1938 Ford COE Crew Cab

1938 was the first year that Ford came out with a crew-cab, says Jim Randall, owner of this beautiful example. Randall is a retired tile and masonry contractor who used this truck in his San Diego business for 16 years. The truck was a freebie salvaged from defunct chicken ranch, and in his truck he carries pictures that show what a real rust wreck it was (say that three times fast!). Jim lovingly restored the body and dropped it on a '77 Dodge motorhome chassis and drivetrain. The canvass was custom made and really compliments and completes the restoration.













Its all in the details...

Hotrodcustomstuff

Nolan's 1937 Ford Pickup and Panel Truck

These sharp 1937 Ford trucks belong to Nolan Cason (kkiserneto.com)

1937 Ford Deluxe 1/2 Ton Panel Delivery bought in 1987 restoration completed in 1993 it was a Street Rod he Purchased in Huntley NB in 1987 with exception of Hydraulic Brakes the restoration is back to original. Options include :Banjo Steering Wheel, Spider Hub caps beauty rings & white walltires, Center Front Grill Guard, Glove Box Clock, Columbia Overdrive Rear Axle, Fog Lights

1937 Ford Deluxe 1/2 Ton Flat Bed Pickup
owned since 1967 restored in 1970 second restoration completed in 1999 Color is Gull Gray this is the correct color for the 1937 Commercial Vehicles... Fenders are Black. Options are same as Above

First Look: Lincoln C Concept

C is for CAFE: Lincoln Turns to Focus Platform for Latest Concept

By Todd Lassa

Forget the Continentals of your past, or the big, long rear-drive concepts of the early '00s. While BMW has proven that rear-wheel-drive c-segment size luxury works, with its 1 Series, Lincoln is turning next to the 2011 Ford Focus' platform for post-global warming luxury. To prepare us for a CAFE-friendly world, Lincoln rolled out the C concept (for c-segment, and so far, without an "MK" prefix) at Detroit.



Looking much like a Renault with Lincoln's "flying wing" '41 Continental retro cue grille, the C is about the length of the '11 Focus, but about 2.75-inches wider for three-abreast seating via two flat benches. Ford designers cite the '39 Lincoln, '56 Continental II and '61 Continental as inspiration. But the a-pillar is curved much like a Renault Espace's, and the c-pillar ends in a Clio-esque bustle trunk. While there's no tumblehome, a deep shoulderline accents the profile.



The stainless steel-like top is actually aluminum with a metalized paint, and the gray interior wood trim is recycled driftwood veneer.



The Lincoln C has more interior space than a '61 Continental, J Mays and Freeman Thomas proudly note. The engine, theoretically - Lincoln didn't open the hood -- is a planned 1.6-liter EcoBoost four with central direct injection, variable valve timing on both cams and an interesting stop/start system to shut down the engine for red lights and stop signs. Restarts use a fraction of the starter energy required for a cold start by injecting and igniting fuel in the cylinder closest to top-dead-center on the compression stroke. The six-speed, twin-clutch "Powershift" transmission uses more efficient dry clutches (Audi DSG's wet clutches require an oil pump). It gains 9-percent better fuel economy than a conventional automatic transmission, Ford says. Including some key weight savings, Ford expects the EcoBoost-powered C would get about 25-percent better fuel economy than a similar car with a 2.0-liter.



Inside, the C is a showcase for Ford's Microsoft Sync of the future, a two-way voice command system featuring avatar Eva, a kind of female HAL with a British accent and access to the Internet via the driver's mobile phone. Ford expects features like a navigation system that supplies the most fuel-efficient route (for when gas next breaches $4/gallon), restaurant reviews and the like will be the foundation for its future Sync systems. Anyway, the owner will be able to configure it to his or her preferences, much like on an Apple iPhone, and update it regularly with a thumb drive.



Other interior features include no b-pillar (which Mays insists is approaching production viability, even if the "suicide door" feature that accompanies it is only for show), a hubless steering wheel rendered in Apple-computer white plastic, thin-seat technology for better interior room (another near-production feature), hand-drawn floral patterns laser-etched into the otherwise stark white leather seats, weight- and height-sensing power head restraints, and stereo speakers in the headliner, which surrounds a Lincoln-symbol glass sunroof.



Thomas says the instrument panel, which includes a "privacy" screen to allow passengers to look at the Internet without distracting the driver, is "not a lot of separate parts, almost like an iPhone." (Domestic and foreign auto designers have evolved from evoking the translucent iMac in their designs at the beginning of the decade to talking about the iPod, and now the iPhone.)



