fordtrucks-digest Friday, April 10 1998 Volume 02 : Number 097



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Ford Truck Enthusiasts - 1960 And Older Trucks Digest
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In this issue:

Radials ["Don & Teresa Neighbors" ]
RE: Radials for F-100 [Alec Fernandez ]
spare tire carrier [Abe Stauffer ]
RE: Gear and Final Drive Ratios ["Goodwrench" ]
Transmissions & Diff. Gears (re: Fernandez) ["Piegat, Tim"
Radials [Dave Lewis ]
Frame/wheel questions [Ray Cardogno ]
Hood Ornament [Stephen Silverthorn ]
Leaky Roof ["Don & Teresa Neighbors" ]
Re: old cars [Cathy Greenlaw ]
Radial tire 2cents [Cathy Greenlaw ]
Re: Radio for '48 to '51 F Series [thoffman wholevillage.com (Tim Hoffman]
Re:Converting to an Electronic Ignition [GEGK00A prodigy.com ( DAN LEE)]
Re: Radials for a F100 [GEGK00A prodigy.com ( DAN LEE)]
whiners [jc & terry ]
Re: F-1 1951 Rims, Paint, Spare Tire [Chief2658 ]

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Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1998 07:05:08 -0400
From: "Don & Teresa Neighbors"
Subject: Radials

Abe, that groove on the rim is, theoretically at least, supposed to help
seal the rim for tubeless tire. I am running tubeless tires on my '54, and
they don't leak. I cannot see how that makes any difference for radials.
I once argued long and strenuosly with a tire guy that tried to convince
me that the factory recommended 18 pounds of pressure for the front tires
of my VW was not correct for modern tires. Find another tire place!

Don Neighbors
'54 F250 Named Grover

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Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1998 08:13:26 -0400
From: Alec Fernandez
Subject: RE: Radials for F-100

Mike,

Thanks for the info, I mistakenly thought all the 53's and
up came with the 15" wheels. Now my question is why do you
want to go down in size? I would think the extra 14%
circumference would be very nice to keep the revs down at
highway speed. What's the down side to the 16 inchers?
Sorry for the confusion on my part.

Alec

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mike Morton [SMTP:mmorto wgc.woodward.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 1998 5:12 PM
> To: Ford Trucks
> Subject: RE: Radials for F-100
> Importance: High
>
> Alec,
>
> The service manual for my '55' lists 16" as the stock wheels. 5 lugnuts
> on a 4.75" or 5' bolt pattern.
> I don't know if you can put radials on the stock wheels as i am changing
> mine to 15" with 5 lugs
> on a 4.5" pattern.
>
> Mike Morton
>
> . |
> +---------- Visit Our Web Site: http://www.ford-trucks.com/ ----------+

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Date: Thu, 09 Apr 1998 10:41:43 -0400
From: Abe Stauffer
Subject: spare tire carrier

This must have been lost in cyberspace as Ken mentioned, so I am
resubmitting it.

Fellow Ford truck lovers,
William Vierra wrote about a spare tire carrier on his '51. I
would like
to know if any one can tell me exactly how the spare is hung under the
bed on a '53-56 pickup. My '54 which I bought in 1977 (I am the 2nd
owner) does not have the carrier. I'm sure it got knocked off as my
grandfather used it in his fields. I found a carrier (it is just missing
the
long bolt) at a junkyard. I do not know how the carrier was hung:
diagonally or straight? A web page picture showing this would be
helpful. There is no reference to this in the owners manual or the
'54/55 shop manual. Sounds like a simple thing, any help would be
useful.
Thanks, Abe Stauffer '54 F-100

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Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1998 10:53:45 -0500
From: "Goodwrench"
Subject: RE: Gear and Final Drive Ratios

I don't know the actual ratios of the transmission in question, but I
can just about guarantee you two things. First gear will definitely be
much lower than what you have in your current three speed. Second (and
unfortunately) fourth gear will be the same 1:1 as your current 3-speed.
In other words, using this transmission will not save you from needing
a ring and pinion swap or overdrive.
Overdrives are not hard to find at all. Gear Vendors is currently
producing a great one. The only trouble is expense. The trouble with
most of the older overdrives that you might find is that the solenoids
no longer work. The solenoids have windings consisting of miles of
wire, and the insulation breaks down. Apparently no one produces a new
replacement solenoid. There is a place in the Midwest that re-does the
old Borg-Warner overdrives, but I believe they switch to a manual
control to bypass the need for the solenoid.

