Home » Ford Trucks Once Offered What Might Be The Strangest Accessory You Ever Saw

Ford Trucks Once Offered What Might Be The Strangest Accessory You Ever Saw

Chainsaw 6 1 Topshot 2

We know that car companies sometimes install odd equipment in their products. Floors of Honda CR-Vs that turn into tables? It happened. A carry-away drink cooler and camping tent? We got both in one car (the Aztek).  These features appeared to be as bizarre as they were rather un-car-like; there are far more that I’m just becoming aware of now.

In the seventies, Ford dealers offered an unlikely option for the “dentside” F-250 that had less to do with motor vehicles than it did forestry. Yes, this is the bizarre story of the Ford chain saw.

Vidframe Min Top
Vidframe Min Bottom

The Dearborn Chain Saw Mass Marketing

Over the years, Ford has been associated with building far more things than cars. The Ford Tri-Motor was an early foray into commercial aircraft, and Mercedes Streeter wrote about the years-long efforts by Ford to make headway into the semi-truck market. Tractors with the Blue Oval also roamed farms across America for years.

Ford Ford Ltl 9000 Tractor Truck Ford Lt Aeromax
source: Ford

Still, the whole idea of Ford-branded chain saws seems like a was a stretch. Actually, that farm equipment seems to have been the onus for Ford to start offering these power tools. I’m not sure you ever were able go into an ACE Hardware or a similar store and actually purchase a chainsaw with FORD on it. Supposedly, these saws were primarily offered as dealer promotional items or bundled gifts with new tractors in this era where Ford was struggling to get sales in agricultural equipment before ultimately abandoning the market. With their Ford-blue housings and big branding, they were a great, useable promotional piece.

Ford Chain Saw 3 6 1
source: ebay

Surprisingly, they weren’t the only car company with their name on chain saws. Honda has been known forever as a maker of essentially anything with an engine in it from generators to motorcycles; chain saws are just one of the umpteen gas-powered (and electric) tools they make and sell.

Honda Chain Saw 6 1
source: Honda
Hyundai also makes tree-cutters among their many products. I could swear that there were Mitsubishi-built saws as well but I’m not finding them among the many non-car products they make.
Hyundai Saw 6 1
source: Hyundai
However, Ford didn’t go to nearly the trouble that these Japanese brands went through; in fact, they didn’t actually manufacture these saws at all. Ford basically put their branding onto blue cases of saws made by Ohlsson & Rice. Examples of their “Challenger” products were renamed the “Eagle”, using a single-cylinder 2.0 cu. in. O&R engine that supposedly generated about 1.6 horsepower. There was also a smaller “Hawk” model as well with a 1.24 cubinc inch motor; the “Hawk” I, II, and III models were all the same but had either a 12″, 14″, or 16″ bars. I bet that’s more chain saw specifications than you expected or needed to get today.
Ford Saws 6 1
source: Ford
Ford offered the saws from 1970 all the up to around 1976, but somebody must have seen an opportunity to market the saws beyond just stand-alone giveaways. What if you could put one, Motocompo-style, into a heavy-duty Ford vehicle?

PS, PB, A/C, Saw

Today, the area under the hood of a pickup is often obscured with big plastic trim panels, or every surface is covered with some kind of sensors, emission equipment or accessories. This wasn’t the case in the seventies, as there typically was acres of available space beneath the bonnet. Ford’s so-called “bumpside” 1967 -72 and “dentside” 1973-70 pickups were no exception.
Ford F 250 6 1
source: Exotic Car Trader
Larger F-250 trucks had big voids ahead of the front wheel wells. One side was filled with the battery, but the other was wide open.
F250 Under Hood 6 1
source: Bring A Trailer
That space on the “captain’s” side was actually large enough to actually allow a full-sized chain saw to fit. Click here to see the video the image below is a taken from.
Screenshot 2026 06 01 151851
source: Youtube screenshot
You can imagine Mister 1975 with his giant mustache, big-collar flannel shirt [Editor’s Note: I think I know that dude? – JT] and puffer vest trying to push his massive four-by-four though the forest and getting blocked by some beautiful timber. He would just hop out, light up a Marlboro, open the hood and grab his FORD chain saw and show Mother Earth that she ain’t nothing in the face of Dearborn’s finest. Or wherever they made that saw.
Ford Chain Saw 3 6 1
source: ebay
Some websites have erroneously called these saws “factory options”, yet I see no evidence of these things being any more than dealer-installed trinkets. I’m having a hard time finding images of the actual bracketry to hold them in place, but it wouldn’t be a tough thing to create.
Ford Saw 2 6 1
source: ebay
The saws were kept relatively clean, dry, and away from potential saw thieves by hiding them under the hood. That’s almost ironic when you see Jeeps and Land Rovers in school pick up lines visibly covered in shovels, jacks, and water tanks right out in the open that will never actually be used. Go figure.

