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" Basically a beefed-up car chassis on Model T buggy-spring suspension. Rugged, and not much to go wrong. Just bring a kidney belt.   Drop cap initial letterWhen Ford grafted its sleek sedan front end onto light-duty trucks for 1940\u201341, it created one of the most handsome utilitarian vehicles of all time. Even people who don&amp;#039;t know cars likely know a 1940 Ford when they see one. There isn&amp;#039;t a bad line on them. I&amp;#039;ve had three of these and have regretted selling every one. So when I spotted this 1941 at a San Diego swap meet, I was the proverbial moth to a flame. Or perhaps a dog returning to his own vomit. Whatever, I wanted it. At $25,000 or best offer\u2014squarely in the ballpark for a good one\u2014and finished in black, it looked like a winner. BODY &amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; You can buy or make virtually every panel to deal with rust or dents. Easier if you don&amp;#039;t have to, though.  LAST OF THE PREWARS &amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; Minor trim changes for &amp;#039;41. Production ceased in February 1942. A new style came on for &amp;#039;45.  DRIVING EXPERIENCE &amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; Stiffly sprung Thirties car with a high center of gravity and not much room inside. The flathead is smooth and responsive, but the slow gearbox requires good timing. Though Ford&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;wet&amp;quot; brakes were seen as modern then, they&amp;#039;re weak now.  POWERTRAIN &amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; Two flathead V-8s in &amp;#039;41: a 221-cube with 85 hp and the 95-hp 239 from Mercury. A four and a straight-six were available, but stick with the flathead\u2014it&amp;#039;s slow enough. Manuals only, with the famous Ford closed driveline. Long-lived stuff if cared for properly. IN THIS TRUCK &amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; A 21-stud flatty V-8 with Offenhauser heads, a three-pot Offy intake, headers, and a modern alternator. MONEY &amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; Ten years ago, $15,000 for a really good one. Today $25,000 gets you the same truck. This one: $20,000, providing it runs and drives well. VERDICT &amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; As I dug deeper, the red mist evaporated. No rust, but everything was a little rough. Temporary permit taped in the window, plus a seller who admitted he hadn&amp;#039;t had the truck long and would only say that it ran and drove with no comment on how well it did either. Maybe a flipper or simple buyer&amp;#039;s remorse, but I didn&amp;#039;t want to spend the money to find out.  BUY PASS Contributing Editor Colin Comer is R&amp;amp;amp;T&amp;#039;s resident vintage-car expert. He&amp;#039;s been diagnosed with a chronic case of seller&amp;#039;s remorse. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a8400/shopping-with-colin-1941-ford-12-ton-pickup/>