Once Upon a Truck- Part 3

After our "52 Ford was carefully disassembled, the work of restoration began in earnest. Each part was evaluated and the few parts that could not be salvaged such as the chrome door handles and hood lettering were ordered from reproduction manufacturers.

he vast majority if the parts were sandblasted to remove the old paint and then repaired, reshaped and prepped for painting. Even the smallest parts and what might be considered insignificant details were attended to. Down to repainting the red needles on the dashboard dials and copying over the factory grease pencil markings on the engine compartment firewall.

Photo of the original factory markings on the firewall

Same markings carefully replicated on the restored firewall

The truck begins to come back together

Restorer Chad Bangerter said one of the most challenging efforts on the bodywork was reshaping the curve of the cab roof that had been flattened a bit from countless hay bales being stacked on it. If I had ever imagined we would want to keep this truck growing up, we might have been more careful.

Photos in this post are by Chad Bangerter- CB Rodz