1974 Ford F100 Explorer "rehabbing the rig"

I have never owned a truck. I had a Ranchero once, but no trucks. I was never really a truck guy. I have held a job or two where I used various company trucks for heavy-duty industrial purposes, and was always delighted at how well a good strong truck did whatever I needed it to do, within reason. I drove Fords, Chevys, Kenworths, Volvos and International Harvesters. I liked the Fords the best, though, as real "big rigs" go, A new Volvo is pretty sweet!

I am going to do some fixing up around the new house soon and need a good truck to haul stuff. However, I am wired such that I can't spend any real money on a fancy, newer truck,  I don't need or want a luxurious daily-driven modern rig. I want something that is inexpensive, has a little history and is unique. Enter the 1974 F100. It has a proper 8 foot long bed, a 390 cubic inch big block V8 engine, power steering, and disk brakes. It's a classic American Work-Horse of the highest order. Best of all, it's only $1600.

It was probably the "Viking Red" color that drew me to this one. I viewed lots of cheap Fords, but this one spoke to me. Being a 1974, it is exempt from state smog inspections, so as a hot-rodder, that spoke to me also. It wasn't without it's flaws though, principally, the engine was severely down on power, and had a rough idle due to compression loss in multiple cylinders: The valves were toast. The brakes were also toast, as were the U-joints, and the cab heating system. However, the body was rust-free, wearing mostly original paint, the tires are fairly new, and the interior was original, worn, but not abused. There was enough to this truck to make it worth fixing up for the tasks at hand.

                 The previous owners had used it as a camper to follow the blue-grass music scene.

1975 BMW 2002 bumper tuck

Foreign cars sold in the American market place suffered an unfortunate aesthetic set-back for the 1974 and subsequent model years. They were required to be equipped with "5 mile-per-hour" impact bumpers. Most foreign cars already had bumpers, albeit they were typically tasteful little chrome accents to an already well styled car. For 1974 and later, BMW added large, thick aluminum beams supported by hydraulic rams to the front and rear of this delicate little Michelotti-Designed sculpture (for the US market only, Euro-market cars still had attractive slim chrome bumpers). I can only imagine the look of horror on the collective faces of the BMW Dealers in late 1973 when they took delivery of these "things" that they were going to have to convince people to buy. The prior years were equipped with very appropriate, slim chrome bumpers which appear as a thoughtful part of the cars over all visual appeal. The new bumpers were, simply put, nothing like that at all.

Having said that, I actually don't mind the 70's funk on this car. Along with the bumper change, BMW also updated the rear lamps and the front grills. The look of the 1974+ cars appeals to me because I see it as a transitional piece. It clearly is the same classic body as the car that debuted in the 1960's, but possesses modern traits that would be a BMW tradition through to the 1990's. It's not as archaic looking as the earlier roundies, yet not as refined looking at the classic E30 3 series, but evokes nostalgia for both.

Having also said that...I can't really appreciate how far the bumper stick out on my wife's car. The gap at the front and rear is absurd in my eyes, so I set about fixing that. Here's how I shortened our 1975 BMW 2002 by half a foot.

                           Don't stand on the front bumper when it's wet or icy, as you might fall through!