Show me your "Adult" rigs and how you keep them running.

[Martinjmpr]

My rig is almost a senior citizen at 46 years old I've owned it since 1990 and rebuilt it twice the second time adding a cummins 4BT 3.54 gears and truTracs front and rear and a 203/205 T case The trailer is based on a 1958 Alaskan camper so it is nearly qualified for social security! I've added a York compressor for OBA with a 7 gal. tank a ramsey 8K winch 65 gal fulel tank 2 spare tires full gauges mounted in an F-600 dash bucket seats in front moving the sliding bench to the rear that allows easy storage under and behind for lots of gear.An overhead console for AM/FM-SD card stereo with Bose speakers and a CB and soon a vintage under dash AC...actually there is very little that came from the factory in'68 still on the truck.The trailer is based on an 8' Alaskan camper that we upgraded the water tankage to 22 gallons and replaced the icebox with a frige and a small solar system to keep the batteries charged.They are both still "works in progress" but we are very happy with them so far I am getting ~16 mpg for the truck and trailer when loaded to 12,000 lbs combined weight which is 6 mpg better than the truck got empty with the 390 :Wow1:
Someday if I can ever afford it it will get paint and body work done but that is beyond my skill sets so it may be a long time before that happens but it is rock solid reliable as it sits so I can live with its rough looks

WOW! That's got to be a rare rig!

Somebody correct me, but I believe Ford did not offer a factory crew cab in 68, did they? I thought most crew cabs back then were made by a dealer shipping a cab-and-chassis to a specialty body company and having them fabricate a crew cab, then sending it back to the dealer for commercial sale, weren't they? I do know that Ford offered a crew-cab in the 72-79 body style but I've seen very, very few of the 67-71 body style Fords with crew cabs. And every one I've seen was 2wd - was yours a factory 4x4? I presume it was special ordered? Maybe served as a utility company truck or something?

 

[eggman918]

The truck is factory 4x4 but it was a 2 door with an 8' bed so a 131" wheelbase the cab is from a '69 F-600 from the local oilfields.but your right the crews for that body style were fabricated by an outside contractor for Ford over the years I've seen 2 or 3 pickups that were crewcabs they were either ex government or utility company trucks so few and far between.

 

[Martinjmpr]

My "adult" rigs aren't as interesting as the other ones here, I'm afraid.

Oldest is the wife's 95 YJ which will hit the big 2-0 next year. We did add a Smittybilt 8,000lb winch to the front...

...and a receiver-hitch bumper to the back so that she could tow our teardrop trailer (though we still haven't done the wiring so we can't legally tow it yet:

Other additions to the YJ include a locking center console with a new stereo mounted in the console (and the old, disconnected stereo in the stock location as a "decoy"), and a Harbor Frieght steel tongue box which we mounted in back in place of the factory rear seat. That gives us a locking "Trunk" so when we go 'wheeling, we can lock our coats and other valuables up when we stop for lunch somewhere.

The other "adult" vehicle is my beater, DD and "home depot run" vehicle, a 1996 Mazda B2300 pickup:

I got this last September to replace my little 4 door car as I decided I wanted a small truck instead. Basically, I wanted something to have if I needed to pick up a load of bark chips or fertilizer, or if I wanted to get some lumber, so I wouldn't have to throw dirty stuff into the back of my 4runner (messy) or have to hook up my little utility trailer (time consuming.)

First addition was a fiberglass topper. Since the B2300 is a Ford Ranger with a different front clip, finding a topper was easy. I was even able to find one that was nearly color matched to my gold-ish colored truck!

Next order of business was some tunes, since I bought the truck with no stereo of any kind (it had an aftermarket unit previously, but a former owner had removed it leaving an open hole in the dash.) $140 and some decent instructions from Crutchfield and I was back in business with a Kenwood with AM/FM/Ipod/Iphone controls and even Bluetooth. This was my second Crutchfield installation and I am really a big fan.

Interior on this truck is actually pretty nice. One the advantages of getting a Mazda over a Ranger is that the Mazda's tended to have fancier interiors:

The only other "mods" on the truck were for me to add my Ultra-gauge and a steering wheel cover (mandatory IMO since modern cars all seem to have very slippery steering wheels for some reason.)

I actually have some mild plans for this truck. I need to replace the rear bumper, which is badly dented, and straighten out the frame back there. I also have some annoying electrical problems (no reverse lights and no 4 way flashers) that I really need to address. Once I get those taken care of I want to put a receiver hitch on it so I can tow the trailer if necessary. Then I need to fix the torn up headliner and if I'm feeling really ambitious, I might address the passenger side door which is "sprung" slightly and requires a hard slam to close (from the looks of it, I'd guess a previous owner had the door open and let it roll back and the door hit something, bending it forward slightly):

This truck also cemented it's "beater" status, literally, a couple of weeks ago when it received moderate hail damage sitting in my driveway as our neighborhood was pounded by quarter-sized hail. Fortunately my 4runner and my motorcycle were safely in the garage. Liz's Jeep does not appear to have suffered at all, the sheet metal must be thicker than on my Mazda.

