1968 F750 TRACTOR

[dolinick]

Does anyone own and drive a commercial bump?

I got a quote from an insurance company. They said $100,000 liability insurance would cost $2300 per year if I use the truck for farm use. They said it would be double for commercial use. It's a good thing I have some private property to drive it on because I won't be able to afford to drive it on a public road. Actually I guess I can start a small business and become an owner operator. If I can find a small vintage car hauler trailer or flatbed to go with it that might be cool!

The truck(tractor) in question is a 1968 F750 460(gasoline), 5 speed transmission, 2 speed rear, with a fifth wheel and single drive axle with dual tires on it.

Dan

[averagef250]

License it as a pickup or motorhome and keep it under 26K pounds.

[dolinick]

License it as a pickup or motorhome and keep it under 26K pounds.

Whew! That's a relief. Is that legal? Will it bring the cost of insurance down?

Dan

[hotrod ford]

i don't see what the difference in that and a newer ford, dodge, cheby or gmc with duelies and a fifth is. you would think it could be regristered as a pickup. the only thing is the #'s, F-750.

[papabug71]

$2300 bucks is highway robbery. My in laws have a entire fleet of F-600's & F-750's.

None of them are that $$$ to insure. You did tell them it was just for farm use & not a daily driver right??

averagef250 said it all. Run it as a pickup & keep the weight down. Dont be out pullin a heavy load with it tho. The DOT boys will go crazy on you!

[BiggDogg]

When you get a chance, show us some pics of this beast

[dolinick]

Hey, thanks so much for all the information. I was really nervous about what I was getting myself into. I don't know exactly what I'm gonna do with it yet. I still have to figure out how to get back home to texas. I actually intend to drive it home.

I know I should wait till I can inspect it and get it home to start speculating about this but Would it be feasable to put a regular cab with regular fenders and grille and a regular lwb or swb bed on this monster? I know the wheels would be sticking out. There must be a simple way to tuck the wheels in a bit and maybe put some slightly smaller diameter wheels/tires on it. Has it ever been done before? I seem to remember seeing a late model Ford or Chevy or Dodge like that. I don't know if it was factory.

Anyway, that's just one of my ideas. Who needs a highboy when you can have a MEGA BUMP. It's only a 4x2 I believe or 6x2 or something.

If you were planning on driving your chevette down to South Carolina to pick up this truck would you use a tow bar and haul the vette back home with the truck or would you ask someone like with a crane to strap the car up on the back of the truck on top of the fifth wheel or what? Anyway I was thinking of driving a regular car over there to get the truck. Actually if the truck had a flatbed I guess you would need some ramps or a dock to drive the car up on the back. A crane is just silly.

Dan

[dolinick]

Some photos from the auction site: http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... 16&t=39644

Dan

[hotrod ford]

i don't know if a regular bed woud fit the frame bu for sure you could mount a flat bed with post on it. also, i don't know how much wider the front whhel base is compared to a f100 or 250, but i would think you could probably trialer that hog if you removed the outer rear tires. might be a tight squeeze but it may fit on a trailer. would also save you gas and a load of hassle from the fuzz while trying to drive it across country if it don't have plates and a title. find out how big this is compared to your trailer.

[dolinick]

I forgot to tell you I have some updated information on the F750. I called the custodian and spoke with one of the guys in the shop. He got me the VIN number. I wrote it down somewhere. Also he said that they got the truck from the military but he didn't know how long ago that was. He has only been with the company 11 years. It was used to haul a 28 foot portable bridge which I believe was used to help fight forest fires near the coast. It hasn't been in service for about a year but they were supposed to drive it 25 miles a month. He seemed to say it was in good condition but maybe needed the carburetor rebuilt.

I may be heading over to North Carolina in a few days. I have a class III tow hitch made for a late seventies to early nineties model dodge pick-up. I hope I can modify it or make a plate which will allow me to mount it on the F750. I also have a nice tow bar which I intend to install on my little car. The idea is to drive my little car to North Carolina and tow it back to texas with the F750.

