u/hansemcito

i was at a pick n pull getting parts for my 92 f150 and saw this in the drives door. as a memorial to all those who have ever been frustrated with the common door handle (door latch) problem, which i still need to solve for my truck, i thought i would post one guys attempt at a solution.

this has been around for a while but im not gonna be able to work on it and keep it. anyone have any idea who much i should ask for it?

came off the plane yesterday and saw this exhibit. feels like some kind of xbiking.

originally posted this story/essay at OBS fords, but sharing here too.

i know that someday my truck and i will part ways.  one way or another, itll happen.  i’m also aware that she is a mechanical device.   but because it’s been such an enduring relationship during which time she’s helped me so, so far along the road, it just can’t be helped that i have developed some connection, some strange deep gratitude toward a machine.

i bought “lady blue” in early january 2000 for $5500 ($11,000 in 2026 money).  at the time, i hoped i was getting lucky and not a lemon.  i had no idea how lucky i really was.  i had to borrow some money to make it work.  it was taking a risk not really knowing anything about american cars in general and less about trucks.  she was a 1992 f150 “custom” with the straight-6 4.9 liter engine, 5 speed manual transmission (4 with OD), hand crank windows, and absolutely no frills except a fantastic steel GEM top canopy.   just 58,000 miles.  nonetheless, i was very nervous because it was a financial stretch for me as i’d been living half disabled for 3+ years and was trying to make a future life plan to get out of the shit.  many of you might think this next part of the story a joke or exaggeration, but the thing that put me over the top to purchase was my dog.  she was never wrong about anything.  she jumped up into the cab for the test drive, which the seller happily allowed, she took one second to check things out and looked at me with a “let’s go baby, this is the one!” approving smile.  thank you C!

new tires and an oil change and weve been rolling ever since. 

my life has had a lot of ups and downs but never the latter with lady blue.  shes never let me down.  weve helped people move, and i don’t know how many loads to the dump, with triple that number at least in loads of mulch, many too heavy.  free - stoves, railroad ties, gas grills, used lumber, etc - weve scrounged it all for ages.  fishing kayaks, tandem bikes, sailing dinghies, mulch, 20’ 2X8s, rock, hay, mulch, furniture, firewood, and a back breaker load of ¾” plywood that was on sale and then more mulch.  shes carried the world for me.  once we even towed a nearly equally wonderful 214T john deer bailer from one field to another where i just kept going right out, pulled the bailer tongue pin, cranked engine, and started bailing hay.  the tractor broke, and it was gonna rain so i did the last 30 or so bales with lady blue in first gear.  man…  i felt so bad with all that surging the bailer was doing, push/pulling on poor lady blue, and in a bumpy field too.  i thought i might have a broken truck as well.  but we got it done and again, like always, drove back home like nothing happened.  

oregon, california I5 is a main road for us and i often spent the night in the back having gotten a late start.  there are also many other nicer nights in the back, camping, enjoying the sound of the waves.  with the excellent GEM top canopy, she keeps me warmish when its cold and nice and cool when its hot.  i just sweep out all the debris and put the mat down and sleep like a baby.

all ive ever done for lady blue is the basics: maintenance like oil changes, filters, plugs, etc. and replacements of broken stuff alternators, water pumps, serpentine belt, etc.  even more challenging, because my life has been very itinerant, i have left lady blue to sit, dozens of times, for 2~4 months at a shot.  everytime i just reconnect the battery and she starts right up, ready to go like we had just been out doing errands.  never a hitch.  never a problem.  

weve always, ALWAYS gotten out of the snow and the mud and the sand.  (weve even watched a few 4x4s get stuck in the sand and go deeper and deeper down all the way to the chassis at oceano dunes.  some people dont believe in physics.)

she got hit by a deer - more than we hit it.  then my dad crashed his BMW wagon into the front of lady blue while parked and bounced off into the neighbors front yard (it was the last time he drove in his life).  a school bus got lost and drove down our narrow street doing a slow grind style side swipe all along lady blues drivers side, even jumping her up over the curb and onto the parkway.  none of that has ever been fixed.  she just keeps on going: all scars are worn proudly.  

now that i think about how tough this truck is, in a weird way, lady blue even helped out a total stranger.  i was driving in town and as i stopped at a red light, we got smacked from behind, hard enough that my dog got tossed off the bench seat and onto the floor after bouncing off the glove box.  after i saw she was fine, i got out and found a completely terrified woman and her 7 year old daughter in a compact car.  radiator fluid was all over the street and her poor little car was really damaged, with hood folded, grill and headlights all messed up.  lady blue looked like she was untouched.  that heavy steel bumper didnt even look bent in or anything.  driver was all shaking and scared and everything.  i got us all to the side and told her not to worry.  she didnt give me any sad story or anything but i could tell that they were not people with a lot of money.  id been there, recently.  so i was quite happy that i could tell her, “hey, im all good.  i dont need any insurance info and there is no need to report this.  youve got a lot to deal with already.”  she was stunned and happy but still in shock/overwhelmed.  if it had been another vehicle i probably would have had to collect damages, but tough lady blue let her save that for another day.  it was another gift from lady blue.

the only complaint, which to be fair is due more to the original owner than lady blue herself, is that they ordered up a “custom” f150 but with no AC.  i guess that was fine for the PNW in 1992, but its not so good for california central valley in any summer time.

now 26 years later, and another 169,000 more miles, lady blue is still rolling, these days on her 3rd set of michelin X LT A/Ss (great tires!).  broken notorious inside door handles, erratic dome light door switches, leaking windshield, AM/FM cassette (tapes dont play), cracked dashboard mount (one big bump too many i guess), and the latest hiccup is the gas gauges not reading right anymore.  but she keeps going - 227,000 miles and ready for more.

countless road trips with the best people.  some are still with us like my wife and mama, but the best dog in the world and uncle D have moved on.  lady blue remembers though.  she remembers all the super burritos, bowls of cereal, sandwiches, in-n-outs, ice lattes, and panda expresses.  we remember all the snuggles and the hours of math conversations and solving the worlds problems, all the sweating through a hot daytime journey and the late night stories on the long dark drives through the mountains in the rain.  she always gets us there.  

i wish i could keep the journey going forever, but i know the best i can do is write this for lady blue as a massive ‘thank you’.  im 100% that there has never been a better truck than you. im hoping that she hears it, and doesnt let the tailgate down.  (i gotta ASAP fix that busted right side latch!) ;)