After making a plea on the local news, this young man’s 1996 Ford F-150 was abandoned to be found and returned.
On May 9, A.J. Siscoe of Pueblo, Colorado posted a picture of his 1996 Ford F-150 on Facebook, explaining that it had been stolen out of his driveway and asking friends to share the picture to help get the truck back. Fox 21 News heard about Siscoe’s problem and did a story on it, explaining that this was not just any 1996 F-150, having been given to the young man by his late grandfather.
Fortunately, this story has a happy ending, with the truck being found with relatively minimal damage.
Grandpa’s Ford F-150
While the current owner of this 1996 Ford F-150, A.J. Siscoe, is fairly young, he has already experienced one of the toughest fights that anyone could imagine. Siscoe beat cancer, recovering from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but while battling the illness, his grandfather passed away. Siscoe was unable to attend his grandfather’s funeral due to his own illness, but he had one special gift by which he can remember his grandfather.
That is, of course, this baby blue 1996 Ford F-150.
When Siscoe got out of the hospital, he and his mother invested between $3,000 and $4,000 to restore and repair grandpa’s truck and the result is the sweet machine shown here. It has a lift kit and big wheels and tires, along with the unique light blue paint. In the end, the truck only had a book value of about $1,000, but the pickup is priceless to A.J. Siscoe.
Sadly, someone admired this truck too much, stealing it from Siscoe’s driveway and taking the one piece that he had left of his grandfather. Fortunately, the news story may have paid off, as the truck was found abandoned just a few days later.
Minor Damage
When Siscoe’s grandfather’s F-150was found, the only things missing were the big tool box in the bed and the tools inside. The only damage was the door handle and the ignition cylinder, both of which will be replaced and rekeyed, just in case. Siscoe also plans to install a good alarm system, but in the end, he is clearly just happy to have his grandfather’s 1996 Ford F-150 back at home.
In the long run, a new door handle, new ignition cylinder, new keys and whatever punitive damages come with the loss of the tool box and contents are all a small price to pay to get back this critical piece of family history.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
