In May of 2017, I inherited what some would call the gift of a lifetime. My grandfather handed down his vintage 1986 Ford F-150 XLT edition. Prior to me receiving the truck, he installed a new dash, added a new headliner, and recovered the front two seats. The interior was very clean after the additions he added. To be a truck of 1986, the vehicle offered many features that were not common. Tilt steering wheel, cruise control, courtesy interior lights, speedometer, and tachometer, power windows and locks, and locking console and glove box.

The truck was supposed to be a High School Graduation gift in 2015, however, he asked to keep it longer to fix more things. Unfortunately the summer I was planning to bring it back from my Grandfather's home outside San Antonio, Texas, my grandfather passed away.

Upon arriving we noticed that the truck may not make the 1,000+ mile journey with 32 years of age under its hood. My mother ultimately decided that a vehicle transport would be the best option. My great uncle who lived about 45 miles from my grandfather, held the truck at his house and even met the truck driver for the auto transport.

Since it has arrived in Alabama there has been some minor repairs as well as a few major repairs. My first repair was the electric window motor, a fairly simple repair, but very tedious. The first major repair was a water pump, it turned into a two-week project because of the winter cold and a broken bolt in the engine block.

After the repairs, I have also made some improvements to increase the historical value of the truck. I recently had the truck spot painted (my grandfather had most of the truck repainted so all that needed to be painted was small sections). I also had the windows tinted and I installed new speakers to the stereo system.

After the truck arrived home from the paint shop, I ripped the entire interior out of the truck, from the window trim to the carpet trim, everything was removed. I then began a slow process of cleaning, painting, and repairing pieces of the truck. During this process, I also removed the carpet from the truck. The carpet turned into another long process. What I thought would just be a deep cleaning, turned into a total carpet replacement.

The truck is actually now in the final process of being completed. The replacement tailgate of the truck is in the paint shop to be repainted to the original truck color.

In all, I have learned a great deal more about vehicles than I previously knew. I appreciate not only the gift from my grandfather but the lessons I have learned by owning this truck. Not many people my age would want to own a 1986 vehicle without trashing the factory wheels, adding a lift kit and making it squat in the rear, or adding lightbars. That trashiness doesn't interest me. I want to keep the vehicle a classic and enjoy it how my grandfather did.

The truck bed, after/before I had a bed liner installed.

The floor while the carpet and interior were gone before / after adding new carpet

Before window tint/ after adding window tint