When Joe S. bought his ‘41 Ford pickup truck in 1994, it was for business reasons. He had a street rod building company and needed a truck to haul parts. When he found the truck, it was very original, with a flathead V-8 and stock suspension and rear end. The owner had spent his spare time tinkering with the truck, keeping it in great condition. Sometimes he went a bit far, doing things like putting four bumper guards on both the front and rear bumpers, adding a custom shift knob and a custom horn button. But it was basically stock. He was getting on in years and his sons were bickering about who would get the truck when he passed on. So he solved that problem by selling it. Joe put it right into service. Since Joe used it for a daily driver and work truck for years, he did little more than maintenance, re-upholstering the seat and adding seat belts through the years. Even after selling the business in 2004, kept it and drove it regularly. About a year ago, the old flathead was getting tired and Joe knew he had to do something. Rebuilding Henry’s V-8 would have been costly and he had a Chevy 350 CID engine sitting around, so he used it. He added an electric fuel pump, as well as an electric fan because overheating is common when a modern engine is used due to the small open area of the grill. This necessitated changing to a modern alternator, converting the electrical from a 6 volt to a modern 12 volt system, and moving the larger battery under the seat because the new engine left no room under the hood. He also rebuilt the brakes (which have been hydraulic in Fords since 1939), put in a three-speed trans from a ‘39 Ford, replaced all the rubber gaskets as well as windows and put on new radial tires. But he left it looking stock, with no modifications to the transverse leaf spring suspension. It even still has the vacuum windshield wiper motors that slow drastically under acceleration (making for some interesting times crossing busy intersections). But Joe did not “pretty up” the truck with lots of chrome, polished aluminum and custom paint. He says his Ford is “happy to be a truck and is not pampered.” And that’s how Joe uses it, still making occasional deliveries. Only now those deliveries are loads of rubbish to the dump.

The 1940 and 1941 Ford pickups used the streamlined styling of the popular ‘39 and ‘40 Ford Standard autos, making them the favorite of the pre-war Ford pick-ups.

This Chevy engine has more power than the original flathead, but Joe is considering rebuilding the original engine and putting it back in. Although it has a heater, it is not current hooked up.

Joe has tried to keep everything looking as original as possible right down to the optional clock. He even converted the stock gauges to 12 volt to keep them. To the left of the steering column he did add a key ignition with switches for the electric fuel pump and fan.

© 2010 Ron Cherry