Just signed up today on here, i havent been on any forums for a couple of years since i had a 500hp Import. But I have a 1948 Ford F-1 that me and my dad fixed up back in 1998, all it needed was a paint job and it would have been done,atleast to my level back then. Well I was 18 back then and used the truck for my daily driver and lived in an apartment. Well after a few months, the truck got stolen from me and was found stripped down, (stripped motor, stole wheels, stole nice sound system) and parked in my parents backyard since now. Well im getting older and my father is getting older and i want to fix the truck up again. I recently started working on it about 2 weeks ago and want to take apart the whole thing, sandblast frame and everything. So as of now, we have taken the front end off and its on all jack stands. If anybody here has taken their whole truck apart, any advice would be appreciated. Im also taking the old 265 block that was in there out and swapping maybe a 350 or something to that sort. It also has a mustang machII front clip that we put on back then.

 

Well, I won't heckle ya on the GM engine, so welcome to FTE!

There's several of us who've taken these down to bare frames, some of us haven't even bothered to put them back together, myself included, lol.

 

Get a manual to help put it together correctly. So many potentially nice resto rods are funkey looking because of assembly screw ups that just don't quite work like you think they will. Also don't build a cross dresser. A dodge or chevy motor in a ford is like putting on a tutu and running around the yard. Chevy motors are a dime a dozen and very tempting to install. Yes they are thought to be cheap to hotrod but so many of them are in other brand cars they are not that special anymore. I know one guy with a 53 caddy who took out a BB chev and installed a BIG caddy engine cause as he said "anybody can have a chevvy". A stroker crank and rods for a Ford or Chev are almost the same price as are manifolds heads etc. The high cost to build a Ford is a myth. Don't be a cross dresser!

 

Welcome to FTE, mostly the friendliest forum on the net. Some folks will give you grief for putting an "other" brand engine in it, but it is your truck to do what you want with.

 

lol, yea i do understand on the chevy part. I just never knew any better, when me and my dad started working on it, he already had the old 265 and had it bored out and we installed it, back then i was like 15 and didnt know any better. But i am for sure taking that 265 out, have not made up my mind completely what i want to put in there, any suggestions???? I want to make atleast 400hp to the wheels. I used to have a 500hp tubo import that weighed around 2,000 pounds, so it fast scarry fast. Im 30 yrs old now with a beautiful family, so dont want to be out rajouslly fast but would like to embarress some Vette owners out there every now and then,lol.

 

well hello. I did the same thing a few years ago before i moved. I was still in school we took the truck apart and fixed it up good but not to my standards now. I did not have any manuals or so forth and just finished blasting my sheeetmetal. I am now getting ready to put filler,primer and paint. I have a hard time with finding extra cash so i have had to cut some corners but it is not a perfect hot rod anyway.as for a shop manual would be handy but only for the sheetmetal . Because i am hot rodding it. Most people would believe that you should put a ford in a ford but if you are hotroding it who really cares besides the sbc is the cheapest and most widley used and besides preformance parts are cheaper for the sbc than the sbf. and dont forget their are no rules for hotrods it is a work of art
thanks sean

 

Welcome! Great story and history on your truck, but you forgot the "1" - I'm sure you meant 351. Put a 350 in it and the back street boys will just steal it again..... j/k

I completely disassembled my 48 F1 and got it back together again, but that was 10 years ago. I'm in the middle of putting a 50 F4 together at present. Ask away and we'll do our best to point the way.

A shop manual will be a great help to you. They're all over ebay - 1949-51 Shop Manual with 1952 Supplement - go for about $35

btw, driving one of these at speed is scary, just not scary-fast! Hate to disappoint you but I don't think you'll ever embarrass a vette owner in this 3500 # truck... maybe with a blown 460

 

I agree with the not putting a junk, opps I mean a Chevy motor in a Ford but disagree with they cost the same to build. When I built my motor it ran me in the range of $4500 for a stock 289. I'm sure there are ways to do it cheaper than what I did mine for but I wanted everything new in my truck. I could have gotten a stroked 383 pushing 400+ HP and a tranny for the same price I paid for just the motor I have...

 

a 302 will push 400hp with a few mods and a set of AFR heads.... and you don't have to settle for a Chevy

Welcome and good luck with your truck...

 

Ahh, but remember, even the engine can be a work of art.

 

Thanks Sean, i appreciate it, Mtflat you dont think its possible to beat a Vette in my old truck, i mean i know a full blown race motor (blower,turbo, or nos) could do it, I think i want to go N/A though. But if it will cost too much, i may have to go a different route, either way it will probable be about 3-6 months before im ready for the engine anyway. Mtflat do you have pics of you taking truck apart and putting back together???

 

havi,
I want to call you cavi as in caveman. or Captain Caveman! I have to stop staring at your avatar! LOL
I don't know what my issue is! some avatars really throw me into a stare!

there is another, its Dick, the guy that has the standing hotdog avatar..
does it everytime i gotta see a therapist about it!
Sorry no disrespect meant, i am just trying to see past the avatar!

 

Catalog and take lots of notes. You will probably forget where that little thingy goes five years down the road. Here are some pics of mine. You will need a camera too to take lots of pictures to remind you of how it goes back together. Have fun

 

Welcome from Eastern Kentucky!

I'm sorry your truck was stolen, but glad you got it back. I hate thieves.

I like keeping Fords in Fords, and Chevys in Chevys, but it's your truck, put whatever engine you want in it. I used to know a guy that put a '70 Boss 302 in a '69 Z28. They had to custom build a set of headers, but the biggest problem he had was finding an oil pan that would work. He loved opening the hood for people that didn't expect it. I haven't talked to him in about 20 years, I guess he still has it.

My project truck is a '53 that will have the original Flathead V8. It's a frame-off rebuild too.

I just put primer on the frame tonight:

 

Hi welcome, looking forward to seeing you progress.