Surrounded by long grass and other sad and neglected vehicles, this 1935 Ford Pickup is a forlorn-looking sight. However, it appears that there are people out there who see some potential in the old Ford. Whether this is as a project vehicle, or for parts, is unclear. This interest has seen bidding reach $2,125 in a No Reserve auction. Located in Superior, Nebraska, you will find the Pickup listed for sale here on eBay.
I guess the best place to start is by saying that all of the original sheet-metal for the Pickup is present. I actually find it a little bit surprising how solid the body appears to be. External rust is pretty insignificant, although this Ford does sport its fair share of dents and dings. The hood and radiator cowl are present, and while the hood doesn’t look bad, the cowl is dented, twisted, and the grille is probably damaged beyond repair. The floors are also non-existent, and there is no indication regarding the state of the frame. Unfortunately, all of the glass in the Pickup is either cracked or broken.
The news regarding both the interior and the mechanicals of the Pickup are not good. As you can see from this photo, there’s precious little inside the Ford to be salvaged. However, if the body is going to be used as the basis for a custom or rat rod project, it means that the next owner can configure it the way that they want. Likewise, apart from the rear end, there’s little to discuss or assess in the way of mechanical components. The Pickup should be equipped with a 221ci flat-head V8 and a 3-speed manual transmission, but both are long gone, as are the front end and front wheels. It looks like whoever buys this is going to need some help rolling it onto a trailer.
When a vehicle has deteriorated to this stage, it’s a pretty sad sight, but automotive history has been littered with many such vehicles over the years. Looking around at current and recent sales, these 1935 Ford Pickups are a firm favorite in both the street rod and rat rod communities. I’d be quite surprised if anyone undertakes a restoration on this, so this one is either going to become a parts vehicle, or it could be the starting point for some form of a custom project.
I’ve seen them worse than this brought back from the brink to concourse quality, but I could go with the majority here and agree that a street rod would be the proper way to deal with this one. It’s definitely worse than my ’35. Don’t worry about the floorboards; they’re wood. At least mine is and so is the one in my friend’s truck. I understand that steel floors didn’t come out until ’37, but I could be corrected. Rest of the cab is steel though. Now this one: If it came my way I’d be tempted to get a custom rolling chassis with a Ford 9 inch rear, 4-link rear suspension and IFS. Order it with mounts for a flathead/C4 combination and build a nice street rod. I choose that method because by the time you build up the stock frame and set it up for the modern stuff you’ve got as much money tied up in that as you would in a custom chassis. Let somebody else worry about all that stuff and concentrate on the body, which in itself will keep you busy for a long time. The end result would be one cool street rod that would even be tolerated by the purist crowd…
Oh this is just an iconic body style and a thing of true beauty, Prime candidate for a custom. Title it and then set the body on something much newer. We do have a Ford Explorer, V8 AWD and you have the best of both worlds as well as 4wheel burnoffs.