History BARN FIND 1951 Ford F1: One of the first 600 Ford trucks with an OHV I6!

So, I see this truck being drug up from behind Bob's house the other day and placed in his front yard across the street. I knew it was back there, and that it was special... and then I saw it.

This is what I was looking at the other day!

 

I went over and took the pics, and Bob told me a little bit about the car. I asked if I could post it on here, and he said sure. In fact, he even emailed me the history of it. So here goes, a copy/pasted description from Bob, in his own words...


"One cold winter shortly after moving into this house, we needed some wood
for the wood stove. In the past, Dad had bought wood from this guy. Since
he'd lost his name and phone number, he suggested that we go to Maysville to
see if we could find him. So off we went to find a guy with no name, and buy
a load of wood.

Well after an hour of driving to get there, Dad remembered how to get to his
house. So we drove gravel roads for about two hours and all at once I heard
Dad holler, "STOP!!! There's the house!" We stopped in the driveway, and the
guy and his wife came out to the pickup.

Dad started talking with him and made a deal for a load of wood. He jumped
in my truck and said it would be a little ride to the wood pile, so we took
off going down a dirt path past sheds and barns, up and down hills, thru the
pasture and thru the woods, and all along the way, going by old cars,
trucks, tractors, implements, and some other things that I couldn’t tell you
what they were.

We arrived at the woodpile and loaded a load of wood, and bull hitting the
whole time. On the way back to the house I told him about my son's 1950 F1
and asked if he had anything around that year. He calmly replied, "For what,
parts?" "Yes," I replied.

He then started telling me about the 1952 F1 he had. He bought it new, for
$1654.62, I believe he said. I'd have to dig out the ***le to be sure.

Well, I asked him if he'd be interested in selling it. He replied, "No. I've
never sold anything in my life that I've bought, and I'm getting too damned
old to start now!" Him being 80 years old, and still cutting wood and
splitting it (and don’t forget the loading and unloading it) as he had done
all his life to make a living, I didn’t think I should push the selling
issue anymore.

Because I love those old trucks, I asked if I could see it. He said we could
stop at the barn on the way back. As we walked in, I saw this beautiful
pickup sitting there and looking oh-so-lonely. I was mesmerized and looked
it over, drooling everywhere! I was in that barn with him for at least 45
minutes asking questions absorbing the answers. While looking it over, I
noticed the odometer was on 26,000. He also told me that it was a little
special because there were only 600 of these made! Asking what was special
about it he, told me it was the first year that Ford had put an overhead
valve 6 cylinder motor in them...

Well, we negotiated a deal on another load of wood in two weeks. We arrived
back at the house, visited with him and his wife, and left. Two weeks later,
we arrived at the house. He walked around to my side of the pickup, and I
greeted him. The first words out of his mouth were, "Are you serious about
buying that old pickup?" "Of course," I replied. He then told me that he and
his wife has taken a liking to me. He wanted to know what I wanted it for,
and I told him that I wanted to restore it. He smiled and said, "It deserves
that."

He told me that when he died his son would probably sell everything off, and
that he would rather see it go to someone that would bring it back to life
and take care of it.

We loaded the wood, ********ting the whole time. When we finished I asked
him what it would take to buy the old truck. He gave me a number and I asked
if it was okay to wait until the end of January because, it being Christmas
time, I was finding myself a little short on money. "No problem," he said.

So the first of February, dad and I went to get the truck. We arrived to
find the guy had cleared a path to pull it out and load it. He then told me
that he had started it every year since it was parked, over thirty years
ago. He had the plugs out and a battery in it and hit the starter and spun
it over. He told me it had been two years since it had been started, and
that the starter was dragging. "It needs to be replaced," he said, "and if
you do that, and work with it a little bit, I guarantee that it'll run."

We loaded it up and went on our way.

We bought several more loads of wood from him that year, and our last load
he told us on he was going to retire. He told me he'd like to see the old
truck when I was done.

Bob"

 

neat as all get out.
Makes me miss mine even more now.
and that old man is right, I was told the same thing when i bought my 53' Fleetwood, "id rather see it done right"

 

Great things lay before you... have fun!

 

Hey, it's Bob's truck, not mine! LOL!

~Jason

 

Too bad, I was gonna upholster your Caddy for it. Did you ever get rid of that old Binder truck?

 

hey, Abomination, i really dig that Ford truck operator's manual that you posted a picture of. Does it give details about the Lincoln truck engines too? If so, do you want to sell or reproduce parts of the manual? I need to find out more about a Lincoln truck V8 that i have.

 

You can buy it here as a $5 download:
http://carburetor-manual.com/1951-ford-series-truck-owners-operators-manual-ebook-p-906.html

~Jason

 

LOL!

