Hi there guys. Ive been hanging around here for a while, learning a bit about the forum. Ive got a 58 panel truck with a inline 6 and 3 on the tree. The truck is in pretty good shape, but been off the road for more than 12 years. Its been stripped completely by previous owners. At least its still original and almost rust free. The only stuff i needed was the windscreen, bumpers, radiator and rear tail-lights. In my search to find a windscreen i came accross a 58 truck thats complete, but a bit rusted. I got the whole truck for less than what a new windscreen would have cost me. Cheers for now, Ferdi.

 

Welcome to FTE Ferdi!! Glad to have you on board. We feel sometimes that parts are hard to come by for these old girls here in the states. You on the otherhand probably have a lot more trouble than we do. Are there many older Ford truck in South Africa? Looking forward to following your build. If you can post some pictures of your panel.

Gil

 

Welcome to the site Ferti, I think you are the first member I have seen from Africa, If you have pictures, post them if you can. Only one thing better then talking about old Ford Trucks and thats looking at old Ford trucks

 

WELCOME TO THE SITE !

Hey Ferdi, do you know Eta from Bloemfontein? ....................(that’s kind of like John from Toronto or Pete from Los Angeles)

 

Ahh and so it begins...got a truck that needs a few things and while looking for those things you find another that's just too cool to pass up, and then another and another. Welcome to the board and good luck with your projects!

 

Sorry old f1 i dont, i stay in johannesburg, bloemfontein is 500km away from me. These old trucks are very scarce here, the first time i saw a panel like mine was when i bought it. Thats why im so happy to have found 1 for spares thats the same model. I see the stylesides arent that popular yet. How about the panels? Were they popular on that side of the pond? What were they mainly used as? Pics will follow soon. Cheers, Ferdi.

 

you have two?...lucky dog. Hope to see some pics soon. Welcome to the forum

 

The figures I've seen suggest that about 1 panel was sold for every 10 pickups, and pickup sales weren't as high as they've been lately. So, there'd be roughly 10,000 panel trucks sold per year in the US.

About the only panel-truck-specific part that is easily available is the brake light lens (above the license plate). I believe the tail lights were optional (according to a sales brochure), so that explains their rarity, and the shortage of replacement lenses. Some N.O.S. stuff turns up on eBay - I've seen complete original taillight and brake light sets.

 

Thanks for the info angus. Just saw the pics of your grey ghost, looks good. I also want to go the offroad look with my panel.
Cheers, Ferdi.

 

Hi Ferdi - Welcome to FTE!

 

 

Ferdi,

Welcome to the board!

It sounds like you are off to a great start on your panel.

Bobby

 

Welcome to FTE Ferdi-
Looks like you have a full-blown project. Looking forward to your progress.

 

Welcome here!!! Post plenty of pics, we dont read as good as we look at pictures

 

Thanks for the greetings guys, i will start posting pics as soon as i start fixing. The panel will just be fixed up as a daily runner. The pickup will be fully restored. Cheers, Ferdi.