MyStar has many examples of owner’s stories with deep family connections because those personal ties are the best part of the car hobby.
Typically, those family ties are well-documented by the owner because the vehicle is a page in the family history.
In this case, the family connection was discovered by accident.
Jerry Sutherland
Joseph Dieser is the proud owner of a 1979 Ford Lariat F-150. This truck was a field find because it was used on the farm since new and left to rust in ‘82 after its working days were through.
This was definitely a farm truck because Joseph said he found wheat straw and seeds under the seats when he started tearing it down.
The next owner dragged it to his farm where it sat for another ten years. None of this history was kind to the old Ford so it was a basket case when Joseph bought it. The truck was so far gone most people told him he’d never get it back on the road.
That was the challenge Joseph wanted. He admitted he knew nothing about bodywork when he took on the project, but he was working in a shop at the time. Joseph said he “watched and learned things” while he was there, and he was confident he could save the Ford.
Joseph had a donor truck to help with the restoration and it proved to be invaluable. The doors, truck box and other things—including the engine–were salvaged from the other truck.
Joseph learned some specialty welding skills to repair some pieces on the Ford and fortunately the shop had the specialty welder. He also found more rust problems when he sandblasted the whole truck. The combination of the donor truck and things he learned during the process were huge assets to the project.
The only part that worried him were the roof rails. Joseph knew they were complicated to repair–and potentially beyond his skill set, but they were in pretty good shape. Joseph said he had an advantage because, “Overall, the truck was pretty straight”—that was a bonus for a young guy learning on the job.
The donor truck had a seized 400 cubic inch V-8, but Joseph was holding an ace in the deck because he found out his great-grandfather had worked on the engine years ago. He told Joseph the “engine ran perfectly”, so that inspired Joseph to get it running.
Things did work out because the 400 became unstuck and it did run well. The only drawback is the legendary bad gas mileage with those engines—Joseph has to really plan his driving around available gas stations.
Joseph caught a break when he found some 1979-only rims for his truck. A guy had some for sale and the only things missing were the black center caps.
This ’79 Ford is still a work in progress. Joseph is looking at engine options for the truck so a 429 big block or something newer but for now the truck is still going to run the 400 his great-grandfather worked on.
That’s how you preserve family history.
Jerry Sutherland
By: Jerry Sutherland
Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post, Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.
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