I don’t know why I’m so fixated on flatbed one-ton trucks. They’re purposeful and brutal, with one reason for life: to be a workhorse first and foremost. That’s not a bad reason. But outside of that? Fuel economy is going to be in the tank, they have the aero properties of a barn dropped from a helicopter, they’re geared out to the moon and it’s a different kind of power in the first place, power that’s meant to tow and haul more than just ass. For a work truck, they’re perfect, but unless you’ve got the means to have many different specialized vehicles around your property, a flatbed truck just doesn’t seem ideal to make the cut, does it?

Maybe there’s something that can be done to combine the work truck with the play rig to combine into a better fun package than anything else. Take this 1978 Ford F-350. It’s got the work-truck credentials down pat: flatbed, headache rack, dual rear wheels, a 351M and a four-speed shuffling power out to a 4.11 equipped rear axle. Normally, we’d end it there, take a swipe at Lohnes, and move on. But let’s sit on this one for a minute. We’d got back to an old Hot Rod article that got about 400 horsepower and well north of 450 ft/lbs of torque out of a 400M and start applying tricks to the 351M under this hood. We’d keep the 4.11 gears but we’d have to add two more forward gears to help highway mileage along. We’d need this thing to bark like it meant it. And we’d have to clean and polish everything.

It’s not going to be the same as a 1970 Mustang. But it’ll be a riot, especially with some good tires on it. One big torque monster that can be tossed around like a giant street machine at will, that can be pressed into pack mule service when needed. I’m digging that thought right now. Someone make it happen.

Facebook Marketplace: 1978 Ford F-350 flatbed dually