This 1939 Ford Pickup Went From the Field to the Drag Strip

Second Chance

When one thinks of a farm truck, it conjures up images of a ratty old, beat-up, well-used machine that has earned its keep hauling hay, pulling things, and, well, just serving as a trusty workhorse until its usable life is gone. After that, at least in the old days, farmers used to simply park them somewhere and forget about them, leaving these rusty, patina'd pickups for years, at least until people started swooping in and saving them. However, this 1939 Ford farm truck - owned by Robert Lowe and recently featured at MotorTrend - was treated to an extra special second chance at life.

Photos: MotorTrend

Vintage Looks, Modern Mechanicals

From the outside, this vintage Blue Oval hauler certainly looks like it's been sitting outside for many years, because, well, it has. However, while Lowe kept all of that hard-earned patina and surface rust, he went to town underneath the skin by adding a series of serious mechanicals that make it seriously quick down the quarter-mile. 

Photos: MotorTrend

Decisions, Decisions

Using nothing more than his own tools and a two-car garage, Lowe proceeded to tear into his newest acquisition, with a big decision to make right off the bat - which sort of monster motor would he shoehorn in the engine bay? While many would go the Bow Tie route, that isn't the case here at all, thankfully.

Photos: MotorTrend

Big Ford Mill

Instead, Lowe went with a 427 cubic-inch, 351 Windsor-based mill, which is packing serious goodies like two 80mm VS Racing turbochargers and a Holley Dominator EFI system, in turn sending copious amounts of power to the wheels via a Powerglide transmission and a 9-inch Ford rear end built by Strange Engineering.

Photos: MotorTrend

DIY

What's even more notable about this 1939 Ford pickup is the fact that Lowe did a ton of custom fabrication work himself - in his garage - including building the chassis, creating a roll cage, and even putting together the four-link rear suspension setup.

Photos: MotorTrend

Evening Things Out

He also went with a rear-mounted radiator in this case, given how tiny the underhood areas are on these vintage pickups, and he further aided weight distribution by putting both batteries back there, too. Those things might cut down on cargo space, but this old Ford is pretty much done hauling things, anyway.

Photos: MotorTrend

Second Try

Now that his wicked build is completed, Lowe routinely participates in no-prep racing events, and most recently took his vintage pickup out for Hot Rod's Drag Week. There, it competed in the Ultimate Iron class, working to find redemption after last year's event ended early due to an axle-bearing failure. Regardless of what happens this time around, it's safe to say that Lowe at least has one of the coolest pickups in attendance.

Photos: MotorTrend

>>Join the conversation about this '39 Ford pickup dragster right here in the forum.

For help with your maintenance and repair projects, please visit our how-to section of Ford-trucks.com.