With maturity comes wisdom, and with immaturity comes today’s Nice Price or No Dice F-150 Tonka truck. Let’s see if this “big boy (or big girl) toy” is worth anything more than play money.
If you’re going to buy a ’90s Mazda, it’s going to be a Miata, right? Well, as easy as such a decision might be in the aggregate, the 1996 Mazda MX-6 coupe we looked at yesterday could make it less of a sure thing. A more powerful V6 and even better styling fall in the MX-6’s favor, and our car’s condition, low mileage, and $7,800 price tag all made it an even more viable contender. That was played out in the voting as you all gave the not-a-Miata a solid 67 percent Nice Price win.
Speaking of playing, how about taking this 2013 Ford F-150 Tonka truck to your favorite sandbox? Featuring a clean title, a modest 104,066 miles on the odometer, and an appearance that screams stunted emotional development, this special edition 4X4 crew cab pickup looks like it would be a hoot and a half.
For those unfamiliar, Tonka is a toy line best known for its large-scale metal truck and heavy equipment toys. Tonka began business just after WWII in Minnesota as Mound Metalcraft, a company set on making metal garden tools. Initially, the toy line was a secondary venture, but the stamped metal trucks, each movers, and fire equipment proved so popular that within a decade, it had become the company’s primary business with the Tonka name replacing Mound Metalcraft. Following years of acquisitions and sales, the Tonka brand is presently owned by Hasbro.
Of the company’s products, probably the most ubiquitous is the line of bright yellow heavy machinery—dump trucks, diggers and earth equipment—that the company made from the mid 1960s onward. That’s the vibe that this F-150 is attempting to capture.
There were about 300 of these licensed Tonka F-150s built in 2013 and a smaller number the following year, so it’s a fairly rare commodity. Based on a Lariat 4X4 truck, these were modified by Tuscany Motor Co. to Tonka status with badging, bodywork updates, a six-inch suspension hike, special Tonka wheels, floor mats, and a hard tonneau. Tuscany isn’t some fly-by-night conversion company, either. It has also built the F-250 Harley Davidson conversion and the Shelby American F-Series.
Under all the bright yellow paint and over-the-top styling is a standard F-150 Crew Cab with the upscale Lariat package. Powering the big truck is a middle-of-the-pack 5.0 V8 offering 360 horsepower and 380 lb-ft of torque. That’s backed up by a six-speed automatic and push-button 4WD. The cabin is typical luxo-truck, swaddled in leather seating surfaces, fake wood trim, and plenty of comfort and convenience features.
According to the dealer selling the truck, it is in excellent condition, is loaded, and drives great. Aside from that, the ad is more focused on touting the dealer’s easy financing options than on giving us anything more regarding this particular Tonka truck’s history. I guess we’ll just have to go with what we’ve got.
What we have is a $29,995 asking price. That’s apparently a recent $5k reduction, as the dealer has another, higher-priced ad showing on Craigslist. However, following the rabbit hole back to the dealer’s site confirms that $29,995 is the current price.
Will that “move the metal?” What do you think? Is this Tonka truck worth $29,995 based on the pictures, meager description, and the fact that it’s a life-sized toy? Or does that price mean that playtime is over?
You decide!
Los Angeles, California Craigslist (although the truck is in Milwaukie, Oregon) or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Don R. for the hookup!
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