At this point, I still had the Bronco, a new Saleen Mustang, and a 1957 T-bird in a million pieces in our shop in Pelahatchie. Why another vehicle? I guess it seemed like too good of a deal to pass up. Check it out- a 1951 Ford F-1 pick-up, all-steel body in good shape, with a 1974 Cougar sub-frame and suspension, 460 big block, C-6 auto transmission, power steering, and power brakes. All for $1900!!! Plus, I found it about 3 miles from the house. I couldn't let it get away, so I went ahead and bought the old thing and kept it hidden in the barn for over a month before my dad found out...

My defense was simple and straight-forward: I planned to fix it up myself, and sell it for a profit. All I really needed to do was slap a new coat of paint on it and re-do the interior, not nearly the same investment as the T-bird. And that is all I did. Plus add a set of Centerline aluminum wheels and new tires. I nabbed a set of bucket seats from a Nissan Pulsar in a junkyard in Jackson, had them re-upholstered, painted the interior Porsche Mars Red, carpeted the floor and running boards, and did my own "Earl Scheib" paint job all by myself. Not too shabby.

I sold it in January 1990 for $4500.