Story and Photos Mike Spicer
The love for old trucks in America has always been strong. Nostalgic, iconic, and just darn cool these popular workhorse vehicles are a window into American history. Here in Portland Oregon I see colorful examples on the street daily.
Old trucks have a lot of character. A rusted paint job and decades of dents can tell their life story. When broken they often sit for years until the next person falls in love and brings them back to life.
Non-pretentious and often set aside until needed these vintage trucks do get put to use. Gas mileage is not the best but the price to ride in style far outweighs the cost at the gas pump (most of the time).
Even non-car people yearn to own an old truck. A romantic piece of rolling art that will transport you back to a time when there were no cell phones, three TV stations and you listened to music on the radio.
These classics are daily driven, collected, restored, used as lawn art, and everything in-between. It’s great to see restored examples at car shows to get a glimpse of what they looked like back in the day.
Each vintage truck carries a unique personality and nickname. Often a combination of styling and color mixed with the owner’s vision of “what is cool”. Old trucks become more like household pets than just enjoyable transportation.
You will be hard pressed to visit a city in the United States and not find an old truck. Once I started paying attention I noticed they were everywhere. I started an Instagram page called OLDTRUCKSPDX to capture them. Often when I snap a picture it sparks a conversation with the owner, people love to share their truck story. The passion for old trucks is very much alive and well.