North America design chief Peter Horbury says his favorite feature, though, is a device in the car's grille that recognizes other Lincoln Cs and automatically "winks" the left headlight, Mini Cooper-owner style. Question is, can Lincoln build a c-segment car with so much appeal that owners "wink" or wave at others voluntarily? We may have to ask that question again when Lincoln markets a c-segment car, in as little as two or three years.

Ford Active Park Assist: Parallel Parking for Smarties

2009 Lincoln MKS

By Frank Markus

I'm an expert parallel parker. I learned all the tricks by street-parking a 19-foot '73 Chevy wagon with battlestar bumpers in college. My favorite: shove the Ford Fiesta in front of you forward until you feel him touch the car in front, then back up a half inch. I have never once, in real life, parked a Lexus using its Advanced Parking Guidance System. I don't have the patience for all that fiddly on-screen programming. Ford claims to have developed a system that will delight us impatient gadget-geeks as much as it does the parking-challenged.

When you enter fertile ground for parallel parking spots, you simply slow down and tell the system to start looking for a spot (it'll look to the left or right). Ultrasonic sensors measure the distance to the curb and between parked cars or obstacles. When it sees a spot that's big enough for a simple back-in-pull-forward parking job it signals the driver to stop and accept the system's assistance to park (it's going to pass up the 29-point squeeze jobs I used to wedge the shaggin' wagon into).

Ford Active Park Assist

The driver works the shifter and pedals under the guidance of Active Park Assist, which takes full control of the steering, using the electric power assist system (which boosts fuel economy by about 5 percent and hence will become standard on almost 90 percent of Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles by 2012, greatly increasing the number of cars that could be fitted with APA). It sounds like a quick and easy system that I'd use on occasion -- you know, whenever the drive in, bump up onto the curb and drop down into the space technique looks unworkable.

There's no word yet on pricing (Lexus charges $700 on top of a required $2280 Luxury Package on the LS460), but Active Park Assist will make its debut in mid-2009 on Lincoln's 2010 MKS sedan and new MKT crossover. I'll let you know if it's as user friendly as the press releases suggest.

2011 Ford F-150 EcoBoost V-6

More Power and Better Fuel Economy -- What's Not to Like?

By Dan Carney

True truck owners, those who need to buy pickups for towing and hauling, need the practicality of a truck, but like everyone else, would like to use less fuel. Unlike the commuters who haul air in their trucks, true truck users don't have the option of swapping their pickups for economy cars.

The obvious solution has been for manufacturers to start putting diesel engines into their light-duty pickup trucks, but the large price difference between regular unleaded and diesel, often about a dollar per gallon, has caused a rethink of that plan. Ford says it has put off (at least for a couple years) its previously announced plan to offer a diesel in the F-150 in 2010.

2009 D-150

Instead, the company is developing a V-6 EcoBoost engine for the F-150 which employs turbocharging and direct-injection -- a design that Ford says will deliver similar power to a V-8 engine -- all while using less gas.

2009 F-150

Such engines are cheaper to build than diesels -- less than $1000 more costly than a conventional V-8 in comparison to the $4000 or $5000 price tag of a diesel engine, according to Ford. That thousand bucks buys you more power, expected to top the targets of 340 horsepower and 340 pound-feet of torque from the 3.5-liter turbo V-6, compared with the 320 and 390 for today's 5.4-liter Triton V-8.




It will also return 15-20 percent better mileage, Ford engineers predict. That extrapolates to 16 mpg city/23 highway for the EcoBoost engine, compared with 13 and 18 for the V-8 today.

Towing and other hard work won't tax the EcoBoost engine, even though conventional wisdom would suggest that a smaller-displacement engine would have to work harder and that a turbocharged engine could be stressed by heavy loads. The direct injection of gasoline has the effect of cooling the combustion chamber, as the fuel absorbs heat when it evaporates. According to an engineer who is developing the EcoBoost F-150, "cooling has not been an issue."

One challenge will be the sound characteristics of a turbo six-cylinder, which will be different from the familiar mellow rumble of a V-8. The company is looking at solutions, including a simplified active sound-cancellation system that will mold the sound waves that emerge from the exhaust pipe, but without a complex closed-loop system using microphones to monitor and adapt to the sounds being produced. The system would instead use a simple data map to know what it should do under different circumstances.

EcoBoost-powered F-150s will arrive in showrooms in 2010 for the 2011 model year.

Honey, I Shrunk the Pickup: More on Ford's future plans for two sub-F-150 models

Ford plans two sub-F-150 pickups

By Mike Connor

Ford is working on two new, smaller-than-F-150 pickup trucks, one based on the F-Series and the other a replacement for the aged Ranger compact, which is unchanged, save for facelifts, since the 1998 model year.

