Happy New Year, once again! I know… I know… resolution time, right? Lose weight, exercise, take vacations… blah blah blah! How about you get your SQHD’s in gear and get busy on those wintertime truck projects before truck show season creeps up on you again? Or go ahead and let a few more weekends slip by, unproductively, and see how quickly the Mid-America Trucking Show becomes front and center footage in the pages of this-here publication. Am I speaking to myself as much as I’m speaking to you? Absolutely! I am on the fun and final stages of the restoration of my Freightliner FLD 120 that I’m building to replicate one of my dad’s brand-new trucks from the late 1980s. Certainly, a Freightliner FLD isn’t immediately recognized among most people as the most attractive candidate for a custom truck build. But, I have a special place in my heart for these trucks, simply based on the connection they have to my dad. I’m particularly fond of the very first versions of the FLDs, from late 1988 to around 1991, with the non-integrated cab/sleepers, and slightly different rear sections on the full-length step fairings. While my project isn’t really a custom build, it will make me happy to see it finished, shining in the summer sun, sitting on display at a local show. I have noticed a slightly increasing uptick in the number of custom-built Freightliner FLDs that are hitting the show scene these days, and that makes me happy. While they may seem like ordinary, overlooked trucks to most people, some of us still really love our little FLDs.
LITTLE FLD
By Trevor Hardwick
So many other kinds of rigs,
That people like to see.
And just as many other places,
They might like to be.
Like pushin some ol’ Peterbilt,
From sea, to shinin sea.
But nothing makes me smile,
Like my little FLD.
It ain’t got some extended hood,
It’s made for MPGs.
No Vortox cleaners on the cowl,
But that’s alright with me.
Up inside, there’s lots of room,
The dash ain’t hard to reach.
It’s wide inside, I ride with pride,
In my little FLD.
Developed in the 80s,
It was quite the truck to see.
Influenced by Mercedes,
It replaced the FLC.
Some folks loved the new design,
That didn’t include me!
It took a while, to make me smile,
At a little FLD.
Produced for over twenty years,
They changed the industry.
But now it’s getting hard to find,
The parts I really need.
Most were simply fleet-spec trucks,
With few amenities.
But it’s a treat each time I see,
A little FLD.
It may not be a W-9,
It may not be a Pete.
It may not be the sharpest rig,
You’ll see out on the street.
But it’s my pride and joy,
And one “Efficient Machine”.
My old freight-shakin, money-makin,
Little FLD.
She’s a fuel-efficient, wind-resistant,
Diesel-squeezer, people-pleaser.
One more way I’d like to tease her,
Before I set you free.
She’s a feather-pluckin, chicken-truckin,
Slightly-frightenin, Thunder’n-Lightnin,
Triple-digit, largecar-midget,
Piece of history.
A “rise-abover”… God I love her,
She was meant for me!
A true time capsule, set-back axle,
Little FLD!