Grundy-Insured ‘35 Ford Pick-Up Named Goodguys’ Truck of the Year (Early) for 2009

Grundy-insured Betsy Rose’s 1935 Ford pick-up has been named the Goodguys’ Truck of the Year (Early) for 2009. Betsy, who resides in Boyertown, Pa., says that she brought her recently-completed truck to the Goodguys Pocono event, held in September 2009, where it was named a finalist for the award.

Built by Ted Munsell and the team at Trick Works in Telford, Pa., Betsy’s immaculate blue pick-up is a traditionally-styled stunner that has been in her family since the 1960’s. She wanted to keep the truck as stock-appearing as possible, yet refined and elegant. The Trick Works team did her and her father, the truck’s original owner, proud.

Betsy says that she can remember bouncing around in the back seat of her father’s truck as a kid. And, when her father decided to “downsize” his car collection, Betsy approached him about this Ford pick-up. When Betsy told us at Grundy that her father was “downsizing” his specialty vehicle collection, we stopped for a second and backed up a bit—So, just how many cars does Betsy’s dad have?

“About 20,” says Betsy, with a giggle. “He’s a die-hard Ford fan.”

Ah, yes – We know where Betsy gets her passion for cool cars; it’s definitely in the blood! Betsy also mentioned that she and her husband shared a love for collector cars— Betsy says that over the years, the couple owned about a dozen, including several Corvettes, a Camaro RS SS, a Chevelle Super Sport, a ‘48 Chevy sedan delivery and a ‘31 Ford sedan street rod.

“Most people have baby albums,” says Betsy. “We have car albums.”

Betsy says that she and her husband compiled photos of all of his cars from when he was just a teenager. She explains that with those photos, a car album was built...

“It’s a very large album,” she explains.

Betsy says that this truck, in particular, is very precious to her— not only because of her childhood memories, but because of the memories that were made with her husband and this car. She says that the couple got to work, right away, when they got their hands on the ’35 Ford pick-up, to ensure that Betsy’s dad could enjoy the vehicle; however, some months into the project, Betsy’s husband passed away.

Betsy continued to work on the car, over the years; she says that the folks at Trick Works were very patient with her through it all. And six years after the start of the project, Betsy finally got her car back—in the best condition in which it could be.

After years of meticulous craftsmanship, the truck hit the road in July 2009.

Ted Munsell from Trick Works says that this car was an on-again, off-again project; and, he adds that all the time and effort was well worth it, when working on the truck.

He says that while the timing to complete a full build varies, on average, it takes his team a year-and-a-half to finish custom cars; they typically have six to 10 cars in the shop.  Ted is especially fond of this custom truck because of the amount of detail that is hard to see, unless it is pointed out— and, there is definitely a lot of detail to this vehicle.

The pick-up features a reshaped grille shell, ’35 Ford passenger car front bumper with custom fillers, reworked drip rails and countless other oh-so subtle improvements.

One of the things the trained eye will notice is the continuous 3/16” gaps and seams throughout the entire length of the truck – a sign of a masterfully-built machine.

Under the hood is a 306 small block Ford with reworked Sanderson Headers to fit the GTP heads. Custom stainless fuel lines and wire tubes feed the motor and C4 transmission its essential fluids. The reworked body sits atop a TCI chassis, equipped with Mustang II IFS and Ford 9-inch rear end. It rolls smoothly on Budnik Famoso wheels wrapped in Dunlop sport 5000 rubber.

The truck’s rich color is a unique PPG Harley Davidson “Luxury Blue,” applied in-house, at Trick Works. The leather interior was stitched by Extreme Auto interiors of Roslyn, Pa.

The Goodguys Association showed their appreciation for such fine craftsmanship by awarding the vehicle Truck of the Year (Early), and we expect this truck will pick up more awards at shows to come.  Betsy says that she wants to spend the summer of 2010 be-bopping from show to show, so long as the weather and her work schedule allow it. 

Last year, in addition to the Goodguys event in Pocono, Betsy attended a local show in Doylestown, Pa. and the Wheels of Time car show in Macungie, Pa.; she also made a trip to Pigeon Ford, Tenn. for collector car festivities.

Betsy says that she has definite plans of returning to Pocono, in 2010. She calls the Goodguys organization “a wonderful group of people.”

Story by: Becky McLaughlin, Newsletter Editor

We want your story! Submit your own story, or request a phone interview by the Grundy Weekly Reader's editor. E-mail your submission now or request to be interviewed by the publication's editor: newsletter@grundy.com.