Jim Pfrommer
goodwrench easy.com
Check out Goodwrench's CyberRanch:
http://www.ford-trucks.com//lc/lc.php?action=do&link=http://www.easy.com/goodwrench/


> -----Original Message-----
> Subject: Gear and Final Drive Ratios
>
> While hunting for parts for my wrecked '56 I ran
> across a parts truck that had a 4 speed tranny.
> The ID plate had 4syn on it and I remember reading
> about a 4 speed synchronized tranny that was optional in
> '56's. I looked in the shop manual
> for the ratios but they didn't list the tranny
> in the specs section (only 4 speed they had for
> for the big trucks). Anybody have any info on this?
>
> The reason I'm asking is because I want to get a
> better highway setup than the 3spd with the 3.92
> gear. I saw that post 2 days ago that told about
> getting a ring and pinion out of a Mercury car
> with a 3.2 something ratio and it really peaked my
> curiosity. What I'm hoping is that the 4 speed will
> have a bigger 1st gear than the 3spd so I'll have
> the same stump pulling power (I use this truck
> for work around the house) but a better final drive
> ratio for highway speeds. I know I can put a 9"
> in there but I'd rather not do that if I can help
> it.

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Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1998 12:25:42 -0600
From: "Piegat, Tim"
Subject: Transmissions & Diff. Gears (re: Fernandez)

Replying to Alec's questions, let me share some of my experiences. The 4sp
trans that is optional on F100s is the Warner T98. This trans is listed as
available on all trucks up to F500. As I remember, the ratios are something
like 6.5, 3.0, 1.7, and 1, with reverse at 7.2. Before you go off and figure
that you'll put a 2.75 rear end in, consider: The low gear is not
synchronized. The synchronizer for the 3.0 ratio is about 6" in diameter.
When I started mine up on a Colorado morning, It would kill the engine
unless I had lots of gas fed to it. Then, It would go thru the garage door
if the brakes weren't applied. Spinning all of those gears in the 90W oil
costs about 5hp at the rear wheels. Not the solution for a cruiser. Here's
the transmissions you can use with the 3spd. bellhousing with: the old Ford
3sp. It has the same parts as the flathead 3sp., so it's not very strong.
The 3sp with over drive could be based on this, another is based on a Warner
T85, which is stronger. I use a T89 3sp, which is stronger yet, but no OD.
Finally, there's the toploader 3sp Ford, which is real strong, but is a
little harder to work on. All of these have a low gear between 2.7 and 3.0
and a second between 1.6 and 1.7. Overdrive is .7. My T89 matches with the
272's torque pretty well. The trouble with older trucks with bellhousing
rear motor mounts is that the trans input shafts are about 7.125" long, and
car trans (& later trucks) are only 6.5" long. So, you need to redo the
motor mounts and use the car bellhousing to use a 4sp Toploader,T10, or
SROD. The T5 seems to have a longer input, but the bolt pattern is different
and won't readily fit the bellhousing pattern. Maybe a thinner plate might
work here, but the shifter will be almost under the seat, OK if you have
buckets. Finally, there's supposed to be a C4 kit for Y Blocks coming out,
which is probably best of all. After going thru all of this, I figure on
using my T98 with the 3.31 rear. I'm going to get a very light flywheel made
up (stock is 30#) so the Y will spin quicker and stress the rear main less.

