My wife always wanted an old truck. I told her that we couldn't afford one. But then my son-in-law came across this rolling chassis from a 1926 Dodge Brothers pickup. He told me that I could have it and do anything I wanted with it. A friend saw it and told me his brother had a flathead V8 from a 1950 Ford F-1 truck and I should call him. His brother, also a friend of mine, gave me the engine. It had been in his dad's old truck. Once we knew the engine would run, I started the fabrication. This truck is built mostly from things I had laying around my house. The grill is from a steam oven from the hospital where I worked as a maintenance man. The bedsides are from an elevator shaft from that hospital. The tailgate is from an X-ray machine. The curves in the hood and the cowl are from Freon tanks. A friend gave me the steel for the floor and where the cab sits. I had to buy steel for the roof and cab because junk guys just don't have that big of pieces laying around. The gas pedal is from a drum set. There's a cutoff switch that a friend gave me. The steering wheel is from a 1961 Jeep pickup that I hauled coal with when I was a kid. The radiator was junk. I bought a Champion radiator for the flathead V8, a rebuild kit for the carburetor, and a tune up kit. I had to rebuild the fuel pump. There were 2 stuck valves that weren't a problem to get unstuck. And we've got the engine purring like a kitten. I also had to buy 2 new rear tires as they were completely shot, but the front ones were ok. I have just over $3000 in the whole custom rebuild. The seat is from a Ford Bronco that was given to me by a friend. I did almost all the fabricating myself with some help from my son-in-law and grandson. The whole build took just a shade over two years.
