After going to such lengths to get this 1975 Ford F-350 home to Texas, you’re all wondering exactly what Aaron Kaufman has in store for it. After all, he didn’t drive 2,200 miles of a “Road to Restoration” for nothing! While it’s likely to take a twist or turn along the way, as any car project does, we’re liking what we’re hearing about the future of this old work truck.
Let’s start at the beginning
Aaron purchased this truck off a Craigslist ad, after it had sat for years in Oroville, California. The odometer reads 13,338, likely translating to 113,338 original miles. It’s a 1975 Ford F-350 Ranger XLT Trailer Special. While of course it shows wear, it looks as if it has been very well taken care of for a work truck.
Starting on the dentside's outside
The trucks yellow and brown paint scheme contributed greatly to it being dubbed “Charlie Brown,” and that’s not gonna change. Aaron thinks its wearing mostly original paint, which will clean up incredibly well. While the previous owner thought everything on it was entirely original, evidence has been found of a fender and grill replacement — but both were replaced a long, long time ago.
It’s Reading toolbox unit situated on the F-350s trailer package with extended wheelbase is rare. “Not that it makes it valuable, it just makes it cool,” says Aaron. Just a few thousand were produced as Trailer Specials, but this one is a super cab, fully loaded Ranger XLT with 140” wheelbase, “which was all of the options. I’ve heard as little as 1,250 of them were produced this way, but haven’t been able to verify that yet.”
But what’s going on under the F-350's hood?
“It’s hard to dump the original 460 and C6, since they run so good… but we are,” Aaron informs us. “I’m going to put a Cummins in it and will probably eventually convert it to a four-wheel drive.” He assures us the truck won’t get jacked up, but will live its life squatty and riding on its Nitto Dura Grapplers. “It can’t be a big monster truck, because we’re going to work this thing just like I do my ’05 truck.”
All photos by Brandon LaJoie.
Aaron Kaufman’s new business venture, Arclight Fabrication, will be manufacturing parts and providing aftermarket support to the ’57-79 Ford truck, so we’re sure we’ll be finding an Arclight chassis underneath this truck too.