This sharp (the after pic!) 1949 F-2 belongs to list member Bob Jones.

This is my 1949 Ford F-2 3/4 ton pickup. It has a 226 flat six and heavy four speed transmission. This truck was originally bought by my dad in 1969 to use as a towing vehicle for his auto service business. He used "Ol' Betsy" for this purpose until 1973. It was also used as a second, and at times the primary family car that carted around a family of five.

I first saw the truck when my dad answered a "for sale" ad in the newspaper. At the time it had about six different colors of paint and primer and I thought it was the worst looking piece of junk I had ever seen. I was very surprized when he returned to the car and informed me he had just bought the truck for $100.00. I though "What a piece of junk". He bondoed the body up, spray can painted it all black, and stencilled his business name on the doors and added about four different sets of warning lights. For the next four years I spent all of my school vacation time with my dad at his service station and riding around in the old Ford. Finally in 1973 he parked it in the yard because it was too slow for modern traffic. It sat rotting until 1982, then I started an amateur restoration. I worked on and drove the truck for about two summers. During this time I replaced the flat six engine with the same vintage flat six, because the original one froze up, took the chassis all the the way down, replaced the rear springs, all four shocks, and rebuilt the entire brake system. I did major body and paint work. I then put it in storage for about eight years.

In 1992 I started to get the bug to do another restoration of the truck, but this time I wanted to do a better job. My wife found a F-7 fire truck with 3000 miles sitting at a gas station. I used the cab and interior pieces and sold the rest for a $50 profit. I replaced all of the sheet metal except the rear fenders and tailgate, these I did extensive patching to because I could not find decent replacements. I also redid the brake and electrical systems. I did all the work myself including the body and paint work. I had to do a lot of wheeling and dealing to get replacement parts and I have kept it as close to stock as possible. I have won a few first and second place trophies at the local shows I have gone to. All the hard work pays off when someone on the street gives me a thumbs up or yells "Cool truck". The truck means more to me since my dad passed away. Every time I drive it I remember those great summers bombing around and getting dirty with my dad. I installed an ooga horn and my kids call it "The Ooga truck" but she's still "Ol Betsy" to me.