Barn Find 1950 Ford F68 Offered With No Reserve!
UPDATE 9/14/2019 – This Ford has been relisted, it seems the winning bidder didn’t follow through with the deal. It’s being offered here on eBay again without a reserve, so if you missed it before, here’s your chance to snag it!
FROM 9/7/2019 – There is just something cool about an all-original classic farm truck! I’m not sure if it’s the design, the way they age or just all the stories they could possibly tell us, but I for one would love to own this Ford. It’s a Canadian variant of the F3, so it’s a heavy-duty 3/4 ton with a solid running flathead V8. It’s being offered here on eBay in Sweet Grass, Montana with a current bid of $3,325 and no reserve! This seems like a killer deal for anyone that’s into classic trucks and wants something a bit more interesting than your run of the mill American issue trucks.
The seller states that the flathead runs as is, but they had to use an external gas tank as the fuel system needs to be sorted. Given how simple and solid built these trucks are, it shouldn’t take much work to have it running and driving again. Of course, there will be plenty of work needed to make it a comfortable driver, but this one looks like you could do the bare minimum to get it going. And thankfully, all the important bits are present, including the unique F68 badges and trim!
Making it nice to drive will require cleaning the interior up, but there really isn’t much to the interiors of these trucks. Parts are readily available, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to make this a comfortable place to be. The seller notes that there is some rust to be dealt with, but nothing serious. Looking the floors over, I see a few spots that need attention but for a 69-year-old farm truck it doesn’t look too bad. You can get patch panels to replace just about every inch of these trucks, but I don’t think you are going to need much metal to fix the cab and floors.
The bed, on the other hand, is showing a bit more rust than the cab. You can buy complete replacement beds, but if there is enough metal to work with still, I’d be more inclined to treat it and repair the original bed, that way I could preserve the patina. We all have our own tastes though and this truck looks complete and solid enough to justify a complete restoration if that’s the route you’d rather take. Either way, it would be a sweet truck to have and would be fun to use as a parts hauler, cruise around town in or even to take to events. So, which would it be for you? Would you preserve the trucks original look, restore it back to showroom condition or build it into a modernized show stopper?
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Comments
Personally, I’d recover the seat in denim, repair any mechanical issues, patch any rust holes, and just drive it. Nice honest truck.
At some point, this reseller is going to have swooped up all the examples of these trucks from the Canadian prairies, but until then, keep ’em coming!
Todd Zuercher very true. For now, they are making a good living, and saving a lot of iron from the crusher. So many of these trucks went off to the promised land when scrap hit $300/ton a while back.
yea Todd- another beauty from sweet grass! Love to see em and the guy prices them affordably. Good luck to the new owner!!
Cheers
GPC
I had a 1948 that I spent 2 years restoring. Was 80% done. Went on vacation and when I got back it was gone. They never found it. I still have the title.
Hate to hear that. Hope they get an especially hot spot on the other side.
Stealing your ride is as low as they go. You never know how much it can hurt until it happens to you. I lost a ‘38 Ford Std. Slope back almost out from under my nose. The perps should have their privates nailed to a fence post and be tipped over backwards…
Question for BarnFind readers. Why are the rear wheels hardly ever centered in the wheel opening on trucks of this vintage?? Is there a logical reason or just one more little mystery of life?
I noticed that myself. They weren’t that well centered from the factory but general wear to the springs and shackles tends to allow the rear axle to move forward. I visited a custom shop and noticed that the guys had elongated the bolt holes on the rear fenders. One of the guys told me that it was a pretty simple job to slide the fenders ahead and shorten the running boards a tad. Looked fairly simple and I’m tempted to do that on my own truck…
There may be a reason, many times, pickups were sold without a box and the dealer contracted a separate supplier in a “one box fits all” deal. I know IH used “Knox” pickup boxes. Looking at other 1950 Ford pickups, this looks like a different box from stock, with what appears to be Ford rear fenders kind of tacked on ( note funky fender stay/ tail light). Farmers, who this appealed to, are an enterprising bunch, and over the 70 some years, who knows where that box came from.
That box is as stock as they come! 3/4tons had longer box than 1/2 ton. And the 3/4 ton box had the embossed walls found on 48-50 1/2 tons right thru till 52. Ford rear axles were never centred on the fender.
Geomechs, Rube, it’s info like you two have provided here that makes this forum absolutely invaluable to any of us with a dream of finding and restoring our own affordable ride. Thank you, both of you!
Thanks for the good words, Nevada. Rube and I, and many others on this site have either driven, worked on, owned, or all of the above for a lot of years. We’re hopeless addicts and we never get tired of talking about old relics and sharing what we know. And we’re always willing to learn more too…
Thanks, halftrack, to be clear, geomechs has forgotten more than I know. Still, can’t argue with experience, and as younger men, these trucks were all around us. And for the record, those were not necessarily the “good ol’ days”.
