coldcasecentral
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Morgan Nick Truck Pt. 2
All of us at the Cold Case Central podcast (find/follow us on Facebook) would really love to see the Morgan Nick case solved. One of the most important pieces of evidence we have is the picture of the truck released by law enforcement.
In my previous post on this thread (11/28/22), I laid out my case as to why I don’t believe that the truck in the law enforcement picture belongs to Billy Jack Lincks (the FBI’s only identified person of interest). In this post, I will attempt to further narrow down the year, make, and model of the truck based on available information.
Based on eye witness reports (see morgannickfoundation.com/about/morgans-story/ and charleyproject.org/case/morgan-chauntel-nick), the truck in the picture released by law enforcement is a short bed (which I agree with) “red Ford” with “paint dulled by age”. Assuming that both of these descriptors (“Ford” and “paint dulled by age”) are accurate-and using the picture of the truck released by law enforcement-we can begin figuring out exactly what kind of Ford it is.
I examined all models of Ford trucks via the internet going back decades from 1995. I only looked at Ford passenger trucks. C, L, N, and W Series Ford trucks (i.e. fire trucks, dump trucks, etc.) and Rancheros, Sky Rangers, and others which aren’t even close in appearance to the one in the picture were not considered.
I compared the wheel well of each generation of Ford truck to the truck in the law enforcement picture as well as the distance between the top middle of the wheel well arch to the top of the truck bed. I also looked at the distance from the right wheel well edge to the back of the truck and from the bottom of the metal to the right of the tire to the top of the bed. I believe that the taillight likely starts one to four inches below the top of the bed and runs a little longer down the bed than it appears. However, I think the taillight is too distorted in the image to be used for comparison purposes, so it was not considered in my research. Luckily, the truck in the picture appears to have a rounded, “rainbow shaped” wheel arch- which were more rare in the past than they are now (a lot of pre-1996 trucks had flatter or more horizontal wheel well arches). That made it easier to rule some of the earlier model trucks out.
Below are my findings with links so whoever is interested can see what they think (I would suggest using two screens so that each truck can be compared side-by-side with the truck in the law enforcement photo, the law enforcement photo I had enhanced, or both).
*I have ruled out the truck in the law enforcement picture as being a Ford F-1 or F-100 (produced from 1948-1983) due to the wheel arch and other criteria mentioned above. See this article for reference/pics: cjponyparts.com/resources/f-100-history
*I have ruled out all Ford F-150s and other F-series trucks (i.e. F-250, F-350) earlier than 1987 based on my comparison criteria (F-150s/F-250s/F-350s apparently looked the same cosmetically as F-150s- just had different mechanical parts). 1987-1991 F-series wheel wells are a closer match than earlier F-series as they are more rounded, but it does not appear to me that the sides of the wheel well “rainbow” extend far enough toward the ground and it looks like there is a little more sheet metal above the rear tire and to the right of the rear tire than the truck in the law enforcement picture (and not enough towards the ground to the right of the tire). 1992-1995 F-series also have rounded wheel wells. However, like the 1987-1991 F-series, it does not appear that the sides of the “rainbow” extend far enough to the ground and it looks like there is a little more sheet metal above the rear tire and to the right of the rear tire than the truck in the law enforcement picture (and not enough towards the ground to the right of the tire). Additionally, the 1987-1995 F-series trucks that I reviewed have a fuel door behind the driver’s side rear wheel (admittedly they can be hard to see in pictures). I wish the FBI could enhance the picture enough to be able to see if there is a fuel door on the rear of the truck in the picture. If there isn’t, that eliminates the possibility that it is a 1987-1995 Ford F-series truck (F-150/F-250/F/350)- which in turn eliminates the possibility that the truck in the picture is a Ford F-series of any year. See this article for F-Series pictures: www.caranddriver.com/features/g23897696/ford-f-series-pickup-truck-history/
*1972-1982 Ford Courier (American and Canadian markets-Ford Ranger took its place in 1983). Ruled out due to above criteria. See this article for reference/pics: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Courier
1985-1995 Couriers sold overseas more closely match the truck picture than the generation that were sold in America. It would be awesome if the truck was a 1985-1995 Courier imported from somewhere else because that truck would be so rare that the perpetrator could be easily identified. However, those models had tie-downs on the bed and black outer B-Pillar trim that is not visible in the law enforcement picture.
