1964 Ford F100 short bed
Kevin obviously took well to classic truckin’ with ownership of the Dodge, because he was soon talking to Kingdom Kustoms again, this time to source a truck for his wife Jane to drive, the result being this 1964 Ford F100 short bed. We’ve seen these Sixties square-body trucks gaining in popularity recently, mainly down to a combination of rising prices for the older trucks, and the often associated costs of getting them running reliably, and also the benefits of 12-volt electrics and the improved ride that comes with a Sixties pick-up.
The ’64, such as this one, was very much an intermediate model of Ford’s fourth generation of F series trucks; it saw Ford return to a separate cab and bed construction, after the problematic Unibody designs of ’60-’63, but while still retaining the traditional, but rapidly becoming outdated, solid I-beam front suspension. Ford introduced their unique twin I-beam axle for the ’65 model year.
Although he left it stock for the most part, Kevin did upgrade the ’64 with a front disc brake conversion via a bolt-on upgrade kit which he sourced online. These trucks nearly always have a tail-up stance when not loaded, but Kev added a little ‘altitude adjustment’ by fitting lowering blocks to the rear to give the F100 a level stance.
An unwelcome by-product of the factory stance means that the steel bed floors of these trucks often rust out at the cab end, especially if the small drain holes are blocked and water is allowed to collect there. This being the case with Kev’s truck, more scaffold boards were used (as in the Dodge) to give a new solid wooden bed floor to the F100.
Under the hood, the truck still ran the original 223cu in six-cylinder engine, the smallest available in this model, though Kev found that it wasn’t running well for a variety of reasons. This was cured with a rebuild of the stock single-barrel carburettor, plus a set of new plug leads and an electronic ignition conversion. The original column-shifted three-speed transmission was retained, but more on that later….
Although the paintwork looks like an aged patina finish, Kevin actually created the look by flatting off the original paint and applying a coat of turquoise blue, then black, before once again flatting it to reveal the patches of blue. Once he’d achieved the desired finish, the whole lot was Wax-oyled to preserve it from the weather.
The cosmetics were finished up with a set of Tuff Torque 10-spoke steel wheels and a set of Goodyear thin white band tyres. Some interior improvements came next, with some lower door panel cards being made up (these trucks don’t usually have them) which he covered with some fabric. The floor was also covered with a black and white vinyl covering to continue the look.
With all the upgrades done to the ’64, the Marstons had a fine brace of classic trucks in which to cruise and enjoy, except for one problem… Unfortunately, although the truck was to be Jane’s ride, she ultimately found that she just didn’t get on with the column change manual shift and, let’s be honest, they do take some getting used to, plus they’re certainly not as forgiving if you do actually miss the timing of the shift. (This writer remembers well trying to speed shift his first pick-up, a ’68 Chevy, jamming the second and third linkage levers, and then coasting to the kerb and having to prise them apart with a stout screwdriver…).
As a result, since our pictures were taken, the ’64 has been sold and moved on to pastures new. Undaunted though, the Marston household now owns a very pretty (and painted) ’64 GMC Fleetside, and a lowered and patina’d ’57 GMC Big Back Window on mags with low profile rubber. See, I told you he’d got it bad! ★