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My 1950 f1
My truck in 1993, a couple weeks after I got it.
My truck was purchased new, by my grandfather, from Frank Carroll Ford in Los Angeles, CA on August 29, 1950 for $1,525. It came with a 239 cu in V8, 3 speed floor shift transmission, and 3.91 gears. It came with a rear bumper (which I'm told was an option) and a passenger side windshield wiper. It also had a driver's side spotlight, which I am told was probably dealer installed. My grandfather used the truck on his farm for several years, and from the mid 60's to about 1985 he used it for what little driving he had to do. He quit driving in 85 but he would go and start it up occasionally. He died in 1988 and the truck sat, neglected, out in the sun, until 1993 when I decided to give it a home.
I had my sights set on owning that truck since I was about 3 years old. Something about it appealed to me. Whenever I went to visit my grandfather I'd spend most of my time playing in the truck--honking the horn, slamming the doors and bumping the starter.
"One day it'll be mine, all mine!"
Something that impressed me about the truck was that, apart from an electric fuel pump, it was dead stock. Everything was original! I was impressed by that and wanted to keep it as original as I could. But I was using it as a daily driver and practicality had to be considered. So in the interest of practicality I converted to a 12 volt electrical system and did some other things to make it more drivable. My rule was to never make any changes that couldn't be restored easily. Friends were constantly after me to swap in a small block Chevy or a Volare front end, but I was insistent on keeping the flathead.
I drove the truck regularly from the end of 1993 until mid 1995 when my transmission gave out. It was terrible, with almost no warning the whole transmission was destroyed. I didn't have any luck finding the parts I needed (main problem was finding a case for a floor shift) so I decided to park the truck until I could figure out what to do.
For almost a year I thought of all the things I could do. It was a really tough choice. I had to decide what I wanted out of that truck. Did I want a showroom quality 1950 truck? Did I want to run 12 second quarter miles? Did I want to bother with the truck at all? In the end I decided that what I wanted was a truck that would run hard and reliably for many years to come. Parts had to be readily available and not outrageously expensive. This meant that the flathead would have to go. Once again practicality won out. I think that my grandfather would approve of my choice--I'm fixing old equipment so that it will run better for a longer amount of time. As a farmer and practical (read cheap) guy I think he'd approve of that.
By May of 1996 my mind was made up, I was going to transplant a 302 Ford in to my truck and buy it many years of dependable service. Just as I was about to go to the junkyard to buy a 302/C4 package a friend called me and said he knew where I could get a 351C/C4 and 9" rear for $250. I called around to find out more about the Cleveland engine. While aftermarket support isn't as big as for a 302 or 351W there are enough goodies available to cover whatever I want to do to it. Installation is a little more difficult, due to it's size, but the increased power made that a worthwhile trade-off.
My 351 powered F1 has been running good since June 1996, though I don't drive it nearly as much as I'd like to. I'm still doing a lot of work on the truck, and it is far from finished, but it's coming along nicely.
If I was starting this project now things would be much different. For starters I would have probably kept the flathead. I like the 351 (I love the power) but my big problem at the time was that I couldn't find transmission parts. Today parts are more readily available, largely thanks to the internet. If I knew about Flat-O products back then I would have probably stuck a C4 behind the flathead and left everything else alone. I don't regret anything I've done though. For that time I made the right decision. In 10 or 15 years if I decide to restore again I can always change it back.