*1983-1995 Ford Ranger: Can’t be a Ford Ranger earlier than 1993 based on my comparison criteria. Ranger wheel well arches were rounded between 1993 and 1995 and flatter on pre-1993 generations. The rounded wheel wells and the other comparison criteria listed above seems to me to make the 1993-1995 Ford Ranger a closer match to the truck in the picture than the truck in the picture is to an F-150. However, the camper in the picture is described as being 4-5 inches too short for the truck bed. Most camper shells would either fit a short bed Ranger or be too big for it as it is a compact truck. You would be hard pressed back then to find a truck with a smaller bed than a short bed Ford Ranger or Chevy S-10 (which also has strong similarities to the truck in the picture- as does the GMC S-15/Sonoma- which is basically a rebadged S-10). See this article for Ford Ranger pictures: History of the Ford Ranger
Conclusion:
Comparing the non-arch bed-related criteria (distance across sheet metal to certain points) makes me think that maybe the truck it isn’t a “Ford” with “paint dulled by age”. However, for this research, I went with the assumption that the description released by law enforcement is correct and that the truck is a Ford with paint dulled by age. Therefore, I disregarded the non-arch bed related criteria that I thought might eliminate all Ford trucks. I decided to consider all Ford trucks with wheel wells that were rounded at the top half like the one in the picture to be acceptable candidates even if I wasn’t sure that the non-arch bed-related criteria fit. If the truck in the picture really is a Ford with paint dulled by age, using the process of elimination narrows things down quite a bit. It is my belief that if the truck is a Ford it would most likely be a 1993-1995 Ford Ranger or 1987-1995 F-series. However, a 1993-1995 Ford Ranger that is zero to two years-old in 1995 likely would not have “paint dulled by age”. If the truck in the picture had “paint dulled by age”, that effectively eliminates the possibility that the truck in the picture is a Ford Ranger of any year. Likewise, a 9th Generation (1992-1995) F-150 or other F-series truck likely would not have “paint dulled by age” in 1995. That means that in order for the statement, “The truck in the picture is a red Ford with paint dulled by age” to be true, the truck would have to be an 8th Generation (1987-1991) F-series truck (F-150/F-250/F-350) as that is the only truck that had a rounded fender well like in the picture that might be old enough to have dull paint (1987-1991 F-150, F-250, & F-350 trucks apparently looked the same cosmetically- just had different mechanical parts).
If both descriptors (“Ford” & “paint dulled by age”) are deemed accurate), then I think we have a good idea what the truck we are looking for looks like. If one of the two descriptors isn’t true then that changes things a lot.
If BOTH of the descriptors (“Ford” and “paint dulled by age”) are correct, the truck we and law enforcement would need to be looking for is pictured below (1987-1991 Ford F-Series). However, the truck bed in the 1987-1991 F-Series truck pictured below does not seem to me to be a close enough match to the truck bed in the law enforcement picture or the picture we had enhanced. Therefore, I am not convinced that BOTH descriptors (“Ford” and “paint dulled by age”) are correct (one of those two descriptors may be accurate).
I would love for law enforcement to confirm that the description of the truck as a Ford with paint dulled by age is actually from a witness or witnesses (hopefully more than one as eye witness testimony is notoriously unreliable a lot of the time) at the ball park that night and not from another incident that law enforcement thought might be connected to Morgan’s abduction.
Caveat: My observations and conclusions are being drawn from a highly distorted image and a clearer picture could absolutely prove me wrong. If I have any incorrect or missing information in this post, please let me know. Always open to thoughts and feedback and I’m willing to change my opinion on the above if new or additional information warrants. You can post here, message us, or email us at coldcasecentral@gmail.com. Thanks.
