Well, I did it. I finally found the truck I always wanted to restore. Now to the problems.....
The 8BA motor has terrible compression 26-50 psi, depending on the cylinder. Should I rebuild/ remanufacture? Any advice from anyone?
Also, the truck has 17" rims x 7.50 with farm co-op tires on it. I am pretty sure these are the notorious "widowmakers". Can anyone confirm this, and what do I use for a replacement?

 

Your questions will be answered better by some of the other guys but WELCOME to the best place to ask your questions. There are some very knowledgeable guys on here, Garry

 

Welcome to the forum. Are these compression readings from an engine that has not run in years? If so, they don't mean a whole lot. If those are numbers from a running or recently run engine they indicate serious problems and a rebuild may be necessary. Tell us more. Any history of the truck may help.
Pictures of the wheels would make an ID possible. Search for pictures on this site. Due to your newby status, you'll have to post pictures on a remote site such as photobucket and link to them.

 

Thanks for the quick replies. I am looking forward to getting to know everybody, and I am excited to work on the truck, but want to do it right! My regular work truck is an 2006 F-350 powerstroke lifted crew cab long bed. Its cool to see them together in the garage.
History of the F3: Sitting in the trees at 8,000 ft (I live in Colorado). It last ran 12 years ago, or so I was told. The motor turns over by hand, and cranks with a new 6V battery hooked up. 16K miles on the odometer. I assume this means 116K. Motor is absolutely covered in grime and Oklahoma dirt (where it was originally registered. Pretty much needs new everything, and I have spent a good bit of time and money at Macs and Dennis Carpenter so far just getting the basics. The tires are in really good shape, and 3 of them look full. The fourth is 1/2 full. After reading all the posts, I am scared to even deflate them. Any advice on what to do with them would be great if they are indeed widowmakers.

 

WELCOME To answer question question # 2 first I can almost guarantee they are split rims (widow makers) . Some older 8bolt 17" RV rims will fit ,there is a pretty good selection of
Mags available ,my choice was to go with stock Dodge elcheepo 17" steel rims off of a 3/4 ton that I picked up with almost new tires for $300.00 .
As for the engine . To get a flatty that turns over well enough to do a compression test is a major accomplishment . However it does sound like it will probably need rings and a valve job at the very least .
The fun has just begun .

 

Welcome to FTE.

Don't assume it's got over 100K on it. That is quite possible, but not necessarily fact. Some of these trucks were on farms, and did not get driven like today's vehicles.

 

First, my welcome too. Glad to have you join the group, and glad you're saving another F-3.

All F-3s had widowakers. Only two period 17" wheels existed having the 8 lug x 6.5" pattern. Ford used wheels made by the Budd Company, today called "widow makers" but technically termed a "Firestone RH-5°", and Chevy/GMC used Kelsey-Hayes wheels having what was called an "AR" three piece mounting. The Chevy/GMC wheels will mount on a Ford front axle, but not on a rear because the center hole is too small. It can be opened up with a grinder if you really need to do that. These "AR" wheels can still be serviced. The K-H wheel had hub cap clips where the Budd wheel had "innie" hub cap nubs on the wheel center. Bottom line, you can't use Ford caps on the K-H wheels.

Since your truck is a 1949, there is no easy solution. From 1948 until mid year 1951 Ford installed 14" rear brakes on F-3s. After that they switched to 12" drums. Normal modern 16" wheels won't clear these 14" drums. What most guys do is swap out the rear axle. A 1972 and earlier F-250 axle, a Dana 60, mounts with minimal modifications. Plus it affords an improved final drive ratio.

As said above, Dodge continued use of the 8 lug x 6.5" pattern longer than Ford and used a 17" wheel. These will, however, be wider than stock.

If, however, you are a committed stocker, there are three solutions I've found. First, and best, is to find Budd part #71410 wheels. These are 19.5" x 5.25" and were introduced in 1956 on F-250s. They were available into the mid 1960s (I'd have to look up the year) and were also used by Dodge and Studebaker. A 17" tube type, and 19.5" tubeless tire have virtually the same 34" outside diameter. If you really want me to explain why I will, but please accept it. Finding a set of these might take some real detective work. There have been threads here about them, so if you Google the Budd #71410 you'll find several discussions of them. These allow use of stock hub caps. There was a good recent discussion of them where a member may have found a good military source for them. If I find that thread I'll edit to add it.

Another good solution is a Budd 17.5" x 5.25" tubeless, either Budd #70720 or #73240. These are the same wheel as best I can tell having had one of each, but reflect just a number change. The 17.5" tubeless tire is the equal of a 15" tube type tire, so you'd have a somewhat shorter tire. These also allow use of stock hub caps. I'll link a thread below where our member CarlH mounted a set on his '49 F-3 and they look great. These are maybe a little easier to find. One of our members just completed finding his set of them.

A third option is custom 17" wheels made by Stockton Wheel. These are also pictured in a below thread. Because they use original widowmaker centers they allow use of stock hub caps too. They really look nice, but as with any custom wheel, would be more expensive. I'll leave it at that and link in the past discussion threads. Stu

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...9-ford-f3.html
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...questions.html

 

Stu,
Thanks for all the sage advice on the widowmaker rims. I like the look of the taller tires, so I'm probably going to go with the 19.5 Budd 71410. I don't need to go fast, and would like to stick with the original axle. However, we'll see how she runs, and maybe switch over to the Dana 60.
I want to re-wire the entire truck, but keep it a 6V. Do you, or anybody else have an opinion on wiring kits, or a 12V conversion?
Sam

 

You'll get plenty of varied opinions about staying 6 volt positive ground vs. converting to 12 volt negative ground. I'm a stocker so there's no decision for me to make. I'll be staying 6 volt. The wiring harness is the same for both. If I remember right there's a tech article on what all has to be done to do the 12 volt conversion. I spoke with Chuck Mantiglia a couple weeks ago about a harness for my truck. He has them, as do the other major parts houses like Dennis Carpenter, LMC, NPD, etc. Stu

 

I kept my '52 F-1 stock 6V....I bought a dash/ engine harness from Mac's and ran all of the light wires myself. Worked out just fine. Welcome to the forum!

 

I'm staying with the 6 volt positive ground stock system too. I have no plans to install a stereo, air conditioner, or any power hungry devices, so 6 volts will work just fine. These trucks worked right for decades on 6 volts.

 

6 volt systems require good ground connections and thick battery cables (usually made out of 1/0 welding cables). I also use a 6v Optima battery. I've been running 6v in my 52 and the Airflow without any problems after the wiring was replaced, good ground connections, proper battery cables, and an Optima 6v battery.

 

Nice. 6V it is then. I was looking at a complete kit from Classic Auto Parts.com out in Oklahoma. "Original Style Wiring Harness" at $240. Seems like a good deal, and will at least get me started from the dash out to the motor and lights, etc. Any opinions?

 

Before you order it, find out how "complete" it is. There's no comprehensive kit that will provide you with all of the wires needed to rewire the entire truck. The complete rewire will require you to purchase several specific "kits" for each portion of the truck, i.e. dash to engine, dash to lights, interior wiring, tail lights, etc.

 

Welcome to FTE. You have found the correct site to join. Where abouts in Colorado? It sounds like you have some good plans for saving your F3 and keeping it stock. You will enjoy it. The widowmakers are a real challenge; however, Stu's and other members' advice about solutions have been very helpful. I really like the 19.5"s I have on mine.



I have since found a set of BUDD#71410 as described by Stu and may be switching to those sometime this spring. It's good to hear there will be another F3 stock truck(photos?) on the road soon.

Doug