As I said at the end of last month’s column, in about 1950, my dad found a well-used 1935 Ford truck chassis and decided that would be a great basis for his new and improved shop-built rig.
As I look back, I remember this truck as kind of a wreck. I don’t think any of the lights worked. It had a cab, but no windshield wipers and, of course, no in-cab heater. It was powered by one of Ford’s famous flathead V-8 engines, but I think it was pretty well worn-out. It could power the rig down the road rather well on level ground, but any hills were a challenge. I think these engines rated at about 85 horsepower. Compare that to the engines in even downsized pickups today. This engine mated to a four-speed transmission with a creeper low gear (sometimes referred to as a “granny” gear).