Yeah, that binder went along with a brand new 16" car hauler for a '66 Fury III convertible I got totally screwed on. Dude split, I never got a ***le, etc.

It was bad news.

Meanwhile, got a '50 F2 for a song, and traded the Fury to a local body guy for the body & paint on the Ford!

I'd wanted a '40 or a '48 - '52 Ford truck for a while. I looked, etc and couldn't find one. Then one day I was told that Bob across the street had a few. Imagine! Across this street this whole time! I went to peek, and he had a '50 and the one in this post. I asked about 'em, and he said the '50 is his son's, and the other one wasn't for sale.

A week later his son dragged the '50 up and started working on it. Within a few days, I drug a '50 home myself. Now everybody thinks I'm copying them!

Actually, Bob has been a godsend in more ways than one. He's been exceedingly helpful, and because mine was a basket case, his son's has been invaluable as a reference! And because I get like every damn catalog known to man, I've proved a valuable resource for them as well!

But Bob's awesome. As many times as they've told him he's gonna die - from the cancer (he has a colostomy bag) to the pneumonia he had a few months ago (freaking Legionnaire's Disease - the worst kind), he keeps on kickin'. I told him the other day that I was about convinced that he would probably never die! LOL!

~Jason

 

Jason, post up some pics of your '50 when you get a chance. I'm still sniffing around for a truck/upholstery swap but nothing's come up locally... yet. I'm still going though.

 

PM me your email, Mike. I'll send you some pics.

~Jason

 

Nobody likes a ****ty restoration, dude.

Bob's had this truck for a couple of years now. I saw him out there starting to work on it the other day. It'll be pretty righteous when it's running!

~Jason

 

Does Bob have a roof to put over that truck? it would be shame to think it's deteriorating in that misty looking weather you have there.
The engine looks more like a chev rather than what Fords looked like later on.

 

Indeed he does, but his son's '50 ch***is (now almost entirely complete) is in his one-car garage at the moment. It'll be out of there in a few months, as he's wanting to drive it this summer, then do the bodywork over the winter.

I tell you, it's a pretty cool sight right out my living room window!

The red & black is 20/30-year-old rattle can paint. The original blue is under all of it, and looks pretty damned good!

The 215 is a pretty cool little motor:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Straight-6_engine

"Ford's first straight-6 engine was introduced in 1906 in the Model K. Production ended in 1907. Henry Ford did not like this car, which had a habit of tearing its transmission up. The next Ford six was introduced in the 1941 Ford. The company continued producing straight 6 engines until they were replaced in the mid-1990s by more compact V6 designs. However, Ford's Australian Branch manufactures these engines for their Falcon range to this day."

Hell, Ford straight sixes are pretty cool in general. That same link had this to say about the 300:

"during the late sixties and early seventies, the 300 was used in larger vehicles such as dump trucks, many weighing into the 15,000–20,000 pound (7,000–9,000 kg) range. These 300s were equipped with a higher flow HD (Heavy Duty) exhaust manifold since the engines were going to be constantly working in the 3000–4000 rpm range. These rare, yet effective, manifolds had higher flow than the electronic fuel injection 4.9 (300) manifolds and some headers."

~Jason

 

Aww, ****! Poor Bob.

He emailed me back a bit ago after I sent him this link. I asked him if he needed any help, and when his son's '50 would be done, and when he's begin the teardown of this one to "do her right". This is what he had to say:

"Well the old man p***ed on that next year, so I never did get to show him a finished
truck. Since then my health has went way south, I had to quit working, and
am disabled now. I have now fallen onto hard times, and have realized that I'll
never be able to do anything with the truck, and so I'll never live up to
what I'd told him I would do with it.

I've decided to sell it to someone that will give it it's just due, and I
keep telling myself that he would've understood what I'm doing selling it,
and that he'd probably pat me on the back and tell me. "It's okay. God meant
it to be this way."

By selling this old truck, I'll be able to save my home from being
foreclosed upon, but I can tell you this: no matter how much money I receive for it there won't be a smile on my face as it leaves me, only tears in my eyes and
disappointment in my heart.

Bob"

Damn, this ****s.

I didn't mean for this to be a "for sale" thread - it's a "hey, chck out this barn find" thread, and we'll leave it at that. I'm trying to convince him to keep it...

~Jason

 

Jason,

I looked at the truck again, from the front emblems the truck is a '52, maybe it's a late '51. Ford did strange things back then,

 

Anybody know where I could look, or who I could talk to to verify that the 215 OHV 6 was released 600 VINs early?

