I stopped in @ The Car Shop in Orange , Ca. the other day and they had an old white 1959 pickup truck parked outside so I took a look . Longbed . Factory DeLuxe heater option Factory radio option Three speed column shift tranny with OVERDRIVE . 312 C.I. Thunderbird engine... HUH ? It's a F-100 ! .
How DARE YOU!!!!!!! Come on, Nate!!!! Last I knew, you were going to get a .... GMC!!!!! Right???? But now you are daring to mention the "F" word???!!!! We ALL know your passion for the mighty 6~ gender bias. BUT!!! Do not expect ANY of us to say "Walk to the darkness, Nate... we're here for you..." IT WON'T HAPPEN!!!!! This is my time to remind you of that BEAUTIFUL G you saw that you could picture yourself in... GET IT!!!! IT'S AN AD!!!!! Course, that's just MY opinion...
Well ; You're right of course . It's been over 8 months since I drove anything with a clutch I have been sorta-kinda entertaining the idea of another truck , Hydramatic Drive (or equivalent) equipped of course..... That's what I liked about the '54 GMC - it allready had a TH400 (?) [I forget ] and (what else ?) a SBC , easy enough to throw that junk in the scrap bin and fit a proper InLine 6 Banger and Motor on happily towards the future..... Once upon a time , when I were a poor farm boy who used whatever junk was lying around , I had a 1959 F-100 ex - U.S.A.F. runway crash truck , it has the venerable 240 CID InLine 6 Banger and a three on the tree manual tranny , it was a good truck (considering) and I especially liked for the doors always open & close on that brand of truck , with delicious clicks even when totally rusted out... But of course buying a new (old) truck would mean finding a sucker , er , customer (yeah , - that's it) to buy my battered old 1949 3100...
Sometimes you just have to go with the flow. My wife wanted a fishing truck but says AD's are ugly. Would have had a come back but learned my lesson years ago on her antiques. I asked her why she like things that were old, ugly, worn out, and useless to which she replied " I married you didn't I ?". She was looking at a 61 or 62 Ford Unibody which I skillfully talked her out of but did settle for a short wide 64 Custom Cab that I stuck a 302 and C4 into. Duded it up with p/s, p/b, and a/c and yes it is as you have stated---the Toyota p/s on the straight axle seems to amplify the bump steer. I told her when she had the bed loaded with fish that would go away.
F-100 Unibodies I rather like those ! Most were sold with I-6 engines and either three on the tree overdrive or slushboxes , making them good gentleman farmer trucks . I know they had serious torsional rigisdity issues but I live In Town now so I'd think it'd be O.K. . For those who are not aware , these unibody 1/2 ton pickups were *so* flexible that when you parked them on seriously uneven ground , the body flexed sufficiently that the doors would jamb..... not brand 'F's proudest moment so they only made them for two years although it was a good seller .
Forgive me Father, for I have sinned! I too, have lusted for a "F" word truck! I drove one in HS! It was my grandfather's '58 stepside, complete with nothing but a 3 on the tree, I6, black w/ white grille and matching bumpers. I've gotta admit that it was a fine PU. I'm going to do 15 "Hail Mary's" and kiss my ex-girl friend's beads and get thru this! God bless USA and the Big 3!
I too have one of the dreaded Fxxx trucks, a nice 51 F-1 with a 289 and three on the tree( a worthless combo for any kind of hot rodding). I figure that I got the last good vehicle that Fxxx ever made.
P.S. Not completely lost. Just purchased a 54 GMC 1/2 ton longbed 2 weeks ago, and my wife not only wasn't mad, she said Happy Father's Day! Guess I better keep her!
I have had most of the time both the Chevy and the Ford at the same time as now. While I really do want a FatBoy, I would rather just keep what I have now the true 1 ton Longbed just can not be topped.
Never owned a ferd. In my book, they have great paint colors, a few good designs, but overall, i don't like the looks. The only good ferd is a really old ferd. 30's to 50's to be exact. I'll just keep the AD rescue going, beautify the world a little more.
Coilover - AD ugly? I think it is time to get your wife some new glasses! But then she might be able to see you...
I Usta Did Have a 1931 DeLuxe pick-em-up made by Brand 'F' , it made a nifty shop truck but the guys in my Model A club freaked out every time I drove it to a meet full of old engines and assorted greasy junk.... Hey , it's A TRUCK I'd remind 'em it was a real beaut ! nickle plating everywhere , dual sidemounted spares , rear bumpers , a "B" head and a "C" crankshat , overdrive of course , brake floaters and on and on...
Ken, that is a beauty. The 30's were when styling really came into it's own and GM, Ford, and Chrysler all had some memorable cars/trucks. Before then everything was pretty much a square box. My nephew is building his Dad's 34 that he drove to school for 20 years as a high school teacher. It sat on a mid seventies F100 frame that it did not fit at all. After he died young at 45 my nephew, who was then 8, said he wanted to finish it up as his dad had talked about. He built a new frame by plasma cutting the side rails out of a 1/8" steel plate donated from the bed floor our neighbors 56 GMC and then joining the four plates together with 1/8x2 strap. After smoothing, grinding, and fabbing up a round tubing X member it's something that would make his dad proud. Long, long way to go but a good foundation. Pics show it sitting on the 70's frame (note the headlight bar is BEHIND the radiator) and then on his jig table made frame. This is something that one could do for any old truck so it is pertinent to the forum and yes, we have scratch built AD frames.
I Must Admit Brand 'F's vehicles from 1933 ~ 194? are *much* prettier than the bowties of the same era , if not for those wretched flatheads , push & pray brakes etcetera , things might have been different.....
Wash your mouths out!!! WTH???? How DARE you! Dropping "F" bombs like terrorists abound! ...now this post is back up front! I've done my deed for the night!
