This next car comes as a tip from David in Tampa who writes: I miss the unadorned simple honesty of this kind of truck. It’s like a child’s sketch of a truck, the truckiest of trucks that ever trucked a truck. Honestly, you’d have to have rocks in your head to shell out for whatever […]
With the long 4th of July weekend coming up, I feel like I need to feature more honest American trucks. And what is more honest than a 64 F-series offered for less than 50 cents per pound? It is old, mildly rusty, no title, and doesn’t run — but it is complete and appears to have a useable interior. Find this 1964 Ford F250 offered for $2000 in Albuquerque, NM via craigslist.
A few months ago we had a fun time watching a lucky DT reader buy Hugh’s old Cummins powered Dodge farm truck for a few bones. This next truck is a Chevy that is equally dilapidated, but has an interesting engine swap. You could get a C/K truck in the 70s with a diesel, but it was the terrible Oldsmobile V8 diesel, not a proper commercial diesel. However, it appears that somebody shoved a CAT 1160 (which is an older version of Caterpillar’s 3208) Diesel V8 under the hood of this next hulk of metal and wood. Find this 1975 Chevrolet C30 Custom offered for $3000 in Fallbrook, CA via craigslist.
It seems that Hugh’s old diesel Dodge truck got everyone in the mood for some classic grungy trucks that are meant to do work instead of look good…so here is an oddball that you don’t see very often — it comes as a tip from Carter who writes: Hard to categorize: Not often one sees a dropped, stacked, and blinged out orange 90’s Dodge Cummins service truck. Find this 1990 Dodge D250 Service Truck offered for $9800 in Western KY via craigslist.
The appeal of a vintage truck is never underestimated, but then your rational side kicks in and you realize you don’t have anywhere to put the kids or secure your cargo. That’s when you remember that you could also get the truck with a large cover in a configuration known as the Suburban. It combined all off the rugged hauling junk aspects of a truck with the ability to carry additional people without worrying that they will fly out if you hit a speed bump at speed…and with an LS1 V8 under the hood, you’ll be able to hit some significant speeds with this next thing. Find this 1964 Chevrolet C-10 Suburban bidding for $13,100 in Morganville, NJ via ebay with 3 days to go.
This next car comes as a tip from Matt C who writes; For everyone’s inner 8 year old; This one wasn’t posted in the regular Marketplace on Facebook, but for only $12,000 for a Cummins powered mega mud truck, I’m passing it on anyway. Ohh…yes…there isn’t an 8 year old on earth that wouldn’t be in heaven with this truck and a book full of fart jokes. Find this 2000ish Dodge Ram 1500 offered for $12,000 in Texarkana, TX via thefaceblight.
The world is filled with yawn inducing boring stuff. Just look at your nearest Toyondaordmotorstallanis dealer. The stuff you see in the showrooms is an insult to the 7 year old version of yourself who dared to dream about driving someday. It is boring, safe, comfortable, and gives you this false sense of security about arriving at your destination without stopping to diagnose a strange noise or soldering a coil pack harness on Christmas eve (true story from this past Xmas). These safe and sensible cars are fine for the zombified masses who wear name brands like RFID ear tags and read the fine print before signing mortgage docs — but readers of this rag know better. We know the feeling of success and relief when reaching your destination. And we understand that swapping a modern 1.8T Audi/VW engine into a vintage Caddy is a thing of beauty. Find this 1980 Volkswagen Rabbit Pickup Sportruck offered for $7000 in Machester, VT via craigslist. Tip from Cory.
A brand new Nissan Frontier pickup will set you back $30k before taxes and fees (more if you start piling on options)…and it is a nice car, but you can’t get it with a 6-speed manual gearbox because the only transmission that Nissan offers is some 9-speed super flappy birds paddle thing…sounds like a recipe for just putting in auto and following traffic on your daily commute. But if you want to save a few bones and you don’t mind the horrible death-by-plastic interior of early 2000s Nissan…then take the dirt road around traffic and get something like this 2006 Nissan Frontier SE Crew Cab offered for $7900 in Phoenix, AZ via craigslist.
Owning and driving an old truck tends to be a more emotional and less rational decision…but who wants to spend their entire life in a hazy state of rational miasma, driving rational economy cars and fuel sipping hybrids. Not me. I want the thrill of not knowing if my truck is going to start in the morning and or stop in the afternoon. It what separates us from the robots that are currently taking over the internet. Don’t be a bot. Drive an old truck. Find this 1966 Ford F100 Pickup offered for $4,250 in Cedar Hill, MO via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
Nissan sold a pickup under the Datsun brand in the USA in 1964 – technically called the 320 Pickup, but many folks call them the 1200 or D1200 because that had a 1200cc engine and 1200 badges on the side. If you look closely you will also find a 60hp badge as well…which was never something to brag about, unless you were trying to drag race toddler on a tricycle, but the 60s were a strange time. Find this 1964 Datsun 1200 Pickup offered for $6,500 in Yucca Valley, CA via craigslist.