This is it. Life moves on and the time has now come, after 15 years, for me to part ways with the iconic Old Rope Salvage truck. What this means to you is the rare opportunity to own this incredible piece of history for yourself. Interested? Then read on ...
The Old Rope Salvage Truck is a 1941 Ford Pick-Up, brought over to the U.K by myself in May 2005 having been discovered on a farm in North Dakota where it had been abandoned 40 years earlier. The heavy duty chassis is the 'three-quarter/one ton' truck chassis, not to be confused with the lighter 'half ton' car chassis, and the engine (which hadn't been started for 40 years) is a 1949 V8 Flathead. The best, of course.
The truck was initially garaged for 12 years whilst I scratched my head trying to decide what I wanted to do with it, until a move to Cornwall forced my hand and I set about restoring it in the summer of 2014. I thought it would take me about 6 months, but it actually took me almost 2 years of hard graft and several thousand £££s before I finally put the truck back on the road in 2016. Being tax exempt and with cheap insurance, the truck then became my head-turning daily driver.
Apart from the machining for the engine, all the work was painstakingly done by myself, including the sign-writing ... Admittedly, the 'patina' was helped along by the Cornish weather, with my top-secret ingredient to protect and shine ... (This closely guarded information will be passed on to the new owner, of course).
It is with very mixed feelings that I have now decided to advertise the truck to sell. Unfortunately, we can't always keep the things we have built, even when that thing is as special and as unique as the truck. But life moves on and I am currently planning a huge new project, hopefully the most exciting as well as the most challenging project I have undertaken so far. All my finances and resources will be going into the new project and this is why, with a slightly heavy heart, I am now advertising the truck For Sale.
Details & Specifications as follows:
1949 engine 239ci bored to 248ci 8ba V8 Flathead, fully rebuilt and restored
Block / Heads etc. cleaned and crack tested, with no cracks found
Everything internal replaced apart from the conrods and the crank shaft (now reground)
Much machine work on block inc. 60 thou. over bore for Arias forged racing pistons and full flow oil filtering
Iskenderian max 1, 3/4 race grind cam
Iskenderian springs
Adjustable lifters / followers
Supported main bearing
Stainless steel valves
Electronic ignition
Rebuilt carburettor
All new hoses
Electric fuel pump
Rewired and converted to 12v negative earth
Complete braking system dismantled, restored and painted
There is so much more to tell about this vehicle and my time spent with it in my custodianship, and you can read all about this on our page at Vintage Driving along with lots more photos and a film of the first engine start up during the long, cold January of 2015.
If you have any questions or if you would like to come and take an admiring look at the truck, give Tim (that's me!) a call on 07780 676211.
Offers on £18,500
A '41 Ford Pick-Up Truck photographed in the Cornish snow ... As rare a photographic event as you're likely to get in Whitsand Bay ...