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Date: Thu, 09 Apr 1998 11:33:49 -0700
From: Dave Lewis
Subject: Radials

My Merc has 16 rims, 5 lug on a 5 inch circle. I also have radials on
them. Actually I have six of these rims, all with radials. I have
never had a problem. I a year and a half I have never needed to put any
air in them so there definitely no sealing problems.
Dave

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Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1998 00:28:47 -0400
From: Ray Cardogno
Subject: Frame/wheel questions

Maybe someone can help me. A buddy of mine just decided to junk his 1986
f-250 supercab diesel 6.9 because the injector pump went. The motor was
tested for compression and it was low. The repair person said it was not
worth fixin unless he was ready to rebuild the engine so that he was not
throwing good $ after bad.

I can have it if I want it. Would it make a good doner vehicle for a 56
F-100? If I were to use the front suspension, would smaller rotors or
perhaps rotor/spindles/brakes fit it so that I did not have to use 8-lug
wheels?

Is the engine block unique for mounting purposes or does it mount the same
as other ford gas engines?

There are many questions lurking about. Has anyone ever used a diesel? Any
comments or suggestions? I'm looking for an everyday driver/fuel economy
situation.

Thanks,
Ray C.

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Date: Thu, 09 Apr 1998 08:49:21 -0400
From: Stephen Silverthorn
Subject: Hood Ornament

Several weeks ago there was a short discussion on hood ornaments, but
unfortuantely technology permitted me from participating, but I'm up and
running now, so here's my 2 cents worth.

>Don't ya just love SPRING? It was a wonderful day to visit a new
>place today. Got some much needed parts and now have a few questions
>on what I found. I saw a 56 with a hood ornament that I havn't seen
>before, it was 15" or so long, with an indian head. Was this an
>option? If so on what years?.......

I think the hood ornament you saw on this 56 truck was not an original. I
have seen the original hood ornament and it is rare and was an option and
currently worth between $300-$600. It's quite non descript but looks a bit
like a plane or bird. The closest thing that it reminds me of is the hood
oranment from a 57 Chevy. In my opinion its also a bit ugly and doesn't
add much to the look of the truck.

I happen to know a guy that has two of these. So if anyone is really
interested, let me know

Steve
Black 56

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Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1998 21:01:53 -0400
From: "Don & Teresa Neighbors"
Subject: Leaky Roof

I have a new one, for me at least. Grover's roof leaks! I recently
replaced the rear window rubber because water has been leaking across the
back of the seat. I took the opportunity of the current rainy weather to
check my handiwork, and lo and behold, water is leaking from the seam where
the roof is attached to the rest of the cab.
It appears that the disgusting black sealant on that seam has suffered the
ravages of time and has become dried disgusting black sealant. Any ideas on
how to remove the old stuff and what to use to replace it?

Don Neighbors
'54 F250 Named Grover

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Date: Thu, 09 Apr 1998 20:53:13 -0400
From: Cathy Greenlaw
Subject: Re: old cars

Justin McCrite wrote:

> What is this "T-Bird" Terry guy doing on this list? When I subscribed to this
> list, I thought I wouldn't have to listen to guys that actually think chevy's
> are better than Fords.

Mr. T-Bird brings a refreshing note to a otherwise somber and dedicated group, and
offers numerous insightful comments to counterpoint what might otherwise degenerate
into a good ol' boys club. Recognizing the valid points Terry makes in his usually
well thought out fashion makes it easy to overlook his obvious insanity, true, we
Ford fans need the comfort offered by those of like mind, but we are not so weak
in our convictions as to the true font of motorized pleasure, as to be offended by
a supporter, for good reason of alternative motivation. Where would the line be
drawn? Certainly my plan to dismember a '47 pickup and reconstruct it with a late
frame and electronic engine, would not meet with approval of many. I say go ahead,
Make My Day, Mr. T.

47 Fred

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Date: Thu, 09 Apr 1998 21:08:35 -0400
From: Cathy Greenlaw
Subject: Radial tire 2cents

The grove formed into the bead area on "modern" wheels is a bead lock,
intended as I understand it, to prevent the tire from easily leaving the
rim. On many older Ford rims there was a wide lip on the inside bead
area and a grove on the other, the wide area serving that same function.
Radials were built to, initially, compete with conventional tires and
were made with the same bead design, and so can be used in place of
conventional in nearly every case. I have even used radials on the
beadlock type wheels which have a removable flange (with a tube of
course). A wheel which doesn't have a bead lock is inherently dangerous
anyway, but if used with common sense, offer no more, and perhaps less
risk, than a bias ply in the same circumstance.