My Money Is On The Honda, Of Course

Reportedly, even by contemporary standards the Ford chain saws were at best not sepctacular products, or cheap, junky and unreliable at worst. Maybe not surprisingly, items given away by a motor vehicle dealer were hardly competitive with professional-level Stihl or Husqvarna saws. Maybe as a Harbor Freight-style use-it-a-few-times product they’d work, but if you tried to clear a section of forest, you’d find them lacking. Still, remaining ones are prized collector’s items; for less-than-great old tools they go for serious money. The one in the pictures above sold on ebay not long ago for a whopping $650. That’s expensive but admittedly something that would look great if put into the engine compartment of your fully restored classic “dentside” F-250.
Are you thinking what I’m thinking? That’s right! We need to go onto ebay and buy a Ford, Honda and Hyundai chain saw for a head-to-head test of cutting out the latest set of batteries in the Changli! Place your bets now.
source: Ford, Youtube screenshot
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Guillaume Maurice
Guillaume Maurice
1 month ago

Just don’t go down the Peugeot rabbit hole when it comes to weird stuff with a car company logo on it… You won’t leave that rabbit hole sane. (and yes saws are involved, , but that’s just what lies at the top of the hole)

Last edited 1 month ago by Guillaume Maurice
Brau Beaton
Brau Beaton
1 month ago

Pretty sure Ford chainsaws were an option for people like Torch who need it to remove the battery. I understand they can be used to carve winter treads into all-season tires as well.

MaximillianMeen
Member
MaximillianMeen
1 month ago

Ford really needs to revisit this with the F150 Lightning. Think of how many (battery) power tools you can fit under its hood! They could rebrand damn near every Ryobi cordless tool short of their riding mower and stick ’em in there.

Erik Hancock
Erik Hancock
1 month ago

I worked for Kohler once upon a time. What I observed there is that once you have a small engines division, it seems necessary to get your engines into every possible application. Generators, tools, equipment, various kinds of motorsport, watersport, airsport, whatever. I don’t know if it is the nature of the technology, but I guess it’s hard to be profitable in that market if you aren’t as diverse as possible.

Andy Individual
Andy Individual
1 month ago

That explains why I’ve seen bar oil dripping out of the engine bay. At least I think it explains it.

Some 30 years ago I found an old Mercury branded chainsaw in a shed at my inlaws cottage. Probably associated with Mercury Marine. That thing was insane. 30″ bar, no break, weighed a ton. Probably had an outboard motor. I got it to run pretty easily, but then I promptly disposed of it before someone hurt themselves.

Urban Runabout
Member
Urban Runabout
1 month ago

You gotta remember – In the 60’s to early 70’s, Ford Dealers were the Tractor Supply Hardware of their times.

You could pull up and get your Portable Radio, Portable TV (Philco), Tractor, Semi, Pickup, sporty coupe and near-luxury sedan all from the same store!

Nlpnt
Member
Nlpnt
1 month ago
Reply to  Urban Runabout

My grandma had a Philco-Ford fridge.

Redapple
Redapple
1 month ago
Reply to  Nlpnt

did it run on natural gas? some did

Nlpnt
Member
Nlpnt
1 month ago
Reply to  Redapple

I don’t think so but they did have a gas range.

Redapple
Redapple
1 month ago
Reply to  Nlpnt

no. some fridges operated on natural gas

Urban Runabout
Member
Urban Runabout
1 month ago
Reply to  Nlpnt

My Grandma had a Philco-Ford Washer/Dryer set too – and it was a gas dryer.

