Hot Rods From Banger to Boring or A Guy just needs a drive anywhere Pickup

As things go I came by this Pickup as an unwanted asset to make a payment on a storage deal made many years ago. At first I just saw it as something to sell to make up the difference. I'm really an A Pickup, a '35, or an F1 Guy. I always thought of the '32-'34 as an also ran, yes there's been some pretty neat one's. But never one that made me wish it were in my driveway like Hoake's '35 does.

But as things go I just couldn't leave it alone and got it to run well with the stock, bone stock drivetrain. Mechanicals and all. My Kid decided to help while I was out of town and wrinkled a cherry drivers door on the lift. Horrible, or was it?

That mishap began the love affair for the cast off, no doubt. I felt bad for it as it just kept being neglected and beat up. Clearly I'm a softie for the Underdog, and selling a vehicle I know has something wrong with it has always bugged me. The Damn Door wouldn't shut. That's a pretty big bummer to a buyer.

So I dug into it, fixed the opening door problem. Then tuned up the Banger, adjusted all the mechanicals, etc, etc. I did drive it like this for a while. I even offered it complete for sale and the drivetrain as well. This was just denial on my part. Sometimes the keepers just make their own way. Long story short I started to fall in deep like with it. So much so I had fantasies of being able to drive it to LARS 2025...................

First off an apology to all the purists out there. Sincerely, I apologize for ruining a perfectly great Banger Diamond Block Counterbalanced Truck in all it's original mechanical glory. I did find a good home for the Drivetrain. It went into an RPU. I've many miles on Banger powered stuff. Long drives in 'em too. But this isn't "that Truck" at least for me. I needed to cruise with the big kids with this one.

But I digress. Getting to LARS in a Banger 4:11 geared '34 sounded like a challenge that would wind up with a bruised ego and a destroyed Banger somewhere about Ventura along the way. No thank you.

So I just bit the bullet, realized I actually loved this Truck, not merely deep like. So shopping at home began. First up STANCE! everything is stance. 3" Dago I'd been saving for the "next" project. 16" perfect steelies off the Kids F1 ( he stole my OG 15" Chromies) so this only seemed fair and '40 Juicers. While we're at it better put the 3:54's in there. Rebuilt a Lincoln passenger side gearbox, and here's gonna be the tough part for a few - pulled back my '57 283 from the friend who wound up with it. Rounded up all the adapter shit I've been collecting for 20+ years and put it all in touch with each other.

Yep Banger out - Boring, reliable, predictable, smile inducing, belly button installed. I had Dual Quads on it, but in the end a single AFB won out. AFB's a sure thing (T-Shirt headed to the printer soon).

Guess I just missed having an Old Pickup to drive around. Being a lifelong Beach Bum I needed this to get to the Beach. Yeah Yeah that's it I needed it. It had to be reliable, and I had to use all the pieces from my Shop, no cheating. They take up less space in the form of a drive able vehicle after all. see the before and after below in technicolor

Mission accomplished!

Boring, sure. But look for the Smiling guy in the old pickup with sand in his toes and sunburn on his nose . This thing should go anywhere now..........

See you at LARS

 

Great post!

 

Glad you kept it. Those trucks are cool looking!

 

...Absolutely!

 

Great story, great post, GREAT truck! Love it and the story.

 

When it's right, ya just know it. Plus* on the Corvette engine
Kudos on the door save ( hate when that happens )
Enjoy your beach time.
Apologies not accepted

 

It sure looks like a fun truck. I wish that it was mine.

 

just what the doctor ordered, will look you up at LARS

 

I say this as a die hard banger guy with more miles on one, than most get out of their v8 cars....

I'm of firm belief that the 4 banger never should have made it into 32 and later vehicles. Good to see you've rectified this issue.

 

Beautiful truck, great job man!

 

Can't wait to see it in person @TERPU at LA Roadster show. I am in spots P3-P5

 

Nice truck, looks great.

 

Great Story! Nice Truck! Another envious Hamber! lol

 

Gotta love Ford pickups.

 

Cool story and makes me want to go check on a 33 that a guy keeps telling me he won't sell...

 

The changes made a nice fun truck. Enjoy the trip to LARS.

 

Hello,

Great photos of your truck and location. That would be cool to drive to the rock to check out the surf on a daily basis. We have been there many times on our road trips up and down the coastline. But, we never got to surf this location. It looks like your trips are full of fun in the Model A Truck.