Of course everyone has their opinion, this is mine. It's your truck,
your butt if you don't feel comfortable in every way, don't do it.

47 Fred

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Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1998 02:07:49 GMT
From: thoffman wholevillage.com (Tim Hoffman)
Subject: Re: Radio for '48 to '51 F Series

Ok. Thanks to everyone who has sent me mail about the radio. I'm sorry
I haven't replied yet, but I'm in the last 5 weeks of finishing
release 2.0 of my company's software product. (read: major heavy work
load that eats up too much of my "play with the truck" time)...

I'm still waiting for my "spare" radio to arrive, but I do have the
other one out of the truck. I'll snap some pictures of it this weekend
(including one or two pictures of the insides) and post them on one of
my web sites.

If, after seeing pictures, any of you are still interested in my spare
when it arrives, I will be having both of them restored and updated to
work on a 12v electrical system. I know a guy that's local to me who
restores this and other antique auto radios for about $85 + parts.=20

>Fordf3 wrote:
>
>> Radio model #'s
>> 1949 9zf Zenith
>> 1949 8zt Zenith
>> 1950 ocf Colonial
>> 1950 ozf Zenith
>> 1951 1cf Colonial
>> All are 8 tube,I dont know numbers for 1948.Can any one help?

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Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1998 22:57:07, -0500
From: GEGK00A prodigy.com ( DAN LEE)
Subject: Re:Converting to an Electronic Ignition

I put a Mallory Unilite kit in my 1971 351C stock distributor. I used
a Mallory Coil and an Accel Cap, with 8 mm Silicone wires and Bosch
Platinum Plugs. My Cleveland has 10:1 compression and ignition
problems show up quickly. With this setup everything is fine. The
only reson to consider a new Dist. is if your original is worn, i.e.
bushings.

Dan Lee
'53 F100
351C-4V

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Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1998 23:04:37, -0500
From: GEGK00A prodigy.com ( DAN LEE)
Subject: Re: Radials for a F100

I have a set of 4 16X10 Ansen Mags with a 5X5.5 bolt pattern. They
are in good condition and will fit an older F100. They were on my '53.
I went to a 5X4.5 bolt pattern. They have a 5 spoke center section,
and will look great with a little clean-up. If you are interested E-
me GEGK00A prodigy.com.

Dan Lee
'53 F100
351C-4V

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Date: Thu, 09 Apr 1998 20:24:19 -0700
From: jc & terry
Subject: whiners

What is this "T-Bird" Terry guy doing on this list? When I subscribed to this
list, I thought I wouldn't have to listen to guys that actually think chevy's
are better than Fords. I get enough crap at school (Arizona Automotive
Institute) from the chevy guys. This is a Ford truck list, if you don't like
Fords please keep your negative comments to yourself. The rest of us would like
to enjoy talking and bragging about our Fords without some little bowtie
wearing guy butting in.

if you whiners would start talking about trucks and quit talking about how
you don't like other people's choice of motorvation we could move on. i got
2 sweet ford trucks and a cherry 65 bird so i don't need any lectures from
you about what i drive. stop yur baby whining and talk about trucks. i
mentioned the cleveland, i mentioned the 460, i mentioned the lincoln. what
did you mention? who has to run on about chevies? yur right this is a truck
list and what we do with them. if calling people names and whining is what
you want try www.crybabies.com. try talking mechanics and facts.
read the name
T-bird Terry

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Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1998 00:16:54 EDT
From: Chief2658
Subject: Re: F-1 1951 Rims, Paint, Spare Tire

As per the Ford PU Red Book here is the following info.

1. Be Carfull with the rims because some F-1's came with 17" two piece rims
somtimes call widow makers. Try to get 16" rims from a junk yard it will help....

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