All of us at the Cold Case Central podcast (find/follow us on Facebook) would really love to see the Morgan Nick case solved. One of the most important pieces of evidence we have is the picture of the truck released by law enforcement.
In my previous post on this thread (11/28/22), I laid out my case as to why I don’t believe that the truck in the law enforcement picture belongs to Billy Jack Lincks (the FBI’s only identified person of interest). In this post, I will attempt to further narrow down the year, make, and model of the truck based on available information.
Based on eye witness reports (see morgannickfoundation.com/about/morgans-story/ and charleyproject.org/case/morgan-chauntel-nick), the truck in the picture released by law enforcement is a short bed (which I agree with) “red Ford” with “paint dulled by age”. Assuming that both of these descriptors (“Ford” and “paint dulled by age”) are accurate-and using the picture of the truck released by law enforcement-we can begin figuring out exactly what kind of Ford it is.
I examined all models of Ford trucks via the internet going back decades from 1995. I only looked at Ford passenger trucks. C, L, N, and W Series Ford trucks (i.e. fire trucks, dump trucks, etc.) and Rancheros, Sky Rangers, and others which aren’t even close in appearance to the one in the picture were not considered.
I compared the wheel well of each generation of Ford truck to the truck in the law enforcement picture as well as the distance between the top middle of the wheel well arch to the top of the truck bed. I also looked at the distance from the right wheel well edge to the back of the truck and from the bottom of the metal to the right of the tire to the top of the bed. I believe that the taillight likely starts one to four inches below the top of the bed and runs a little longer down the bed than it appears. However, I think the taillight is too distorted in the image to be used for comparison purposes, so it was not considered in my research. Luckily, the truck in the picture appears to have a rounded, “rainbow shaped” wheel arch- which were more rare in the past than they are now (a lot of pre-1996 trucks had flatter or more horizontal wheel well arches). That made it easier to rule some of the earlier model trucks out.
Below are my findings with links so whoever is interested can see what they think (I would suggest using two screens so that each truck can be compared side-by-side with the truck in the law enforcement photo, the law enforcement photo I had enhanced, or both).
*I have ruled out the truck in the law enforcement picture as being a Ford F-1 or F-100 (produced from 1948-1983) due to the wheel arch and other criteria mentioned above. See this article for reference/pics: cjponyparts.com/resources/f-100-history
*I have ruled out all Ford F-150s and other F-series trucks (i.e. F-250, F-350) earlier than 1987 based on my comparison criteria (F-150s/F-250s/F-350s apparently looked the same cosmetically as F-150s- just had different mechanical parts). 1987-1991 F-series wheel wells are a closer match than earlier F-series as they are more rounded, but it does not appear to me that the sides of the wheel well “rainbow” extend far enough toward the ground and it looks like there is a little more sheet metal above the rear tire and to the right of the rear tire than the truck in the law enforcement picture (and not enough towards the ground to the right of the tire). 1992-1995 F-series also have rounded wheel wells. However, like the 1987-1991 F-series, it does not appear that the sides of the “rainbow” extend far enough to the ground and it looks like there is a little more sheet metal above the rear tire and to the right of the rear tire than the truck in the law enforcement picture (and not enough towards the ground to the right of the tire). Additionally, the 1987-1995 F-series trucks that I reviewed have a fuel door behind the driver’s side rear wheel (admittedly they can be hard to see in pictures). I wish the FBI could enhance the picture enough to be able to see if there is a fuel door on the rear of the truck in the picture. If there isn’t, that eliminates the possibility that it is a 1987-1995 Ford F-series truck (F-150/F-250/F/350)- which in turn eliminates the possibility that the truck in the picture is a Ford F-series of any year. See this article for F-Series pictures: www.caranddriver.com/features/g23897696/ford-f-series-pickup-truck-history/
*1972-1982 Ford Courier (American and Canadian markets-Ford Ranger took its place in 1983). Ruled out due to above criteria. See this article for reference/pics: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Courier
1985-1995 Couriers sold overseas more closely match the truck picture than the generation that were sold in America. It would be awesome if the truck was a 1985-1995 Courier imported from somewhere else because that truck would be so rare that the perpetrator could be easily identified. However, those models had tie-downs on the bed and black outer B-Pillar trim that is not visible in the law enforcement picture.
