My Truck Story : Reg Radford

Fargo.

For many, the word conjures a mythical fictional place and the film and TV series that takes its name.

For pickup truck lovers, it's the brand of a classic vehicle once produced in the U.S. by the Fargo Motor Car Company. In 1928, Fargo was bought out by Chrysler which started producing the truck under the Dodge and Plymouth badges.

In Canada, the trucks continued to sell under the Fargo name until 1972. They were produced by Chrysler at its Windsor truck manufacturing plant.

For Reg Radford, the truck's history is personal.

In a story by automotive writer Jim Sutherland that appeared in mystarcollector.com in October 2021, Reg recalled growing up on a farm where the 1952 1/2 ton pickup was used in the field.

"Eventually, the old Fargo was used up by the hard work and banished into forced retirement on a forgotten piece of rural property," Sutherland wrote.

Reg decided to take action, however, and started to restore the Fargo. Sutherland writes that he bought a 1997 Dodge Dakota to use as a "donor vehicle" for the Fargo, as well as some Mopar trucks from around the same year. With the Dakota as a frame and using its seats and tilt-steering column, Reg went to work.

Among the distinctive features of his truck is the two-tone silver and red paint scheme. The wooden bed was also refinished and Reg's son-in-law built custom sideboards.

"It was a tribute to my dad," Reg said of the labour of love.

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