I am a newcomer to this forum. I joined because this will most likely be my first restoration, or an attempt there of, and I do not have the knowledge that it takes to restore vehicles to working order. I have a chance to get a cheap 1952 Ford F3 that seems to be in good condition. The guy rebuilt the truck's flathead V8 engine about ten years ago and put it in a machine shed for the last five. From what I can see, All the mechanical systems are in working order. Even though everything looks and sounds good, will make some modifications to the engine: oil filter adapter, new water pumps, new hoses, glass packs etc. It still has the original paint job. The body looks great and sound. there are a few rust spots and one small hole, but those are easily battled. I also has a working four speed transmission with an overdrive (if that is important). Overall, it looks like a sound package. I have been warned of the slow yet powerful rear end that the F3 has and i intend to remedy that with a ring and pin swap. I have someone in my family that has personally driven and worked on these trucks making it a bit easier. That is where the trouble starts. I want to be able to move a little faster than 50mph while not killing all the low end power. Granted the engine puts out a whopping 110 hp anyway. I would like to get these details hashed out before I buy it and I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction. Additionally, is there anything I can do in conjunction with updating the water pumps and putting on aluminum heads that will make the engine run cooler. I have also been warned of the inherent cooling problems with the flatheads.

 

The flatheads will run fine as long as there is a crack somewhere or a bad head gasket. Just make sure the engine is flushed out and clean and you shouldn't have any problems.

All of the modifications you mentioned sound somewhat unneccesary to me, I'd just get the truck cleaned and drive it. Aluminum heads, IMO, would be a waste of $$ on a stock truck engine but it's your money. There's a guy I think in Florida that builds high flow water pumps for flatties. His name is Skip, he's very well known but I don't have any contact information. You can do a Google search for him.

The easiest rear end fix is to swap in a pre-'73 F-250 rear axle with higher gears. I don't think there's an easy internal gear swap. There were higher gears offered but they're hard to find. I think Stu said Chuck of Chuck's Trucks in CT sells a set but they aren't cheap.

The one major problems with an F-3 is a the stock wheels, commonly referred to as Widow Makers. You only have one post so far and can't use the FTE search feature until you have at least 25 but you can use Google to do just as good of a search. Go to Google and search for "Widow Maker" and "www.ford-trucks.com in the domain box. You'll find a lot of information. Stu, "Truckdog" is our resident wheel and tire expert, Google his name as well.

BTW, welcome to the board.

 

A rear axled out of a 70s F250 should solve your problem. However, just need to make sure the the bolt pattern is the same. Someone with a bit more knowledge on the F3 will be along shortly to correct me or provide more detail.

The truck shouldn't have a 4 speed with o/d unless the transmission was switched out at some point. Keep in mind that the F3 was classified as a heavy duty 3/4 ton. While most parts interchanged between F1-F2-F3, some of the brake and suspension parts are different. Additionally, the bed and all fenders are different from an F1.

If you have pictures of the truck, post them and we'll give you our collective opinion.

EDIT: "Quick-type" Bob beat me to it.

 

Ilya,

These trucks didn't come with an O/D, if the tranny is in the truck then some one swap a later model O/D unit in.

 

Dogtired, if your relative has a recipe for swapping gears please post it, am sure there will be a lot of interest.

 

You're right Bob. I just didn't finish typing in my original post. It should have said "shouldn't". I corrected my post.

 

First of all, I'll add my welcome. Glad to have you hanging around, and glad you're thinking of saving another F-3.

I really doubt anybody has found a simple way to fit taller gear sets to our F-2/3 Timken axles. As much as it's been discussed here and over on the Studebaker Truck Talk site (they use the same Timken model 51524 axle) somebody would have mentioned it. Chuck has engineered a way to adapt 4.11/1 gear sets that are available for the "roundy-round" Franklin quick change units that use two of the short side cases from our Timkens. He put his 4.11/1 sets in both my front and rear axles when he did my rebuilds. But this is not something that comes cheap. When he did mine a few years ago he was charging $750 per set IIRC. Might be more now. The Dana 60 swap from a later F-250, as described, is the more common solution. Here's the link to Chuck's web site if you want to look into it.