The smaller F-150 is codenamed P525 and may be badged F-100, the name of the F-150's predecessor from the 1950s. At one point, P525 and the Ranger replacement were competing proposals, but with growing need for higher-fuel-mileage trucks, both projects will become reality in 2010 or 2011. The P525 won't be offered with V-8 power, but instead will come with four-cylinder and V-6 EcoBoost (gas direct injection and turbocharging) options, the engines' fuel economy and torque optimized for interim Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards expected to kick in for the 2011model year.

The Ranger replacement, codenamed T6, is being developed by Ford Australia and was originally intended only for world markets other than the U.S. That Dearborn is reconsidering the plan suggests the company thinks high gas prices are definitely here to stay.

Because the current Ranger's Twin Cities plant will be closed in 2009, the 2011 model year could go missing if its replacement, known as the global Ranger, isn't ready earlier than the 2011 calendar year. The T6 will be built in Thailand, but the "chicken tax" will keep Ford from importing them from that country. Instead, they could be imported from South Africa (a right-hand-drive market), which has special trade agreements with the U.S., or possibly Mexico. The T6 could even be built in Australia, which is exempt from the chicken tax.

The 2010-2011 calendar years will be busy for Ford Motor Company, which partially explains why the automaker sold off Aston Martin and Jaguar/Land Rover-for product development cash. That's the same time frame as the launch of the next-generation Fusion and the converged C-segment car (Focus). As for the F-150, it could converge with the heavy-duty versions. Its product cycle should revert back to six-years-plus, from the current five. The upcoming F-150, meanwhile, will also get a version of the EcoBoost V-6, probably by 2010, to increase Ford's truck CAFE number.

Is America ready to downsize its pickup trucks? If $4 per gallon gas forces us into smaller cars, why not smaller, lower-powered pickups with full-size truck beds and near-full-size utility?

Who Killed the Ford F-100?

How Ford Outsmarted Itself in its bid to Build a Fuel-Efficient Pickup

By Mike Connor



As gas prices spiraled skyward last year, Ford product planners became more than a little concerned over the long term future of the company cash cow, the F-150 pickup. Although the all-new F-150, then undergoing final testing before launch, was a careful evolution of a highly successful formula, no-one knew whether that meant much anymore.

In May, as the average price of a gallon of gas neared $4.00, the F-150 was knocked off the top of the monthly sales charts for the first time in 17 years, outsold by Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Camry, and Honda Accord. That sent a chill through Dearborn: Ford's product planners knew that for most of the 30-plus years the F-150 had reigned as America's -- the world's -- best selling vehicle, gas had cost $2 a gallon or less. The world had changed. America was changing. Maybe the F-150 would have to change, too.



The solution wasn't rocket science: develop a pickup truck that was smaller and lighter. The product planners looked at three options -- adapting the T6 Ranger pickup being developed by Ford Australia for the world market; engineering a unibody pickup off the Ford Flex's D4 platform; or engineering a lighter, more fuel efficient truck using as much existing F-150 hardware as possible.

The T6 Ranger was discounted because it was simply too small. A D4-based unibody truck looked costly and time consuming. That left a lighter truck built around the new F-150 hardware.

The more the product planners looked at it, the more appealing the idea appeared. The new F-150 frame, designed to deliver maximum towing and payload capacity, was stoutly engineered, and therefore heavy. A revised frame, built to the smaller 126 in. and 133 in. F-150 wheelbases (which would allow a regular cab model with a 6.5 ft bed and a Supercab model with a 5.5 ft bed) and optimized for lower towing and payload, could be made lighter. Lighter wheels, tires, and suspension components could be used.

Body-on-frame construction mean a unique cab and front clip could be relatively inexpensively engineered. The F-150 beds could be carried over. Powertrains would be Ecoboost four cylinder and V-6 turbos. The V-6 looked especially promising -- even in a relatively mild state of tune the 3.7-liter turbo could pump out more power and torque than the F-150's base V-8.

It seemed a no brainer. But then the Ford truck guys started thinking about capability. Capability -- towing and payload capacity -- is to truck guys what sub-four second 0-60 mph times and 190 mph top ends are to performance enthusiasts. The initial discussions centered around a 5500 lb towing capacity, because, as Ford product chief Derrick Kuzak points out, "a towing capacity of 5000 lb covers 80 percent of the trailer towing done in America". This was rounded up to 6000 lb.

