1950 Ford F1 Pickup Truck: GVW is 4,700 lbs. Engine is a 226-ci L-head six (the "Rouge 226"), producing 95 HP at 3,300 RPM, and 180 ft/lbs torque at 1,200 RPM. Axle ratio is 3.73:1, payload rating is 1,450 lbs. Transmission is std. 3-speed, floor-shift. Six-volt electrical system. Color is 1950 Ford "Meadow Green", "Ivory" colored grille, black running boards; the engine is red. Truck bed is oak with stainless strips. Tires are whitewalls and wheels include std. Ford hubcaps with chrome "beauty rings". There is a 7-tube AM radio (a dealer-installed option in 1950). My History with the Truck: I acquired the truck in 1994 after seeing it parked at a house in Barrington, RI. The truck had nifty character and potential. The owner was a trucker who bought the truck from a Kentucky farm, with the idea of restoring it. The truck spent its life as a farm truck and was rather banged up and rusty, but it ran, and the components were in decent shape. I agreed to purchase the truck for $1,500. After engine and brake work, I drove my “working rust bucket” for three years, then garaged it in 1997, got married, built a house and had kids. I drove it briefly in 2003 before garaging it until 2005. After saving “enough money” (today I am laughing at this statement), I decided on a frame-off restoration and towed it to Massachusetts to begin that process. Restoration Process: The three-year restoration was completed in May 2008.
The goal was to restore the truck to its period-correct state as it would have been when it came off the assembly line Paint schemes, bed, interior, engine and transmission, options (or lack thereof), electrical, wheels and tires are all in line with original specifications. The gauges were redone to factory specs, including re-silk-screening the gauges and replacing worn/broken indicator needles. A period-correct radio was installed along with a period-correct after-market directional system. If parts were too worn to be restored, new reproduction parts provided by Ford-licensed reproduction companies were used.
Historical Significance: The truck is part of the F-1 truck line running from 1948 through 1950, and is the first postwar design (the late 45 - 47 models were prewar design). After the war Ford was struggling, it was losing $1 million per day. Chevrolet rose to number one. Accordingly Ford developed a strategy to develop a truly brand-new truck line to "wow" the market and get cash flow going, which it would then use to get a new car line off the ground (which it eventually did in 1949). Hence the development of this 1948 - 1950 truck line, with an all new modern look, design and comfort. The Ford marketing team developed the theme "Bonus Built" for the 1948 - 1950 truck line. The 1948 - 1950 full truck line included a new model number nomenclature - the "F" series. For 1948 - 1950 the "F" series model line included the F-1, F-2, through the F-8 "big job". The 1948 - 1950 truck line is considered to be the "father" of the modern Ford "F" series truck (models to his day still use "F" and the number nomenclature - they simply added more digits, F150, F250, etc.). Ford is celebrating this year as the 60th year of the "F" series based on the 1948-1950 model. This new model was the brainchild of a team assembled by Ernie Breech, the former chief of Bendix Corporation, who was brought into Ford by Henry Ford II, who took over as president of Ford in 1945. The strategy worked. Ford sold a record 289,971 trucks in 1948, 227,531 in 1949 and a record of 358,810 in 1950, the last year of this first "F" series model. The 1950 F1 retailed for approximately $1,200. Other firsts included the "million dollar cab", directed at driver comfort. The seat is adjustable to three positions, there were a variety of heaters offered, and dual windshield wipers, sun visors were optional, as well as dual taillights. The cabs were drafty - but Ford offered a combination of heater, door glass vents and a cowl vent to pressurize the cab to keep out drafts and road dust (however, the cowl vent directs air into the cab at the floor - and blows and floor sand into the driver’s face). The truck came with a 90 day 4,000 mile warranty.
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