My buddy has been hauling junk cars for scrap to make ends meet between jobs. He called me up the other day and told me that he bought "an old Ford truck" for scrap that he thought maybe I ought to look at before he hauled it in to the crusher. I went to have a look and it turns out that he'd bought a '50 F-4 that had been stored indoors since '89. Mechanically, it's hashed. It would take a ridiculous pile of cash and work to ever get it going again.

HOWEVER! It did have a pretty decent cab on it. The roof needs a little straightening and the extreme bottom of all four cab corners is soft, but the floors are rock solid and it's pretty straight overall. Decent doors, only minor dings and rust in the hood, excellent grille and upper/lower aprons. The upper and lower fenders are pretty rusty, but that's the worst of it. They could be fixed, but fiberglass F-1 fenders would fix them even better. It had an absolutely cherry set of short stake bed running boards on it, too. The inner fender splash guards and radiator drip pan were even still there. Even though it's a homely grinning idiot monkey-face, I just couldn't bare to see it get squished.

Here she is:






I gave him the $300 he paid for the truck and went out there today with the trailer and my torch. I pulled all the sheetmetal off and a few other pieces that I wanted and left him the chassis, bed, and drivetrain to haul for scrap. I've got a clean title for it, too. We're both happy this way. I just happen to have a spare F-1 chassis already set up for IFS and a small block Ford that I didn't have a body for. There's a sweet running 5.0L and AOD out in the barn that doesn't have a home, either. Looks like I have another truck to build after the F-2. I am left with a dilemma, though. After the townfolk see me out cruising in my obviously more attractive '52, I may have to wear a disguise to drive her ugly older sister. It might ruin my reputation. Think maybe I can tack my spare '51/'52 grille to the tailgate and just drive backwards?

 

Good save. That grill might grow on you.

 

ROFLMAO!!!!!!


Sweet find!

 

You don't really need the short running boards now.

 

Wow, that's pretty cool. I hate to see these things get smashed.

It even came with the official dangling signal flasher!

 

If you decide to part it out I'm still looking for a monkee face grille...

 

It's a thing of beauty. Make all the excuses you want.......glad you finally came out of the closet!!!!

Gil

 

Did you get the "correct" radiator frame bolts off it?! Was the flat V8 really beyond salvage?

 

What did it have for engine and trans? (oops, stepped over Ross)

 

Its' beauuuutifulllll !

Those classic, horizontal grill bars.. it doesn't get any better.

The truck gods are smiling .

 

Aw, I really don't dislike the '48-'50 trucks. I just prefer the sexier '51-'52's. The boy is turning 14 next month and I think I'm going to show him how to screw a pile of spare parts together into a vehicle with this thing. He needs to learn something besides MMA moves and which controller buttons to press on his PS3. I told him today that if he wants a car/truck outta me, then he's going to have to assemble it himself and the first load of parts was right outside. I was shocked that he actually went out the trailer and showed a little interest in it. There may be hope for him yet!

The drivetrain was a flathead V-8, crashbox 4-speed, and a single speed axle. The engine turned over, but half of one exhaust manifolds was completely missing, several manifold bolts were busted off in the block, and there was a mouse nest hanging out of the exhaust port where the manifold piece was missing. By the sound of it turning over, it had several valves stuck open. The breaker plate was dancing all over the place in the distributor and the carburetor was plugged solid with a dirt dauber nest. Did I mention that the lower tank of the radiator was swollen and cracked from freezing? That probably didn't do the block any favors, either. I've got about a dozen flathead V-8's in storage. This one looked rough enough that I didn't want to mess with it. I've got several of those wretched gear grinding 4-speeds around too. The frame crossmembers had been hacked up to install the hoist, the rear leaf springs were totalled, and the brakes haven't worked in about 20 years. It was rolling on 6 dryrotted tires and widowmakers also. The body was the only thing that had any value to me. It would have been cool to save the whole thing, but mechanically I felt like it was a lost cause.

 

This story is getting better all the time.

 

I still don't get how someone could even consider crushing old trucks...

Nice save! And hey it's got one of those speedos that just looks awesome

 

Well Done.... I'm Speechless.......

 

I know, it makes me sick too, but the scrap haulers are getting $235 a ton right now. What's a truck like that weigh? 3 1/2 - 4 tons? I know I couldn't afford to pay $900 for a truck like this to spare it from the crusher. At least my buddy gives me a shot at any parts I want on the Fords he buys before he runs them in. He just bought a pretty decent '78 Lincoln Continental today. Other than needing a new vinyl top, it's a pretty nice car. 460/C6 and it runs like a champ. The interior is cherry. He paid $300 and he'll probably get $600 even after he pulls the radiator, catalytic converters, wiring harness, starter, and alternator out. He sells that stuff to core buyers separately. It hurts to see such a cool old car get murdered, but who wants a gas hog land yacht like that these days? I did score the hydroboost brake booster and P/S pump off of it, though. They'll make nice additions to my F-2. All part of the circle of life, I suppose.