Customs They are still out there! Custom 53 F100 found.

Gave it a quick bath, tossed on a spare 750 carb I had (ordering a 650), fixed a few fuel leaks, ignored others (towel) and got it running for a few minutes.
Brakes and transmission need some love, all fuel lines replaced, some minor electrical, swapping to a stock mechanical fuel pump because I hate electric pumps on street driven carbed engines, cooling system flushed, possibly have to do the valve guide seals if they don't come back to life.
Biggest thing is pulling the carpet and soaking it in natures miracle and then rinsing it 537 times to get all the mouse pee out of it. Pretty sure I have four kinds of hunta virus just from working on it.
It needs some bodywork on the rear fender and the roof will probably need to be repainted as some of the bodywork is separated right above the rear window. I can save most of the upholstery and there is some chrome work that needs redone.
Next up is orderring about 5 gallons of Natures Miracle and a kiddie pool to soak the carpet in!

 

We know Anthony, we know. Hehe.

 

Let’s see, vehicle, check, repair plan, check, approval from the wife ( Da Boss that is) , check, dust removal, check, upholstery, pending, engine, progressing, suspension, check, paint, it’ll buff out, hehe.

 

Ha, the wife technically has more cars than I do. It took a while to get the keys for my chopped 56 back from her. The real trick is no kids = all the cars!

Unfortunately I am going in for neck surgery on the 6th so I will have 6 weeks of really not doing too much and then another 8 weeks of kinda sorta being able to do stuff. I'm already ordering parts so once I can get back out to the garage I can knock all the mechanical stuff out as fast as possible. I have a paint guy lined up but I kinda want to be able to drive it to a few shows so paint/body/chrome/upholstery probably won't happen right away.
I also need to sell the purple chopped 56 to free up some funds and space!

 

Unfortunately I am going in for neck surgery on the 6th so I will have 6 weeks of really not doing too much and then another 8 weeks of kinda sorta being able to do stuff. I'm already ordering parts so once I can get back out to the garage I can knock all the mechanical stuff out as fast as possible.
Your funny! I had neck surgery in 2018 and I still ain’t right. Before surgery they tell you you’ll bounce right back. After surgery they tell you the truth and say you may never bounce back.

 

Hello,

This might be far fetched, but the original 53-56 Ford F100 Custom Truck I saw in our old Westside of Long Beach neighborhood had a similar look the thing was the chopped top. Most trucks that had a chop top were level. Just lowered a few inches or so. But, the Candy Apple or Tahitian Red version I saw almost daily was this unusual chop for the top that left the front window taller and the side view at an angle. The back window was lower, causing the top to look slightly sloped.

The F100 truck in my old Westside neighborhood was the only custom truck in that whole area. Custom cars, hot rods and others were around, but no one had a chopped lowered custom truck. All white tuck and roll upholstery done in Long Beach, chromed reversed wheels, custom grille and side pipes.

Jnaki

The owner is now gone and his remaining family has no idea about the where abouts of the truck. It was a mainstay and most unusual of customs for that era. It may have been in one of the early R&C, Car Craft or Hot Rod magazines. The time period was 1955 to 65 for the possible photo spread.

Nice find on the truck and continue to have fun with it… That old custom truck I saw back when I was an elementary school kid was just the beginning. It was once owned by a optometrist who parked it right out in front of his shop/business every day. I always tagged along when one or all of my family went to see the optometrist for glasses. Luckily, I did not need glasses until I was almost 76 years old. YRMV

 

Good luck with the neck surgery! Love the new truck, but I love all the others as well. If my garage wasn't already packed I'd have to ask about the purple one going up for sale....that sure would save me a lot of work. LOL

 

This truck was built in Vancouver, Wa. about 2000 or 2001. It was chopped 6" in the front, 7" in the rear, the body was channeled 5", front fenders sectioned, bed shortened 8", rear fenders moved forward, Volare subframe, ford 9" and a 302/C4.

I would love to see pictures of that truck you saw!

 

@Pist-n-Broke
@saltracer219
@couverkid
@Tim_with_a_T
You guys know this truck? I have never seen it locally.

 

It was built by Jonah Meade who also built this one.



It was originally built by Jonah Meade who also built the Phantom Bantom.

 

I wasn’t in the PNW till Fall 2006 so I think I missed this one. Kinda looks like the older brother of the Cherry Bomb Model A RPU.

 

I have lived in Vancouver and been active in the car thing since the early 80's and I don't recall him or the truck. I figure one the Slo Poks might know of it.

 

I would love to see pictures of that truck you saw!


Hello,

So, would I. I was too young to take a photo of the truck. But, I walked in front of the truck almost everyday on the way to the small grocery store and playground. I am pretty sure it was featured in one of those early hot rod/custom car magazines. It was too nice not to have been left out. The Tahitian Red paint stood out from blocks away.

By the time we got our 35mm cameras, he had moved his shop across the L.A. River and freeway to a larger facility and better exposure. By then, we hardly ever saw the truck again.

Jnaki

That reddish truck in the photos is the closest to the identical look of the one I saw in 1955-57. No one at the time had the chop similar to that one. Lower in the back than the front height. YRMV

And, yes, I got a ride in the truck as a little kid, due to the truck being at the local Mobil Gas Station for some mechanical work. The gas station was a regular stop on the way home from school. So, as I stopped for a cold Coke, the owner/mechanic asked if I wanted to go for a ride back to the truck owner's shop three blocks away. He was finished with the tuning and other things and was returning it to the owner.

It was the coolest ride, ever. The tuck and roll upholstery was done in Long Beach and the long tubes were very comfortable. Plus, the white color was a good contrast to the bright Tahitian Red paint. My first ride in a custom truck and a chopped one at that!

 

Billy, I know Jonah a little bit, he seems like a decent guy, however he is a lone wolf and keeps a pretty low profile. He buys, builds and sells a lot of cars and bikes so none of them seem to stay with him for very long and apparently most of the cars go out of this area so I am not surprised that no one around here knows the car.

 

15 years of this thing sitting inside a box truck in the woods makes for a lot of mouse piss. I am just surprised that they don't chew anything at all!
Carpet is soaking overnight and the carpet cleaner will get brought out tomorrow.

 

A friend of mine told me about that Urine B Gone product, said it really works, never saw a bottle of it though.