Daily Slideshow: 1950 F-1 Farm Rat: Patina or Just Rust?
One person's cancer is another person's patina as this 1950 Ford F-1 shows, $16,000 later.
Adjacent-to-Barn Find
Car guys regularly freak out over barn finds, but spotting a dusty truck in the vicinity of an old barn isn't exactly like finding a needle in a haystack. Farmer and Kentuckian Matt Robinson didn't have to search for this 1950 Ford F-1, all he had to do was look out his window since it had been parked next to his neighbor Bill's barn for three decades. Robinson knew that Bill, who'd bought the F-1 new and used it as his main work truck for many years, was holding onto it in hopes that one of his grandchildren would take a shine to it at some point. Still, Robinson saw the truck deteriorate with each passing year and decided to bug Bill about unloading it. Bill cracked, and after each and every one of his grandkids passed on the old Ford, he passed the pickup on to Robinson in exchange for 500 dollars.
Condition Condition Condition
No, you didn't read that wrong, Bill didn't offer Robinson 50 bucks to haul the pickup away, Robinson paid him $500 for the privilege. The way the F-1 looked then is the way it looks now, Robinson loved the truck’s decayed presentation and made every effort to preserve it. Instead he and a merry band of helpers—including his dad, brothers, girlfriend, and any friend who dropped by to see the new acquisition—set about fixing other areas of truck up.
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Step One
The crew separated the truck's body from its frame and then removed both front and rear axles. This gave them improved access for them to completely box the frame for added strength, with Robinson's girlfriend Jamie taking care of much of the welding. A Mustang II front suspension was grafted onto the F-1, utilizing a steering column from a Dodge Ram. The F-1 also wears Dodge disc brakes and uses a Dodge master cylinder, coupled with a Wilwood proportioning valve.
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The Back Forty
Moving rearward, the frame was notched to lower the body, and modified to accept a custom four-link rear suspension system, Classic Tech airbags, and an 8.8-inch Mustang rear end dressed up with a billet UPR differential cover. Dual Optima batteries, dual compressors, and an air tank are all mounted out of sight underneath the truck.
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Bye Bye Flathead
The original flathead V8 was still intact when Robinson bought the F-1, but not for long since he had his mind made up that diesel was the way to go. If you were wondering why all the Dodge stuff, it's because Robinson snagged a 1994 Ram off of Craigslist. He pulled all the pieces he wanted and parted the rest of the Dodge out. Among those pieces were a 5.9-liter Cummins diesel engine and a 47RE transmission. Robinson built a custom oil pan for the motor and installed an Industrial Injection PhatShaft 64/14 turbo to boost the 12-valve engine's performance. He also added a cut fuel plate with 191 delivery valves to the Cummins' P7100 fuel injection pump for increased flow. A Chevy radiator, from a 1998 half-ton, keeps things cool with help from twin Rapid Cool 12-inch fans.
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Spare Parts
You might have noticed what looks like a sewer pipe jutting skyward from the pickup's bed. Looks, in this case, aren't deceiving—Robinson built the exhaust to exit through a set of stacks made from well casings. The pipes screw off and can be capped, allowing spent gasses to just blow through a rust hole in the side of the truck. The fuel tank is also a found object, it's a repurposed '50s-era 15-gallon combine tank. There's diesel tractor fuel cap in the original filler's location as well, but that's just for looks.
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Parts to Spare
The F-1's bed is also recycled—the bed floor and inner fenders are constructed from old weathered barn wood, and the bed can be completely detached with the removal of only four pins. Robinson freed the truck from its running boards via blue-tipped-wrench, replaced the headlights with modern HID items, and added old Duo taillamps. And yes, the railroad sign bolted to the bed is the real deal.
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Cabin Fever
The interior was too far gone to save—patina is one thing but sitting on rusty springs is another—so Robinson added Bostrom Air Ride seats that he and his girlfriend re-did in black leather, as well as new glass and new carpet from LMC Truck. Kentucky can get toasty so they also added a Vintage Air A/C system.
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Man Plans, Nature Laughs
All told, Robinson and his helpers put 15 weeks of labor and $16,000 into the F-1 to get it to the point it's at in these pics. They use the pickup to help around the farm, take to shows, or just cruise. Robinson says he's not done yet, though he didn't mention bodywork in his plans. He may not have plans for the body but nature does. Rust never sleeps.
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