Hobbies And Interests
Ranchero
The Ranchero was a two-door pickup truck Ford began to manufacture in 1957. The front of this truck had the appearance of a station wagon car, while its rear had a truck bed. Approximately 508,000 units were made from 1957 to 1979. The Ranchero trucks were always patterned after a car in the Ford line. The 1957 through 1959 models were patterned after the Ford Fairlane and featured two-tone paint jobs on its exterior and two-tone trim options in its interior. The exterior of the car also had stainless-steel body side mouldings. These trucks featured the 352 V-8 engines, similar to the Ford Thunderbird cars. The wheelbase of the car was approximately 118 inches.
First Generation F-Series
Although the Ford F-Series trucks were first produced in the late 1940s, the '50s was the first full decade this style of trucks were manufactured. The first generation was during 1948 to 1952 and featured eight different models of F-Series trucks, which were labeled F-1 through F-8. These trucks were noted for their horizontal grills and headlights, which were embedded into the fenders. The F-1 trucks weighed a half-ton and had 226 CID flathead six engines, while the F-8 weighed 1 ton and had a 337 CID Flathead V-8 engine. Some F-8s had a 317 Y-block engine.
Second Generation F-Series
The years 1953 through 1956 witnessed the second generation of F-Series trucks. Second generation trucks had six models with the smallest being the half-ton F-100 and the largest was a 1-ton F-360, which had a 7,700 gross vehicle weight rating. The second generation F-Series trucks introduced new interior amenities, such as arm rests, sun visors, dome lights and radios. It was also this generation of F-Series when Ford introduced automatic transmissions in its trucks. At the beginning of the second generation, the F-Series trucks had 215 CID straight-six or 239 CID flathead V8 engines, but by 1956, some of the trucks had 223 CID mileage maker I6 or 272 CID Y-block V8 engines.
Third Generation F-Series
Finally, the third generation of F-Series in the 1950s saw the introduction of chrome grills and four-wheel drive capabilities. The third generation of F-Series trucks was when Ford made the hood of the cars flush with the fenders. The years of the third generation were 1957 to 1960. This generation of F-Series trucks saw the production of five models: F-100, F-100 4x4, F-250, F-250 4x4 and F-350. The F-100s weighed a half-ton, the F-200s were a three-quarter ton truck and F-350s were a full ton. Engines used for third-generation trucks include the 223 CID mileage maker I6 and 292 CID Y-block V8.