The fifth-generation Ford F-Series isn't the prettiest pickup truck out there. It's a bit too boxy for my taste, but it also has a big advantage over its direct successor and predecessor. It was built during the golden muscle car era and it came with a juicy 6.4-liter V8 rated at 255 horsepower.
Call me crazy, but that's a good enough reason to save an F-100 truck from the junkyard. The less powerful 360 FE isn't bad either at up 215 horsepower and you can always replace the lazy inline-six units with a modern crate engine.
If you're into that, here's a 1968 Ford F-100 coming back to life after sitting for more than a decade. This truck has been saved from becoming a rust bucket by the folks over at Junkyard Digs, who want to revive it and put it back on the road. But will it run after sitting for so many years?
Well, starting an old V8 isn't all that difficult if the engine is still in one piece, but this 360 FE is missing some parts, including the exhaust manifold and some wires. Once these components are back into place, the engine turns and fires up, but it's having trouble handling the load of the truck.
Following several attempts to move the pickup under its own power for more than a few yards, the guys from the shop decide to make things a bit more interesting and pull a John Deere loader from the garage. Not to move the truck, but to assist the F-100 in doing a burnout. Yup, they forklift the truck's rear end and then lower it just enough so that the tires hit the ground while spinning.
It doesn't go as planned since one rear tire is dead flat and the V8 dies off after a minute or so, but the old rubber smokes for a bit as it hits the asphalt, so I guess we can say that this F-100 pulled its first burnout in decades. And that's probably the end of the line for this V8, described as "junk" by its new owner.
But before it's taken back to the shop for the massive repairs it needs, the F-Series gets a much-deserved cleaning. The bath confirms that the F-100 is a nice survivor, with no significant rust on the outside. The interior looks quite good too, with impressively clean upholstery for a 53-year-old vehicle.
This truck is definitely worth restoring, but it remains to be seen if the 360-cubic-inch V8 will be saved or replaced altogether. Now check out that unconventional burnout at the 33-minute mark.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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