David Barton from Parkes has done a mammoth job of restoring this 1985 Ford F100 ute, so I took the opportunity to chat with him and find out the story behind it.
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It's literally been rebuilt from the ground up with David doing most of the work himself so he deserves to be proud of his efforts.
"I started in 2016 with a rolling chassis, no motor, no gearbox, and a pretty rough cab and tub, and it's taken me until 2023 to finally get it on the road," David said.
"I pulled it to pieces and built frames to roll the cab around the shed, then I sandblasted and painted the chassis and basically restored parts as I re-fitted them."
For a builder, David certainly makes a decent mechanic, and I asked him where that comes from.
"Dad had trucks and as young fellas he wouldn't let my brother and I drive a car until we learned how they worked and how to fix them, so I guess it just came from there," he said.
"We raced stock cars too at Woodstock, Yass and Canberra so the passion has always been there."
So why the F100 I asked.
"We grew up in Boorowa and I remember there being two ambulances around the area," David said.
"One was an F100 with a 460 V8 so when we heard the roar of it we knew it was on the job.
"I've wanted one ever since," he laughed.
Ironically this F100 came from further down the Hume Highway at Albury where it served its days as a support vehicle at the airport.
"It had aerials all over the roof and a hole cut in the tub for a generator," David said.
David had to source his own 460 cubic inch V8 from the US and a gearbox from Melbourne, and rebuilt all the mechanicals.
He taught himself some bodywork skills and did all the prep work before having Craig Gould lay on the top coat of Navara blue.
"I've absolutely enjoyed the build," David said.
"But like most projects, it's never quite finished. It took me two years to find a front bumper and I'm still searching for an original spare tyre bracket that also mounts the rear fuel tank."
David is a member of the Central West Car Club.
The club meets regularly on the first Wednesday of each month at the Parkes Leagues Club.
Planning is under way for their annual charity car show to be held at Pioneer Oval on Saturday, October 14.
For more you can find the club on Facebook or at http://www.centralwestcarclub.com/
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