Jay Leno, a 1953 Ford F100 Truck, and Me

I have written about my Ford Ranger pickup truck in the past. I loved driving the “four on the floor” and shifting that gear knob. However, that wasn’t my first pickup. That was a 1953 Ford F100 that I owned in high school. Jay Leno, known for his love of antique and classic automobiles, featured one on his show, Jay Leno’s Garage.

A 1953 Ford F100 pickup truck. Mine was exactly the same except for that curved line at the tailgate. Mine was straight.

My father helped me buy the truck. He was the one who suggested it. He thought it would be fun to have the truck as a project for us to work on together.

Here is a 1953 F100 restored together by Dave Gentry and his daughter.
1953 Ford F-100 – Dave Gentry – LMC Truck Life

He found the truck and knew a guy who did bodywork and painting. The truck didn’t need much work and looked great with a new green paint job.

The bench seat was shot, and he thought it would be sporty to get bucket seats. We went to a couple of junkyards and found a pair of seats. I didn’t remember what type of vehicle they came from, but it was more of a hot rod and certainly not like a Chevy Vega or Ford Pinto.

I loved that truck. I changed the oil and the filter. I changed the air filter and put in new headlights.

The engine was in good shape, and my dad had a guy he knew replace the rubber radiator hoses and the fan belts. Those were things that I could learn to do myself, but since the truck was old, the parts needed to be special ordered, and I didn’t know where and how to do that.

1953 Ford F100 dash
Note the starter button to the left and the horn button in the center of the steering wheel.

I think the guy put in new spark plugs, too. My dad wasn’t mechanical at all and couldn’t fix anything on the truck, but he knew guys who could. He took me on trips to talk to them about fixing up the truck.

It was one of the first times my father was nice to me, and we did something together. That was a rarity in my childhood. I think that’s what I loved about the truck the most.

I remember having to order a special 6-volt battery for it. If my memory is correct, I ordered it from Sears. They had a special farm catalog and I think the battery was also used in tractors. The battery wasn’t installed under the hood but in a compartment under the floor in front of the driver’s seat.

The choke and ignition. The lever on the right raised the hood vent. My F100 didn’t have the extra knobs under the choke.

Putting the key in the ignition on the dash and turning it, didn’t start the truck. That just unlocked it. I needed to push a starter button on the left side of the dash next to the door.

I had to play around with the choke knob near the center, sliding it in and out just the right amount to get the engine going. Pulling out too much would flood the engine. I don’t remember flooding the engine too many times. It didn’t take me long to get the hang of the choke and know how much to pull it out and when to push it back in.

The 1953 50th Anniversary horn button.
It was in the center of the steering wheel.

1953 was the 50th Anniversary of the Ford Motor Company, and the horn button in the middle of the dash stated this.

This is a replacement vent for my 1953 truck. It states that it was automatic, but mine was lever operated.

There was a lever for the vent under the dash, and when you pushed it, an aperture in the center of the hood, in front of the windshield, raised, allowing fresh air to enter the cab. I called it a hood scoop, although it wasn’t a true hood scoop that allowed air to cool the engine on a hot rod.

Window wing vents could be pivoted in and out to control the amount and direction of the air.

With my “hood scoop” vent and the window wing vents, there was no need for Air Conditioning, which I’m sure wasn’t available back then. Perhaps in a Lincon Continental, but surely not a pickup.

Driving at 60 miles per hour with the hood vent up and the window wing vents open, there was no need for AC. It is a feeling that can’t be matched with any modern vehicle today.

Then, one day, I went out running some errands with my father in his Ford 1976 F150 Super Cab. It had Three on a Tree and no power stearing and no power brakes. It’s the vehicle he taught me how to drive on.

Just like my father’s truck, a Ford F150 Super Cab. There was a fold-down bench seat in the back of the cab.

We pulled into the driveway, which had a large parking area for three vehicles and a garage, and my truck was gone. I was in shock and screamed. I ran into the house and asked my mother if she heard my truck being stolen. She said it wasn’t stolen. She got rid of the “old clunker.” Old Clunker? It was a classic. I had collector plates for it. There wasn’t a spot of rust on it, and I drove it every day. I don’t know how she got rid of it. My name was on the title. What she did in reality was commit theft.

My father remained silent and never said a word. From that moment on, he never mentioned it.* Looking back, I think he knew she was going to get rid of my truck. I lost my truck, and I lost the one thing my father and I bonded together with.

Looking back again, I think my mother was jealous that my father was spending time with me and the truck and spending less time with my younger brother and her favorite son, Evan. Evan must have had one of his crybaby hissy fits that I’ve written about previously, and Mother punished me by getting rid of the truck.

From that moment on, my father said he would never buy my brother a vehicle or allow him to have one in high school. He said Evan was too irresponsible and immature. I believe that was my father’s reaction to my brother and mother’s plot against me. My father did buy Evan a used car when he graduated from college. He was 24, had a new job, and was engaged to be married.

Jay Leno and a 1953 Ford F100 hot rod

Jay Leno features a 1953 Ford F100 pickup on his show, just like mine, although the engine here has been souped up. The green paint job sparkles more than mine, and he still has the bench seat. I love watching his video. Tears almost swell up in my eyes.