Now let me say, that by no means is this truck a trendsetter or even something special in the world of hot rodding. It's a 1950 Ford F-1 with a 51 front end, fenders, hood and grille due to some long ago wreck. The engine is a 302 Challenger V8 or "small block ford" depending on what era nomenclature you like to use. An adapter bellhousing connects the engine to the old tower shift 3 speed. I've owned my truck for a few years now and this fall the serious work is about to begin. For a few years I have had no direction with it. I have the original R series flathead so I considered an original restoration which meant replacing the front sheet metal.. I also considered a C-4 or putting the flathead back in it. As I looked further it has dawned on me what I have. This truck has a history, not a big history but a backyard history. Engine mounts. The engine mounts may be old "engine swap" Hursts or home made copies of Hursts. Speedway still has a version of these. SBF to early Ford trans bellhousing. Versions of these date back 50 years in the old Mooneyes catalog. Body work. The body work done to the front fender bottoms at the running boards is spectacular. The the bottom 10" of the fenders are homemade. Only the gas weld line and a little roughness in the inside lip give them away when viewed from under the truck. Floor work has been done too and the quality is the same. With some simple work I think it will make a nice example of a everyday 60s hot rod. Lastly I have two home reversed outie wheels in the wheel pile that came with the truck. I was not going to use the reverses but are they a period modification? Cleaned up do you think these will look OK for the rears.
Someone loved your truck enough to fix it, and you love it too, so you're fixing it even more. There's something noble about the working man's truck that even the nicest resto or kustom just can't convey. I have similar feelings about my F-1 that you do with yours. Check out my thread, and I'll be sure to follow yours too http://jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/no-chops-or-bags-here-just-an-old-truck.865260/
you need to get those wheels inside, take the tires off, before they rust away.... Neat truck! You could do a restoration on it, leaving all the mods in place, and continue them by doing the rest of the needed work in the same way. Most guys never had the time/money/space to do everything they wanted to fix up their old jalopies....if you can pull it off with your truck, you would probably make the guy who started it proud.
It was most likely someones daily driver/work truck than a Hot Rod back in the 60's. My dad had a 51 in the late 60's, the flathead was tired, so he dropped in a 283 with a Duntov cam. It's what he drove to work everyday, as a kid I was pretty disappointed when he sold it. Look forward to seeing you fix your truck up.
Neat truck! I love F-1's . I've had at least one since I was 14 (67 now). Mine is finally a runner again after an engine swap. Now all I have left to do is everything else. I have a '48 in line next. I'll be following your thread, good luck.
I love the look of the 1948-1950 Ford trucks. My cousin gave me a 1948 F-1 in 1977. I still have it. Since then I've also acquired two F-1 panel trucks and a F-3 pickup. Good luck with your project!
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