The House of Muscle Drives the Bonkers ‘Old Smokey’ 1949 Ford F1
With a fire-breathing, 1,200-horsepower Cummins turbo diesel engine under sticking out of the hood, Old Smokey is one badass Ford truck.
If you’re a Ford Truck Enthusiasts regular, then you’re already familiar with Old Smokey. We’ve shared about her half-a-dozen times, and we still can’t get enough of her. In some way, she fulfills every badass vintage Ford truck fantasy we could ever fabricate. And then some…
We keep hoping and praying that one day we’ll have the chance to get behind the wheel of the icon, but until then, we’ll have to live vicariously through other folks. This time it’s the case of Mike Musto from The House of Muscle, the popular Motor Trend publication. Musto met up with the creator and owner of Old Smokey, Scott Birdsall, who’s also the owner of Chuckles Garage in Santa Rosa, California.
Once Musto and Birdsall signed a few liability waivers, Musto jumped in the driver’s seat of Old Smokey at none other than Willows, California. If that sounds familiar, it’s because that’s the home of the legendary Willow Springs and Streets of Willow race tracks. As you can tell, Musto wasn’t going for a “regular” test drive in the 1949 Ford F1.
After all, there’s nothing “regular” about Old Smokey, especially given her 5.9-liter Cummins turbo diesel engine, and her owner’s goal of hitting 200 mph on a mile-long drag run. (Still unfulfilled, by the way.)
The 16-minute episode published on the Motor Trend Channel is definitely worth a watch, unless you’re not into vintage Ford trucks with over 1,000 horsepower burning rubber and doing donuts, that is. Needless to say, we’ll be on the lookout for our invitation to drive Old Smokey. We wonder what’s taking so darn long?
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