Projects 1955 f100 new build // satan's chauffeurs

Alright, here we go again. Roger had a connection who was looking to sell an old truck. It kinda sucked not having anything of his own to take on cruises or shows that had that "pre-64" limit so he bit the bullet and bought a 55 F100.

The story goes the sellers grandfather bought the truck sometime around 1957 and its been passed from cousin to cousin like chicken pox. After sitting for who knows how long it was time to be sold and Roger wanted it.

The truck was just outside of Stockton, CA off HWY99. We grabbed the trailer and hit the road. The truck was sitting on 4 flat tires and was tucked up in the corner of the yard. The PO thought a forklift would be the best way to load....the photos tell the story so here they are.....


There she is....



The TBIRD is for sale too....but she spendy...he threw out $ 5,000. Only reason I am throwin that out is coz I know someone will ask.


Someone had some fun with rocks....the back window was shattered and the front windshield was gone.



Bed full of unknown surprises...

 

a few shots of the interior. It had some kind of split power bench seat and a huge tilt/telescope column.






Heres how she sat from the road... the forklift was on its way.



Roger wasnt too happy about the whole "fork lift" idea. He had images in his mind of bent running boards and wrecked beds.



Snugged up to the front bumper the forks were just not long enough to get under the back axle. The lift got turned around and we set off to find a chain or tow strap.



UNK, Roger, and Jim (rustygem) discuss the challenge of getting the truck on the trailer.

 

Sorry, my finger got in the way of this one as I fell into the canal on the roadside. This is Rogers first drive with his new pride and joy. The 4 flats put a funny wiggle in the truck but she towed well.



We had to tow the truck about 2 blocks...no room to get the trailer in the yard. The trailer shop next door let us use their parking lot.



Now that its in the yard next to the trailer we had to try to get it loaded. With a little more room the idea was to try it with the forklift from the rear.



With the slider all the way out they barely grabbed the front axle....but it was enough to get it in the air.



So up she went...












Right about here we were kinda wishing we woulda brought a wider trailer. The front fenders were close but didnt hit so we kept going, no reason to stop. UNK and Jim pushed on one side and I pushed on the other to rock it into place.



A few more feet and she was on.

 

Loaded up and ready to trek on home to a new life of being a hot rod shop truck.





I told you it was close....this is my finger between the running board on the truck and the fender on the trailer. Good thing this truck had 4 flats and wasnt gonna flex on the sidewalls.





Rog and Larry both leaving happy. The pink slip was actually still pink...I had never seen one like that before.


EXTRA SCORE.... as we were pulling out, Larry the PO came out with a set of finned valve covers. "These go with the truck." Rog flipped them over and they had the CAL CUSTOM, GARDENA CA. stamp on the bottom. SCORE.



They should clean up well.

 

Once we got the truck home we tore into it. We were gonna wait but what the hell, we had daylight and that "new project" energy.



We pulled the front clip off to see what we could see. The engine is a 302 out of a Grabber Maverick from the 70's with an FMX auto behind it. The engine is in the truck by only the loosest of definitions. Its been sitting on the crank pulley for who knows how long and is not bolted in.





This was someones hot rod at some point. Check out the door panel...tuck in roll with an hole-y crank handle.



Grill and some other goodies were hiding in the bed.

Sorry, shoulda flipped some of these....the interior was trashed with years of eucalapytus leaves, dirt, rocks, some kind of animal crap, spiders, and anything else that blew in.



We swept it all out and made ready the pressure washer. Couple of minutes of work and they looked prefect. The paint held up very well over the years and there was surprisingly NO rust on the floor boards.

 

The only really bad spot on the whole truck is the driver side cab corner. This wasnt a big surprise...these trucks (hell any trucks) are known to rot here.




Still sunlight, still energy to work so Roger and I decided to pull the rear window out. Roger wanted to truck to look as "clean" as possible when he showed it to his girlfriend/fiancee.








Pressure washer still out,...time to get rid of some black widows and dirt.

 

cool looking for ward to this build

 

Like most of the guys in this town, Roger had a secret desire. Now we may not be the Pharoahs but we will tie you to the bumper and drag you. Roger got a new/old truck today,....and he got his plaque.





Congrats Rog,....lets build us a truck.




Too dark to work....but we had to see how it would look.

 

Cool. I like the calico look, you going to paint it or make it go fast and leave the rust?

 

Can anyone help identify this truck,...or anyone have any old pictures of it? It has a pretty distinct paint job.

I am sure Roger will be on here in a minute and he can tell you all about the dreams and schemes for this truck. I've heard keep the straight axle but add discs, Ford engine and tranny, steel wheels with a tall tire, simple interior with A/C, and dark green.

Anything to add Rog?


Oh yeah...and anyone wanna come help us get this thing off the trailer now?

