“My father was a car nut in his own manner,” says Terry Long of Lehighton, Penn. “He always showed an interest in cars, as he drove us around in his cars— and, of course, the milk truck.  And, he also showed his love of vehicleswith a part-time job selling cars for the local Ford dealership.”

Terry says thatit was the milk truck, specifically, that brought out his love for Ford trucks.

“It was a beefed up F-100,” he explains. “I believe it was all the time and bad weather that this truck delivered through that made us respect and love it.”

He adds that the truck also brought out a love for the Tonka trucks of the 1950's, which he says resembled the Ford trucks.  Terry says that between the ages of five and ten-years-old, he was fascinated with Tonka trucks.  And, between the truck and Tonkas, Terry started to build a dream of owning a pick-up, when he got older.

“I rememberwalking away from a candy apple stand at the local county fair, dreaming how that candy apple would be the colorof my F-100. It would look like my friend’s Tonka pick-up, and be the model of the 1953 milk truck.”

Fast forward 50 years: today, Terry has completed a restoration of a 1954 F-100.  And, you guessed it: the truck is the color of that candy apple.

Terry says that originally, he hoped to find a 1956 pick-up; however, he looked for that vehicle for years and years, and they were too expensive for him.

“Finally, I found this one in the newspaper,” he explains.

In April 2000, Terry went to check out the ’54 F-100 and learned that not only was it drivable—but, it was pastel yellow, his wife Robyn’s favorite color.  He bought the car the next day.

“It took seven years to complete, because the truck was kept on the road between projects. Some of those activities included adding a 351 Windsor, backed by a T-5 transmission. And, Wise Guy seats and Dolphin gauges were added to the interior.”

Terry says that he has many fond memories of working on the car during those seven years, from driving his wife nuts while tinkering with the radiator, to some mishaps that he and his buddies ran into, while wiring the vehicle—to when he and his cousin found out there were pinholes in the gas tank—the hard way!

“We still laugh at it today,” says Terry.

When the truck was finally ready to get out on the road and to collector car events, Terry says that he found a tremendous sense of camaraderie amongst his fellow “car guys.”

“There are a lot of people with these cars in Lehighton,” he says.  “And, you get the feeling of being a part of the group.”

Terry adds that he goes to a couple local shows each year.  But, he notes that he prefers cruises in and around town, as he enjoys riding in a line of collector cars and then hanging around with his fellow hobbyists, for a while.  Plus, he gets to spend quality time with his cherished F-100.

Story by: Becky McLaughlin

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