Chucks Trucks LLC., Chuck's Trucks, Chucks Trucks

The 17" wheels on all F-3s are killers and must be exchanged for one piecers. Whether you swap axles or not, you should be able to use any common F-250 16" wheel having the 8 lug x 6.5" pattern. Your '52 will have 12" rear drums which simplifies things for you. Owners of '48 to early '51 F-3s have to deal with their 14" rear drums.

If you still have your stock spur 4 speed gear box you'll have to work out the emergency brake. The stock set up on your truck has/had the emergency brake on the transmission while a Dana 60 will have it at the rear wheels. Stu

 

Many times a low first cost is just a committment to spending a lot more down the road. If you're wanting to go faster than 50 and are ultimately wanting creature comforts like A/C and PS, you might well be better off buying an F-1 that's been modified already, and go from there. There are some bargains out there, and a $4,000 truck that's had work done on it may be a better buy than a $500 truck. Just sayin'....

 

That wouldn't be half the fun

 

I thank you all for your prompt replies. I am a young mechanic in learning (just about done with high school). I am mechanically inclined and I intend to go into a mechanical engineering program after High School. I rarely travel further than 70 miles in a week. I happen to be an odd duck because I would prefer to put some work into an older vehicle and drive it than buy a new one. I would love nothing more than saving a piece of history such as this truck from a open field or salvage yard. I marvel at the stock craftsmanship and precision that i see in the vintage vehicles and all the amazing stuff that you guys do with them. Those vehicles had to be able to be run into the ground, dug back out, and run in again. I just plain love their slick look. The relative of which i spoke, was my grandfather. He, unfortunately, didn't modify them. He only repaired them. I already pumped him for info. On another note, I was reading both the thread on the widow makers and the elusive running boards. I have found a company that offers plates that adapt regular rims to be used on that truck. I would have to look at my history to see what the name is. As for the running boards. I recently found a local man that has two F3's rotting in one of his fields (too bad). On one of them the running boards,front fenders, and rear fenders look to be salvageable. I would want them just in case something happened (i.e. fender bender). I also spoke with someone named Mel that has been doing vintage vehicle restoration and racing his whole life. He said that I probably could get away with snitching a whole real axle off a late model Lincoln (pre- 1970). Meaning I could possibly keep a good amount of the low end power while gaining a few extra mph and possibly disk brakes in the process. I don't need to break any speed records and wold never attempt to do so. I find it a waste of a possibly head-turning vehicle as it tears up parts and would eat the rear end out of my pocket book. As for the ac, I rarely use the ac that is in the vehicle i drive now. Don't laugh at me, but about the only things i will miss are the stupid things like cup holders and a middle seating arm rest. As for my future plans, I intend to use the truck until I have to leave to college. Before I leave to college, I would get it ready for a good, long set and come back to it later in life. I will post pictures when I can figure out how to get them attached to my posts

 

The one problem with using a rear end from a car is you're not going to have the same bolt pattern front and back. You'll also have the change the front drums and backing plates. You can find kits that will convert the front to discs but they're only for the five bolt pattern F-1s. The F-1 trough F-3s share the same front axles and spindles so the change over isn't too difficult.

The truck to truck transplant would be the easiest, IMO. Also if you want disc brakes in the front you can make up a set to match the eight bolt pattern:

F-2/F-3 Front Disc Brake Conversion

 

Welcome to the board!
Its refreshing to see a young man with the old truck sickness. I agree with the others, get the thing running, drive it a bit and see what it has to say. It will tell you what kind of modifications it wants.
I do thing you'll want a different axle ratio. As its been said, the 1972 and older trucks are have the same axle width. If you find an axle thats 1966 or newer you'll have the additional benefits of having self adjusting breaks and lower shock mounts. (at least thats the case for the 1/2 ton trucks)

Good luck
Bobby

 

Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums - Dogtired1's Album: Ford F3 project
Here is the best i can do for pictures until i figure out how to post them. Notice the non-stock mirrors.

 

That looks pretty good!!

 

Hey Dogtired,
Nice looking truck - You'll want those mirrors - you can actually see out of those. My son is 19 & he throughly enjoys helping with the truck.

Ben in Austin