What We Have Lost: The Allure of Classic Trucks

An Appeal to RetVrn

Feb 12, 2023

Before I get ot the substance of this post, a bit of an update on the based Osman series on TRT. We are at the point of Osman actually starting what would become the Ottoman Empire (the Osman Empire).

The Seljuk empire is dying, and Osman knows it. The nemesis of all this is the Mongols, of course, represented by Nayman. The Mongols at this time (in factual history) would install, then depose, then reinstall Sultan Mesud. The Seljuk’s were a shell vassal state of the Mongols. We are at the part where in Osman where Mesud is about to be reinstalled. Nayman will play a huge role in this. Though real in history, Nayman likely had no role in Anatolia.

Since the earthquake in Turkey, Osman is on hiatus. It reminds me of the USA which no matter the natural catastrophe, goes right on entertaining. Not so in the east. The country is taking time out for meditation on their mortality and to pray for those lost. At this time, it is unknown when Osman will resume.

I was recently picking up a few things I needed for a restore I am doing on a 1980 Ford at Home Depot. Most of the heavy lifting on it is done (I hope). Perhaps I will catalog its transformation here one day. In the meantime, head on over to Man’s World #9 where I have a piece on restoration.

Back to HD: In the parking lot was this beauty (first pic above). I stopped to take pics, and check it out. I thought it was a 1956 Ford. I was one year off. It is a 1955.

I am struck how people will surround an old auto/truck and admire it. It is not just because these things are so rarely seen, though it plays into the attraction. But no one is also standing around a car made in 2000 to admire it either. In fact, hardly anyone stands around admiring an auto made after 1990.

Most of our autos today are non-descript plastic crap. All of them look the same. There is no difference really in the design. From an aesthetic viewpoint, they are all blah. There are exceptions in certain sports cars, but even they look like crap. What do you want? A 1968 Stingray or the modern Corvette. Blech. Stingray please.

I will save you the assault on your sense of beauty by not posting what the modern Corvette (and Stingray) look like.

Heck do you want a classic Mustang—the Mach 1 or the GT, or what passes as a Mustang today? [side note: the original Mustang was marketed to HOUSEWIVES!] Disbelieve? Watch:

It was set on a Ford Fairlane frame (with a Ford Falcon engine—UGH), and HEAVY. That is one reason Shelby hated it. And, it is ironic to say the least to see a MAN in a traditional Mustang since it never really appealed to MEN. But, it became that way, especially when the Mach one (a Shelby inspired love fest) was marketed in 1969. Yet the appeal of the early Mustang is the look. It does look cool. Thank you Lee Iacocca.

But it does not compare to the Shebly 1965 GT350. It was the answer to the Housewife Mustang, and it was a true sports car. Men, start your engines!

As another aside: have you seen the modern “Bronco?” Do us all a favor and torch it.

All of this lead up to speak about just why people surround the older vehicles and gawk, take pictures, and also say “they don’t make them like that any more.” When people say that, they are talking about something lost.

In the 1955 truck I posted above, you cannot but help admire the clear lines and symmetry of the body. The wheel wells are superb. There is something beautiful about it. This is what draws people to want to take a closer look. It is not because of the rarity of it, though it is rare to see one, it is the craftsmanship that went into it and produced it. It is also all steel. No plastic. Score one for fabrication in the USA.

The “flairside” wheel wells set it off. But look at the front—it’s bitchin’:

Here is how Ford marketed the truck:

While the truck I saw at HD is not returned to STOCK, it still has the body style of a stock truck and it is in excellent condition. However, you will note, there is one piece missing from the hood—the chrome emblem. This is what the F-100 likely looked off the floor in ’55:

Note the white walls, and the emblem on the hood.

The short stroke actually would cause a loss in displacement. I am not sure it can be stroked as I have no experience with the Y v8 in that year. But, it was a hummer of an engine. The engine was NOT high performance—it was a short stroke after all with a bigger bore to get the displacement up. Here is a look at the Y-Block for that year. This engine replaced the flathead, which allowed displacement to increase. More displacement, more torque/more powar:

The transmission came in 3 varieties—a 4 spd manual, and an automatic, and the ford-o-matic. If I am correct (and I am not sure I am) the Ford-o-matic had no clutch, but had a stick to change the gears. The truck at HD looked to have a ford-o-matic 3 on the floor stick.

There’s two more things to bitch about regarding modern cars that I should note. The first is our gas. Unleaded gas sucks. It is perhaps hard to believe that in the early 70s, we could still get 110 octane regular leaded gas that was PINK in color. Now, the crap they call gas is far below that. It is not good for the engine, and certainly not good for powar. Why not good for the engine? Because you have to lower the compression to account for the crappy octane. That and, our engines, once they are done—like a bic lighter, into the trash they go.

The second crap development is the literal absence of manual stick. I think Volkswagen still has it as an option, but who the hell wants a Volkswagen? Not a man, that’s for sure. Porsche still offers it though as does about 17 other manufactures—all foreign mostly—in cars. But in trucks? Far and few. Used to be that manual trans got you better gas mileage than the automatic—for obvious reasons. Automatic transmissions are for the lazy, manual sticks are just cool, and also more manly.

I am reminded of the movie Dazed and Confused1—the only thing redeemable about it was all the classic muscle cars and trucks.

In case you were wondering, “white lightning” is a trans-am. And Matthew McConaughey’s 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 would blow the literal doors off it:

It used to be the case we could talk about what was in our vehicles. We knew our machines like a Harley rider knew every inch of his motorcycle. I can assure you, I am intimately aware of everything in my 1980 F-350. There is a sense of pride in KNOWING that, but also in DOING something that requires the use of all the senses of our humanity to create or accomplish something admirable. If you can care for your auto, you know something real and tangible. Who cares for their auto in the same manner today?

Modern cars are disposable; the 1955 F100 is not. The evidence for the latter is in the reactions by people upon seeing it.

RetVrn.

[Ed: Some minor typos corrected]

American Savage

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