Not the good ‘ol days? Oh, come on now. What’s wrong with getting the band of your shorts pulled up to your shoulder blades? Or simply being the brunt of the jokes? Like most of us on this site, I’m sure that there are memories we’d rather forget. But I’ll never forget buying my ‘47 Ford pickup for $90.00, and driving it home; or riding my Harley 45 trike back from lunch break and picking up three very desirable girls on the way to the school. Well, I got suspended for the latter but it was a brief moment in time when I outclassed the captain of the football team. One of the things I like about this site is the opportunity to rehash some of those good moments…
Even at 51 years old, I also still appreciate learning new things. As a matter of fact, I just bought an OBD II code reader…I’ve had a lap top and smart phone for a few years, but, I’m now officially in the 21st century lol! I don’t know if I’m allowed to do this here or not, but, hopefully, nobody will mind-anyone interested in old trucks, from the early 1900s through the 1970s, should definitely check out Vintage Trucks Magazine. It’s a beautiful bi-monthly magazine published by Ertel Publishing. I don’t work for them, but, I’ve been a subscriber for a few years. It’s a great mag, and, they have an anual show every year in Ohio. I hope to drive my Gentleman Jim (purchased new by my grandpa) to next years show. As we all know, whenever possible,I real trucks are happy pulling trailers, not riding on them!
Hi Mike. I’ve been a subscriber to Vintage Trucks (and Antique Power) for a number of years. I’ve also done a couple of features for them in the past. Good magazine and a great crew. Driving one of my trucks to their annual show is on my bucket list.
You’ve said what many of us here have thought, geomechs. That would be a great day..
Nevada1/2rack
Great truck but I’m holding out for a 52 my favorite year!! Can’t beat the 52 grill!!! I might have to make a trip to Montana sometime!!
I highly advise it! i was born In Montana and lived there for half of my life and it is amazing! I miss it so much!
Didn’t Frank Zappa do that? ( may he RIP, wherever THAT guys soul went) Dental floss tycoon, I believe.
Movin’ to Montana soon
Gonna be a mennil toss flycoon
…and guitar solo begins…
I’d guess Frank’s “soul” went to a good place seeing how much he made people dance and think!
I shudder when I see a pickup without a tailgate. Riding bumpy farm roads, with the leverage the box sides can exert, and, soon enough, the sides start to flap back and forth. The tailgate provides some stability in the rear.
Would love to own it, clean it up and drive it. I would be hunting for a tailgate soon after purchase.
nice Canuck Truck
Sold for 4K last night. Wish I was the buyer.
As to the tire/wheel being centered in the wheel well, even cars of the latter 30s early 40s had more of the front of the tire covered than the rear. I think this was done on the theory that more spray from driving in the rain flew off of the front of the tire and more room was left in the rear to allow wheel removal….
One night driving on a highway I saw a vehicle approaching on my left, it came up fast and when I looked it was one of these trucks that had been made a hot rod, silver with the glow of its headlights it pulled away fast. I thought I had saw a ghost rider, very cool! Amazing vehicles.
I’ve been a car nut for almost 6 decades and seems it’s only been the last 5-10 years that this whole numbers thing has gotten so big. F86, AE86, E30, etc, etc. We used to be into Old Trucks, Vettes, ’40 Fords, Porsches, Mustangs, Bimmers whatever. Somehow seemed less “techy”.
How could anybody have missed it when this is the third time it’s been on barnfinds!? Must be somebody’s brother.
%$&*# those non-paying Ebay bidders……
I’d take my time and restore it back to stock appearance on the outside. But, I’d probably run a later Ford Windsor engine, and C-4 trans because of my arthritic left knee, and, probably an 8.8″ rear end with highway friendly gears, upgraded brakes etc. Then, I’d drive it to the local “home improvement center” on Saturdays to watch people trying to load lumber into their new trucks 5 1/2′ bed without damaging their $60k pretend truck. I’d also take the grandsons for ice cream on summer Sunday afternoons. Oh wait, I already have several GM square bodies that I do that with. Thank God for vinyl seats because my trucks seem to be especially fond of melted ice cream. Since cup holders are a fairly modern invention in trucks, they also like to drink my coffee through their defroster vents!
I’ve loved any thing that can move under its own power for as long as I can remember. Just some things more than others. I’m 66yrs. now and still love to learn new things. That’s more than half the fun ! I have type 2 Diabetes and my feet swell some now so I can’t do all the work as fast as I use to. I have more people in the shop now so things still move along well. Those old trucks are the beating heart of the Canadian and American Midlands……………….JIMMY
Hi Jimmy. I certainly agree that these trucks were the heart and soul of a lot of farms and businesses throughout the country, and especially the Midwest. Traveling from the Flathead Valley in MT to Central WI last month I saw a number of tonners (albeit a tad newer) still out earning a living.
another example of non paying bidders while people here think it sold for big bucks.
These guys are busy. They are making a good living on these old farm trucks, but I think they are working pretty hard at it, and putting a LOT of miles on crisscrossing the Canadian prairie. Dragging old non-running trucks out of the mud with stuck engines and brakes can be back-breaking work. But it beats sitting at a desk for a living, for sure.