I've built hot rods, drag cars, muscle cars and all the while I've always owned a Ford Truck. I had a very nice Bonus Built back when nobody cared about them and sold it after 8 years. My wife nearly killed me and I'm building another one now that will never be sold (or I'll be divorced).

I like the style but I think what I really enjoy is the simplicity. Everything is pretty basic, easy to work on, you can haul stuff, tow stuff and you can haul A$$ if you want to build it that way.

I also think Ford Truck People are the best. A special breed.

 

I had a 57 Chevy truck and I'd drive it by a Fat Fendered Ford and all I could think of was how much better I liked the looks of the Ford. Now I have a 53 F100. Although many like the 56 better than the 53-55, I really can't make up my mind either way.

 

I was lucky. I had my '56 fall into my lap......before I was born. The thing stopped running before I was born, and my dad always referred to that truck as "my truck". My brother's truck was the '56 panel. I have a feeling I'll end up with both. In the last year+ I have now sparked interest in these trucks and now am trying to get them back on the rod one at a time. The Panel's been off the road since '94-95. The F100 has been off the road even longer......so I have a lot of little problems to catch up on. The pickups a nats-*** from drivable, but just isn't running right.


But ironically, nobody I knew for my whole life was a car guy. The love of cars was all my own thing that I had nobody to share with until just a couple years ago. My dad may have neat trucks, but he isn't really a car guy.

--First car was/is a 1975 Pontiac Trans am. Love that car to death. I am also an all-car-guy; no specific brand bias. But if you held a gun to my head, I'd say Pontiac. Although technically it should be a Ford, because 1) I/we own more Fords than Pontiac's, 2) I've done more work on this pickup than I have EVER done on that Trans Am, 3) I have spend WAY more money/time on that pickup than my Trans Am, and 4) I have lost more blood from working on that Ford than the Trans Am.



Exactly. Sort of funny you should mention that. We have at least 5-10 people come by asking if one of our Fords is for sale each year(multiply that by the last 30 years, hahaha).
-Just the other day, some older guy in a '54-'55 F100 drove by, started pulling closer to the other side of the street and SLOWLY passed--GAZING--at my old pickup. pretty, cool. Tried to catch him but he drove away too fast.
-There's a group of brothers that are in their late teens at best that go to a church down the street. They stop and look at my Trans Am and Pickup EVERY Sunday and ask how they're running, who owns 'em, how cool they are. Went absolutely NUTS over the beat-up old pickup for some reason. Just hope they don't try and mess with them.....


I'm not very emotional about death's, it's a part of life....

But man......seriously, that is the saddest and most emotional Father-son story I have EVER heard. I mean....wow. You guys sounded like two peas in a pod. You sounded more like friends than family, something you typically don't hear in a father-son relationship.

 

When i drive my Mustang somewere people come out of the woodwork to say something about it .Man when i get my 51 done it will be like bees to a flower. Guess thats something we all have to deal with.LOL

 

I always wanted to build a car since I was in high school. But having a project car has always been beyond my reach, my first real project was a 65 mustang but was short lived to divorce, second attempt was a 53 ford truck with a flat head V8, I had to part with it 6 months later due to bankruptcy, Then later Down the road I was hunting for another project ( I had 500 cash) and I found nothing... But I never gave up, even broke most of the time I finally came across my current panel truck even though I almost lost it in my second divorce, i fought hard and i managed to keep it. So I guess the reason I keep working on this beast is that it took so darn long to have it I was going to let anyone take it from me. I may be still broke, it may take another 10 years to finish, and it may have lots of donor parts. But it mine and no one can take it away from unless I am dead. So now I continue to build it the best I can with what is available to me. Best part is I like the old ford style.

 

This was in our car clubs monthly news letter about how I got into this hobby.







___________________________________________

46 Ford Tudor - Street Rod
48 Ford F1 - Darksider

 

My story is not much different that everybodys elses. nobody in my house was car crazy like me and of course the old man always told me how stupid it was..... My first truck was a 56 with a MEL 430 lincoln. Damn what a great truck dispite it's issues. Traded it for a 62 ford 500 xl convertible. Has a ton of cars including an all original 63 1/2 falcon sprint. if I only knew then.... My favorite was a 69 fastback mustang [NOT a mach1] that was a total sleeper and serious money maker on the street. We were so immortal back then... LOL

I have been fighting cancer for about 6 years and with a heart problem i decided that if I was going to get something I needed to do it now. I sold a 94 ranger project and was going to combine that money with income tax refund money andget an old driver. So just to see what was available out there i looked in Craig's list and this truck popped up. It was exactly what i wanted and yes it is a darksider but i really don't see the difference with that and putting one of those high dollar aftermarket chassis under it...

Anyway it is 50 F-2 [which i love] on a 85 S-10 chassis w/ V8 conversion. When i bought it i drove it home over 175 miles so it is definately a driver. Everywhere i go people live it. It is a bit radical but that is part of the charm. I simply love driving this truck as its sole job is to put a smile on my face. Don't misunderstand it has a lot of edges but that is what will make it mine. I couldn't be happier and it is perfect for me.

