The elements and time can do some wild things to old vehicles much like this ’40 Ford pickup. Well weathered with varying colors, this unique pickup is a great start to a project, and the seller had every intention of getting it roadworthy but fell short on his plan. This project pickup is not a runner, but still offers great styling and promise. Bidding has reached $4,150 for this weathered pickup. Check it out here on eBay out of Elmwood, New Jersey.
Despite the seller’s optimism, this truck is going to take some work to get up and running again. The flat head V8 is missing a head or two, and the cylinder bores are full of dirt and rust. It would appear that the radiator burst causing the head gaskets to pop. Upon removal of the heads my guess would be that there was more trouble than just the head gaskets. I would venture a guess to say that there is a crack in the block. Although if this truck was to be a rat rod of sorts like the seller suggests, a more modern V8 would be suitable to get this truck moving.
The well weathered appearance stretches to the interior where there are a few spares to be found. Much of the window glass that is visible is cloudy, cracked, and delaminating. A good cleaning would give an idea of the condition of the floors, and I imagine that the dash and doors would clean up fairly reasonable.
There are some wacky things going on with this truck other than the wild “patina”. For instance, there are two smoke stacks fitted to this old Ford, which is a rather unique thing to see. A rather wide set of wheel have been fitted and the tires do have some tread. There is plenty of surface rust to be found on this truck, but rot is limited to a cab corner and the bed. The wooden bed slats are long gone, and the edges of the steel bed are reasonable, minus the front of the bed which has some minor rot. The lower portion of the front grill has been bumped, but there seems to be no other surrounding damage. Really a great body style for a classic Ford pickup, this old truck would be great to revive and get out on the roads once again. Would you tackle this classic Ford project?
Looks mostly complete. Full restoration in store for this thing. I’d have to have a close look at the engine before I’d write it off. It would be difficult to locate a proper (01A) engine for this one but a 59AB would work just fine. It wouldn’t surprise me if that already was a 59AB. Of course the likes of people like me would probably look around for the proper engine, just to make it closer to stock. Ohhh, those straps on the fenders!!!! They start to crack on the inside and someone welds a strap on to keep them from falling off completely. Lots of work to restore them but it’s well worth the effort. I like this unit, and the price is pretty good. I’m glad it’s not closer to home or it could very well be heading for my place. And someone at my place might decide I need to have a different zip code….
HI Geomechs I agree this should get restored with a correct engine. I agree that it’s possible to rebuild that engine and would be the first thing I looked at. The idea that this truck doesn’t need much to be on the road is false even if you were going to keep the rustina, there is still a ton of work to do. My problem is I can see in my minds eye what this would look like restored and it is a beauty. With olive green paint and black fenders. The idea that it needs to be preserved as is my question is what are you preserving ( not much ) I’ve often wondered with this originality thing what defines original. If you’ve done an oil change is it still original, or changed the tires, or change the starter, or changed a damaged fender or replaced the king pins. So if you changed a king pin is it still considered original, then why can’t you change the paint? Is not the paint also a part of this truck that can wear out? The thing I find over stated is calling this a survivor. The fact is it has not survived, far from it, somebody just forgot to haul it away. Don’t you find that a lot of the lingo is BS, a way to sugar coat it to perhaps inflate the true value. I think preserving patina is just allowing further decay to occur. Ok I’ll stop my rant I know that when it comes to these topics I beleave I can say I’m preaching to the chorus. There you have it rant completed. Thanks for listening.
Yeah, I often wonder where this preservation thing came from? And how do they decide if it’s worth preserving or restoring. I look at my ’49 Chevy which got hauled out of a shed with only 19K miles on it. It was close to original back then but since that day, it has had the brakes done, the radiator core replaced, the auxiliary radiator core replaced, the brakes done again, a valve job, and numerous other things that I call maintenance items. Is it still original? As far as I’m concerned it is; it’s been kept road worthy so it can be dependable and therefore enjoyable. i bought my ’79 GMC new when I was working for a GM dealership. 330K miles later, it’s down for a major rebuild. Some might call it a restoration because I’ve torn it down to the frame. But everything started giving way at the same time. You can’t drive anything forever because they are designed and built by members of the human race, from materials that do eventually wear out. Of course I’ve heard comments from import sellers/owners that their cars NEVER wear out, and you don’t have to do anything but fill the tank with gas. Being a mechanic I have to call BS on that one. They all break, and they all wear out. Now if this truck was in as good a condition as my Chevy was when it got pulled out, I’d agree with the preservation crowd, but this truck has seen hard service–used as a truck was intended–and needs everything done at the same time. Vehicles like this, you pull into your shop, gut the interior, thoroughly clean it, do the rough-out bodywork, then strip it completely down to do a complete restoration. It’s well worth the journey….
I have to openly admit, in my younger days, my ’53 IH and the Diamond T had straps holding the back fenders on, not like this, tho. I didn’t have a welder, so that was the repair.
Back in the late 50s, I worked for a logging company that used a couple of these tough old trucks and a couple of 47s as crummies, used for hauling crews and equipment. Because of the quality of the roads ( I am being complementary, they were corduroy) these trucks got beat up in ways that are difficult to imagine.
Often, the brake lines got ripped out by snags, and all the fenders had steel straps When the brakes went, we depended on the ebrake. When that failed, ( a driveshaft broke on that occasion), the driver found the lowest gear, turned off the ignition, and we bailed out. Lots of bruises, and we had to walk down the hill, but the extra free beer helped ease the pain. I don’t think anyone would work in those conditions today. Everything was held together with haywire and gum.
I have fond memories of these tough old trucks. They just never quit.
Bob
If the driveshaft broke it won’t matter what gear you in there is no connection between the engine and the rear wheels
This happened in 1958, and have not related this particular story before.
