It’s Monday January 20th, 1964 and John M. drives his 1953 Chevy 210 coup into Hearn Motors in Rock Hill South Carolina. After some time, a few signatures, and turning in the keys to his Chevrolet he left the dealership. He pulled out in his brand new 1964 Ford F100 Short bed in bright academy blue.
Fast forward 57 years and I found myself standing under a sweetgum tree and having a look at the truck for the first time. These years did their worst on the old blue pickup but compared to most trucks from that era this little blue ford seemed to hold its own. The body has earned its patina and few scrapes and dents it has. A few small holes where the rust always grows on these trucks but overall it’s not too bad for all the time it’s been sitting.
Off The Road For 26 Years
The sticker on the windshield shows the truck was on the road in 1995 as well as a receipt for a tire rotation in 1991. Although the tires on the truck tell us that it was more than likely not driven often other than the odd trash run. The truck is sporting a set of mud tires on the back and road tires up front. Common practice back in the day to get the most out of a 2wd truck.
The first thing that caught my attention on the truck was the hubcaps. If a truck still has the original hubcaps after 57 it means the truck was taken care of. They are easy to lose and a pain to live with back when tires were not as reliable as they are today. After a quick look over the rest of the truck you can tell that indeed it was well looked after.
Open the hood and take a look at the 223CI straight six you can pick up hints that its been taken care of. The original air cleaner is still sitting atop the single barrel carburetor. Coming off the carb are the original fuel and vacuum hard lines. The vacuum advance hard line seems like it’s the first thing to go when you start repairing a truck. A simple rubber hose does the same job but is much easier to work on. To see it still hooked up and not bent or kinked is a true surprise.
Almost All Original
The truck has undergone a few changes since it rolled off the floor of the Mahwah Assembly plant in New Jersey. Some blocks of wood and solid core wire were used to keep the battery from sliding around in the tray. Some hot rod spark plug wires were installed to match the orange motor. As well as the horn button was wired to a switch that had been electrical tape to the steering column.
I can just hear the original owner grumbling as he hastily ran wires from the horn to a switch he found in his pile of used parts. I am certain that a failed state inspection led to the quick fix to get his registration sticker for the next year.
Outside of a few fixes the truck is still a good honest truck. I am sure it was the cheapest new truck on the lot that year. The truck came with only the standard options. No trim, smallest motor available, 3 speed column shift, not even an AM radio. To be honest I am glad it is a bare bones truck. I have never been a fan of extra trim on old trucks. Would the truck still look this good if it had trim and a radio in the dash? When we look back to the “old days” we think of simpler times. To me a simple truck is just fine.
So what’s next for the old truck? Well I guess we will both have to wait and find out! With the ’66 F100 project nearing completion, as well as my dad’s ’64 short bed project nearing the final stages, we may be in for a bit of a wait. In the short term I plan to clean the truck out and if I find myself with a free afternoon I may try to get the motor running again.
Either way you can follow along by watching the progress on the Petrol360 Instagram page @Petrol360
Or watch the story unfold on the Petrol360 YouTube channel!
