Top 10 Fords from Carlisle Ford Nationals!
The 2024 Carlisle Ford Nationals was the biggest one yet, and that made it all the more difficult to pick just ten favorites.
Intro
Another record-breaking Carlisle Ford Nationals is in the books. How does this event continue to get bigger and better every year? It probably has something to do with the thousands of Ford vehicles at the show, the vendors, the new product reveals, the parade, the drifting exhibition, the autocross, the exhaust competition, and of course all the awesome people. The 2024 show was also blessed with three days of absolutely perfect weather. Put that all together and you have the largest Ford Nationals event in history. Which of course makes my job even harder.
From the thousands of Ford trucks, cars and SUVs, I have to pick out just ten favorites. That means I am going to potentially tick off thousands of people. The thing is every vehicle in attendance was worthy of inclusion here. If your custom Mustang or modified F-150 isn’t listed here, please don’t fret. I probably have a photo of it, and I could have included it here. But I had to limit the list to just ten, and I wanted to offer as much variety as possible. I tried to mix old and new and include as many vehicle types as I could. Some vehicles I purposely didn’t list here as I plan to feature them in future articles. That all being said, following (in no particular order) are the top ten from the 2024 Carlisle Ford Nationals.
1. 1940 Ford Custom Cab
There were thousands of vehicles in the show field during the weekend, but this was the only 1940 Custom Cab that I saw, and it was a beauty. There were a couple of mild modifications but other than that the truck looked like it just rolled out of the assembly plant. It was a stunning and rare find in a field full of stunning and rare Fords.
2. 1987 Merkur RS 4Ti
This thing was simply amazing. If you were at SEMA in 2022, you may have seen this car there, if not the 2024 Ford Nationals gave you another chance. Built by JH Restorations in Ontario, Canada, this machine is powered by a Ford Performance 2.3L ‘EcoBeast’ engine. It is hooked up to a Bowler TKX 5-speed manual transmission. It wears a custom body kit that gives it an RS500 look. Covered in Ford Area 51 Blue paint, this car demands a closer look.
3. 2022 Bronco Wildtrak
A 2022 Bronco Wildtrak is not exactly rare, but I chose this example, because it is probably the only one in the world that has been built like this. The owner wanted a new Bronco with an old Bronco look. So every body panel was taken off and the SUV was painted in Blue Teal, a color offered on the 2000 Harley-Davison Road King bikes. And that is really just the start. The Bronco has custom Katzkin leather interior, an upgraded suspension, beadlock wheels and a whole lot more. It was a beautiful new generation Bronco.
4. 1931 Ford Model A Pickup
Here is a lovely 1931 Model A Pickup with a matching trailer. How could I leave this beauty off the list? Take a look at that V8 engine peeking out from under the hood. It is fantastic to see these older rigs out in the sun mixing it up with the newer metal.
5. 1980 Ford Courier
When was the last time you saw a 1980 Ford Courier? Most of you probably answered that you never saw one before. At Carlisle this year, this example sporting a terrific patina was proudly on display. The Courier was actually built by Mazda. Small trucks by Toyota and Nissan were getting popular at the time and Ford needed a quick response. The answer was to have Mazda build a small B-Series truck for them, and then have Ford badge it as one of their own.
6. Coyote F-100
A sweet, customized Ford F-100 with a painting of Wile E. Coyote on the side and a 5.0L Coyote V8 in the engine bay. When I walked by this truck was getting surprisingly little attention. I thought it deserved more recognition, so I am listing it here as one of the best of the show.
7. 1924 Model T Speedster
This is on here as a reminder that Ford has been making vehicles for a long time. This one was first built 100 years ago. The 4-cylinder engine made right around 20 horsepower and had a top speed of only 50 mph. That might not blow your hair back in 2024 but in 1924 that was not bad. This example was converted to a Speedster shortly after it was built. As such, it represents one of the earliest hot rods.
8. 1964 Ford Econoline
I decided to put this on the list because you just never know what you will see at the Ford Nationals. And not every car or truck for sale is well into the six-figure price range. This humble 1964 Ford Econoline was being offered for sale for just $10,500. According to the advertisement it runs and drives and has new tires. This could be a really fun little project for not much money.
9. 1956 Ford F-100
This 1956 Ford F100 was not for sale but if it was, it would probably be a lot more than ten grand. The 572 cubic inch engine alone is probably worth several times that figure. The all-black color scheme, fat tires, side exit exhaust and huge blower give this truck an evil presence. You gotta love it.
10. 2024 ‘Fun-Haver’ Mustang
The Vaughn Gittin Jr. drift car known as the ‘Fun-Haver’ was in town and it just had to make this list. The 2024 Mustang RTR Spec-5 FD cars are the most advanced Formula Drift cars that RTR has ever built. That sentence alone qualifies the car for making this list. This car was a highlight of a show filled with highlights.
Images: Joe Kucinski