*1983-1995 Ford Ranger: Can’t be a Ford Ranger earlier than 1993 based on my comparison criteria. Ranger wheel well arches were rounded between 1993 and 1995 and flatter on pre-1993 generations. The rounded wheel wells and the other comparison criteria listed above seems to me to make the 1993-1995 Ford Ranger a closer match to the truck in the picture than the truck in the picture is to an F-150. However, the camper in the picture is described as being 4-5 inches too short for the truck bed. Most camper shells would either fit a short bed Ranger or be too big for it as it is a compact truck. You would be hard pressed back then to find a truck with a smaller bed than a short bed Ford Ranger or Chevy S-10 (which also has strong similarities to the truck in the picture- as does the GMC S-15/Sonoma- which is basically a rebadged S-10). See this article for Ford Ranger pictures: History of the Ford Ranger
Conclusion:
Comparing the non-arch bed-related criteria (distance across sheet metal to certain points) makes me think that maybe the truck it isn’t a “Ford” with “paint dulled by age”. However, for this research, I went with the assumption that the description released by law enforcement is correct and that the truck is a Ford with paint dulled by age. Therefore, I disregarded the non-arch bed related criteria that I thought might eliminate all Ford trucks. I decided to consider all Ford trucks with wheel wells that were rounded at the top half like the one in the picture to be acceptable candidates even if I wasn’t sure that the non-arch bed-related criteria fit. If the truck in the picture really is a Ford with paint dulled by age, using the process of elimination narrows things down quite a bit. It is my belief that if the truck is a Ford it would most likely be a 1993-1995 Ford Ranger or 1987-1995 F-series. However, a 1993-1995 Ford Ranger that is zero to two years-old in 1995 likely would not have “paint dulled by age”. If the truck in the picture had “paint dulled by age”, that effectively eliminates the possibility that the truck in the picture is a Ford Ranger of any year. Likewise, a 9th Generation (1992-1995) F-150 or other F-series truck likely would not have “paint dulled by age” in 1995. That means that in order for the statement, “The truck in the picture is a red Ford with paint dulled by age” to be true, the truck would have to be an 8th Generation (1987-1991) F-series truck (F-150/F-250/F-350) as that is the only truck that had a rounded fender well like in the picture that might be old enough to have dull paint (1987-1991 F-150, F-250, & F-350 trucks apparently looked the same cosmetically- just had different mechanical parts).
If both descriptors (“Ford” & “paint dulled by age”) are deemed accurate), then I think we have a good idea what the truck we are looking for looks like. If one of the two descriptors isn’t true then that changes things a lot.
If BOTH of the descriptors (“Ford” and “paint dulled by age”) are correct, the truck we and law enforcement would need to be looking for is pictured below (1987-1991 Ford F-Series). However, the truck bed in the 1987-1991 F-Series truck pictured below does not seem to me to be a close enough match to the truck bed in the law enforcement picture or the picture we had enhanced. Therefore, I am not convinced that BOTH descriptors (“Ford” and “paint dulled by age”) are correct (one of those two descriptors may be accurate).
I would love for law enforcement to confirm that the description of the truck as a Ford with paint dulled by age is actually from a witness or witnesses (hopefully more than one as eye witness testimony is notoriously unreliable a lot of the time) at the ball park that night and not from another incident that law enforcement thought might be connected to Morgan’s abduction.
Caveat: My observations and conclusions are being drawn from a highly distorted image and a clearer picture could absolutely prove me wrong. If I have any incorrect or missing information in this post, please let me know. Always open to thoughts and feedback and I’m willing to change my opinion on the above if new or additional information warrants. You can post here, message us, or email us at coldcasecentral@gmail.com. Thanks.