If I had sold my '68 F100 to someone in that part of the country I could drive it down there and then take a bus the rest of the way possibly. In fact that would save a lot of time and money. I should offer a BIG discount on my ebay auction to those living in or near New Berg, NC.

Dan

[Ranchero50]

Man, good luck with this. Sincerely, get some good back meds before you try to drive that back because the springs are soo stiff it doesn't need shock absorbers. The '72 F600 wrecker I played with is terrible and it has a wrecker bed on the back...

For the reese hitch, I torched holes in the frame extension and bolted the hitch to that on the ex yallow single axle road tractor my friend bought to fifth wheel with. Nothing's back there except the lights so I wasn't worried about damaging the frame with the heat. Only bad thing is the reese hitch is still pretty high. I'd suggest getting an adjustable drop thingy for the ball.

Hope that one has power steering too. The vacuum breaks are scary on these as well. Very light touch several second before you think you might want to slow down. Too much pedal and you kiss the steering wheel... The two speeds a bear to deal with too. I just drove easy and left it in high.

Most of these monsters are low mileage for a reason... Expect 6-8mpg if it's tuned up right... Probably less.

Jamie

[dolinick]

Man, good luck with this. Sincerely, get some good back meds before you try to drive that back because the springs are soo stiff it doesn't need shock absorbers. The '72 F600 wrecker I played with is terrible and it has a wrecker bed on the back...

For the reese hitch, I torched holes in the frame extension and bolted the hitch to that on the ex yallow single axle road tractor my friend bought to fifth wheel with. Nothing's back there except the lights so I wasn't worried about damaging the frame with the heat. Only bad thing is the reese hitch is still pretty high. I'd suggest getting an adjustable drop thingy for the ball.

Hope that one has power steering too. The vacuum breaks are scary on these as well. Very light touch several second before you think you might want to slow down. Too much pedal and you kiss the steering wheel... The two speeds a bear to deal with too. I just drove easy and left it in high.

Most of these monsters are low mileage for a reason... Expect 6-8mpg if it's tuned up right... Probably less.

Jamie

Wow, it sounds cool. It will definitely be interesting. So drilling in the frame might not be easy or practical? If I end up needing to mount the hitch I can probably find someone nearby with a torch. I can show them where the holes need to be. I thought about that drop down thingy too. It will be pretty sweet if everything goes smoothly according to plan. If I actually had a plan that is.

Do you think that dodge hitch would be about the same width as the f750 frame?

Dan

[Ranchero50]

Only way to tell is have the guys where the truck is measure the inner and outer dimension and go from there. The rails on the yellow truck were around 5" wide so there's a lot of give. I could run down and measure the F600. but it might not be right, in fact it probably won't just because...

You'll also probably want to fab up a 8' length of 2x2" angle iron and some mud flaps so you'll be legal going down the road. The angle can be C clamped to the top of the frame rails or bolted.

Also think about another set of tail lights for your towed vehicle. You 'should' be able to ask them what kind of trailer plug it has up by the cab and make a 20-25' runner that will plug into that.

Personally I think your nuts but like your style

Jamie

[dolinick]

Only way to tell is have the guys where the truck is measure the inner and outer dimension and go from there. The rails on the yellow truck were around 5" wide so there's a lot of give. I could run down and measure the F600. but it might not be right, in fact it probably won't just because...

You'll also probably want to fab up a 8' length of 2x2" angle iron and some mud flaps so you'll be legal going down the road. The angle can be C clamped to the top of the frame rails or bolted.

Also think about another set of tail lights for your towed vehicle. You 'should' be able to ask them what kind of trailer plug it has up by the cab and make a 20-25' runner that will plug into that.

Personally I think your nuts but like your style

Jamie

I hadn't thought of asking about the "pigtail" size. I was just thinking about splicing into the taillights and wondering if I was going to screw up the wiring in the process.

I know it would be simple to install some temporary mud flaps but it hadn't occurred to me that I needed those either. Thank you for some great tips.

Dan

[dolinick]

I posted some new photos. I saw the truck yesterday. I'm about to go see if it will start.

photo thread: http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... 38#p369138

Dan