 

Hey Dru, thanks for another great write up! We were a little stressed out untill the truck was safely back at my shop but believe me we were very pleasently supprised to find so much great sheet metal. I know you guys are tired of hearing this but I just can't say thanks enough for all the help. That nice big Chevy that towed the '55 home is Dru's rig and he woulden't even let me pay for gas. This thing really is in great shape and as Dru said that little bit of rot in the lower cab corner is no sweat to fix. I was part of a build on a nice custom '54 pickup in a past life so I'm kind of lucky to have that experiance to draw from. I got a screaming deal on this thing but it helps that Larry is an old friend of mine lol... As for the plans for the truck we're going to keep this one pretty basic. Like Dru said I'd like to get her as low as I can on the straight axle and mabye drop some disc brakes and power steering on it as time and cash allow. Color is going to be some sort of green and most likely it will be riding on an old pair of steel wheels painted black that i have kicking around the shop. I have a tired old 351W on a stand that I hope to get rebuilt by way of some horse trading and a C4 trans to put behind it. The only real trick thing on this truck will be the A/C system as my girlfriend does not do well in the heat. It should be a fun build and as soon as I can sell my '72 Ford 4x4 ( I don't even like saying that) I should be able to hit it pretty hard. Ok that's enough outa me for now I'm tired and rambleing haha...
Later, Roger

 

Oh and a big thanks to Bennie and Dru for sliding me my club plaque! I'll have to fab up a mount for it as soon as I get some glass.

 

cool project,feel free to post any questions and what not on the f100 socil group,cant wait to follow the progress of your build

 

Sweet score, a good friend of mine and I just picked up a 55 F350. It was buried behind his grandma's barn with trees literally growing against it. We are hoping to finally get it pulled out tonite with the tractor. Looks like yours is in a lot better shape. I will make a post with pics soon. Good luck and keep up the great posts.

 

signing up now for the build thread......... good luck

Later,Bill

 

Nice score - my '55 F-250 came from Ca., via Az. and a big boat. Nearly as solid as that one, but mines gone down in the footwells, not the cab rear. I think there may be some front discs in mine's future as well - the brakes aren't terrible, but the itty-bitty roads over here are jammed with idiots, and good brakes help reduce the white knuckle effect.

 

looking forward to progress pics !

 

Hey Roger and Dru-
Good work guys. That's the first one I've seen loaded with a fork lift. Keep us posted. I love watching these builds, espescially those where friends help friends do the build.
That is true traditional.
Later,
Dick

 

Congrats on your truck Roger..

 

I'm stickin around for this one! Great score.

 

Oh man Rog that is one sweet truck. Congrats on scoring those Cal Custom valve covers, those are going to clean up nice. The truck looked good last night, but I definetly want to get by there in the daylight to check it out.

 

great score on that truck,,,,looks really solid,,you are right,,those cab corners are usually always toast,,,,,,,,,i used to have a 56 f100,,,really miss it,,,maybe one day i can get another,,,cant wait to see you guys tear into this one,,definitely no moss growing under your feet,,,,,,you guys are MOTIVATED,,,,,love following all your progress posts on your builds,,,,,,,,,is a chop in order?...the cool thing about those trucks is that they look great chopped OR unchopped,,,,mine was chopped just two inches,,and it looked just right,,,,just enough to make you look and say "is that thing chopped?".......LOVE those F100s,,,,,,,,,,,,knowing you guys, it'll be rollin in just a few weeks,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

I likey. They are fun trucks and run like tanks.

 

Watching you guys is truely inspirational, this is how a club and friends are supposed to work.

 

Great Score Guys!!

$5,000 for the '63 Tbird
Unless it's a POM (Princess of Monaco.Without the Landau top I doubt that it is) AND runs,they're Dreaming .

Is this someone you know?
I might have to stop in Lodi Saturday morning on my way to Rocklin and that is on the way

 

very nice wish my 55 was in that kinda shape when i got mine cant wait to see more pictures of progress

 

Nice. Those pics gave me a flashback of winching my '55 F100 up onto our family trailer 13 years ago to begin as my first car/project. Sweeping up turds and hosing black widows... good times, for sure!

 

Wow guys thanks for all the positive feedback and support! We can't wait to tear into this thing and bring her back to life. Kustom7777 I am still up in the air on he chop. While working at a Hot Rod Shop In Chico I did a 1 1/2" chop in the A pillars on one. I know that dosen't sound like much but it was just enough to make the profile of the top run downhill not uphill. We also decrowned the top about 4" above the driprail and shaved the driprail. The overall effect made the front windshield flow very nicely into the top. I'll post pics of that chop if I can find them.

 

I could used some ideas on tire sizes with pics if anyone has some. I have to go get some rollers for this thing and I'd like to find something about the size I will run when it's ready to go down the road. I could use some insperation for the interior as well. I had planned on running a bench seat but i have a very comfortable set of lowback buckets that keep creeping into my mind. The problem with them is I can't really visualise a way to make them look right. I was thinking some kind of center console to fill out the empty area between the seats but I'm not sure. So what do you think guys? Later, Roger

 

Great score!
These old pickups never go out of style and many aftermarket suppliers.

I have a 56 I'm working on.