While Mrs. Comer loves her unrestored 1955 F100 dearly, she also had her concerns about strapping a couple of Kids car seats In it (on the mint original upholstery) and using it as, well, a truck. It just didn’t seem right to throw topsoil, or bikes, or whatever other crap truck owners seem to like to haul around- whether they actually need to or not.
So the search was on for an Effie to make a “driver” out if. By some stroke of luck I found this one-family owned California “56 and bought it for the Mrs. Totally rust free and with no damage ever it was an amazing specimen of what most consider the best year for these trucks. It also happened to be in its original and super cool Spring Mist Green color, not to mention the optional Ford-O-Matic transmission which I saw as a bonus for its intended purpose. Of course, since the truck had been sitting for the better part of the last few decades it needed some serious mechanical help. Its original Y-Block’s cooling Jackets were filled with sludge and rust and the fuel tank filled with acorns. Yes, acorns. How? I have no idea. So we yanked the truck apart and are built it into a period-style mild “hot rod” with a few added tweaks. The Y-Block was bored out to a 312”, stuffed with a hotter cam, and topped with a Mummert aluminum dual plane intake and a cute little Holley miniature 4 barrel carb. It exhales through cast iron “rams horn” headers and a custom dual exhaust with proper Cherry Bomb glasspacks for that true period sound. A hidden power front disc brake conversion was added, as was a trick power steering setup using a Toyota PS box of all things. A big aluminum radiator keeps it all cool, and a staggered 15” wheel and radial tire setup keeps it all on the road.
On the inside this heater delete and radio delete rig needed no more than recovering its original bench seat in damn near unobtainium NOS red and grey upholstery. Finding that is a story ll on ts own!
Now that it is done I think it is pretty awesome. Not that my opinion will matter to its owner, of course.
