You could make an argument that Ford was behind the times in the 1920s and early 1930s when it came to engineering, performance, and safety. While Henry Ford revolutionized mass production in the early 1900’s he often had the mentality of if it’s not broke, don’t fix it and eschewed some automotive engineering advancements in the name of mass production. Ford was the last manufacturer to make the switch to hydraulic brakes and Henry Ford himself believed the electric starter was more of a luxury and not a necessity. And of course, we’ve all heard the famous line “You can have any color you want as long as it’s black”. Ford was losing market share to its competitors throughout the ’20s and early ’30s. In the late 1930s however, Ford led the way with its post-Depression era styling. The 1939 Ford pickup, with its swooping fenders and unique oval grille, was ahead of its contemporaries in terms of pickup design and style, making this a great option if you are looking for a project. Make no mistake, this Ford Pickup is not a project for the faint of heart, but it truly does have endless possibilities making it worth a look. It’s for sale in Warfordsburg, Pennsylvania and you can find it here on craigslist where the seller is asking $5,500. Thanks to Ikey H. for the tip.
The seller is light on the details but there is enough in the pictures to give any potential buyer an idea of what they are getting here. The sheet metal looks pretty good on this one. While there is plenty of surface rust or patina as it’s sometimes called, there doesn’t appear to be any rot. There is no daylight coming through the floorboards and the bed looks to be solid as well.
The seats have gone missing, but the interior is simple and straightforward. It appears to be complete, with the steering wheel, gauges, and switches all present.
Under the hood, we find what appears to be the original engine. The seller is offering a second engine as part of the deal. No doubt the buyer will have some important decisions to make during the restoration process when it comes to the drive train.
There is enough here to complete a period-correct restoration with original sheet metal and drive train as it left the factory. Not your style you say? How about a resto-mod with an LS swap on a custom air ride chassis? Patina or custom paint? Maybe harken back to the revolutionary hot rod days of the ’50s with a chop-top and some added performance for the “flatty”? The possibilities here are endless. If this was your project what direction would you take?
Someone sure loves to shove that knife in and give it a twist! Those old barrel-nosed trucks are my favorites of all time. While a ’38 would be my ultimate achievement, the ’39 is an awfully close second. They look almost identical with the exception of the grill, and that is rather subtle. I might add that the hood latch is a dead giveaway too. Of course, the ’39 has hydraulic brakes. The older ’38 models still used a 21 stud engine but got switched over to the 24 stud during the production run. When I was in First Grade I could tell the difference between a ’38 and a ’39 in a blizzard just by looking at the grill. If I ever luck out with the writing or the lottery I’ll just have to bite the bullet and get me one of these while they are still available and ORIGINAL.
Could LS swap if you go that route OR a 4.6 Ford or 289 to 351 or a flat head from a Mercury. Possibly keep the original and rebuild it and drop it back in.
I like your thinking. An LS or a more modern Ford drivetrain would certainly make this quite driveable, but the flathead Merc idea would give it enough “oomph” and give it some old hot rod cool points.
Keep it Ford if you don’t have the stones to run the Flathead. But for God’s sake can we curtail the habit of putting Chevy’s in old Ford’s or any other brand for that matter.
While attending an auction in upstate NY, just the hood sides came up for one of these. My friend bought them for like $10 bucks and hung them in his garage. I bet someone would pay a pretty penny for those, as most were taken off to aid cooling and like many farm truck tailgates, they tend to “go missing”. Great find, but if you look up 1939 Ford pickup, unless they are original, a huge percentage are resto-mods. It’s refreshing to hear geomechs holding out for an original, but as time passes, and the last of these surface, I doubt it will happen.
I luv old fat fender trucks .
I would probably drop a crate Ford 289 or 302 lightly stroked to push 300 + HP with 3” exhaust to back and a a modern manual five or six speed in it and upgrade drive train to get a lil mpg to cruise but leave the outside other than nice black paint alone. The interior would retain a stuffed comfy full seat and basic gauges that were modern but looked old school.
Then put Coker white walls on steel wheels with dog dishes .
This kind of reminds me of this song…
“Somethin’ ’bout a truck in a farmer’s field
A no trespass sign, and time to kill
Nobody’s gonna get hurt, so what’s the big deal
Somethin’ ’bout a truck in a farmer’s field
Somethin’ ’bout beer, sitting on ice
After a long hard day, makes it taste just right
On that dropped tailgate, on a summer night
Somethin’ ’bout beer sitting on ice”
Although I’m somewhat negative about resto-mods, I did come across this one a few years back. I wouldn’t be afraid to drive one of these…
I’d take all of the fenders, hood, and running boards off, sell them for some more money for the truck and put a 426, 440 or something like that in it, huge blower, tunnel ram, open headers, leave the paint how it is, put a seat in it out of a chevelle or something. fat stickies on the back and pizza cutters on the front, and go drag racing. OH and don’t forget a mother bottle of nitrous in the bed, and huge turbos.
anyone notice he drug it out of the barn with a lawn mower?
First let me get this out of the way. Lately every article pops up with an offer to support Barn finds for $1.99 per week. While that is very reasonable some like me live on such a tight budget even this small amount is very difficult to part with. I love Barn finds and I want to support this great information highway, I just can’t. But if any of you readers can afford this small fee for such great articles then please subscribe.
Now about this truck. Great possibilities here, historic design, wonderful opportunity for someone. Reminds me of the one on the tv commercial. It’s painted blue and the man and woman say it was love at first sight. That’s exactly how I feel when I see these trucks.
God bless America
Hi John, I try and promote membership too. I frequent several sites, but this is the only one I pay for. I’m not sure what you mean by “$1.99 pop up ads”, I don’t seem to get those. I do so, because Barn Finds is a bit different. Rather than some big honcho writing the stories,it’s everyday people, and the membership helps pay their way. Takes a lot of research sometimes for us to just to flip through it in 20 seconds, or not at all. During this “stay at home” crap, Barn Finds is more important than ever. Thanks for that.
Howard, John – l too am on a fixed income, but in today’s atmosphere it’s a cheap way of entertainment especially if you are into the classics. My SSI and military pension don’t allow me to participate in these auctions but I thoroughly enjoy the memories some of these cars bring. Thanks BF for reminding me that we were young and “bulletproof” at one time. Keep up the good work.
This looks like a PEFECT PIECE to bring back to original. If you find a junker then turn that into a hot rod of some sort.
Right on point, WR. To turn it into “resto-mod” would do this truck a huge injustice. To repower it with a modern powertrain as suggested above is completely missing the point and trashing another automotive artifact in the process.