You are correct in your statement. I was generalizing, because losing the brakes happened a few times, but the driveshaft only separated only the one time.
Sorry not to have been careful in my description of the event.
Bob
OK, now – the drivers and passengers were “haywire”, the truck was held together with “bailing wire”
This rig would have been the dream find in 1959 for my twin and me; we settled for a ’40 Merc Cvt – Carson chopped top. As I recall – 1/4# stroke and 145 thous overbore = 296 CID flat head with a dual coil distributor, ported, polished, relieved, dual carb, headers and Lincoln Zephyr gears. Bare block came from a scrap yard – we had to remove head studs from over twenty blocks before we got to one with thick cylinder walls – rumored to have from a WW II era desert vehicle
By the way, for the rest of the world the war started on September 1, 1939 which is the day my bros and I were conceived (something of an emotional response mum told us in 1960!)
Back in my Jr High and HS days, the shop teacher had a couple of similar pickups and a sedan. I only say the one close up but the school bus drove by his place and you could see the other two. The flathead always impressed me with it’s sound and quite frankly it was just plain cool.
This needs to be fixed up and put back on the road.
Neat truck, and definitely merits a resto. Whomever fitted the stacks to it was sure thinking creatively.
Cool truck, somebody’s little hot rod after the war. As an old trucker, love the “up pipes”, but illegal without an exhaust guard ( found that out the hard way with a semi I drove with straight pipes, Ohio, I think it was) Once again, us purists are fading, and while we’d love to see it original, doesn’t have a snowballs chance in Hades. Somebody will resto-mod this truck to the nines, and that’s ok, I guess.
I don’t think it really matters if it restored or a resto mod as long as it is saved from the crusher. My guess is it was someone’s street rod from the 50’s or sixties. None stock wheels, stacks and the missing heads makes me think it probably had Offenhouser heads and they were removed or stolen. Probably didn’t spell that correctly but you get the point.
Cool truck love the stacks. fixer up fun project. You could slide a 283 in there and would mount to the stock tranny. No six grand hole shots tho!
Good luck to the new owner
Why would anyone want to put a junk 283 in a Ford when they could put a 289 in it and have a real engine. There are already way too many good Fords out there with non Ford engines.
Because the 283 would bolt to the stock front crossmember’s motor mounts with the use of a Hurst adapter. Another adapter will allow you to mount the 283 to the stock bell housing. If you want to put in a 289 in it you need to cut the firewall, weld some motor mounts to the frame, round up a Bronco rear sump oil pan. That pan still has a bit of a hump in the front so it needs to have the motor raised a little higher than the Chevy, etc, etc etc. Yes a Ford engine is an option but it requires butchery that a Chevy engine does not. Good Fords with Chevy engines are still good Fords. Of all the possible modifications, narrowing your mind shouldn’t be one of them. Let the new owner do whats best for his or her, not what your opinion dictates.
I’d stick with Ford no matter how much work or modification it took. Ford is Ford and Chevy is Chevy. ( I have no problem with either of these engines.)
In the early days of hot rodding, the Ford flathead reigned supreme and people put them in just about everything. Then after the mid fifties, the Chev small block displaced the flathead and they put those in most everything as well! So, to paraphrase the “Frank’s Red Hot” commercial, a true hot rodder could say “I used that s#*% in everything!” And it wouldn’t matter whether you were talkin’ Chevy or Ford because at different times, both were true.
Cut and shorten frame mid- section body, channel, any flathead 8 with carbs cam exhaust, join fenders (seamless), keep original hood lines and grille.
Lots of gennys out there of trucks to vans , be nice to see innovative and creative all steel customs built from rust buckets to come back in vogue.
Old age slows creative juices, and money important, build back original, is money driven and leaves but little imaginative, skill involved,
Sad because with today’s tools of welders, metal shaping and forming, so easily available, not counting damn near every body tail or headlight repos available, appreciation of autos is more of, THE ART OF THE DEAL”,
To me(IMHO) a late model overhead cam computer controlled fuel injected engine with modern 5 speed trans. Remove and reconstruct custom grill, mustang 2 front suspension, Ford 9” rearend and axels and housing with 4 wheel disk brakes. A/C installed, all windows removed and resealed with electric door windows, reconditioned original bench seat. All body parts (including bed) cleaned, repaired and painted candy apple green. Keep original wheels painted candy apple green with original hub caps and beauty rings. It probably wouldn’t cost any more than a new Lincoln Navigator, but would be one a kind. Just an old man dreaming out loud.
I’m sure someone has a flathead already rebuilt and ready to go in this truck. And the grille too. Rebuild the mechanicals, make it safe to drive, and keep the rest as-is until your funds will allow. Very reasonable if you spend wisely on the important stuff.
John – you took the words right outa my mouth – although I could make a credible argument to follow your upgrade path but leave as much of the “patina” in place as would be safe. Just think what would the Mounties say on a traffic stop on the TCH!
Get A Tetanus Shot!!
Bian, this might be pre-Korean War but pre WWII it is not… 1st of September 1939 is official start of WWII….
Not for the U.S.A. Dec. 7,1941 a day of infamy.
I want this baby! What more could I say.
Friday, 10:30PM. $4,250.00. Ends in 2 hours
Love custom paint, but would do all possible to retain body and bed patina. Massage and perfect rear fenders in black, with a touch of violet added to deepen the black, then polish the whole works to the 10’s. Ain’t no custom painter out there, to be able to copy the story this weathering tells. This is absolutely the most fabulous patina I have EVER seen. Try to retain, or obtain another flattie of same size, then pump the hell out of it with new tech. May not be the fastest, but I could see may necks snapping, just to figger out “what the hell is that”!