Jack Jones goes back a long way with his 1950 Fargo 1-ton.
It has been in the family since his father purchased it in 1955 to use on the farm. His father passed away in 1958 but the Fargo remained in the family with his brother.
Jack’s brother also passed away in 1998 but Jack made sure the truck would never leave his family and bought it from him in 1996.
Jack has some fond memories of the truck from his younger years and can recall a time when he drove it to school with seven people crammed into the cab. Jack told us he “had lots of women in the cab and it was tough shifting but fun.”
Jack also drove the Fargo a little faster in his younger days and was comfortable at 50 mph on the road. These days Jack has backed off the throttle and is now down to a 40-45 mph top speed because neither he nor his truck is in a big hurry in their post-retirement years.
The Fargo has been restored to its original look and still has its flathead six and positive ground 6 to 8 volt electrical system. It has a 9 ft box but its days as a workhorse on the family farm are over and now Jack brings it to as many car shows as possible in the summer months.
Jack began the restoration process in 2003 and soon discovered a good restoration would run him right around 50,000 dollars so he started to search out his options. He managed to find a guy who would work on the truck in his spare time.
The restoration would take place during the guy’s free evenings and weekends. Jack did what he could to help under strict supervision and got his hands dirty on the road to restoration for his old Fargo farm truck.
The restoration process included a donor truck and even a spring replacement because the Fargo had been worked hard on the farm by his family.
We crossed paths with Jack and his Fargo at a few shows already this summer and watched as he told the story of the truck and its long history with his family.
Jack is very happy to have this link to his days as a kid when he and the truck were young. He retired in 2005 as a trucker but it was pretty clear that he will never shed his favorite truck because the Fargo represents a very deep link to his family.
Jack is a colorful guy who owns a real conversation piece at the shows. He is willing to share his truck’s long family history with the curious people who want to know how a 63-year-old one ton Fargo farm truck ended up looking so good in 2013.
A big red farm truck from a bygone era is sure to attract attention. It certainly captured our attention in a hurry when we discovered it.
It was worth the hour wait for Jack to return and tell his story of an unusual family treasure.
Jim Sutherland