1952 Ford F-1

A totally restored Ford F1 pickup truck. Lots of attention to detail has been paid to this truck, and it shows.

Exterior

Red, not the original color but a beautiful red. The tailgate has the Ford stamped into the steel and painted white for contrast. A bulbous hood with the classic Ford badge in its front and center and dual side badges in script form. Rounded fenders and running boards connect them. All are painted red and have a nice deep end finish. A silver painted front bumper, and black painted rear bumper. The bed has been restored with new oak and shiny stainless-steel mounting strips. The wheels are red steel wheels with moon caps and wide white sidewall tires. The door handles, mirrors, and front grille are excellent in condition chrome.

Interior

Swing open the red metal doors to reveal a simply brown vinyl door card and a two-tone bench seat in cream lined with brown vinyl. A beautifully restored dash is very simple with the gauges, a few knobs, and a speaker in the center. The full restored steering wheel fronts this dash, and it is painted red. The floor is draped in a thick pile carpet piece in brown. The headliner is a smooth stretch of brown vinyl interrupted only by a small dome light.

Drivetrain

Under the hood, and you are gazing into a wonderfully restored engine bay which includes a rebuilt 215ci inline 6-cylinder engine. All surfaces have been stripped and powder coated. As such, it’s all very clean. Some surfaces on the threads of the axle U-bolts and other bare metal pieces show some surface rust, but you really have to look for these. Bolted behind the green block is a 3-speed manual transmission, which sends power to a 3.92 rear axle. Drum brakes standard for the time.

Undercarriage

With the frame off restoration, the frame was stripped and powder coated. As such, it’s all very clean. Some surfaces on the threads of the axle U-bolts and other bare metal pieces show surface rust, but you really have to look for it. The dual exhaust and stock style muffler are in great shape and exit behind the left rear wheel. Leaf springs on both ends of this truck and it couldn’t be much simpler. We note some oil drops on the green oil pan.

Drive-Ability

These classic trucks, and their large rounded hoods offer a feeling of heft and largeness even though the cab is minimalistic and comfortable. So many of these have been modified, chopped, lowered, and retrofitted with later engines. It’s nice to take a lap in a more original example.