Mpphoto
Member
Mpphoto
1 month ago
Reply to  Urban Runabout

Ford dealers sold grills and charcoal briquettes during the 1930s-1940s. I swear there was an article on The Autopian about this, but I can’t find it. Must’ve been somewhere else.

https://www.thehenryford.org/collections/explore/artifact/343852?AssetId=THF8426

Urban Runabout
Member
Urban Runabout
1 month ago
Reply to  Mpphoto

Well, and if we’re going back that far – Ford built passenger airplanes too….

Canopysaurus
Member
Canopysaurus
1 month ago

Oh, cut it out.

Data
Data
1 month ago
Reply to  Canopysaurus

I hear this in the voice of Dave Coulier complete with hand gestures.

Abdominal Snoman
Member
Abdominal Snoman
1 month ago

I was at a VW parts counter with a friend and saw a cool USB charging cable that was lightning on one side, micro-USB on the other, and had a molded in adapter to turn it into a USB-C cable. In typical VW fashion it quit working after 5 days 🙁

JayJay
JayJay
1 month ago

I love engine room storage! Utilitarian, there when you need it, and out of the way under daily use of the vehicle.

I have jumper cables, tools, tow rope, extra engine oil and a high visibility vest down in the already quite crowded engine bay of the Figaro.

My VW Eurovan has LOADS of space in one side, saw one install the leisure battery there, think I’m doing that also, when I get to it..

Last edited 1 month ago by JayJay
GirchyGirchy
Member
GirchyGirchy
1 month ago
Reply to  JayJay

Some ’88-’98 GM trucks had little enclosed tool boxes in the spot where diesels had their second battery, same spot as the chainsaws in this article. I picked one up for mine, couldn’t not have it.

Sklooner
Member
Sklooner
1 month ago

Perfect for road rage

Urban Runabout
Member
Urban Runabout
1 month ago
Reply to  Sklooner

Or Teen Rage.
In Texas.

Peter Spinale
Peter Spinale
1 month ago
Reply to  Sklooner

hahhaa
Two cars exchange gestures, then words.. the vehicles pull over and the sedan driver opens his trunk while the truck driver opens his hood.. As the sedan driver locates his tire iron, and slams the trunk closed ready to dispatch highway shoulder justice he can hear over the whoosh of the traffic; bluuurt…blurrt… blur-ring-a-ding bwaaaaaaaaa..baaawaaaaaa..

He climbs back into his car and slowly drives away…

Sklooner
Member
Sklooner
1 month ago
Reply to  Peter Spinale

Better than Trunk Monkey, it’s Hood Chainsaw !! or maybe combine them

RHM 31
RHM 31
1 month ago

I would expect that the chainsaws were sold at the Ford tractor dealerships. There was an agricultural dealer not far from where I grew up that handled Ford tractors and all the accessories.

Wilbur
Wilbur
1 month ago

My 1967 F100 had not one, but TWO (mostly useless) bottle jacks and their appurtenances held in metal jackets in the space where you show the chainsaw. I imagine that over time that shelf has held a garage’s worth of tools and equipment suitable for all the different bump owners over the decades.

Lincoln Clown CaR
Member
Lincoln Clown CaR
1 month ago

And then in the 90s people started installing leaf blowers under the hoods of their Hondas. Cheap turbo!

Jatkat
Jatkat
1 month ago

We had a mitsubishi built leaf blower when I was a kid. I’ve never seen one apart from that one. It was probably early 80’s era? I can imagine they built saws too.
On a more related note- I do a lot of 4x4ing here on the Olympic Peninsula, mounting the saw under the hood would be a maaajor hassle, when you have to stop and fire up the saw every few hundred yards or so. I keep mine slotted into my spare wheel on the ol’ tracker.

Aaronaut
Member
Aaronaut
1 month ago
Reply to  Jatkat

Our giant (CRT, of course) TV growing up was a Mitsubishi. 0-60 in never!

Sid Bridge
Sid Bridge
1 month ago
Reply to  Aaronaut

I have a Daewoo CRT TV.

Aaronaut
Member
Aaronaut
1 month ago
Reply to  Sid Bridge

Rebadge it as a Chevy?

