When Randy Thompson needed a place to store his 4-wheelers and ATVs, he thought the box from a vandalized 1999 Ford F-800 truck with 335,000 miles and a 5-speed standard transmission would do the trick.

     “I went to see the truck to make sure the box would be a good option,” Thompson says. “Kids had pretty much destroyed every window, started a fire on the hood and windshield, and cut up all the seats and upholstery. It was a mess.”

     After deciding the largely undamaged box would still work for his storage idea, he bought it, took it home, hooked up a battery to the 5.9L Cummins diesel engine, and to his surprise, it started right up after sitting for nearly 8 years. He knew he had something worthwhile and, with his then 9-year-old son, started upgrading it.

     The pair completed all the work in their garage, removing the box and shortening the frame by 7 ft. They added custom-made brackets and installed an 8-ft. box from a 1994 F-350. One section of the drive shaft was removed and the other shortened about 12 in. A custom-made exhaust system and a rear bumper that the pair fashioned from 3/8-in. thick boiler pipe was added. They were able to use the same tires on the rear, although they rotated the outside tires 180 degrees compared to the inside tires as they had flat spots from sitting so long.

     “It looks like a pickup truck on steroids,” Thompson laughs. “It’s usually my now 20-year-old son’s work truck in the summer, but we don’t run it in winter due to our New York weather. We also drive it on local cruise nights.”

     Thompson estimates he put nearly $11,000 into the converted truck, including the $1,000 he initially paid. The largest cost was roughly $7,000 for an upgrade in the Lucas Girling brake parts.

     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Randy Thompson, East Amherst, N.Y. 14051 (randyt69@verizon.net).