Mike Satterfield’s Ranch Relic SEMA Build is the Perfect Texas Truck

Growing Up with Old Trucks

Old trucks can run on many things: gasoline, diesel, oil that seeps through worn gaskets, propane, modern batteries, and above all, nostalgia.

Those of a certain age have sepia filtered memories of staring at a gear shift or cassette player while bouncing on a bench seat. The sound of a straight-six diesel or V8 turning over in the morning before the sun was out. The loud bash of a metal tailgate being dropped or a door being forced shut because it’s slightly misaligned. Maybe they remember sitting on the wheel well of an engine bay holding a flashlight while a guardian tinkered away on points, plugs, or carburetors.

It’s no secret I have a passion for old pickup trucks. They were a constant in my upbringing on a small ranch in rural South Texas. As a result, most of my life has been spent pulling old trucks out of fields, taking them apart for restoration, using them to learn how to hoon on dirt roads, and loading their beds with everything from dirt to livestock.

So, when I stood in front of Michael Satterfield’s 1969 Ford F-100 Ranger SEMA build, The Ranch Relic, my heart fluttered with pure joy. This truck perfectly captures why people love old trucks and how they often blur the line between fashion and utility..

The F-100 Ranger left the assembly line as a “premium” trim with factory A/C, a bench seat, a column automatic, and a 360 ci V8 under its spring-loaded hood. Mike, the Gentleman Racer, was looking for a bonafide “farm truck” to use as a canvas for his latest SEMA build.

When Mike asked for help finding a truck with the right look, I was pleasantly surprised at how many old trucks were still available. Like a scammer ad for hot singles in your area, there is a wide selection of old Ford, Dodge, and Chevrolet trucks from the 70s and 80s ready and willing to be restored, resto modded, preserved, or put to work – again.

The Ranch Relic is the Perfect Texas Truck

The concept behind The Ranch Relic is to capture the essence of ranch trucks roaming the backroads of Texas.

Over the years, I’ve enjoyed exploring the four corners of this massive state: the unforgiving mesquite trees in the South, the salty air of the gulf coast, the rolling hill country in the center, lush greenery in the east, the desert mountain range in the west, and the tail end of the Great Plains in the north. Old pickup trucks are littered among all these diverse landscapes. Put out to pasture, parked behind antique buildings in sleepy towns off the interstate, on the road, or resting in driveways with dried oil stains underneath.

The Ranch Relic used to be one of these trucks before Mike Satterfield gave it a new life and some accessories that’ll add another 20 years of service, or show, to its chassis.

Starting with the engine, a refurbished 360 V8 mill dressed in FoMoCo blue pops like a diamond in a coal pile in the dark engine bay. BedWood supplied the material to restore the Ford’s truck bed with that classic wooden bed with stainless steel frame rails offering both style and function. A worn horse saddle and spare wheel complete the truck bed’s seasoned functionality.

Mother Nature added a splash of oxidized brown to the truck’s once glossy two-tone Caribbean Turquoise and Pure White paint. Artist Sean Starr from Starr Studios added lettering to the truck’s doors and tailgate, creating a fictional backstory for the old truck. In addition, Starr gave the F-100 Ranger a dash of timeless style with hand-painted pinstriping on the truck’s hood.

But above all these aesthetics, nothing cements the truck’s true grit personality more than its eBay sourced, grille-mounted Texas longhorns that tower over the truck’s fascia. The position of the horns makes the old Ford seem like a docile steer happily eating oats out of your hand.

Upholstery by Poe restored the truck’s bench seat with black and cow hide leather that works well with the Turquoise painted cab and black dashboard trim. The gun rack draped across the rear window looks period correct and doubles as a suitable hat rack. Lastly, the truck’s original patina-stained wheels are wrapped in Cosmo El Tigre AT tires, serving as the cherry on the bottom of this chef’s kiss pickup truck.

eBay Motors is Giving You the Chance to Own The Ranch Relic

The Ranch Relic spent the first week of November on display at SEMA Show 2022. Since then, The photogenetic ranch truck has been touring the country in the Parts of America tour organized by eBay Motors. The tour ends later this month, and this Texas flex pickup truck will be going up for auction on – you guessed it – eBay!

The Gentleman Racer recently launched the online auction on eBay, set to end on November 26, 2022. That means one lucky bidder will be celebrating Christmas early with keys to the perfect Texas truck.

Don’t be surprised if you see me bidding on this truck. I love it so much that I featured it in my latest automotive digital artwork.