The old-school Ford truck guys weren't happy, though. The F-150 could tow 11,300 lb, more than anything in its class. They reasoned that if the F-100 was to be Ford truck tough it, too, would need an impressive towing number. They picked, quite arbitrarily, say my sources, 7500 lb. That pushed up the overall vehicle weight. It pushed up cost. It killed engine choices. And in the end, it killed the F-100, too, when Kuzak and marketing boss Jim Farley rightly concluded that suddenly they didn't have the 21st century, $4-a-gallon pickup truck they thought they once had.

Joe Oros: Chief Designer of the 1965 Ford Mustang

by the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide

You can thank motivational management techiques for the original Mustang design, abetted by a shrewd chief designer, Joe Oros. Oros first worked for GM in the 1930s and early 1940s, then joined the independent George Walker group that shaped the vital all-new 1949 Ford and the cars and trucks that built on its timely success. When Walker became Ford's in-house design vice president in 1955, he made Oros an assistant, then named him to head the Ford Studio in 1956.

Though Oros would supervise the design of almost every U.S. Ford-brand vehicle over the next dozen years, the Mustang was undoubtedly his biggest success as studio chief. Ironic, then, that his team's winning design was something of a rush job, just like that '49 Ford. Here, in his own words, is how Oros remembers the birth of the 1965 Ford Mustang prototype.

Lee Iacocca wanted a car that was more of a personalized, sporty four-seater rather than a tight, European 2+2 package. Gene Bordinat requested proposals for it from our Ford studio, Lincoln-Mercury [and Corporate Advanced].

As chief of the Ford Studio, Joe Oros oversaw the design of the early Mustang.

The request came through on a Monday, and I had gone off to a one-week seminar: training sessions on problem analysis and problem-solving methods. Dave Ash was my executive. On Tuesday I called him to find out how things are going, and he told me about the new assignment. Ash had already made some sketches, and my understanding was that the studio was rapidly putting together a clay model for me to see the following Monday. I could hardly wait. I had difficulty concentrating on the seminar.

The following Monday, I went to the Design building very early and hot-trotted down to the Ford studio. And there was this car with a low mouth-type front end, a bumper integral with the grille opening, and a greenhouse with a reverse backlight like those on recent Lincolns, Mercurys, and the British Ford Anglia.

I thought, "We can't use a reverse backlight if this car is supposed to be new. And the front end is going to be expensive and add weight." The bodysides were not new and exciting either. So I didn't think we would win all the marbles against the other studios. Then the designers started trickling in, and I asked Gale Halderman and John Foster, two managers working under Ash, "What happened here?" They said, "It's what Dave wanted to start with." Then Dave walks in and I said, "Please cover this model."

Designing the 1965 Ford Mustang Prototype

Chief designer Joe Oros and his team were rushing to complete a design that would become in the prototype for the 1965 Ford Mustang. This is how Oros remembers it:

I then called a meeting with all the Ford studio designers, including the truck designers. We talked about the sporty car for most of that afternoon, setting parameters for what it should look like -- and what it should not look like -- by making lists on a large pad, a technique I adapted from the management seminar. We taped the lists up all around the studio to keep ourselves on track. We also had photographs of all the previous sporty cars that had been done in the Corporate Advanced studio as a guide to themes or ideas that were tired or not acceptable to management.

Engineers use a series of templates to transfer body surfaces from a clay model to production tooling.

Within a week we had hammered out a new design. We cut templates and fitted them to the clay model that had been started. We cut right into it, adding or deleting clay to accommodate our new theme, so it wasn't like starting all over. But we knew Lincoln-Mercury would have two models. And Advanced would have five, some they had previously shown and modified, plus a couple extras. But we would only have one model because Ford studio had a production schedule for a good many facelifts and other projects. We couldn't afford the manpower, but we made up for lost time by working around the clock so our model would be ready for the management review.

It took us another two weeks or so to finish it. Lee Iacocca first saw it when it was about five-eighths to three-quarters complete. I met him at the studio door and talked with him about what we were trying to accomplish. I could tell he was really pleased with the concept we were on, but he was noncommittal. Still, our car won hands-down. And we did it in under three weeks' time.

Oros' studio completed the winning design for the first Ford Mustang in three weeks.

I guided the overall appearance, especially the front end, but Dave Ash, Gale Halderman, and John Foster did an outstanding job in guiding the Mustang's development with the various committees that came through the studio -- manufacturing, engineering, product planning. Charlie Phaneuf, another manager with a lot of ideas, also helped tremendously, as did the interior studio headed by Damon Woods. It was a tremendous all-around effort that shows what teamwork can do when properly coordinated.

