Kids today associate Good Humor ice cream with the frozen section at the grocery store. But, back in the day, there were thousands of franchised trucks running around selling these wares on just about every street corner. This 1969 F-250 is such a converted truck and has been restored to its Good Humor glory days. Located in Rogers, Minnesota, this “cool” classic is available through a dealer here on eBay for a “chilly” $109,995. At that price, surely nobody is going to put it back into service! Hats off to “Curvette” for another tip trip down Memory Lane!
Less interesting (perhaps) than the evolution of the venerable Ford F-Series pickups is the story of Good Humor itself. According to the seller’s research, an ice cream parlor owner named Harry Burt started the company back in the 1920s. By adding a stick to an ice cream bar, the “Good Humor Ice Cream Sucker” was born, and old Harry found that the best way to peddle them would be via small trucks equipped with freezer units going from neighborhood to neighborhood.
After Corporate America got onboard upon Harry’s passing, Good Humor developed a fleet of more than 2,000 trucks at the peak. The sales focus shifted to grocery stores in the 1970s after fuel prices made operating the trucks (and franchises) more expensive. These trucks were converted Ford stock done by Hackney & Sons out of the Carolinas. 1969 versions like this one were powered by a 150 hp, 240 cubic inch inline-6 that Ford used for many of the F-Series entries. The seller’s pickup has an automatic transmission, though it sure looks like there’s a clutch pedal hanging from under the dash.
This Good Humor sales machine is said to have 20,000 miles and could be one of just 100 left to survive (in any condition). This Ford/Humor was restored to original specs, but we don’t know how recently that was. It’s said to be true to specs, including the inside freezer unit that we do not see. It still has the signature Good Humor bells to alert the local kiddies that goodies were on the way! If you were to see fit to part with six figures for this beauty, what would be your end game? Surely not selling ice cream door to door.
Chocolate Eclair ice cream 🍦 😋 bet that was a good one. 👍 Thanks Dixon.
I’d buy that for a little side business, but $5 per cone or pop cycle it would take more than my remaining lifetime to recover that investment!
The “Good Humor” truck from my childhood was an older Ford — an F-1 or at best F-150, I’m pretty sure — and had amplified bells (or a tape loop) playing the repetitive company jingle. Which, by the way, is still stuck in my head….
Good ice cream, though.
We had several trucks passing through the neighborhood: Good Humor, of course, and a GMC Suburban carrying Helms bakery products (it was worth stopping the guy to by a doughnut, just to smell the exquisite aroma of the load space), plus an early Jeep station wagon offering “fresh fish.”
Now I’m feeling nostalgic. Just not $150 Large nostalgic.
Now you’ve got me nostalgic. I remember in the early fifties, the “fruit man” came around in a 38 Dodge pick up with a rack on the back selling fresh fruits and vegetables.
Wow, I thought that this one was expensive!
https://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/d/stratford-soft-serve-mister-softee-ice/7919453707.html
Buy it & show everyone that you have WAY too much money!
The Good Humor truck I remember, early 1950s, was a Ford of that vintage with an open driver’s compartment like a town car from 1925. The driver wore a white uniform and a hat similar to a police officer or naval officer. The ice cream was way better than the competing Jack and Jill truck that mostly sold Popsicles.
The Ice Cream truck from i was a kid was a 1956 Chevy same setup as this truck his name was George. Cant remember what i had for breakfast most days but i remember the truck and his name from 56 years ago or there about’s.
Optical illusion Russ, that’s the diamond plate your seeing. There’s no clutch pedal there.
I think it is the shadow of the steering wheel hub..
If you drove one daily maybe you would have interest.
I think this falls under the heading, “looking for the right buyer!”
Questions for all; what is the purpose of the heat sink centered below the dash, and the front bumper has…a plug in? Perhaps to power up freezer on overnights?
Thanks in advance for the answers.
Cold plate freezer. Plug it in and runs the compressor that freezes down the walls.
And why not use the right wheel covers?Those are off of
an ’80’s Ford pickup.What else is wrong?
For that asking price,I’d expect everything to be correct.
Dreamsicle, DREAMSICLE, TWO-BITS!!( .25), what, none left, okay, I’ll take a Drumstick. although they just don’t seem the same coming from a Walmart freezer. I don’t recall any “Good Humor” trucks like this in Beer City, with attendants in white uniforms,,,but being a college town, there were plenty of Cushman types, or even the peddle kind, with a freezer box on the back, and some struggling college student ringing the bell, ICE CREAM MAN!!! I know, the price, but,,,I think you could easily take this to sporting events, car shows, if any, Bar Mitzvahs, the beach, and sell ice cream novelties. Some things never go out of style. Newsflash, they aren’t a quarter anymore, but sometimes, you just got to do it. Is that how people think buying $70,000 Mustangs? All relative, huh?