This was one of our first choices as we were building our 40 Willys Gas Coupe. We decided that the 58 Impala was nice for a tow car, but delivering and transporting parts in the trunk was not going to get it done over time. So, we decided that a Model A Truck was going to be our solution. We had sold a Model A Coupe we had purchased a few years earlier and that was going to be our first hot rod build, with an SBC motor and Paxton supercharger.

But, as things work out, the Model A was sold and the 58 Impala took over our lives until we found a 40 Willys Coupe in almost the same house as the Model A Coupe. (A few doors down) As the Willys Coupe was in its build stage, the Impala was the work horse. Parts runs to Reath Automotive across town, to local speed shops for other parts and so on. The trunk got more use than those teenage hiding days of the drive-in movies.

Jnaki

The motor set up would have been what we put into the Willys Coupe at the beginning. Except that the dual quads would have been in place of the 6 Strombergs that ended up on our 283 motor. The one thing we noticed in the Model A Coupe for two teenage boys sitting side by side, that it was a little tight inside the cab. We moved the seats back as much as we could, that helped. But, overall, it was tight. Not that the Model A cab would always have two tall teenage boys riding in it all of the time in the future.

So, my brother had plans and those got tossed as he drove up with his new 58 Impala and the other two cars were gone to his friends to supplement his new purchase.

Note:

One day, we were talking about a parts car for our small business. We like the Model A Coupe and the style of that line up. So, we looked at a truck and found a nice one. The thing we noticed was the room or lack of room inside when both of us sat inside of the truck cab. To us, it felt less than the coupe we had earlier. So, that was not going to work. We were stuck…
We even thought of a Model A Woody, but that would (pun intended) that would not be good for our engine building business/parts company, we were starting. So, a Model A Woody Pick Up was tossed around. One of our friends had made a similar rack for his longboard on a small sporty car to hold his surfboard. So, that would give us some room inside and in the bed for our future uses. But, after our Willys Coupe accident, my brother said he was anxious to get back to building something, so more ideas were tossed around. It looked to be a very long project.

Then years later, an art project came up and I modified a Model A Truck to make it roomier and still keep the look of the good original design.

To keep the proportions nice and tight, the bed had to be shortened. By this time, our surfboards were quite a bit shorter and would still stick out, but less so, even with a shortened bed. YRMV

 

I'm doing the same thing right now. Taking the Riley 2 port out of the 32 5 window, and putting in a 265 belly button. Making it my daly driver.

 

That A looks great. Would have been great to have a Willys and a '58 to tow it around with!

 

See you there!

 

Great story. I've built 4 deuce pickups over the years but didn't keep them. Flashback about 3 years Lincoln NE. swap meet there was this deuce sedan project I thought I needed? Brought it home and after staring at it for several months decided I didn't have another sedan (already built 6) in me. I had lusted after this deuce pickup for several years but it wasn't available. I offered the sedan project for sale and dam if the pickup owner didn't propose a trade. That was almost 2 years ago and I drive the pickup almost every day year around except salt season. It has a 56 Chevy 265 for power.. Mine sits a little lower than yours but is almost identical. I'm 80, best trade I've ever made.

 

Great story and you are in what is one of my favorite towns in California. We fell in love with Moro Bay when we were on the way back from Trog at Pismo beach.

For Jnaki

 

Love my 34 truck and yours is killer Tim.

 

Cool truck and story! Inspiration for my 33.

 

Hurry Up! RPM is just around the Corner.

 

As things Go, sometimes they go Ka-Bluey. And such is the story of the little survivor '57 283. She's just tired, leaky, and mildly wounded. While hopes were high and it started out strong the more I run it the absolute worse it gets. Takes a quart of oil to go less than 60 miles. In my minimal math skills that's about a gallon and a half each way to LARS and back. If we make it back and don't die of oil contamination the little smooth running 283 will never have a chance at being great again. I do love that little engine and will rebuild it, that's a promise.




So while the engine may not make LARS, the Truck may still. I rounded up enough junk I had left, and screwed together another Belly Button. But this time it's not just a good old "runner" fresh machine work is always so nice to work with. I'll steal all the pertinent bits off the other one and slide it in there this weekend I hope. No it's not as cool as an early 283. No it's not a real Vette Engine, and no it's not in the Truck yet.

Hopes are high and we have a little time left. Fingers crossed we'll still see you all at LARS in the Truck! If not we'll see you in a daily driver something.......
But back to the Bluey reference. Seems fitting to only use the can of Bluey paint left on the shelf for this. After all they can't all be Orange

 

My hot rods need to be useful. I think you made the correct choice.

 

I bet you get comments like "I'm glad you kept a Ford in a Ford", because it's painted blue.

At least you have something else to put in to keep the truck mobile! This is a sweet truck.