Nice truck!

The man does good work!! but boy does he charge for it though!! you ever see what he charges his customers? yea the wook is great, but like the old saying goes (you only get what you pay for), realy means something here.

That man, just like Tim Allen (Which Chevy must have paid a s@#t load of money to in order to talk on their commercials), knows his trucks. Ford Trucks are almost godlike anymore. The last decade or so of the F-Series and SD have really put them on the throne. Going back into the past now, I can see Ford was kicking butt all along. I just had my blinders on. It took the government bailout for me to step into the light.

Well, first off, if it's a '51, the truck is an F-1, not an F-100. I wonder what is under the hood..........

Looks like Rick hardly has any ground clearance...

oxi has 12 inches of ground clearance under the lowest point of the front skid plates!

!972 Chevy Cheyenne Super, the most popular truck for collectors. Did Ford even make a truck in the seventies? If they did it was junk just like their trucks today.

@Dave,
Ford took hundreds of millions of taxpayer money recently.

Ford attended and followed the rules for the bailout companies,as Ford thought in 1 year they may need to go bankrupt,but fortunately for Ford they sold off Volvo to the Chinese and Land rover to the Indians and Jaguar was sold off and the over 100 million taxpayer money they got in 08/09 from the government helped to save them.

Remember Ford just about went bankrupt in the early 1980's,for the second time Ford squeaked by,next time wont be so lucky.

Ford still is bleeding for cash,as they sold their stakes in Mazda,ever wonder why Ford isnt designing new models in America,its only bringing over import Fords to the market..they need to save their money because they dont have enough ! Fiesta/Festiva is a Euro Ford as is Focus as is Transit as is the new Ford replacement Econoline is a import,as is the Ford Taurus is a Volvo with Ford dressing,Ford really only has the Mustang and Full size trucks,rest are import Ford's.They dont design any new cars in America because they dont have enough cash ! If Ford gets in trouble now,they are done,no loans for them.If they would of taken a loan thye might have been in a better financial situation,remeber they followed the bailout plan so they could lower the union hourly wages,they followed everything GM/Chrysler did and even got over 100 million dollars in reward for doing so.. Though, bailout isnt accurate for Chrysler got a loan for 16% and paid it back in full 1 year ago,GM is another story 0% and wont pay it back so GM got bailed out,not Chrysler !

"Here we go again" as Ronald Reagan said in 1980 when debating Carter. Let the bashing begin. If I read the story correctly this is about a restored 1951 F series Ford truck (by the way that really looks cool) not a Ford versus Chevy bashfest. Any manufacturer can have lemons or problematic models and all the manufacturers are using their overseas design teams from Europe, Asia, and Brazil. Does using international design teams make a bad product? GM used Opel for the Lacross and the Regal and Chevy used Dawoo for the Chevy Cruise, Spark, and Sonic. Chrysler is using Fiat for the new Dodge Dart.

As for problems there are spark plug issues with 2004 thru 2008 F-150s where spark plugs break when they are being taken out. Ford has designed a special tool to remove these plugs but it can cost anywhere from $800 to $2,000 to change spark plugs. The ABC affiliate, Channel 9 WCPO, in Cincinnati did a full investigation of this interviewing the head mechanics at a local Ford dealership and independent mechanics. GM has had issues in the past where on some of their cars they have had to remove the entire engine to remove the rear spark plugs. No manufacturer makes perfect vehicles like their are no perfect humanbeings. All you can do is be informed and ask a lot of questions. A good source for me is experienced independent mechanics that have no manufacturer loyalities.

Thank you Mark for the great article on the neat 51 Ford truck. Keep these old truck stories coming regardless of brand.

Going back into the past now, I can see Ford was kicking butt all along. I just had my blinders on. It took the government bailout for me to step into the light.

@Dave, I drive Ford trucks now too. Not because of the bailout or anything, just because they really are better built and so much nicer now inside and out. Till the day I die though I will Still say Chevrolet built the Best trucks in the industry for nearly 80 years. I'd take the Advanced Design series Chevy from the 40's/50's over this Ford Anyday. And Nothing will ever top the 67-72 Chevrolet CK. Heck, not even Chevrolet themselves ever topped it. What about the Task Force trucks? Easily the meanest 4x4 machines on the planet at the time. Those 73-87 Chevy trucks will always be classics. The 88-98 Chevy trucks despite of losing their SFA Still were instant classics! Maybe not in the 25-3500 off road class as they didn't (and still don't) have the right frame and front axle, but for 1500's, not much can ever touch those GMT-400's.

After that, forget about it. Ford took over... This I can agree with. Design, build quality, looks etc.. all went to Ford. That's when Chevrolet became a shadown of it's former self. Never say Chevy didn't Used to kill the competition though because for decades upon decades, Chevrolet flat out kicked Ford's ass. They just don't anymore... If Rick wanted to build a Real truck from 1951 he should have built a Chevy.

Old trucks to me are more a matter of preference because when one "hot rods" or even restores one, it isn't done for reliability or toughness. I like the truck pictured. I like most of the trucks from that era regardless of badge.

@ Greg Look at what Lou just posted. You are so stupid. Old trucks are what got it started. You can say what you want but you are still a TROLL. Chevy had good trucks for sure and Ford did too but everyone had that hotrod chevy. This is a whole different story. Idiots like you put chevy where they are now, at the bottom of everyone else's pole. How stupid are you???

