Cool Vintage Ford 4X4! 292 V8, 4 Speed Manual, Ready for Work or Play!

Description

An honest old pickup from the '50s that isn't a Chevy, how interesting! With clean good looks and a nice restoration on a relatively unusual truck, this 1959 Ford F-100 Custom Cab 4x4 offers a fresh look at an old favorite you may not have considered before.

We like the two-tone paint on this truck, offering a bit of '50s style with the kind of no-nonsense conservatism that seemed to drive Ford truck designers. That's not to say that this isn't an attractive truck, it just doesn't take many risks, although we'd argue that the restorers took things up a notch when they decided to set this long bed on a 4x4 chassis. Ford developed a clean sheet design and admittedly the earlier F100s were a hard act to follow, but this is still a modern-looking truck in many ways, especially with its ground clearance and heavy-duty bumpers fore and aft. The condition of the paint is every bit of driver grade, with a nice shine and presentation, albeit a few imperfections here and there. But hey, it's a truck, not a Rolls Royce. Gaps are good all around, the flat-sided bed is straight, and the paint is rendered in modern urethane but without any metallics, so it looks period-correct. The long bed was finished with the same yellow paint used on the truck, and it's peeling in a few places where it was used to haul, so a nice spray-in bedliner would be a cheap upgrade back there that looks great and is very practical. The big grille up front shines up beautifully, the push bumper up front is augmented with integrated running lights and a diamond-plate skid protector below, and the giant block letters in the meshed part of the hood ensure that nobody will mistake this bruiser for anything other than a vintage Ford.

The wrap-around windshield and big rear window make the cab bright and airy and the white and yellow color scheme continues here as well, with the addition of a light brown seat. The vinyl and cloth seat cover is plain and simple, like the rest of the truck, and it has plain rubber floor mats to reinforce the working-class image into which it was born. The two-tone colors wrap around the door panels and dashboard, so it's clean and simple, with a black and white steering wheel that's big enough to really maneuver the big pickup without difficulty. The factory instruments appear unrestored and are in good condition with only light fading and all the secondary controls are lined up neatly right underneath. As a '50s pickup, it's kind of light on options, offering only a heater (which might have been standard by 1959), but I kind of like that aspect, too. Seatbelts were likely added with the introduction of the bench seat, as were the trio of aftermarket gauges installed under the dash. This is a clean, simple, and honest truck everywhere you look, and that's exactly how we like them.

Originally born with a rather underpowered six-cylinder motor, the restorers cleverly installed a period-correct 292 cubic inch V8 under the hood, which is a welcomed upgrade for this 4x4. It's still a vintage powertrain through-and-through, and offers a unique sound and feel that is all part of the charm of owning a classic vehicle. The engine bay show signs of regular maintenance, although it's not quite as highly detailed as the body or interior. There's an original air cleaner up top, bright red paint on the engine itself to match, and basic hardware that makes it insanely easy to service. The only other notable non-stock components in the engine bay are a 12-volt for electricity and some fresh wiring, but that's about it. A 4-speed manual transmission shifts easily and with a 4x4 system and big brakes all around, it feels confident going about its business. There's also a newer dual exhaust system with Flowmaster mufflers that cuts out before the rear pumpkin that give this mighty Ford a tough soundtrack, and fresh, tall shocks and a steering stabilizer manage the elevated stance. Painted steel wheels are the right choice on a bare-bones 4x4 pickup and big 235/75/15 Goodyear Wrangler white-letter tires accentuate the truck's blue-collar look.

Not flashy, not over-done, and not expensive, this handsome, useful, and somewhat rare Ford pickup represents an alternative to what everyone else is doing. Call today!