The appearance of this truck in the Barn Finds assignments list was slightly coincidental. Just a day before it showed up (thank you, Rocco B, for the tip!), I had a plumber out to the farm. He was 30-ish and had just sold his Chevy C10. I teased him about hanging out with Chevys, and he said, well what I really want is a ’50s Ford truck. And lo and behold, here we go! Aside from that, certain Barn Finds readers are keen to see more trucks in our repertoire. Lo! again! Ok, enough of that. This 1955 F100 is available here on craigslist for $24,500, and you can drive it home from Sacramento, California, because it runs, starts, stops, and drives “like a dream”. Certainly looks the part!
The truck has had four owners since it was first sold out of the San Jose plant into Northern California, and each seems to have shared a “keep it stock” philosophy. The original 223 cu. in. straight six remains in the engine bay after a rebuild within the last nine years; the four-speed manual with granny gear was also factory-fitted. The truck has new tires and a new battery; the brakes were recently rebuilt, and the exhaust was replaced, as well. According to the seller, its only mechanical fault is a slight leak from a rear drive shaft seal.
The seller describes the interior as an 8/10. Back when the engine was rebuilt, the rest of the truck was refreshed too – including the upholstery, window felts, and door seals. Even the lock mechanisms are still bright. The instruments have lately been replaced, but the originals will accompany the truck when it’s sold. Everything works, from the wipers to the lights, and the parking brake to the gauges. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a vintage vehicle where everything worked!
The paint is termed “respectable”, and the bed looks unused since the truck’s refresh. The underside is decent with the possibility of some upside after a weekend’s worth of work, though the spare tire mount is missing. You can pay a lot more and end up with a worse truck, and of course, you can also pay a lot more for a resto-mod. This example seems like a bargain to me; what do you think?
Not a bad price in today’s market