Jeff Lilly Restorations « The Just Customz Blog

“Ol’ Yeller” – 1950 Ford F1 Custom Truck built by Jeff Lilly

posted by admin on August 15, 2010

"Ol' Yeller" - 1950 Ford F1 Custom

This is a 1950 Ford F1 Truck called “Old Yeller” and was built for Bill Cariker by Jeff Lilly. Jeff is a very respected builder of custom cars from Helotes, Texas. Jeff’s restoration shop performed all the work on the truck with the exception of the specialized services such as chrome plating and the balancing of the engine.

The original aim of the project was to produce a truck that looked natural which the modifications being very subtle. Both Jeff and Bill wanted to keep the otherwise stock appearance so decided to keep some of the external parts such as door handles and hinges and make some tweaks to the body. The changes are not immediately obvious, as intended, but include a reshaped roof and hood and the modification of some of the chrome moldings.

"Ol' Yeller" - 1950 Ford F1 Custom

When you look at the car it does actually look like it could easier be a toy due to its perfect paintwork which is finished in BASF Glasurit Chrome Yellow. The floor of the truck bed has been finished in Spanish Oak which is separated by stainless steel inserts.

Inside the car you can see that there has been no attention to detail spared with the bespoke bucket seats that were constructed by Jeff then finished in German baseball glove leather.

"Ol' Yeller" - 1950 Ford F1 Custom

The power is delivered from a Ford 302 cubic inch EFI V8 crate engine that was supplied by Ford Racing Performance Parts and produces around 325 hp. This is bolted to a T-10 five speed manual transmission delivering the power to the road through a Currie-built Ford 9-inch rear end with a flattened leaf spring and a pair of Monroe air shock providing a smooth ride.

The chassis has been modified to include a Heidt’s Super Ride II cross-member kit at the front which was fitted with 2 inched dropped spindled. In order to improved the appearance of the frame and also its rigidity the rails were boxed. The wheels are a set of Boyd Coddington’s classic II wheels that are 16×7 inch at the front and 17×8 inch at the rear wrapped in BF Goodrich T/A 205/65R16 and 255/55R17 tires.