Dad's 1955 F-100- Pictures fixed

[wrecker388]

This build is a tribute to my dad's first truck. I built it the way I would vision him building it if he still had it today.

First I will give a little background about dad's truck. He bought it from my uncle when he was about 12. It had already been hot rodded, considering it had the complete drive line and interior from a late 50s-early 60s Thunderbird along with Thunderbird interior. The bed was from a 57 Ford. The frame was white, the firewall was candy apple red, and the body was in primer. He ditched the 57 bed (not a stepside and he didn't like it) and had swapped the 292 Thunderbird engine for a little Chrysler Firepower in the form of a 392 HEMI. He also swapped the rear axle for one from a 57 Pontiac.It had scavenger pipes for exhaust. He had slots on the rear and Torino GT wheels on the front. Well, needless to say the HEMI led to the truck's demise. It was a typical rusty Ohio truck, having bad cab mounts and a rusted floorboard. Dad tried to patch the mounts and floorboard with Fiberglass, and it looked pretty good. Until he started the truck, that is. The torque from the old HEMI blew the Fiberglass clean off and he deemed the truck unsafe to drive. It met its demise when he pushed it over a hill at my Grandma's farm.

My model is  not a replica, it is how I would have viewed him finishing the truck, using his input and ideas along the way. The model is built using the Monogram kit with the engine from the Boothill Express. The wheels and Bed floor decal are from the Revell 65 Chevy Stepside. The seats are from the AMT 66 Nova. There is no grill or headlights because dad's truck didn't have a stock grille, I'm planning to use the Wildcat grille from the 53 F-100 once I buy it. The things in the bed are things that I thought of when I thought of my dad. His favorite video game of all time is IL2, hence the game boxes and airplane. His favorite band is Dire Straits, hence the 2 album covers. The Hot Rod magazine is present  because he and his high school best friend were going to send pictures of the real one into Hot Rod. The 32 Ford model is because dad built some models in his youth. The Chevy small block cylinder heads are because my dad has always had a thing for SBCs, probably even back then. The red stacks in the front of the bed are meant to represent ammunition boxes, those along with the rifle are to  represent that he likes  target practice. The chain just looked cool. It has no meaning. The license plate is what dad always said he thought of whenever he thinks back of this old truck. Dad painted it, which is why it looks so good. I gave this truck to him on Father's day and he just smiled and sat it on his desk above his monitor. I will still add a grille/headlights and probably a logo for the Body Shop he owned before I as born. Thanks for looking. All comments welcome.

 

 

Edited July 28, 2015 by wrecker388
Picture problems

[slusher]

 

Great color Riley Nice model. Sometime you have to use the direct link...

[wrecker388]

Carl how did you do that? thanks btw

 

Edited July 23, 2015 by wrecker388

[gatorincebu]

   Good looking pick em up!

 

 

    Be Well

     Gator

[wrecker388]

Thanks Gator

[wrecker388]

FINALLY figured out how to link pictures! Huge thanks to the boys in this topic.

[TimJ]

That looks great. Nice work.

[wrecker388]

Thanks Tim. 

[Danno]

Nice job, Riley.  Your dad must be proud!

[DumpyDan]

Looking good

[RAMBENNA]

nice job, looks good

[MrBuick]

Awesome truck! I've got a spare "Wildcat" grill from the '53 kit if you don't want to wait to buy one. PM Address if interested.

[wrecker388]

Thanks guys. Colby, I want the 53 kit anyway so I'm not worried about it. I appreciate your offer though.