Sorry for the length of this as i tend to get carried away when i talk about the truck. it is just her and me and of course all the great people on this site.

jim

 

My Dad taught me basic skills, shocks, exhaust, tune ups, stuff like that.
My first car broke down, took it to get repaired at the dealer and joked about needing a job to pay off the bill.. hired me on the spot. never had a truck, nor any of my friends.

worked my way into a mechanics job, liked it a lot. My 1st wife hated the smell of the grease.. so I quit and found a desk job.. switch to second wife..
moved to texas to keep my desk job.. son turns 15.. time for a car.. what to buy.. friends son had a 66 chevy pickup.. hey , we can work on that together..
power steering, dropped spindles, dropped rear, moved gas tank, replaced gauges, new cam, intake, headers, heads, on a smallblock chevy. (1st experience with mis aligned distro/oil pump cam. )

had a blast, and decided I should work on something of my own.. looked around and 53-56 ford trucks seemed to have a good aftermarket, and following.. found FTE..

son has taken those skills, worked thru Wyotech, got a job in a hotrod shop.. we still work together when we can..
I want to do this kind of work for others when the desk job ends.. (36yrs in now!,32 at IBM)

Sam

 

Most of you that have been around here for a while know my story. I would say I was a Chevy car guy. I had a 57 Chevy Bel Air and a 55 210 and my brother had 2 57 Chevys and a nice 55 Bel Air hard top and a 68 Camaro with a 427. We also shared a beater 56 210 sedan. My Dad had a 48 3/4 ton 5 window chevy truck.

But when my 57 needed the Power Glide rebuilt, my Mom told me Grandpa wanted to sell his truck. He had a big dairy farm and now was retired and built a new house and didn't need the truck. I needed something to get back and forth to summer school so I could graduate on time from college. This was 1977. I offered him $300 cash but he turned me down and said $200. It has been with me ever since. I thought it was cool since it was a V-8. All the old Chevy trucks were 6 bangers. I sold the 57 and then I met a girl and sold the 55 to buy an engagement ring but I just hung on to the truck and now I will never get rid of it. Fixed it up in 1998. See my gallery for before and after pics....

And I love it and that is why I want to keep it stock, like when Grandpa had it!

 

I hope we continue to have contributions to this thread. I find it quite interesting reading about how this "love affair" with these old trucks began. I know that some of you have told the story in other threads, but I thought it would be great to see an accumulation of these stories in one place.

thanks to all that have already posted.

Drew

 

I bought the truck 12 years ago from a neighbor who was moving. It sat at my daughters house till 3 years ago when i finally made room in my garage. I don't think i could ever sell it; she is a member of the family now. The wife and i belong to Pickups Limited and have met some great folks who share love for the fat fendered trucks. I think i will go out to the garage and wipe off my old friend. LOL

 

My wife wanted an old Ford truck for a project. I found the 60 with the 56 style bed that needed to be put back together. She wanted it. So far she's barely touched it and I've done most of the slow work. That's okay because I'm enjoying the project and I'm falling in love with this truck too.

 

I've been a gearhead since i was a kid, bought my first HotRod mag at 10. Then I put lawnmower engines on anything that had wheels, plywood go-carts, rope steering, no brakes, thats fun. Went through 20 beaters before I hit 25. Then wife, kids, sports, braces etc. Now it's my time and I always loved the old Fords so found one. 4 years in and hopefully 1 1/2 to go before my daughter hits university and take all my money!
Brian

 

I learned to drive in a 1952 Ford truck. It was the best summer of my life. My grandpa and I drove all over the county on "ERRANDS" getting sawdust for the cow barn, trips to the feed mill, grocery store etc etc. It may have been that a 9 year old with a penchant for mischief needed to be kept busy! Fast forward 52 years (you know what I mean) A 1950 F1 found me. Oh! I resisted for a couple of weeks, but want turned to need and here I sit with a project. I have been looking at all the possibilities for the build and will post that at a more appropriate time. Great thread!
Finally 25 posts

 

Like a lot of you I was born and raised in a dairy farming area, my parents did not farm but I worked on neighboring farms and learned to drive on almost everything. Mom was also the Town Clerk so I was "adopted" by the Highway dept crew. Driving a mixture of Fords, Chevys, a REO, and Brockways.
Therefore my first love are Brockways. Took my NYS Class 1 tractor trailer road test in 1967 on an old 1953 Brockway model 154. After I moved south and in 1998 went to work for Wrangler Blue Jeans they had a Diamond T 921 COE parked out back that was their first owned tractor. When it came up for sale I was able to buy it. Then I found a 1949 Diamond T model 201 1 ton pick at a farm nearby, 2nd wife said buy it!!, and now it has been professionally restored, a beast to drive but a lot of fun at a show. Found a 1971 Brockway 358 long wheelbase tandem drive axle straight truck behind a construction co and for $500 it followed me home!!
Then one of the mechanics at work asked me if I knew of anybody interested in a 1955 F-600 with a hoist & grain body on it. Of course I had to go look!! 32600 original miles, 1980 farm plates, 239 Y block, 4 speed tranny, electric 2 speed rear, and only a little surface rust. We pulled it out of the barn put gas, battery, plugs and points in it and fired it right up. Rebuilt wheel cylinders, replaced master cylinder and Hydo-vac in his driveway and drove it 60 miles home. All it needs is an external paint job.
Have another year until I can retire, with 45 years on the road, and my "love affair" will let me get to work on the above and go to shows.
Brocky