 

[Metcalf]

I guess it's about 72 years old now! It has had every kind of transplant surgery you can have. There wasn't much left of the original when I got it over a decade ago. After watching it start to rot away in the retirement field I figured it was time to give it another life. Now it is basically an old body with new(ish) everything else under it. It has been a bucket of fun since I got it 'completed' a few years back. I keep tinkering with it, there is always something new to improve or a new idea to try....

 

[pappawheely]

My 1992 F-350 crew cab.

 

[AFBronco235]

I guess it's about 72 years old now! It has had every kind of transplant surgery you can have. There wasn't much left of the original when I got it over a decade ago. After watching it start to rot away in the retirement field I figured it was time to give it another life. Now it is basically an old body with new(ish) everything else under it. It has been a bucket of fun since I got it 'completed' a few years back. I keep tinkering with it, there is always something new to improve or a new idea to try....

WOW! Normally, I'm a Ford guy who bleeds blue, but I can certainly appreciated an old timer like this one!

 

[Martinjmpr]

WOW! Normally, I'm a Ford guy who bleeds blue, but I can certainly appreciated an old timer like this one!

Given that it's a WWII Jeep I think it's got better than a 50% chance of being a ford (GPW) anyway.

 

[Metcalf]

WOW! Normally, I'm a Ford guy who bleeds blue, but I can certainly appreciated an old timer like this one!

Thank you very much. It has been a very fun project over the last few years...

Given that it's a WWII Jeep I think it's got better than a 50% chance of being a ford (GPW) anyway.

It's an MB version by Willys, not a GPW I wouldn't mind building an all ford version someday just to keep it company.....

 

[Box Rocket]

My FZJ80 is of drinking age now. It's needing some love as it's got over 300K miles on it. My Tacoma is going to get passed to my oldest son in the next couple years and the Cruiser will get a refresh and become my Daily Driver again.

 

[craig333]

I guess my rig must be geriatric. Something about old Jeeps

 

[4x4junkie]

Wow, 4x4junkie, u still wheeling that thing! I miss my 85b2, and really regret selling it.

Yep, still drivin' it. It's been much too fun and practical of a rig to let go.

Finding another one shouldn't be all that hard yet (and prices are usually more than reasonable on them).

 

[4D55 Performance]

This is a very rare 1983 Mitsubishi Turbo Diesel 4x4 Pickup. These were the first Turbo Diesel trucks ever offered in North America and yes they are fast. This truck is just fresh off a full restoration and it looks like it just came off the show room floor. It has a new 4d56 turbo diesel crate motor that puts out 110hp and 205ft lbs of torque. It has a new tranny, tcase, interior, paint, graphics, suspension etc. etc. It is pretty much brand new and 100% stock. She purrs like a kitten and has no issue doing 85mph on the freeway all day long. It is truly a time capsule. Did I mention it has AC. I know these pics look old but they were just modified for effect. They were taken 2 weeks ago on a 4 day adventure around the Great Salt Lake that covered hundreds of miles in the dirt. I love having old rigs but I am a firm believer of keeping them stock. It just adds to the retro experience.

These are retro rigs workin' hard in the desert.
1986 Suzuki Samurai, 1984 FJ60 w/5.3L, 1983 Mitsubishi TD, 1986 BJ74 TD

 

[Larry]

My 6 of 8 junkers are all old enough to drink. We have one 2014 (wifes Impala) then the next newest is 13 years older. After that they are all “adult rigs”. It takes a lot of time and lunch money to maintain a heard of old rigs but it is well worth it.

1968 – 396/TH400. 46 years old. This one was only 20 years old when I got it. This one is my first car when I turned 16. It did look like this back then.

1977 J20 $400 CL score – 37 years old. This one is a new arrival to the bigassgas garage. Only had it about 6 weeks and haven’t had a chance to started working on it yet. Hope to have it running by the end of summer

1978 K10 – 36 years old. Fully modernized for long distance travel: 2005 Vortec 8.1L / NV4500. The 8.1L went in when it only had 1,800 miles on it in 2008. It now has 42,000 miles.

1989 V2500 – 128,000 miles. 25 years old. Somewhat modernized with an OD trans. EFI 5.7/NV4500. Will be receiving a 2007 Vortec 8.1L Q4 of 2014. Old TBI 5.7L will probably go into the J20.

1992 – 125,000 miles. 22 year old bone stock original survivor. Modern day classic 4x4. Plan to keep this one as a survivor

I also have a 1963 Corvair van but I have the engine out of it right now.

 

[Thirty-Nine]

Behold: The Teal Terror! It's a '95 Suzuki Sidekick. 154,000 miles and still going strong.

It's a budget build; bought it in semi-neglected state for about $1,800. Now it's lifted 2", has 235/75/15 Kumho MTs, has a rear locker, bumper, winch, sliders, skid plate, etc. Goes everywhere.

 

[ramsport59]

My 93 Cummins.... 246k Miles.....Started to breathe in new life in the last year....