AlfaSigma
AlfaSigma
1 month ago
Reply to  Jatkat

They used to also make planes that were extremely unpopular in the US, especially in Hawaii.

Jatkat
Jatkat
1 month ago
Reply to  AlfaSigma

I think the Zero would have been fairly popular if it hadn’t have been associated with certain boat related events

AlfaSigma
AlfaSigma
1 month ago
Reply to  Jatkat

They certainly were superior in speed and maneuverability to what we had at the time. Fortunately, we improved our air game. Thank God for the Corsair with the Pratt and the P-51 with it’s glorious Rolls Merlin engine! Like the AK-47 in Heartbreak Ridge, the Merlin “makes a very distinctive sound” and it’s f√ckin’ spectacula'(with Mancunian accent)!

Last edited 1 month ago by AlfaSigma
Hugh Crawford
Member
Hugh Crawford
1 month ago
Reply to  AlfaSigma

They were faster and more maneuverable because they had no armor plating to protect the pilot, engine, or fuel tanks. After all you don’t need any of that stuff if you don’t let anybody shoot at you.

Cheap Bastard
Member
Cheap Bastard
1 month ago
Reply to  Hugh Crawford

Or if it’s a one way trip.

Dan G.
Member
Dan G.
1 month ago
Reply to  AlfaSigma

Kawasaki too. And Subaru’s ancestor company.

Last edited 1 month ago by Dan G.
AlfaSigma
AlfaSigma
1 month ago
Reply to  AlfaSigma

*They also used to…

JumboG
JumboG
1 month ago

I remember my 78 F-150 has just as much room under the hood as the F-250 you have shown. Also, seems like a better place to keep the chainsaw would have been the available bedside storage compartment in dentside Ford trucks.

Mechjaz
Member
Mechjaz
1 month ago

I’ll try to be polite in asking you guys not to make gotcha topshots that exploit (as opposed to appeal to) curiosity to get people to click. If it was something vulgar you don’t want front and center on the site, that’s fine. But, once again, you don’t have “one weird trick!” us into reading around here.

Edit: added a word for clarity.

Last edited 1 month ago by Mechjaz
OverlandingSprinter
Member
OverlandingSprinter
1 month ago
Reply to  Mechjaz

…the strangest accessory you ever saw.

Bishop is guilty of a pun, but not a “one weird trick” headline.

Mechjaz
Member
Mechjaz
1 month ago

This one is closer to a joke than some others I’ve seen, but why not just show the saw and make the joke right up front rather than pixelate it out? Was the punchline not able to stand on its own and thus had to use dark patterns from around the web to game a little more clickthrough?

Cloud Shouter
Cloud Shouter
1 month ago

Ford F Series cuts up the competition.

Sid Bridge
Sid Bridge
1 month ago

Chrysler… The ONLY chainsaw for rich, Corinthian Leatherface.

Church
Member
Church
1 month ago
Reply to  Sid Bridge

COTD material for sure.

Spikedlemon
Spikedlemon
1 month ago
Reply to  Sid Bridge

Corinthian Leatherface’s sad backstory: a 4XE chainsaw sadly catching fire and burning him, leaving him bitter with the world, and resentful to the world but so unflinchingly loyal to Stellantis-branded products that he needs to excise 7 slots in the front end of anyone to get too close to him.

Mechjaz
Member
Mechjaz
1 month ago
Reply to  Sid Bridge

Made from real rich Corinthians!

Scott
Member
Scott
1 month ago

Thouhg I know it wasn’t meant to be an exhaustive list, in your opening paragraph, you might have included Fiat’s in-car espresso maker in their 500L. As much as I’d like to have it in my car (though I admit it probably wouldn’t get used all that often 😉 ) it’s not enticing enough to convince me to hunt down a properly optioned 500L in real life.

Jack Trade
Member
Jack Trade
1 month ago

Mr. 1975 sure sounds like the Brawny paper towel man as well.

Burt Curry
Member
Burt Curry
1 month ago
Reply to  Jack Trade

And he uses the paper towels for toilet paper!

Mike F.
Member
Mike F.
1 month ago
Reply to  Burt Curry

Wrapped around the blade of his chainsaw.

