tuesdays truck

Now that truck had style.

That is a beaut!!!

Something like that is what I really wanted. This is what I ended up with instead. SShould've spent more time looking 25 years ago.

Blackhole,

You could not have done any better for yourself than you did. What a beautiful classic car.

Tom in TN

A home-made version of a 1940 Ford truck.

Ford never offered the ''DeLuxe'' passenger car grille on their trucks that year. As they had in previous years, Ford used last years (1939)''DeLuxe'' car line grille on its new 1940 trucks. The running boards are non-stock creations and the cab looks like it may have been made out of a sedan shell cut off behind the front doors, but maybe thats just the camera angle.

Heres a stock 1940 pickup for comparison. In 1941 Ford offered an identical truck (no 1940 ''DeLuxe'' car grille upgrade that year) in a cheapo base-model 1/2 ton truck with a 9N 4 cylinder engine to replace the troublesome and underpowered 60HP flathead V8, going from an already meager 60 HP down to 20HP and getting poorer gas mileage as a bonus!

My Ford chassis parts catalog for 41 and 42 only 4 CyL offered is listed as 40 HP for for commercial. The RPM is far higher than 9n tractor.

Heres the engine- a 9N tractor engine with a fuel pump.

All 9n engines have the the lobe on the cam to drive the pump, but only the T stamped blocks have the mounting provisions fully machined into the block. THey even use the tractors unpressurized radiator.

I think warbaby figured it out, chopped car. Tip off to me is the license plate--it is a 1963 issue car plate, a truck would have a single letter followed by 5 digits. In those days Calif, the title and plate configuration matched what the vehicle was as manufactured.

While both are great looking and if the truck is a cut off they did a good job of fitting things together by the looks of it. I will still take my old Chrysler corp vehicles. Better oil pressure and flow bigger brake shoes and drums and better built vehicle in general. Oh and that starter push pedal on the floor was virtually trouble free from the use I gave it using that to engage the gear into the flywheel. Better than any solenoid.

Beautius Maximus Poncho!

That is a very famous custom that started life as a 1937 four door sedan. This truck was in Hot Rod Magazine and other magazines back in the day and was big on the show circuit. Truck sold recently for more than $41,000.00. Link is to auction listing, which is also copied below.

https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/ac15/the-andrews-collection/lots/r142-1937-ford-pickup-custom/180185

300 bhp, 368 cu. in. Lincoln V-8 engine, two-speed Ford-O-Matic transmission, front suspension with coil-over shocks, solid rear axle with leaf springs, and four-wheel power drum brakes. Wheelbase: 114 in.

If this trucks bold color scheme doesnt immediately pull you in, its story definitely will.

The vehicle was originally purchased as a four-door sedan by Ray Nish, the service manager for an Oakland, California, Lincoln-Mercury dealership, and over the course of 13 years, it was transformed into what you see today: a full custom pickup like no other vehicle on the road. The truck went through eight different engines, four transmissions, and five rear axles before Nish settled on the current 368-cubic inch Lincoln V-8, which was mated to a Ford-O-Matic transmission from a 1957 Thunderbird. The engine remained stock, yet it received many chrome accessories, and the car was also fitted with power steering and power brakes, which improved drivability. At the rear, Nish fitted a 1957 Lincoln Power-Lock rear end with 3.31 gears and a shortened driveshaft.

According to the profile on the car in the September 1963 issue of Hot Rod magazine, Nish needed to haul some dirt around while he was doing landscaping, which prompted him to turn his sedan into a pickup for work duty before it hit the show circuit as a fully customized hot rod!

Its next biggest structural change came when Nish decided to discard the aging 1937 chassis and suspension for those of a 1956 Mercury, which meant narrowing and shortening the frame to fit the existing body. A 1940 Ford hood was installed and blended into the body, and at the back, 1961 Mercury taillights were fitted into a custom diamond plate trim piece. The truck also received custom removable running boards to complete the look.

The trucks unique two-tone Pearl and Byzantine Gold theme, which was chosen by Rays wife, Sally, carries through to the interior in a very dramatic fashion, as white and gold leather stripes can be found on the seats and door panel. Nish installed 1961 Thunderbird gauges into the dash of a 1940 Ford, sourced a steering wheel from a 1961 Mercury Comet, and utilized Lincoln window switches for the power windows. The bucket seats are from a 1953 Mercedes-Benz 220 Cabriolet, and they are quite comfortable.

After it stopped making the rounds on the show circuit, this car received careful preservation by Nish and previous owners, one of which was noted collector Bob Pond. Ray Nishs custom pickup presents just as well today as it did at the Oakland Grand National Roadster Show, where it won awards in 1961 and 1962. Its odometer reads 6,524 miles, all of which are believed to be original. In 2006, the car was purchased by the Andrews, and it remains a highly compelling and period-correct custom that is in stunning condition.

''And now,''(as Paul Harvey used to say)''...you know the REST of the story!'''

BWTM, From Hemmings Motor News and my memory,

Ford's first automatic transmission, which appeared in its 1951 models, was referred to as the Ford-O-Matic. This basic unit was designed by Borg-Warner and would become the platform from which many later model automatic transmissions would evolve.

Developed as a three-speed automatic, the Ford-O-Matic used a cast-iron case and would normally be started in second gear. For this reason, you often see the Ford-O-Matic referred to as a two-speed, although the only actual two-speed units were produced from 1959-'64, and they had aluminum cases.