1952 F1: Flames to Fantastical!

[A12pilot]

Greetings Folks!

1952: The Corvette prototype was presented by Harley Earl in December of that year with it being unveiled to the public the following year. The Mau Mau Rebellion was going strong in Kenya. And Mr. Potato Head hit stores nationwide! Yes, it was a wonderful year to be alive! Ford continued its redesigned F1 for another year before changing the design yet again in 1953. What you see here is how one of those 1952 F1s holds up in a 1000 degree fire

My buddy Rick was very unfortunate to have lost several cars and lots of priceless family heirlooms in a fire that devastated his shops. This 1952 F1 was Rick's father's truck and it means a lot to him. Rick's the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off of his back. And you'd want it since he wears some pretty nice shirts! Some of the Ohio clan met him at MCACN a few years ago when he was up there. He's a great guy and this is just a tragic thing. So how's one help? Simple! After seeing this truck, I volunteered to take it on for him. What did I get myself into? Am in even capable of handling this type of restoration? I think we all know the answer to that question: Maybe

I'm postponing my other projects to get this truck back on the road. Here's some pics the day it happened. I'll be posting up more as I get into the build. Stay tuned for more updates and hopefully you'll follow along!

Cheers
Dave

[Postsedan]

Dave,

You’re a great friend and human being to offer this....this will be Huge Karma for you!

I am 1000% prescribed

Dan

[SS427]

Very nice gesture Dave and a very honorable thing to offer. Good luck with it and may your friendship grow. We sincerely hope all works out for you, Rick and his family and the truck.

[markinnaples]

Great gesture Dave! Sorry for your friend's losses, but hopefully your revitalization of his truck will put some salve on his wounds.

[Jonesy]

Those things had some pretty thick metal on them back in that day. Hope it all goes well!!

[Steve Shauger]

Kudos to you Dave for undertaking this project.

[BJCHEV396]

Originally Posted by Steve Shauger

Kudos to you Dave for undertaking this project.

X2!!

[A12pilot]

Thanks, Guys! I’m excited to get started in between building stone columns for the driveway, all the landscaping that needs to be done around here, and of course, finishing up Shop #1 so I have a nice clean place to reassemble it!!

I figured with my other 49 truck build, the 57 T-Boid redo, and barn build among other things, you’s guys would enjoy following along! There’s bound to be such memorable moments as Tetanus Shot Part Deux, and Stiches: Not just for pillows.

Cheers

Dave

[A12pilot]

It is amazing what the intense heat of a fire can do. Things were burnt that just made you scratch your head. Potmetal turned to molten slag or just disappeared entirely. The leaf springs reversed eyed more than any drop spring I've ever seen!! The battery was a shell with the lead cores just neatly stacked, yet fused at the bottom from where they had melted. The spare tire is gone, but the steel cords in the tire remain! Welp... Time to get dirty.....

Cheers
Dave

[Postsedan]

That will buff right out

Dan