SAABstory
Member
SAABstory
1 month ago
Reply to  Jack Trade

Forgot that when he got out of the truck and lit a Marlboro, before grabbing the chainsaw, he also cracked an Olympia beer.

Lizardman in a human suit
Lizardman in a human suit
1 month ago
Reply to  SAABstory

After throwing the empty in the bed, and picking up the ones he drank on the way down the road that fell out of the door. And this ain’t made up, I knew a guy like that.

Disphenoidal
Member
Disphenoidal
1 month ago

That sure looks like a battery powered Honda chainsaw to me.

Paul B
Member
Paul B
1 month ago

One thing about gas chainsaws:

They don’t take well to just sitting around being unused. The carbs will clog real quick, the bar oil will either all leak out or thicken up.

Even a chainsaw in good condition, especially that vintage, can be a pain to start from cold.

"Redneck" Mark
"Redneck" Mark
1 month ago
Reply to  Paul B

That’s why I think electric chainsaws are the best choice for most people. I see home generators the same way. By the time you need them they’ve been sitting for so long you can’t get them started unless you kick out big money for one with an automatic maintenance cycle.

4moremazdas
Member
4moremazdas
1 month ago
Reply to  "Redneck" Mark

We’re at the point where for practically all yard equipment there’s an electric version that will be the better option for homeowners. If you’re a landscaper you might need gas blowers, weed trimmers, etc, but as a weekend warrior I can’t think of anything aside from a riding mower that you’re better off getting gas equipment.

"Redneck" Mark
"Redneck" Mark
1 month ago
Reply to  4moremazdas

They’ve got so good and so convenient with the intercompatible batteries these days, too. I used to buy wired tools because I didn’t use power tools often enough to keep the batteries in good shape but you don’t even need to worry much about that any more.

Last edited 1 month ago by "Redneck" Mark
Jdoubledub
Member
Jdoubledub
1 month ago
Reply to  4moremazdas

Nevermind.

Last edited 1 month ago by Jdoubledub
Knowonelse
Member
Knowonelse
1 month ago
Reply to  "Redneck" Mark

As for a generator option that is always (well usually) fueled up, regularly (right?) maintained, and you have a hybrid or PHEV (some can, some can’t), use that! We used our Rav4 PHEV to power essentials in our house two days ago when the power went out and necessities like CPAP, and fridge for insulin needed to be kept with power. The expected power-on was in the middle of the night, so I ran extension cords to the essentials (which include router, right?), and of course about a half hour after running the cords, the power came back on. A couple of years ago, we were without power for 10 days, and to power up everything except the big fridge used about a gallon of gas per day. We started with a quality inverter clamped to the battery in our Prius, but the fancy Rav4 has a 120v outlet, no inverter needed!

Spikedlemon
Spikedlemon
1 month ago
Reply to  Knowonelse

I think for most folks that have questionable electrical robustness, or for disaster recovery: a few inexpensive solar panels, and a basic inverter with even a small battery (that can charge off the grid if needed) would be cheaper and far less maintenance than a backup generator that is infrequently used.

JumboG
JumboG
1 month ago
Reply to  Knowonelse

I think one problem is the one thing people most want to power is the big fridge! I tried running it from my C-Max and the fuse for the outlet immediately popped.

Knowonelse
Member
Knowonelse
1 month ago
Reply to  JumboG

That’s why we have a mini-fridge for the insulin. Our big fridge is built-in, so even more challenging to power. Wells and big fridges use a large start-up load which are beyond the capacity of any e-vehicle without a large instant-load capaciy.

"Redneck" Mark
"Redneck" Mark
1 month ago
Reply to  "Redneck" Mark

The last time we had a power outage I was jealous of people with F150 lightnings powering their homes.

MondialMatt
Member
MondialMatt
1 month ago
Reply to  Paul B

Like every other “barn find…” but you don’t need to Bring a Trailer to take this one home.

Mechjaz
Member
Mechjaz
1 month ago
Reply to  Paul B

In my experience, they don’t take well to being used, either.

Last edited 1 month ago by Mechjaz
Alexk98
Member
Alexk98
1 month ago

Reportedly, even by contemporary standards the Ford chain saws were at best not sepctacular products, or cheap, junky and unreliable at worst.

