'Part of him with me': Sask. man fixing up grandpa's classic truck after finding it for sale on social media

PREECEVILLE, SASK. -

A 24-year-old man from Preeceville, Sask. was reunited with his grandfather’s classic, custom-made Ford truck after finding it on social media and plans to restore it to its former glory.

Sean Ebel said he discovered a familiar Ford F100 posted to a Facebook group in the summer of 2021. It was the same truck his grandfather, Leonard Ebel, bought nearly 50 years ago.

“The guy who made the post wanted to cut it up for a parts truck,” Sean said in an interview with CTV News.

“I absolutely love this thing. I could never image someone cutting it up.”

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Sean remembers visiting his grandfather’s farm as a child and admiring the 1974 burnt-orange beauty.

“I would see this truck sitting there and I just thought it was the coolest thing,” he said.

The truck was inherited by a family member after his grandfather died, but Sean still enjoyed taking care of it.

“I was very proud to drive it around on my grad day and show it off. It was very special,” he said.

Sean said he was often away for work and didn’t realize the truck was sold until two years later. He said he immediately reached out, bought the truck back and set his sights on fixing it up again.

Wilfred Ebel, Leonard’s younger brother, worked at Formo Motors, the dealership where the truck is from. He remembers his brother’s excitement.

“He was ecstatic. He had never owned a brand new vehicle before and he just loved it,” Wilfred said.

Wilfred is glad the truck is being restored and staying in the family.

“Leonard would be so happy, he thought the world of that truck,” he said.

He said the truck is a sixth generation F100 pickup truck (1973-1979), and the 1974 was the last model to come out, before the infamous Ford 150 was introduced in 1975. His brother custom ordered it to have a heavy-duty rear suspension and a four-speed transmission, with a low gear for towing bales around the farm.

Nearly five decades later, Wilfred said the truck hasn’t had any major problems. Sean added it still has most of the original drive train.

Sean said his grandpa died when he was young, but he feels a connection when he works on the truck.

“It felt like I did have part of him with me,” Sean said.

Right now, he is focusing on getting the engine running again, then he’ll replace the tires, and give it a fresh paint job.

He plans to keep the original colour and restore it back to, “how my grandpa would have wanted it”.

“And maybe throw little bit of my own spin on it,” he added.

Sean said working on the truck has sparked his interest to go back to school, and pursue a career as a mechanic.