The First Step

I decided to start the recovery process with the front grille. I call it a recovery process because I don't intend on restoring the truck but I want to make it into something that would be safe to drive everyday. I'm recovering the usable parts from what is a rust bucket. The lower part of the grille was rusted away which is common on the 34s.
















I first made a wooden mold to match the lower section then I shaped 22 gauge medal around the mold to form the new bottom section. Sounds simple but it took several hours to make the mold and shape the metal. I modified old chisels and bits of scrap metal to help hammer the metal into place. I was surprised at how good the part turned out not having done anything quite like this before.

I had planned to weld the new part on with a mig welder which I have some experience with but don't claim to be a pro. After test welding together several old and new pieces of metal I decided I wasn't experienced enough to do the job with a mig. After doing some research on the web I decided to buy a micro torch. This turned out to worked great so I was able to attach the part and recover the grille.

The beginning

It all began with a search on Craigs List. I was searching for a used Jeep and I decided to see if any old trucks were available. I had wanted an early 30s Ford pickup since I was a teenager. Over the years I had looked a little but not too seriously because I knew I couldn't afford to spend the money. I typed in 1932 Ford Truck and to my surprise the search found one in Vidalia, Georgia where my family was originally from. The add said 1934 Ford Truck $750.00. It was hard to believe because I had never seen one that cheap. I emailed the owner and ask if he still had the truck and could he send me some photos.

I'm not sure what I saw in the photos, but I decided it was the right truck at the right time for the right price. So on the day after Thanksgiving 2010 I headed to Vidalia to pickup the truck. My son, Kevin, traveled with me and took photos of our great adventure.

The man in the stripe shirt is Bubba Brantley whom I bought the truck from. He said he purchased the truck from a salvage yard years earlier where it had been used for many years. The truck turned out to be a one and a half ton flat bed farm truck. It had a tag on the front from 1941. Now I know that it's not a pickup truck but at this point I thought I could convert it into one.