Isn’t it great to see vintage trucks still rolling along the roadways with retro style? After decades of hardworking service, these lucky old trucks get to retire on the road with people who love them.
Today, there are more vintage trucks on U.S. roads than ever before. Truck collectors are taking excellent care of these rugged beauties, restoring them to their original glory and preserving them for years to come.
America seems to have a new obsession with old trucks. Collectors of all ages are discovering a fondness for some of the world’s toughest, most rough-around the edges vintage farm vehicles, freight haulers, and good old-fashioned pickups.
The 1928 Fageol
First, let’s look at an almost 100-year-old truck that’s still alive and kicking: the 1928 Fageol farm freight hauler. Fageol Motors was established in 1916 as a farm vehicle company, then expanded into luxury vehicles and airplanes, and was eventually absorbed by General Motors.
Commonly called the Fageol flatbed, this beast came with a portly farm truck cab and a structured metal and wood plank bed. These trucks quickly became the darlings of the farm industry due to their mid-mounted transmission gearbox that allowed easy gear adjustment for slow-speed heavy hauling.
Unlike most farm vehicles of the era, a Fageol flatbed could hit highway speeds and take light loads long distances while driving as nimbly as a pickup. This versatility has helped it maintain a large fan base for nearly a century.
The 1929 Ford AA
No list of vintage trucks would be complete without the Ford AA. Sure, it lacks turn signals and can barely hit 50 mph, but who cares? It’s what The Waltons drove on TV and it’s a true American treasure.
In fact, its pared-down beauty is what fans love about AA. There’s nothing else quite like its simple wooden stake bed, its rickety metal bumpers, and its carriage-like cab capped off with a jaunty front metal awning.
The 1946 to 1978 Dodge Power Wagon
This might be Dodge’s most famous vintage truck and its production spanned almost three full decades. Of course, it was banned in the U.S. for its final 10 years for failing to meet emissions standards, but this only increased its mystique.
The Power Wagon was born in the era of World War II vehicles when a pickup had to be tough enough to survive a battlefield. What many people don’t realize is that it was the world’s first factory-built 4×4 truck and set a new standard for roadworthy pickups.
Dodge gave it a fully-enclosed cab and all-metal truck bed with raised styling flourishes that made it stand out from other pickups on the road. With a powerful engine and sturdy frame, the Power Wagon gained a reputation for being long-lived and almost indestructible – unless you expose it to its nemesis, rust.
The 1955 Dodge C Series
In 1955, Dodge introduced its first road-ready V8 truck, the Dodge C-3B pickup. A round-but-boxy truck with jolly round headlights and gleaming silver wheels, it gained an instant fan base among drivers who wanted style without sacrificing power.
This is one of the most iconic-looking vintage trucks and is a darling among photographers for weddings and Christmas cards. Original buyers and modern restorers love the C-Series’ rainbow of factory body colors, including a famous two-tone beige and coral color scheme.
The 1967 to 1972 Chevrolet C10 Cheyenne
When Chevy came out with its famous Action Line, buyers were surprised to discover how much they enjoyed driving a pickup that rode like a car. The Chevy Cheyenne was a full-size truck, but it rode almost as smoothly as any top-of-the-line Chevy sedan.
Publicity photos of the era featured rugged guys in cowboy hats hanging out in the back of the Cheyenne after a long day’s work in the fields. But most buyers were suburban dads enjoying new features like front disc brakes, an FM radio, special trim, a luxury interior, and a fully carpeted and insulated cab.
The 1975 Ford Ranger F-150
In 1975, Ford introduced its most stylish pickup to date, the Ranger F-150. Where previous trucks emphasized power over poise, this truck made a fashion statement. Like a bold pair of 70s-era bell-bottoms, the Ranger F-150 strutted into any party with style.
Most notably style-wise, it had the new silver egg-crate grille Ford would use on its trucks for almost two decades. And behind the grille, it had 4×4 four-wheel power that cruised without a catalytic converter so buyers could still use good old leaded gasoline. Groovy!
The 1982 to 1984 Dodge Rampage
You could make the argument that the 80s weren’t the world’s best years for pickups, but plenty of collectors would disagree. Today, you can acquire a wide range of weird and rad 80s trucks for under $10,000 to restore into something truly unique.
For example, take the early 80s Dodge Rampage, which was briefly sold under the name Plymouth Scamp. It looks like a DeLorean mated with an import mini-pickup, but it’s 100% vintage, Dodge.
Let’s face it: This truck – or subcompact unibody truck-coupe – wasn’t particularly well-built. But it was wickedly fun to drive. These days, there’s nothing quite like zipping past a crowd of people in a restored Dodge Rampage and hearing them say, “What the heck was THAT?”
The 1991 GMC Syclone
Flash forward to the 1990s when the GMC Syclone burst onto the street racing scene. Take a little 90s muscle car and pack it firmly into a pickup truck’s frame, and you have the surprisingly souped-up Syclone.
GMC gave this pickup 280 horsepower from 4.3 liters of V-6, all turbocharged and liquid-intercooled. For the layman, this meant the Syclone had true road racing cred.
In the early 90s, it was almost a street racing rite of passage to jam on the brakes and get pulled over by the cops in your GMC Syclone. So crank the woofers, rev it a few times, and enjoy the ride.
The Legacy of Classic Auto Insurance for Vintage Trucks
When you need to protect your vintage truck, we’re here to help. No other insurance agency offers the same level of stellar service and genuine passion for the classics as we do.
Classic Automobile Insurance Agency is a family business built on a love of classic cars and trucks. We take every opportunity to bring you unique learning opportunities, like our hugely successful Project C10, powered by American Modern. Having owned a variety of collectible vehicles ourselves, we understand the special protections your iconic ride requires.
Whether you bought it at an auction, drove it off the lot, or restored it to perfection in your garage, we have a plan for you. We’ll build you a customized auto insurance program that is designed specifically for owners of collectible cars and trucks while providing the top-notch customer support you expect.
Visit our website at www.classicins.com to get an instant quote online, or call 888-901-1338 and see how we can help safeguard your vintage truck.
