Next to one's mom and dad or the dog they grew up with, there are few things in a truck lover's life that can bring back memories as fond as the pickup the family owned while they were growing up. It's a story we hear almost every day: a guy has either built a truck just like his dad's or is looking for one.
While we were in Spokane, Washington, last August attending the Goodguys show, we spotted the sweet little white '60 Ford you see gracing these pages. When we asked Phil and Robin Cunningham if they would be interested in having their truck featured in CCT, they both smiled, and then Phil told us the amazing saga of their '60 Ford shortbed pickup. Here it is in his own words.
Country Cutters tuck 'n' roll...
Country Cutters tuck 'n' roll off-white vinyl and enough bright red cloth to create a time warp. Phil handled the pickup's paintwork inside and out.
"In the fall of 2001 I told my brother I was looking for an older truck to drive back and forth to work. On December 10, 2001, my wife Robin and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary at a casino. My wife was lucky; she won a $1,500 jackpot. On our way home, my brother called and told me a lady he worked with had a pickup she wanted to sell, so we met her on the way home from the casino. When she opened the garage, I was very surprised. There sat my dad's 1960 pickup, his oil change records and other paperwork still in the jockey box. The lady who owned it bought it in Lynwood, Washington. To say the least, I purchased it!
"It's been a labor of love redoing this pickup, especially since my dad passed away. Not only has the truck come back to the family, but my wife and I live next door to where I grew up, and where my mother still lives. The pickup came home to less than 100 yards away from where it once sat as a brand-new truck."
Interestingly, right from the showroom floor the Cunningham's '60 Ford was loaded down with options. Unusual for a pickup in those times, the '60 came fully equipped with a V-8 engine and automatic transmission, plus a big-window custom cab complete with a deluxe radio and fresh-air heater. Thankfully, the only extra the truck did not have was the optional 8-foot bed.