home depot.

[Jrboulder]

I fell ya, I see $2000 junk on CL and think "ah wouldn't than be nice"