More Issues

Restored Truck Brings Back Priceless Memories

In 1953, a 50th Anniversary Edition Ford F-250 pickup crawled the gentle gradations of pastureland in eastern South Dakota.

The floorboards, bench seat and bed of the candy-apple red truck grew to be laden with memories during its active years on Louis Landuyt’s Watertown-area farm. Some of those memories are Todd Ellestad’s first ones, Mary Ellestad said during a recent phone interview. She’s Todd Ellestad’s mother and the daughter of Landuyt.

Mary Ellestad and her husband Tyrell live in Aberdeen. Todd Ellestad graduated from Central High School in 1984 and attended Northern State University, before moving to Minnesota and starting American Mortgage & Equity Consultants, based in Andover, Minn.

“One time, we were visiting at the farm,” Mary Ellestad said, estimating that her son, Todd, was about 3 at the time. “Grandpa asked if Todd wanted to ride in the truck out to the fields. When they got back to the house, Todd was so excited. He said, ‘Mom, I went out to the field, and we’ve got a secret; Grandpa said not to tell you.’ I said, ‘You never keep secrets from Mom.’ When they were out in the field, Grandpa let Todd sit on his lap and drive the truck.”

Todd Ellestad got to relive that same excitement at his surprise 50th birthday party at his Andover home last weekend. He said he was stunned when his grandfather’s completely restored pickup rolled up the driveway just as he arrived home from checking out the Minnesota Vikings’ new stadium.

He has his wife to thank for the unexpected present.

“It was all Stacey. Todd talked about doing it when he retired, so she thought it would be fun for his 50th birthday,” Mary Ellestad said.

Landuyt left something to each of his of his grandchildren. Around the time he died, about 25 years ago, the truck was moved to the Tyrell Ellestad family farm near Britton, where it was stored for decades.

“I got the truck. I always talked about fixing it up, and it was never the right time,” Todd Ellestad said in a phone interview. “(Stacey) had contacted Cliff Avenue Upholstery and Restoration in Sioux Falls. The truck is absolutely amazing looking. After sitting there that long, it was in terrible shape. All kinds of creatures had built their home in the truck.”

The restoration process took about nine months. The Ellestads said the paint was a match to its original color. That shade of authenticity came at a price of $1,350 per gallon. The camel-colored leather and other interior alterations deviate from what the truck looked like in 1953, but it’s still a safe bet that Todd Ellestad feels transported to another era when he steps into the cab.

“It looks absolutely amazing!” He wrote in an email last weekend. “It couldn’t be any more perfect, and I couldn’t be happier ... although the bank opens Monday, and there is probably one hell of a dent in my checking account.”

He hopes the truck will continue running through his children’s and potential grandchildren’s generations. He said he believes it was the first vehicle he ever drove and remembers driving it around with his cousin and brothers.

“Back in those days, child safety probably wasn’t a big issue on the farm. We were either all piled in that single cab truck or sitting in the back end,” he said. “If we were in the back end, we probably had loaded .22s looking for a gopher, fence post or pretty much anything to shoot at. If the truck ever had seat belts, which I’m pretty sure it didn’t, we never used them.”

---

We at Cliff Avenue Upholstery and Restoration feel privileged to have had the opportunity to go on this amazing journey with the Ellestad family. The journey started when Mary Ellestad sent us a few pictures of her father's red 1953 Ford pickup. Todd's wife, Stacey, gave us the okay to go retrieve it from the barn. That proved to be a difficult task, as the truck had remained in the corner of the barn for many years. With a great deal of coaxing, the truck was on its way to our shop to be restored. Ennis Lund, owner of Cliff Avenue Upholstery and Restoration, would periodically call Stacey with specific questions, such as her thoughts on rack and pinion steering and if she'd like to use a 365 horse/302 engine. We are grateful for how much trust Stacey put in us, as these questions could have made her extremely uneasy. It was a challenge to keep this big of a secret from Todd over the course of nine months. Stacey would let us know when and where we could contact her for any questions or concerns, so timing was critical. By far one of the best moments for us was the revealing of the truck at Todd's home in Minneapolis. To roll up in that 62-year-old vehicle that now looked better than it did coming out of the factory…to see about 50 to 60 people standing with their jaws dropped was a God moment. There was nothing more satisfying than seeing true surprise and happiness on their faces. It took a lot of people and some God-given talents to make this happen.

From the entire team at Cliff Avenue Upholstery and Restoration, thank you to the Ellestad family. It was an honor to work for and with you. Ennis would like to give Stacey some extra thanks for her promptness and her trust during the process. He adds, “The entire Ellestad family is absolutely stellar.”

By Kelda J.L. Pharris

August 2016

View Online

More Issues

Restored Truck Brings Back Priceless Memories

Images