1955 Ford F100 – Jay C.
During the summer of 2008 I was doing some work as a Defense contractor at The Anniston Army Depot in Alabama . As I drove to work one morning I was startled to see what appeared to be a huge thicket bouncing across a field. Closer examination revealed just a tiny bit of the cab of an old truck beneath the ten foot high pile of brush,I had no idea what kind of truck it was .On my last day of work at the Depot I got curious and drove around the field and sure enough the truck(empty now) was on the side of someones house. I knocked on the door and was soon talking to the trucks owner.
The truck was a 1955 F100 short bed v-8 with 3 speed column shift complete and mostly original. The owner (Buddy) had pulled it out of a corn field in the late 70s got it running and it continued its career as an work truck. I had no intention of doing anything other than looking at a piece of automotive history but ended up asking if he wanted to sell it. He looked at me for a moment and said that many have stopped over the years and he always said no but he felt that I was the one, to take care of his truck. I assured him I would and we shook on it.
Probably the last thing I needed in my life at the time was an old truck heck I didn’t even live in Alabama but a deal and a hand shake would be honered. I drove my new truck to Treys Autobody in Jacksonville Al. and met Trey he asked if I wanted to go the inexpensive route(taking off the body and putting it a Ford Ranger)or do it right. I opted for an off the frame restoration. We set a date and I was able to use the truck until Oct. when it was time to bring it to the shop. I told Trey to take his time because I really had no idea what to do with a 55-year-old truck. The one thing I was pretty sure of was that I did not want that truck to leave Alabama It was a farm truck for 20 or so years and a work truck after that and belonged in Alabama. Trey became a real friend over the three years build time.(It really did not take 3 years but he let me keep it there and I was able to use it when I was in town.)
The rebuild consisted of dismantling the truck placing all parts in cartons on a wall shelf and detailing the frame to a shiny black gloss. New disc brakes on all 4 wheels were the only new tech on the truck. I suggested a motor rebuild to Trey and was sharply told “No that’s the best running ford motor I’ve seen and were not messing with it”(Buddy had rebuilt the motor about 10Kmiles ago)New paint and servicing and the motor was like new. LMC(THANK YOU GUYS WERE GREAT) was our prime vendor for all truck parts including All glass, oak bed kit, LR fender, door handles, lock kit chrome bumpers, wiring harness, seal kit, emblems, assorted knobs and gauges and nuts and bolts, turn signals steering wheel. I was lucky enough to find an original brand new speedometer on Ebay that had sat in a Mississippi Ford dealer for decades so my rebuild would start out at 000000.
While the truck was white when I got it the plate said it was originally banner blue (My Dad had a banner blue 55 wagon in the 50s).
I changed my mind several from Red to white to blue and finally settled on a new Ford Edge cream color( Crème Brulette).The truck neared completion and it became apparent what a great looking truck it was. Trey was real pleased and told me that I had a brand new 55 year old truck We retained the original style interior with metal door panels ,the box heater ,battery under the floor ,the push button starter and of course the lever to the outside air scoop(AKA air conditioner).The interior carpets and head liner are light tan and match the suede and cream vinyl bench seat with 2 tone painted metal interior . I was able to find an original 1955 Alabama plate with the large heart with a 1 in the center and had it registered with that plate.
We have been to several shows and a couple of parades and it is always a super attention getter. It’s really nice to talk to some of the people who have owned these so many years ago and connect with them. As for Buddy, I was happy to be able to fulfill my promise to
him and very proud to show up at his house with our truck. I brought him some pictures and the old hood emblem. He was very pleased
and understandably a little sad at the same time.
Because of my commitment to the truck, I ended up buying a house in Alabama with a garage where the truck sits out of the sun and rain on its pretty new Coker wide whitewalls no doubt missing the days when it was a real Alabama work truck.
