A couple folks here have requested pictures and such on our little project, so here goes. First the background:

When my father first opened our family tire service business 60 years ago this fall (in September 1952) his first service trucks had rather "unique" paint jobs. In celebration of our 60th anniversary I thought it would be fun to re-create one of those vehicles and chose the Ford pictured as "The Objective original".



I believe the pictured truck is actually a '52, and I'm not sure it's an F3, but I thought the opportunity to pick up this '51 F3 was close enough and just too good to pass up. The truck I bought had 56 years in a Kansas farm family and was in sound condition ripe for a restoration project, so I drove to KS, drove her up on the trailer and brought her home to Florida.



The morning I got home and unloaded her in the driveway just happened to be the day the last Space Shuttle (Endeavor) flew out of Cape Canaveral just to our north. If you look at the picture of the truck parked under the sign you can see the shuttle in the background rising just above the cab of the truck between the flag and the streetlight.



Anyway, we've taken her down to the frame and started on the re-assembly. The last two pic's are of the reassembly progress. At this point I'm expecting the engine back from the rebuilder shortly and have the reworked tranny waiting for it. Our plan is to keep it as close to original as possible for the sake of nostalgia.







P.S.: If anyone wants to identify the device mounted on the left side of the bed of the original truck just aft of the driver's door, please let me know. I suspect it may be some sort of service equipment, but so far my research efforts have been a dead end. Take a look at first pic and see if you recognize what it is.

 

That's a cool picture picture of your father's business truck. Should also put it into the "Working Ford Trucks" thread we have going.

The original truck is a 48-50 F1 (1/2 ton). The F3 you bought is classified as a heavy duty 3/4 ton. I believe that the wheels on your truck may also be the dreaded widowmakers that should be replaced. If that's the case, replacement wheels would be hard to find because of the larger drums in the rear. The easiest and fastest way aroudn that issue is to replace the rear end with a pre-73 F250 rear end. You'll get the matching bolt pattern as up front and better gears.

I'm sure that a more experienced wheel expert, like Stu, will correct me if I'm wrong.

Either way, it's a great homage to your father and your business.

 

Thanks for the info on the model PanelMan, I thought it was something other than an F3.

Incidentally, you're right about the wheels too, they are "the dreaded widowmakers".

There's one other way around the problem that you forgot to mention. ;o) You can be born into the tire service business 56 years ago and spend your youth working on these particular wheels. You can learn by that what makes one safe and another not so safe and how to work on them properly and safely. These particular wheels were in mint condition and after blasting and powdercoating are perfectly serviceable. They're mounted with original 700x17 and 750x17 bias ply tires and tubes and ready to go on the truck.

Now, before I put my flame suit on let me add the following disclaimer: I have personally witnessed serious injuries to people improperly servicing this and some other dangerous styles of multi-piece wheels. While I've fortunately not had the misfortune of seeing anyone killed while servicing one, the fact is that many people have been. I do not advocate that anyone not thoroughly trained and experienced ever try to service on of these for any reason. These wheels were banned from production and considered unserviceable many years ago for good reason. We stopped servicing them commercially over 25 years ago and I would never do so for any individual or customer for any reason. I've been asked to do just that dozens of times in recent years. The safety and liability considerations mentioned in all of the other forum discussions about these wheels are real and should not be dismissed or taken lightly by anyone.

That said, I carefully examined these wheels and determined them to be in serviceable condition. I made the informed decision to personally mount and install them for my own personal use using the proper safety equipment. Their presence on the truck will certainly affect any resale value as a result of the above, but since resale is not part of our game plan at this point, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Thanks again for the model info on our old picture.

Randy

 

Just realized I made an error in the title of my original post that I imagine cannot be changed at this point.

Our project F3 is obviously a 1951 model, not a 52 as I mistakenly put in the title.

Sorry for the error.

