Daily Slideshow: 8 Second Gen Ford F Series Barn Finds

1953 Glacier Blue Beauty

1953 F-350 with 29K Miles

This old farm truck may look a little worse for the wear, but its current owner believes that the 29,000 miles showing on the odometer might actually be accurate. He purchased it from the original owner’s son and it’s actually in pretty good shape. Its beat up exterior makes the "29K mile" claim a little hard to believe, but you never know. Maybe the driver got more action than the truck itself. Some of these old farm trucks didn’t cover many miles because they were strictly for hauling things around the farm or ranch.

According to its owner, this F-350 was parked when a water pump went out 15 years ago. It is sitting outside now but is claimed to have been parked inside since the water pump reached its fatal end. There’s less rust than you would expect when first looking at the truck. Apparently, it wouldn’t take much to get this beast running again, but it might make a good candidate for a full restoration.

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1954 Ford F-100 Shorty

This 1954 F-100 Shorty could be the perfect classic chassis needed for a great top to bottom restoration, or an even better rat rod tribute since it offers a stellar blend of sun fade, rust, and a base layer of classic Ford DUCO Sea Haze Green. From additional photos of this truck, it appears that all you'd need to do would be redo the bench seat, replace the tires, scrub the whole thing down, and slather a layer of clear coat on to preserve its age. Of course, if you want it to be more than just an ornamental showpiece, you will need to re-plank the shorty bed, replace the missing radiator and bumper, and perhaps swap out its original manual three-speed for something that will give you a bit more get up and go. 

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1954 Ford F-Series with Camper Shell

This hidden gem was found in Batesville, VA, just southeast of beautiful Charlottesville, former home of Thomas Jefferson. This is a 1954 Ford F-Series pickup with what the owner says is a "factory made camper shell." It’s supposedly been in storage since 1980 so it’ll need some love and hard earned cash to get it rolling again.

This fang-faced Ford with a flathead V8 and a three-speed manual transmission is equipped with three pedals. The bed is the more desirable 6 1/2-foot box as opposed to the 8-foot box. This truck is about 1,000 to 2,000 pounds lighter than a 2016 Ford F-150 which makes it a relatively easy tow to the nearest restomod shop.  

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Minster Oil Company's 1955 Ford F-350

Although this F-350 with 251,313 miles on it wears the livery of an oil company in Minster, Ohio, the truck was recently discovered in Louisville, Kentucky, and it recently sold on eBay. Yes, there is a sizeable dent on the right fender and, yes, there is some rust, but you just can’t find many good old trucks like this one anymore, especially at the bargain price of $3,500. Chances are you’re not going to hit high speeds down the highway, and you aren’t going to win any shows either, but you sure can have some fun anyway.

In 1955, Ford called the F350 series "The Money Makers," which makes sense since they were used as work trucks and delivery trucks and it appears that this one needed to upgrade its engine (now a V8) and fuel tank. But better for the new owner, especially at that bargain price.

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1955 Ford F-600 Wrecker

This 1955 Ford F-600 may not have started out as a tow truck, but it's pretty darn cool regardless. The treatment of the tail lights puts a question mark on its history since a search of 1955 Ford wreckers, as this truck was called, doesn't turn up anything with this style of the rear end. The boom is actually an Ernest Holmes one dated 1915, so it certainly didn’t come stock on this wrecker, but apparently, the boom is fully functional. There’s a great article in Hemmings about how Holmes invented the tow truck (although the 1916 date of the first one throws the date of this unit into question). This truck itself has had some mechanical work done, including replacing/rebuilding wheel cylinders, new plugs and wires, a new fuel pump and a rebuilt carburetor.

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The Fat-fendered 1956 Ford F-100

The fat-fendered 1956 Ford F-100 was made for work and is now one of the most popular choices for hot rods and restorations. The owner of this one has done a lot of drivetrain and electrical work to get this truck into driving condition. The engine is a 351cid taken from a ’73 Ranchero. It also features a C6 automatic transmission with a 9-inch rear end. The truck also carries a redone driveshaft and new floor shifter along with a new exhaust system. It's another one of those trucks where super cool could mean leaving it alone or modding it up.

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1956 Ford F-100 Short Bed

Found in a barn in Missouri, this solid F-100 is a great looking project that runs but needs some help before it can be a true driver. It's got an inline 6 that runs off an external fuel tank because the factory tank and fuel system needs to be cleaned before it can be used again. There is some rust present, but the cab corners look good and the body as a whole is surprisingly clean. The front end of this truck is solid and straight with only minor evidence or surface rust. A solid short bed classic truck project that with the proper care could definitely represent the 1956 F100 for years to come.

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