Ford Unhinged #15354

The Story

Here is a hood detail of a 1942 Ford pickup truck showing the classic Ford emblem in flowing script. Ford released this 1942 model just before Pearl Harbor was attacked in December 1941 and stopped production of it on February 10, 1942. It was clearly time to convert factories for wartime demands. Therefore, this old truck is a rare model even among the hard-to-find old mid-century classic vehicles.

However, this old truck had many parts like doors and glass taken off for restoration efforts elsewhere, so a few 1942 Ford pickup trucks are running out there somewhere.

It appears to have been painted white originally although a lot of that paint has begun to rust over. The hood is unhinged but lying fairly close in place where it should be. You can see the white paint still showing brightly beneath the seam.

A further mystery: why are the heads of those body bolts unrusted? Perhaps this truck is a failed restoration and was put out to pasture again.

This was a very large junkyard full of interesting things to see like this 1942 Ford pickup truck. I took a lot of pictures around this pickup truck section of the junkyard over four days, shooting the old Fords, Chevys, and Dodge trucks…well over a hundred of them had been laid to rest there. Other than the sound of buzzing insects, across this hot summer junkyard there was only the silent presence of time and rust at work which always goes far slower than we humans can detect. Once in a while, a single rabbit would kick out of the high grass and that’s all the traffic there usually is in the prairie way back.

For another version of an older Ford truck that might suit you more, see Waylaid In The Weeds #13980. And if Chevrolet trucks are more your thing, as well as seeing a bigger view of this large and fascinating junkyard on the prairie, have a look at these old five-window Chevys lined up in The Last Drive-In #14158.

Location: rural Kandiyohi County, near New London, Minnesota. Picture and story © Andrew Dierks