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Dec 14, 2023

1950 Ford F1 Ditches Deliveries, Strikes Gold, Gets Wild Refurb

Related Video Itching for a cool delivery-van-turned-custom truck? Probably not,

Related Video

Itching for a cool delivery-van-turned-custom truck? Probably not, until now, but one lucky bidder has the chance to possess this rad air-ride-equipped vintage machine. Once appearing at SEMA (well, the virtual SEMA360 show, but that still counts), this Ford F1 bread truck, coming from Ford as a ½-ton cab and chassis, is now up for grabs at the Mecum auction in Glendale, Arizona.

Once upon a time, from 1949 to 1966, this 1950 Ford F1 bread truck allegedly worked hard as a delivery truck for Happy Home Delivery Service out of Denver, Colorado. After that, a plumbing company used it for a while. Long after the close of the delivery truck's service life, Pot O'Gold Kustoms discovered it in a salvage yard in Ellicott, Colorado, full of holes from hail damage. It was pretty much a bare-bone shell with a frame, lacking driveline, front clip, fenders, and cowl. The Ward Manufacturing rear aluminum box was, however, full of firewood. Free stuff! Seeing its potential as a people mover and rolling advertisement, Pot O'Gold Kustoms buttered up the battered old Ford workhorse and brought it back to life in glorious fashion.

This bread hauler has a lot going on, but it's hard to miss the unnaturally low stance achieved by the air suspension. It sits nice and low over 20- and 22-inch Detroit Steel wheels wrapped in Nitto tires. Disc brakes hide behind all corners. Pot O'Gold Kustoms swapped in a 1951 1-ton front clip and fabricated custom wheel wells capable of swallowing those massive wheels. The adjustable suspension is controlled by AccuAir Suspension's e-Level suspension management system, and acts on a Mustang II front end and a four-link setup in the rear, with the Ford 9-inch rear end narrowed in order to accommodate the wheels. Of course, the factory half-ton chassis was modded to get low, including a rear notch. The frame, axle, suspension, wheels, and exhaust were smothered in flat black.

The truck's diesel swap isn't quite so easy to spot at first glance. Pot O'Gold Kustoms ditched the factory flathead six-cylinder engine backed by a three-speed manual transmission in favor of a Cummins four-cylinder turbodiesel engine out of a forklift, backed by a Turbo 400. The swap might look natural, but it necessitated a custom firewall, among other mods, to make it happen.

We'd love to get up close to appreciate the restoration work that went into the outside of this Ford F1 hauler, but we'll have to settle for pictures. Pot O'Gold Kustoms replaced all the exterior aluminum (except for the corners in the very front nose section, which the custom shop refurbished). The front clip is smothered in Sherwin Williams Blackish Green Mica over a black sealer (yeah, there's a green cast to it in certain lighting). Service Auto Glass handled the custom-fit glass and rubber molding in the doors and the windshield. As for lighting, it sports Harley Davidson Projector headlights and LED-converted 1950 Pontiac taillights.

The metal work continues inside, merging with clean and classy upholstery work by J&J Upholstery. The diamond-stitched brown leather looks killer against the bare aluminum seat frames. The upholstery company also handled the black carpet and headliner. According to Pot O'Gold Kustoms, The Wife custom built the driver seat and also did the dimple-die work and mesh screen work in the back. Some of these interior elements are backlit, providing a nice glow.

From the inside to the outside, there's no mistaking that this Ford F1 bread truck was—was—Pot O'Gold Kustoms' shop truck and rolling billboard. Although the custom shop—whose bread and butter consists of LS swaps, diesel conversions, custom sheetmetal work, paint, body, and more—seems ready to part ways with its creation, it'll always have gooey, buttery memories of the time it threw a half-baked doughy classic back in the oven.