1953 Ford F-100

1953 Ford F100 Panel Delivery Truck This is money! Today's truck owners know it. Ford Truck engineers know it. That's why time saving was a major goal in designing the completely new Ford Trucks for 1953. With scores of new time saving features, the new Ford Trucks are made to order for economical operation in today's traffic stream. From a 1953 print ad. For consignment, a 1953 Ford F100 panel delivery truck showing 34,945 miles, but the true miles are unknown due to a PA title exemption and Federal disclosure laws. This truck received a body off restoration in 1990 and more than $17,000 have been spent since 2010 to create the perfect time capsule, and receipts accompany the truck. Exterior The once work truck for a TV repairman has served as a parade truck, now representing a plumbing enterprise and with the help of two stage paint and some crisp graphics, shows in better than new condition. The Vermillion Red is further augmented with a white roof, grille and bumpers along with 16-inch red wheels with white wall tires that look old fashioned, but are modern Cokers that retain a mid 2020 date code. The letters and graphics are decals and can be, (professionally), removed, affording the new owner a blank slate to promote their own business or simply roll with a gleaming, eye-catching red and white delivery truck. Yellow fog lights accompany the amber turn singles perches on the fender tops, while wide mirrors assure you can see past the long panel. At distance, it looks perfect but our intrepid spec writer finds some imperfections including ghost-like remnants of former lettering, touched up scratches, a scuff on a hinge, some blistering down low, chips, unevenness and former rust on the rear door, bubbling under the rocker, metal patches in the door jambs, and some evidence of filler. Interior Side walls of the cargo area and the inner doors are glossy red while the swivel bucket seats provide contrast with black vinyl and a scroll design. The simple design up front allows the businessman to focus on work and includes a basic black steering wheel ahead of a contained instrument cluster flush with the red dash and it's all nicely presented and clean. A rubberized floor covering is in the footwells and the bed of the truck where our consignor notes a 4x8 sheet of plywood fits! There's a headliner over the cabin area and glossy red paint over the cargo hold. Drivetrain A clean Ford Blue 215ci inline six cylinder is in the bay, rated at 101 horsepower and fueled by a 1-barrel carburetor. A rebuilt 3-speed manual transmission backs the engine up and sends power to the rebuilt Dana 44 axle in back with 3.92 gears. The truck remains on a 6 volt system and at some point, the generator, voltage regulator and start were replaced or rebuilt. Undercarriage Clean, tidy, and colorful is how we find the underside where rebuilt drum brakes are at all four wheels and are accompanied by a newer master cylinder. A single exhaust flows through a stock style muffler and splits at the tail to exit through two chrome tips under the rear apron. Leaf spring suspension is found front and rear. Drive-Ability When we start this beauty up, we note the throttle randomly sticking before we touch the gas pedal. Once on the test loop, it does respond to the gas pedal, occasionally sticking. In the meantime, we find a good running truck with straight tracking and a comfortable vintage ride! All functions in this simple configuration operate as they should and you'll find this one in the truck room, of course! While Classic Auto Mall represents that these functions were working at the time of our test drive, we cannot guarantee these functions will be working at the time of your purchase. The further we get from the 40's and 50's, the more impact using vintage panel trucks will have at advertising your business or at least drawing attention to your brick and mortar, if you have one. Here's one you can put out facing the road