Interestingly enough, the car fell together naturally as a design theme. It wasn't forced. Engineering development came together very well. We were always conscious of the packaging requirements, the manufacturing requirements as far as feasibility. From approval to the showroom floor, we only had to make minor adjustments.

When Lee Iacocca saw our finished car, he just rolled his cigar in his mouth. I could see the gleam in his eye, and he was pleased as punch. Of course, that made me feel very good too.

Massive Mustang Junkyard Found in Rhode Island

By Matt, December 9th, 2008



Over on MustangForums.com a member somehow stumbled upon a 200 plus acre Mustang Junkyard in the middle of nowhere in Rhode Island. The junkyard which was started in the 60's is populated with heavy tree cover and brush and is said to house some 20,000 antique and classic cars all throughout the woods. According to the forum member the cars were driven into the field and left to rust by the owner of the junkyard who is now in his 70's, going blind and has a drinking problem. Recently the state was made aware of this junkyard and ordered the owner to clean it up or all the cars will be crushed. There are said to be hundreds of 64-71 Mustangs including convertibles, Mach 1's, Boss', K-codes, fastbacks and maybe even Shelby's.

From the photos you can clearly see most of the Mustangs have heavy rust and body damage so restoring these will definately be challenging. If you have time I would look through a few of the junkyard photos below and after jump along with the aerial satellite views showing all the cars scattered throughout the 200 acre woods.











Maps.live.com - Aerial View, click on "birds eye" for better view, go back to the south east and keep looking over the whole field until you get to a small river or stream. Its amazing how many cars you can see in the woods.

Mustangblog.com

1960 Ford Custom Starliner 2-Door Hardtop

Price $105,300.00











1960 Ford Custom Starliner 2-Door Hardtop

Built by Foose, interior by Gabe Lopez, original, excellent body, 530 horsepower aluminum 460 Ford crate motor, Richmond (5-speed transmission, 9" Ford rear end. Mirrors, bumpers, grill, steel front and rear lower valances, engine compartment, tail lights, are all handmade! All electronic custom instrument panel. Wool and leather interior and trunk by Gabe Lopez. Remote control stereo and CD. Wheels custom built special for this car! Windshield dropped 2 1/2 sloped 6. Wheel wells moved Both front and rear, 4-wheel disc brakes, much more.

1960 Ford Custom Starliner 2-Door Hardtop

Barrett-Jackson, Scottsdale, AZ

Annual F-100 Western Nationals

Next Event on June 20, 2009



Thank you to all who came out to the 26th F100 Western Nationals on June 21, 2008. It was HOT in more ways then one and the quality of the trucks were OUTSTANDING!!

The 27th Annual F-100 Western Nationals on June 20th, 2009 is gearing up to be the most exciting show to date.

Renowned automotive artist George Trosley http://www.georgetrosley.com has been commissioned to produce this year’s T-shirt and program artwork. To jog your memory, Tros created all content for Petersen’s CARtoons magazines. Pickups Limited O.C. has now become a well-oiled machine poised to produce the West Coast’s finest Ford F-100 event! More to come



Gary Coe's 1957 F100 is the "Best Of Show" for 2008



On Friday June 19th the "Jeff's Cruise" we leave the Ayres hotel at 9am and head to Pomona’s NHRA Museum. Cruise will end at John Force Race Station for a guided tour. Check out Fridays run at Youtube .



A very special thank you to all of our 2008 sponsors. Click Here for their Web Site

2008 Ford F-100 Western Nationals - F-100 Western Nationals
26 Years And Still Shiftin' Gears
By John Gilbert
Photography by John Gilbert
The 26th Annual F-100 Nationals took place on the first day of summer 2008 in Corona, California at what the old-timers refer to as Featherly Park. The event was hosted by Pickups Limited of Orange County, an F-100 club (the oldest of seven chapters) that was started in Orange County, California way back in 1968 when Lee Hill placed an advertisement in the Pennysaver, a local giveaway publication.

This year, prior to the big Saturday show, Pickups Limited organized a beach cruise on Friday afternoon that led over 25 trucks down to Newport Beach, and then back up to John Force's Racestation for a tour of John's very cool museum. After checking out John's place most of the out-of-town folks cruised that last couple of miles back to the Ayres Hotel in Anaheim Hills, and then called it a day a very fun day. For information regarding next year's show please check out www.pickupslimited.com.



This '56 F-100 Big-Window was bought new in Corona, CA and was used daily as a work truck until '72. It remains in the family of the original owner.

Custom Tow Truck