Thanks for sharing your restoration with us and congratulations on a great truck.

 

Congratulations on a great build, be sure to drop by in between drives in the beautiful truck.

 

Inspiring!

 

Amazing, simply amazing that you did this out of a 2 car garage in a little over a year about 95% of it your own work including paint work! I love that you kept this color you don't see too many in Palisade Green, and it does look very good.

What are you using for a turn signal switch on the column?

Do you still own and drive any of the other vehicles you restored, I think you said WW2 jeeps? What got you involved with Ford F1's of this era?

 

Been watchin since July. Thank you for sharing so many pics and the final video was a great celebration of your accomplishment. Enjoy Eldon!

 

Fantastic job and love that color!!

 

Love...everything about it. Beautiful job.

 

Gorgeous! You are an inspiration

I wish I had someone local to Los Angeles that I could bounce ideas of. Hard to do it alone

 

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the comments, and I'm glad you guys like the truck. It is not perfect, but I'm really happy with how it turned out. After looking at those photos, I did notice that I forgot to touch up the door latch screws.. So I guess it isn't "finished" yet..

Thanks Scott, you've contributed a lot to the restoration thread. And I still appreciate you going out of your way to sell me the running board.

Thanks Bill, I'm not sure how many hours I have in it, but it's quite a few. It would be interesting to have a punch clock in the garage to keep track of that for a project. Over the past year, if I wasn't at work I was almost always at home working in the garage.

Thanks! I tried to be very intentional about documenting the restoration. I was afraid the video might turn out a little cheesy, but it beats taking three hours to read the original rebuild thread.

I wasn't sure if I was going to like the color when I was looking at paint chips a year ago, but I have to say I think it's my favorite original color from 1950. And it's not just that it's something different, I think it really is a good color. I don't think I've seen more than three trucks restored in Palisade Green.

The turn signal is a Chicago Auto Lamp 9000. It is a 50's vintage switch that Bill (49willard) was kind enough to give to me for the cost of shipping. I disassembled it and put a new wiring harness on it, but otherwise it is original. It is a self cancelling type, but the cam doesn't work with the truck steering wheel, so I just manually cancel.

I started messing with WWII jeeps when I was 14 or 15. I worked and went to school through my teens, and didn't have a lot of extra "jeep" money. So I bought/restored/traded MBs and GPWs for parts or cash in order to restore the 1943 GPW that I had. I've been involved with WWII era stuff for the last 12 years, but I've always wanted a civilian truck. Being active duty, it's difficult to have a bunch of projects because you have to pack up and store/move them every few years.. So I've been keeping it to one historical vehicle. I sold my 1943 GPW a few years ago because I found a numbers matching 1944 GPW that was very original.

When I purchased this truck, I really wasn't in a position to be buying a project. I had been accumulating parts and my 1944 GPW was ready and waiting to be restored. However, I had a mental list of what I wanted in a truck, and I dangerously perused facebook market place and craigslist every once in a while "just in case". Low and behold, I found this one for sale by Wichita, and it ticked every box (stock/unmodified, F-2, 1948-1950, express bed, 6 cylinder, mostly complete, within reasonable driving distance), so I had to jump on it. I rebuilt the floor of my shed so that I could move the jeep out of the garage and into the shed, which allowed the garage to be clear for the truck restoration.

So to answer the original question, I just have the one other unrestored GPW and this F-2. I'd love to have more, but two are difficult enough to move with. If I were able, I'd definitely have an F-4 or F-5 project in the works, there are a lot of really nice large trucks for sale all the time in KS.

I'd love to, but I don't have room for another vehicle. I have some 1940s/50s Craftsman power tools and tool boxes to restore, a gas pump, and a few other "small" projects to keep me busy for a while.

 

Wow, brought back memories. My Dad was a salesman and always had a Chevelle or Cutlass.Their second vehicle that my mom would drive me and my sister to school in on rainy days was a 1948 Ford F-1 or 2. I do not remember I was 4 or 5 years old. I remember it being in worse shape in 1969-70 than in your before picture. I remember my Mom pumping the gas, working the manual chock, all while stepping on the floor starter as water would be dropping on her foot. Mom would be complaining as women can do and I remember the boot for the floor starter was missing and I could look through the floor to the ground.The truck had spent it's life in the almond orchards of Chico California. All of the windows were cracked as was the mirror.
I have always loved that iconic hood and fender look.
Thanks for showing me what the truck should have looked like.
Nice work

 

If it had a floor starter it was not a Ford 48-55. Chevy trucks of that era had floor starters next to the gas pedal....

 

Interesting, I was always told it was a 48. The body style was like Myers B. With the hood release being one of the chrome bars on the front of the hood. Would an older model Ford have the floor starter?

 

Great restoration. Gives me inspiration, I’m picking up my 48 today.

 

Beautiful job on the restoration, and the posts along the way were great. Enjoy your truck.

 

MeyersB, your truck turned out amazing. It is not surprising as your attention to detail has led to the final product. Again, nice truck and congrats. Thanks for taking us along for the ride. Cheers