Ramp Truck Rescue

Tim
By Tim Suddard
Oct 1, 2015 | Ford

The Orange Blossom Tour has a new, vintage tour support vehicle. After calling our friends at Chubb to get insurance (and a bit of moral support), we pulled this 50,000-mile, original paint and interior 1973 Ford F-350 ramp truck out of a barn in Connecticut. Look for it to be refurbished and flying the Classic Motorsports colors as it debuts on the 2016 Orange Blossom Tour.

Held March 6-10, 2016, the Orange Blossom Tour is a classic sports car tour through the Deep South. It’s limited to 25 couples and combines cool cars, camaraderie and the charm and beauty of old Florida (and now coastal Georgia). The tour is an official part of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance and ends on Amelia Island just in time to enjoy the concours weekend.

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Comments
Ed Higginbotham
Ed Higginbotham Editorial Assistant
9/28/15 2:35 p.m.

And here's a quick shot of the ramp truck for you guys viewing this on the forum.

Marjorie Suddard
Marjorie Suddard General Manager
9/28/15 3:50 p.m.

Update on the ramp truck: Tim and Rennie are flying up to Connecticut next Monday (Oct. 5) to drive it home. It's a 40+ year-old truck that hasn't been on the road in years... what could possibly go wrong? Oh, and they're going to put a Spitfire on it for the trip, because duh, it needs to get to Florida, too.

Those of you on the I-95 corridor, might want to stay close to the board next week. On the other hand, you might want to take a nice, long vacation from it, starting Monday.

Margie

Tim Suddard
Tim Suddard Publisher
9/28/15 6:27 p.m.

yup, what Margie said.

The saving grace in this insanity, is that the Spitfire runs well enough (I think) to be driven to Florida. And unlike the truck, it has overdrive.

Toyman01
Toyman01 GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
9/28/15 6:45 p.m.

It's a old Ford. This is all the tools you need.

Marjorie Suddard
Marjorie Suddard General Manager
9/28/15 7:13 p.m.

Pretty much exactly what Tim and Rennie tried to carry on the plane when they went to get the Ranchero. The nice TSA people said nuh-uh.

Margie

Toyman01
Toyman01 GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
9/28/15 7:19 p.m.

And to think, all this time I just knew Tim had a special exception for tools.

Well, tools and rust.

Kenny_McCormic
Kenny_McCormic UltimaDork
9/28/15 7:30 p.m.

In reply to Toyman01:

Can of WD40 would be a good addition.

Marjorie Suddard
Marjorie Suddard General Manager
9/28/15 7:34 p.m.

Tim and the TSA don't quite see eye to eye. His latest scolding was for duct tape. They consider it a no-no, and weren't exactly swayed by his arguments that this is a silly policy.

Toyman01
Toyman01 GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
9/28/15 7:53 p.m.

In reply to Marjorie Suddard:

Seriously? They have a ban on duct tape?

He's right, that's a silly policy.

Woody
Woody GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
9/28/15 8:08 p.m.

Is the truck still in Milford or is it at Curt's place? Either way, if you get jammed up early in the trip home, I should be able to help out. I can probably get to any part of the Connecticut portion of your route within twenty minutes or so.

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