Working pickup trucks get no respect. No garage time, no trips to the car wash, no love. Just pickups with rust but not respect. The proof of that is these Rusty Monday pickups are workhorses that in some cases continue to serve with half of their bodies eaten by the rust worm. In other cases they’ve been abandoned to go back to the earth from whence they came. Either way, they served their owners well with no regard.

We couldn’t tell you what this started as which we typically are able to do on Rusty Monday. It is Jeep-like in some cases but the separate windshield mounted on the cowl has us stumped. When we talk about “going back to Mother Earth” this is the image that should come to mind. It is only a matter of time before there will be nothing left. 

No Respect

There is enough left of this pickup to tell what it is. These 1967-1972 Chevy pickups are quite collectible right now. While this one is really far gone it looks to have some parts that could be scavenged for someone’s project. The rust has taken over to such an extent that almost the entire passenger side of the bed is gone. As for the driver’s side, it appears to have already rusted away. This truck got no love but at least parts of it should make it onto somebody else’s truck.

This Ford F1 flatbed looks to be in fairly complete condition except for whatever is below the waterline. It seems odd that what was once a decent-looking work truck got dumped into the lake. The first of the F1s, the early front end tells you it is a 1948-1950 variety. As it sits there look to be plenty of decent parts and maybe it retains its flathead engine. As good flathead blocks are getting harder to find this could be a score for someone enterprising enough to investigate. Unfortunately, we have no idea where this is located.

No Regrets

This old Dodge/Ram truck from the mid-2000s is still plying the highways. We see a trailer hitch below the rust but from the looks of things, we wouldn’t try to tow anything. While it is doing yeoman’s work a couple more of those Ohio winters and this will either be scrapped or parked. As bumpers are typically thicker metal than bodies we can only suspect that this pickup hauls salt in the winter. The bumper has been eaten clear through and is taking some of the tailgate with it. 

Unloved and left to rot. This makes quite a compelling reason to undercoat your car or truck if you live in a climate that needs salt to keep the roads from getting iced over. As with the previous version of Chevy pickup, these 1973-1987 “square bodies” are steadily rising in price. But not this one. Even the back of the top has rusted away. We don’t even know how that can happen. We can’t imagine a pickup in worse shape.

Rust In Peace

Forget what we said about not being able to imagine a pickup in worse shape. This looks to have once been a dually. With nothing to attach those big fiberglass dually fenders onto they are now missing. And the bed has been compromised to the extent that it has collapsed in the middle. Gliding over the train tracks old pickups car rattle, but we suspect this one wiggles around and maybe even pops doors open. We doubt this saw much more service after this image was shot.