~Jason

 

Bob's truck is a '52 (Bob says so, too, in his email in post #2), not a '51. Compare the pics of Bob's truck with the adverti*****t in post #7 for the red '51. Different hood ('51 had three openings on front of hood, '52 had two), different side trim on hood ( '52 had the trim on the side of hood like Bob's truck with the round F-1 emblem), '52 had FORD spelled out on panel between grille and hood as on Bob's truck, '51 did not. '51 grilles painted silver, '52 white. I don't know what the ***le says, but the truck is a '52, which would make the OHV six not rare at all, regardless of what the old man said.

The source of my info is The Standard Catalog of American Trucks, pages 336 and 337, where the '51 and '52 are compared side by side.

It's a great truck and well worth saving. I hope someone can help Bob out or buy it and restore it as it deserves. And best wishes to Bob with all he's dealing with.

 

Great Find! Thanks for sharing!

 

You know, I noticed that, and wondered... I'll have to have him dig out the ***le for a pic of it (with the right parts blocked out). I thought it was a late '51, but I'll be the first to admit that it certainly appears to be an early '52.

I'll ask him later!

~Jason

 

Exactly - they did a lot of strange things. That's why I thought it was a late '51 in the first place! LOL!

Maybe I'll sneak a peek at the VIN later, too. It's supposed to rain later, but we'll see.

~Jason

 

Jason, I found a site on the net that said the VIN was inside the glovebox door in '51 and on the rear edge of the driver's door in '52. I don't know if it's a reliable source or not, but it might be worth checking out.

Also, I found the following on the Edmunds.com website, indicating the 215 OHV six was in F-1 trucks in '51:

"1948-1952

The first F-Series, called the F-1 (half ton), F-2 (three-quarter ton), or F-3 (Heavy Duty), were introduced as 1948 models. A few "modern" improvements over Ford's previous pickups were smoother body contours, integrated headlights, a bigger cab and a one-piece windshield. Two engines were available: a 226-cubic-inch inline six rated at 95 horsepower and a 239-c.i. V8 that put out 100 horses.

1951 brought a new base engine, a 215-c.i. inline six with 101 horsepower.

The F-Series continued through 1952 with some cosmetic revisions (such as different grille inserts) as well as mechanical upgrades (such as a waterproof ignition) to improve performance and durability.

1953-1956

A somewhat sleeker look appeared for 1953, with the hood flowing into the grille and front fenders, as opposed to sitting on top of them. The consumer-oriented pickups were now called the F-100 and F-250. Heavy-duty versions were renamed F-350. For 1954 the "Mileage Maker" inline six grew to 223 c.i. and put out 115 horsepower. The 239 "Power King" V8 kicked out 130 ponies. A "Driverized Cab" option provided such luxuries as armrests, a dome light, a cigar lighter and sun visors. Minor cosmetic updates, mainly in the grille area, continued through 1956. Horsepower also increased, with the six rated at 137 horsepower and the V8 (increased in size to 272 c.i.) pumping out 173 horsepower."

 

Interesting...

I'll check it out later if it's not in the middle of the ****storm we're about to receive. Hail, high winds, etc... likely a tornado watch or two.

~Jason

 

Look at the "date sold" on ***le if your state listed it - easy explaination would be a '52 model truck sold late in '51.

 

Talked to Bob last night - he said that indeed it is a '52. He also said that he although he'd rather not (which is an understatement) sell it, he absolutely HAD to for financial reasons.

Here's the ad: http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/1088467338.html

I wish I had the scratch to buy it and hold it for him to buy back later... "Needs a little work" - hell, it only needs a fuel pump and a battery!

~Jason

 

That is a nice truck to start with. It's too bad you couldn't buy it, like you said to keep it for him. I have a '52 F-1 with the stock I-6 in it. It was originally a military truck El cheapo 6cyl. 3 on the tree. Mine has about 86,000 miles on it. I did find a 2 carb manifold for it but haven't put it on yet. I always thought that '52 was the first year with this motor. I hope all turns out good for Bob, sounds like he has a good friend across the street.

 

It helps to have truck people around!

Bob occasionally helps when I need something hauled on a flatbed, too (like my 8' Express Bed, which is coming out of paint, soon).

I posted this on the Ford Truck Enthusiasts forum too, and ran into his son!
http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/

I'd been a lurker there, but up and joined when I started having specific questions about my truck that were better targeted at those folks than the HAMB.

~Jason

 

I love my 51. Mine has 50,000 orriginal miles on it and runs/drive like new. Mine has the ol flathead I6 in it

Here it is the day after I got it home. The boat came with it, the orriginal owners nephew (who I got it from) said he bought that boat a coupel years after he bought the truck, and that boat was either in the water, or in the back of the truck