Jeffrey Jones' '51 Ford Truck
“Color & Stance”
I’ve always loved custom trucks —something about the beauty and curvy-ness combined with actual utility, i.e. being able to haul parts! As long as people have been customizing cars there have been custom trucks, some are full blown show vehicles while others are working shop vehicles. In a way they are the best of both worlds. Jeffrey Jones 1951 Ford is mostly the later, meant to be a driver, but with enough of a custom treatment to let people know this isn’t just some old farm truck.
Jones’ truck had been hibernating in a garage for the last 15 years with no work being done to it, a 40th birthday present for Jones’ brother-in-law’s dad. When the opportunity to do trade work on another car for said dad came along, Jeffrey jumped on it. Soon, the truck was his and another trade was worked to get the 1968 302 engine.
Around this same time Jones and wife Tracy moved into a new house with a home shop so he could be a stay at home dad and build cars on the side while she went off to work. “If it wasn’t for her none of this could happen,” beams Jones.
In August of 2014 work started on the truck in his shop,now dubbed Jones Rod and Custom, the first full project to be built there. Jeffrey handled the body work and made the bed and trans tunnel while his brother John Jones and cousin Dan Hatfield helped get all the mechanicals sorted out. Drive-ability was the priority so the 302 was backed by a ’91 AOD trans and the stock rear was retained but hung with ladder bars. Air bags bring it down to the needed stance. Since the build had a deadline, Torquefest in May of 2015, new fenders and running boards were sourced to replace the beat originals. The ripple caps, ridged Briz bumpers and custom machined bed vent caps(by Jeffrey’s uncle Mike Jones) give a unified and finished look to the truck without screaming for attention.
Once complete Jones shot the truck in the stunning Sea Glass Pearl—a modern Toyota Prius color that looks perfectly at home on the 51 Ford. “The color is definitely the first thing people comment on,” says Jones. It’s definitely a color that draws a crowd at the shows I’ve seen it at, including it’s on time debut at Torquefest where we first spotted it.
To carry the custom look into the interior Mike Lawson from Kustom Image Upholstery was called upon to add a classy blue and white tuck and roll interior. Friend Cory Villani who works at Autometer made custom colored gauges to match and Jeffrey finished off the interior with a 1954 Ford steering wheel.
More in Category: Features
Speaking of ’54 Ford, that’s the car that is up next for Jones Rod and Custom, and a full custom build is scheduled including plans for a chop and some pretty wild paint. As of this week the truck has been sold and I’m sure the new owner will continue to rack up miles as that is what it was intended for!