BTW, I still eat 2 to 3 popsicles a day, in fact, I think I’ll have one right now.
You know…… When I saw this written up ( thanks Russ) I wondered what the ratio of Truck to Ice Cream comments would be!!!
Man I want Strawberry Shortcake ice cream right now!!!! The truck looks nice, but I agree with Angliagt, period correct whell covers or hub caps for sure!!
One of our customers came to the market late one Saturday saying she had been to a funeral. She said when my time comes, I want to be hit by the ice cream truck. Seriously? Sure! Who doesn’t like ice cream? You hear the bells tinkle tinkle, step off the curb and BAM! Someone asked, did you at least get your ice cream? She replied, darn right! I’m not going out empty handed!
Amazingly Grants Pass Oregon still has a ice cream truck ply the streets in the summer. And kids still swarm out, I did too. Was a painted and postered ex mail truck, which was a good choice. The driver definately had the right vibe. No coin purchases though.
Hemi ‘Cuda, Boss 429 Mustang, Good Humor truck.. I can see it.
Brings back memories of Cosmo in Levittown NY.
Damn, I can still hear that ear-worm jingle! 🎵 da, da, da, da, -da, da, di, da🎵. Over, and over. Must have driven the driver to drink.
“I’m the friendly man who sells Good Humor, the ice cream kids all favor, made with real fresh cream and…,” (from memory, not the Goog).
Thanks for today’s earworm.
Ice Cream Man – VanHalen
That guy was awesome!
Ice Cream Man – Tom Waits
https://youtu.be/YCoRoqGz5so?si=S6KgbDK7P63BsYbg
Our hamlet of 800 people never saw any kind of ice cream truck.
Growing up in rural SE Michigan I only ever saw an ice cream truck on TV. Wasn’t until I got married and moved to a larger town in the 80s did I get to see one in person. You’re going have to want this.
At that priced, its headed for a TV auction in January.
Growing up out in the country. Never heard or saw an ice-cream truck. Only when visiting grandma in Evansville Indiana did I experience the thrill of delivered ice-cream. Although you had to run fast once you heard it. As you had to run to find a parent, plead your case for ice-cream funds, AND THEN run as fast as you can to catch the ice-cream truck. By the time you had the prize in your hand you NEEDED a “cold one”!
Having sold refrigerated trucks/vans. The plug in is called “stand by”. And yes it keeps the refrigeration working overnight when the truck is shut down/resting. Not knowing how the refrigeration on this one is set up it is strange to see a very compact condenser under the hood on the right inner fender. I would guess that the heat sink under the dash is for a power inverter.
I sold a refrigerated GMC Savana Van to a Deli/bakery in San Diego. Starting Sunday afternoon with the “stand by” plugged in they started making and storing sandwiches and other edibles. So that the driver could leave first thing Monday morning to hit all his rounds. Once he returned in mid-afternoon, the process started all over again. And so fourth until late Thursday afternoon and all day Friday, when they started loading wedding cakes. On Saturday mornings it delivered as many as 30 wedding cakes on the slide out racks that I designed and installed. I have no idea what their weekday customers did on Friday for lunch and morning coffee breaks!
I’ve got a tiny electric track model of one of these that we got for collecting boxtops in 1971! Agree with @Stan – chocolate eclair!
Wow… Crazy price. If I remember correctly you could buy the decommissioned ones back in the 80s for pennies on the dollar because nobody wanted them in NY. Pretty sure I remember a company in College Point NY that worked on them and there were at least 15 in various states for parts.
I remember this in the 1950’s in my neighborhood. Strawberry cheese cake ice cream pop, YUM.
Wanna bet some ding-a-ling ends up buying it and put ‘er on the road again? Fun never goes out of style.
I also remember the mister soffit truck in my neighborhood of massapequa ny
Everything’s relative. New equipped pickups, Jeeps, Mustangs etc are 100g’s or close. But without the ice cream on demand. 😂
Fond childhood memories from Birmingham, Michigan!!!
110k.unrealistic expectations here. dealer i really don’t want to sell it but for that price i will
This chassis is a lot newer than my memories, the 1960’s in Bridgeport and Fairfield CT. That chocolate eclair was my favorite with occasional change-up to strawberry shortcake .
When Mr. Softee started showing up years later it was bigger, a small factory on wheels (chocolate dip) and now they are prowling around here in the SanFran East Bay.
Narrow drake pedal of a manual transmission vehicle.
We lived out of town & had The Sno Cone Man.
Here in Roanoke I’ve seen an Astro van selling
ice cream treats driving around.
Love the truck, excluding the wheel covers appear to be from a mid-80s Ford Econoline van though which RUINS the entire look. Easily corrected though.