Needless to say, I do notice old Ford trucks still in use, especially when they’re older than my ’66 F100. This ’56 F100 is clearly still in its original intended usage, which makes it that much more attractive. Well, everything about it except the front overhang; that’s something that’s bothered me about them since I was a kid. Why?
Paul,
Isn’t this the same type of truck used by Lamont on the show Sanford and Son?
I believe that Sanford & Son used a pre-1953 Ford F-1.
Correct. A ’52, I believe:
I’m guessing the overhang is off-putting partly because the front wheel isn’t centered in its fender opening. It’s too close to the back of the fender. On top of that, the fender opening has too much sheet metal in front of it, and not enough behind it. The full width grill surrounded by fenders that extend forward to meet it while they are cut off abruptly for the door opening make for an unbalanced look.
AFAIK, the front wheel is centered, but it’s hard to tell because of the angle of the photo.
I think CJinSD hit it squarely on the nose. It has the same proportioning as most front wheel drive cars have had since the 80’s. The front wheel sits too close to the door leaving too much overhang ahead of the wheel. Though the attempt with newer cars is to lessen this by having the front ends sweep back towards the wheel, in full side view, they still show grilles jutted way out front, and windshields sitting over the front wheels, which to my eyes, will always look ungainly.
Not only that, the effect of pulling the front ends back like that has made every last car look like they’re either grinning like the joker or mimicking slant eyes like some outdated comedy routine. I’d rather just have the square jawed overhang given the choice, it’s not like you cant see it in profile on newer models anyway
I have always agreed with you on that front overhang. Could it have been a result of the suspension design? I am guessing that these solid I-Beam axle trucks used a pair of longitudinal leaf springs. Of course, most others did the same thing and did it with better proportions.
What’s odd is that Ford reduced the wheelbase of these by 4″ from the previous generation. This truck has only 110″ between the wheels; the F1-F3 had 114″ (for the short bed versions). Odd.
Ford moved the front axle back for the 1953 F-100. The stated reason was to make the truck turn in a smaller radius.
My 1952 F-1 is still in semi-daily use.
That’s why I’d rather have an old Chevy truck!
About 1958 my brother drove one of these home from Oregon where he had been working in the mills. I loved it. Of course the front overhang still doesn’t bother me. He wound up wrecking that truck and I think I cried.
One of my favorite trucks to ride in as a kid! An uncle of mine had a ’56 like this and I remember riding with him or my dad when he would borrow it. Riding in an old truck and a trip to the dump was a great way to spend a few hours for me back then. My mind was blown when my dad told me my uncle had purchased it for about 80 bucks in about the late 60’s/early 70’s!
You remind me that I rode with my BIL on a dump run this last weekend – in a red Ford pickup. The only difference is that his is an 02 or 03 F-250 Diesel with nearly 300,000 miles on it. Other than a bed floor getting soft from rust, it was still a very solid old truck. A lot bigger than this one, though.
A bit weird they put a wraparound windshield for the final year of the 1953-56 F-100 while the 1957 is completely reskinned.
The 1957 wasn’t just reskinned but has a whole new body. Don’t know if the frame was basically a carryover or not. The ’57 has “new longer springs” so, maybe. Plus hydraulic clutch and suspended pedals. Yes, they did also have “new huskier frames” So, a whole new truck.
Man I must have a way high threshold for overhangs, I never even noticed the Ford of this era had more of one than the Chevys until now! I can’t unsee it!
These were solidly built trucks like all old Fords were .
In the early 1950’s a buddy had one with V-8 and three speed with overdrive , we overhauled the engine (_everything_ was worn out , about $900 in 1973 parts !) and it flew ~ we drove that rig all over the South West camping , hauling Motos etc….
-Nate
Yes, an odd restyle in the truck’s final year. The ’56 Ford trucks are considered to be more desirable than the ’53-’55 models. I never quite understood that, I thought they looked a bit clumsy particularly compared to earlier Ford’s and Chuck Jordan’s ’55 Chevy Task Force trucks.
I have a ’53 F100 (it’s been in the family since new), and I remember reading somewhere that the front axle was set back and the wheelbase was shortened to make the vehicle more maneuverable. Mission accomplished…my ’53 can turn on a dime!
Dodge pickups from 1948-59 also had a shorter-than-average WB for this same reason.
For me, it’s not the overhang as much as the fact the wheels (front and rear) appear to be undersized and lost in the wheelarches.
Was there a heavier version that used the same body pressings?
The F-250 and 350 sat higher, but had the same body. F-500-and-up trucks had the same cab, but wider front fenders, much like a modern F-6/750 compared to the 2/350.
In this picture (of a ’53), I don’t see so much of the “front wheel too far back, not centered in its opening” look–can someone explain?
Camera angle?
It’s not as though it’s factory artwork, where they might “restyle” it…..
(Apologies if I’m missing something obvious here….I appreciate the collective wisdom of CC!)
It’s an illusion due to the angle of my shot and the fact that the wheels are set in a ways inside the fender, making them more susceptible to that effect.
^^^^^^^Thanks kindly, Paul–much appreciated!
BTW, when I look (today) at pictures of at least some 1960s cars, I really see that too-narrow-track look with the tires oddly far inside the wheel wheels. I wonder why that didn’t bother my eye at the time…?
Probably because it was customary of all cars to tuck the wheels in way under the wells. Now we push the track all the way to the outside of the car.
Reducing the wheelbase would contribute to better maneuverability but it does leave that odd, ungainly front overhang. The chassis was largely carried over from the first F-1, may account for the off-center wheel placement.
This F-Series is extremely popular with the rod & custom crowd, who much like all street rodders, don’t notice the ungainly wheel placement relative to the wheelhouse openings…..if the look of most street rods is any indication…….
Hey! Thats my 56 in the top photo.. Fun to see it in a a candid photo.. Drive it to work daily when Im not riding anyway…
Thanks~
Very cool old truck, and glad to hear that you use it as intended!