@Kurt. You hit multiple nails flat on their heads. Perfect assessment and one I completely agree with.

@Greg. Ford trucks today are not junk. I just switched from 30+ years of Chevrolet truck ownership over to a new Platinum F-150 last month. As Kurt pointed out, they swapped places with Chevy in 1999. That was the exact year when the tide turned. The Super Duty came out, The King Ranch interior package came out, the redesigned 1997 F-150's were getting out in the public eye in big numbers as the 1998 Silverado went out of production.

The new Silverado in 99 was of very poor build quality. Good luck finding one up north without serious body and frame corrosion, piston slap and tons of broken interior parts from the cheap materials used. Their looks suffered as well in 99, then got horrendous in 03. Then came the new 07 model with even worse looks (possibly the worst yet), another round of poor interiors and poor body durability. All the while Ford took the ball from 99 and just launched it into truck stratosphere in 2004 with their new truck. The looks, durability and interiors have gone unmatched by Chevy to this very day. And this doesn't even get into the Super Duty which Chevrolet hasn't had a real answer for ever without a SFA. Bottom line is Chevrolet off road capable 4x4's died after 1987 and their truck line period died after 1998.

So, you think that there F-1 still has a Flattie in it?

I watch the program as well. I like its format. I do think they truck should not have been lowered though.

Nice truck. I miss the days when I could watch some actual history on the History Channel instead of the "made every day" reality garbage they push nowadays.

not sure how pre 1998 fords are all of a sudden junk, the best truck i ever owned was my 78 F250 and my 81 bronco was indestructible, only trouble i had on that bronco was i drove it thru 4 feet of water and it fried the starter - 50 bucks later and was as good as new! and yes i beat the living hell out of my trucks 4x4in.
keep in mind trucks back then were 2 frame rails with a body on it, they all had dana axles (well except for some GM axles which werent that good with the exception of the 14 bolt but was too big), they had new process t cases, so it all came down to the styling of the truck and interior, motor and trannies were corporate and dont think you could loose, C6 ford was good and the TH400 GM was good, 350 or 454 in chev were good as was the 302,351 460 in Fords.
The main reason i preferred Fords were the high pinion diffs in the fronts, styling i preferred Ford but the big one was the Chevies would rot away so fast, Fords would rust too but was on the cab mounts and the rear wheel wells.

Can we just enjoy a good story about an old truck and not get into this Ford versus Chevy thing. Ford makes a great truck and maybe even it is the best made but Chevy also makes a good truck. The brand of truck and the size of a truck are all personal preferences and none of the choices are bad. There are issues will all types and years of vehicles and some have more issues at any given time than others. Some truck owners like all the luxuries while others feel a true truck has a manual transmission without any extras. Are they all wrong? Hardly. I am not going to tell Lou that is F150 is bad, nor am I going to tell Oxi that Toyotas are junk. I am not going to tell Bob that Chevy is a has been. Maybe Chevy has not kept up to date but before I nail GMs coffin shut I will wait to see what they come up with in the future. They may come up with a new Silverado that is a game changer. Who knows what will happen. If I knew exactly what was going to happen I would be rich. I am comfortable but hardly rich.

Just enjoy the story and appreciate the effort it took to restore that truck. By the way I have seen plenty of old F series trucks where I live along with Chevys, GMCs, Dodges, and Internationals and I look with respect and admiration that their owners have taken loving care of them.

I miss the days when I could watch some actual history on the History Channel instead of the "made every day" reality garbage they push nowadays.

@Dean, man, I thought I was the only one who was upset by this. It's like when Mtv quit playing music. What's the point of calling it "Music" television if you only play stupid reality shows? This is the same thing that's happened to the History Channel. Nothing but stupid reality shows. Only a couple of which have anything whatsoever to do with with what I'd actually classify as History. It was one of the best channel's on tv but it's fastly becomming one of the worst.

I would bet Rick has a ford engine in his F1. It seems like most of his fleet of company trucks are Fords, other than the Toyota his son drives. Personally, I like the looks of F1's better than the 1st generation F100's. But I really go for the Chevy & GMC advanced design series. I own 4 of them ( three 54's & one ist series 55).

yes great looking truck, love the old cars and trucks no matter what make they are....my dream truck is a 55 Mercury or settle for a 55 Ford !

@Dean the old Mercs were great. There is someone around Northern Kentucky that has a 55 black and white Merc with police decals (gold stars on the front doors) and with the old large round siren on top (the car is a 2 door and it is in mint condition).

@Dean-I just thought of it but you might not be old enough but that 55 Mercury reminded me of the ones in the 50s TV show called "Highway Patrol" starring Broderick Crawford. That brings back some memories.

i was trying to trick some of our american neighbors with my last post lol. There were no mercury trucks in the states, it was a canadian only truck...I was waiting for the comments about WTH is a mercury truck! lol

check them out http://www.mercurypickup.com/

but yes love the old merc cars too! i have seen highway patrol, good ol show

Good post Dean. I knew that the Merc trucks were not offered in the States but I just happen to think about that 55 2 door Merc in police markings. I love the 49 and 50 Mercs that are customized too. Such a shame that Ford diluted the Mercury brand and finally they prudently discontinued it since there was little to differentiate it from Ford. Good memories.

I like how the show is called Amercian Restoration yet they drive around in a toyota pickup lol what is this real Amercian
show and they can't even drive a us made truck ?