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Father Restores 1936 Ford and Leaves his Son with a Precious Heirloom
Father Restores 1936 Ford and Leaves his Son with a Precious Heirloom
Mar 20, 2017
Lee Leighton restored this 1936 Ford F100 over a 30 year period and then passed it on to his son
If you were to take a trip back in time about 60 years and found yourself in Southern California, you probably wouldn’t recognize much of anything. Most cars don’t look anything like the cars we see today and even the classics that have been restored sometimes are modified to such an extent that their hardly recognizable. This however, is not the case with Jerry Leighton’s green 1936 Ford F100. Fast forward to today and you would see a very similar truck as you did in the 1950s.
Lee and Jerry wanted to keep the truck as close to stock as possible
The master of the build is family man, Lee Leighton, from Riverside, California. Lee originally bought the truck for light duty work and more interestingly, as a tow vehicle for EMPI and Revmaster back in the '50s and '60s. Lee himself raced in an EMPI Jouster Dragster and a Revmaster Gasser Dragster AKA “Inch Pinch” and used the truck to get the dragsters to and from the track.
When he wasn’t racing, he was in the garage building engines for his dragsters and others as well. Lee built record-setting VW engines and raced a red Volkswagen Bug, which was featured in Hot VW back in the 1960s. The car currently resides in Europe and is loved by many.
Race engines were Lee’s specialty, and he utilized his skills to beef up his 1936 Ford. Since it was used to tow dragsters, Lee thought it best to stick a 1950s Mopar 292ci Hemi in place of the original inline 6. Lee machined the heads and tuned the truck with his son Jerry Leighton, who now owns and regularly drives the truck.
Lee went with a K&N custom filter assembly to help the Mopar 292 Hemi breathe
The Hemi breathes through a K&N 66-1460 custom filter assembly atop the two Carter AFB 4-barrel carburetors. Despite the engine upgrade, Lee and Jerry wanted to keep the truck as close to stock as possible. One example is that the original Ford Pickup didn’t come with a radio, so they decided to keep it that way even with all of the great aftermarket vintage-style radios available online. The dash features the original Ford instrument cluster hiding behind an also-original Ford steering wheel. The upholstery is the original black color, with carpet to match under OEM rubber floor mats.
The 1936 Ford F100 is equipped with beautiful oak bed wood with stainless runners
A few of the small non-OEM modifications include roadster vented front disc brakes, with safety hubs in the rear. This mod is basically a must have, if this truck is to compete in today’s erratic driving conditions. It also has lap seat-belts out of a Cadillac, for obvious safety reasons.
The most obvious non-OEM modification is the graphic featured on the roof of the truck. The graphic contains a bald eagle with an American flag wrapped in the background and a banner with “USA” clutched in the eagle’s claws. This definitely pays tribute to the hundreds of Americans that made this truck a reality, including Lee and Jerry.
The truck features a custom graphic on the roof honoring America
In 2014, Lee Leighton passed away at the age of 85 but not before gifting the truck to his son on Jerry’s 61st birthday. Jerry says, “Thanks to my Dad for my 61st birthday gift, I’m driving [the truck] and showing it in style while keeping it maintained and clean.” Jerry can be found at a few of the local SoCal car shows like Route 66, Thunder on the Mountain, Way Lots Show & Go, and Veteran Summit in Lytle Creek.
Whenever possible, Lee used OEM Factory Ford parts in his restoration project
It’s clear that Jerry cherishes this truck and is continuously reminded of his father’s hard work every time he drives it. Jerry says, “We like everything about it, that’s the way Lee built it and it’s one of his best toys. Thanks Dad for building a wonderful truck. RIP 7/3/29 – 9/18/14."