Wait you mean to tell me a Ford branded product wasn’t very reliable? Noooooo I would never believe that, that’s simply never been true of anything Ford has ever made…

Fordlover1983
Member
Fordlover1983
1 month ago

Is there anything that Hyundai DOESN’T make? Your Hyundai car can be loaded with a Hyundai crane, from a Hyundai trailer, onto a Hyundai ship.

TheDrunkenWrench
Member
TheDrunkenWrench
1 month ago
Reply to  Fordlover1983

And when the power goes out, you can use a Hyundai generator to charge your Hyundai car!

TheDrunkenWrench
Member
TheDrunkenWrench
1 month ago
Reply to  The Bishop

NO ONE LIKES THE TUNA HERE.

Burt Curry
Member
Burt Curry
1 month ago
Reply to  Fordlover1983

Back in the 80’s, I had a Fuji car, (Subaru), a Fuji mountain bike, and used Fuji film in my 35mm SLR camera. I’m not sure they were all the same company, but it’s likely.

ColoradoFX4
Member
ColoradoFX4
1 month ago
Reply to  Fordlover1983

Being one of South Korea’s primary chaebols, yeah, not much the Hyundai name isn’t going to be on.

Abdominal Snoman
Member
Abdominal Snoman
1 month ago
Reply to  Fordlover1983

I still have 2 Hyundai CRT monitors. At the time they were the only ones other than the super pricey Sony aperture grille monitors that could exceed 1600X1200 resolution at 85Hz.

Spikedlemon
Spikedlemon
1 month ago

FWIW: much of the Hyundai power equipment is rebranded stuff that’s barely differentiated from Harbor Freight branded stuff.

If that Ford chainsaw is built to the same standards of an old Ford Tractor – then it’s probably going to last generations.

Kevin Rhodes
Member
Kevin Rhodes
1 month ago
Reply to  Spikedlemon

They did make damned good tractors. I grew up next door to my great uncle’s farm, the NEW tractor was from the mid-50s, and the old one was barely post-war. And both are still performing well today.

Spikedlemon
Spikedlemon
1 month ago
Reply to  Kevin Rhodes

As they should.

I love seeing an old Massey working on the fields.

Kevin Rhodes
Member
Kevin Rhodes
1 month ago
Reply to  Spikedlemon

To be fair, this was a small chicken farm, then small vegetable farm, and currently a large greenhouse operation (decorative annuals and perennials, nothing edible). Those tractors don’t have a ton of hours on them compared to the usage they would have gotten in a real farm.

I was born to the wrong side of the family though, since they turned it into a greenhouse operation in the early 80s it’s been a raging many multi-million a year success. My grandfather was born in the farmhouse, built his forever home next door, and died in it. Born and died about 150ft apart!

Matt Sexton
Member
Matt Sexton
1 month ago
Reply to  Kevin Rhodes

We still sell Ford 8N parts all the time. As far as I’m concerned it’s the single greatest product Ford has ever attached their name to.

Kevin Rhodes
Member
Kevin Rhodes
1 month ago
Reply to  Matt Sexton

Likely true! That thing is a little red trooper! I think it might actually be am earlier 9n or 2n. Sticking in my head that it’s a ’46. Tough as nails and still completely usable all after all these years for light duty farm work. That little guy plowed and sprayed a lot of fields and towed a lot of wagons. Memories of picking cucumbers as a kid (not necessarily GOOD memories, but memories).

The newer one is Ford blue and has the goofy select-o-speed transmission and a front bucket. It’s been rebuilt at least once, I can remember as a kid it being in two halves in the yard for a while. And being sternly told to stay away from it. But I learned to drive on it when I was about 10, LOL. Helped build our new driveway with it in high school, I was pretty good with the bucket.

Last edited 1 month ago by Kevin Rhodes
Jonah B.
Member
Jonah B.
1 month ago
Reply to  Matt Sexton

I learned to drive on a Ford jubilee tractor. Great little machine. Ours had an aftermarket two-speed transfer case. In high, it could get going faster than you’d really want to drive it with no suspension except for the tires.

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