Randy

 

Can't argue with your explanation and decision. Being in the tire/wheel business all of your life has its advantages. Your experience has dictated the proper solution for your wheel issue. Thank you for reinforcing the WM reality and providing a disclaimer for others.

It's your truck, and ultimately your decision to build it the way you want. Either way, I'm still onboard for updates and would like to see the restoration process. Can't wait to see the wild paint job being replicated.

 

Awesome truck and story, even if it has a Manure Spreader grill.

I appreciate your stand on using the WMs, good to have the facts backed up by a person working with tires and wheel with your experience. Stu is our resident wheel expert and he's been presenting a strong front against the WMs for years and occationally we'll get a macho member who will blow off the danger. They've done it before without a problem, just use a log chain to contain the rims.

Welcome to the board, and as Ilya said, keep us updated on the progress.

Also, post your location in the upper right hand corner. If you're near some one on the board you may get a visit. Some of us are kind of strange but most won't bite. Well, maybe Dick, but if you're nice to him he'll be nice to you.

 

I'll add my welcome too. Glad to have you, and glad to see another F-3 being saved.

You've covered the wheel safety issues, so there's not much to add or say. Except to note that should one of the WMs blow while in operation, it will at least blow inward toward the truck rather than out into traffic which is good.

Next thing I'll say is that I think I see a parking brake mounted on the back of your transmission over to the side in your picture. If that's true, your truck is a late year 1951 build and will have the 1952 style rear axle with 12" drums. That fact would mean that any 16" F-250 wheels having the 8 x 6.5" pattern would mount. The 17" WMs were required on the '48 to early '51 F-3s to clear the earlier 14" rear drums. If you have 12" drums you can run one piece rims with tubeless tires. Stu

 

This is the money shot.

Great story and project plan. I'm sure you'll create an enduring tribute to your business and father.

Oh, and welcome.

DW

 

Yeah Stu, thanks. I've seen some of your posts on the wheels and appreciate your accurate knowledge of the various designs and the hazards they present. Your posts about them have been spot on as far as I'm concerned.

I didn't bother to mention the late-year vintage with the 12x2 drums on both ends cuz it didn't really matter since I'm using the OEM wheels. It will be helpful though if we ever try to sell this beast so at least we'll just slap some 16x6's on it and ship it out with a clear conscience. (Think anybody's gonna wanna buy it with that paint job? ;o) )

We were lucky enough to find a good lining for the shaft brake when our local tranny guy went through the gearbox. I'm kind of hung up on keeping all the old stuff intact even though I know many operational improvements could be made by upgrading various components. Maybe after I drive it a little I'll change my opinion on that, but I kind of look forward to the authentic 60-year old ride quality.

BTW, I have a style question for you guys... I had originally thought to paint the grill all black along with the fenders, but I seem to see a lot of them with white "teeth". Any thoughts about how to recreate the best look for that lovely old grill?
The fenders and bumper will be black with that wild zebra striping on the hood--what say you experts?

 

Here's a suggestion:

 

Cruel, Bob. Cruel.

A black grille would have been an original body color feature on a black truck. I have an early '51 sales brochure showing this, and have a '51 truck that was green with a green grille. As I've read the sales literature for '51, an Argent (silver) grille was an option on the early year '51s having the "5 Star Extra" high level trim package. In late '51 and '52 the "Ivory" grille was used, but body color was still an option to my understanding. Trucks could also be ordered special in primer for fleet type paint jobs. Stu

 

Gotta be white. Gotta make those Dagmars POP!

 

Oddly enough Bob is not the first person to try and sell me on the bar style grill mod and I might be inclined to go for it if I wasn't hung up on keeping it pure OEM. (Nice photoshop work though!!)
I'm thinkin' the white grill is probably the way to go and hopefully the black fenders and bumper will set it off enough so it doesn't blend in with the hood.

 

We prefer "Monkey Face" for the '48-50 and "Manure Spreader" for the '51-51. Just makes it easier for us to identify with.

BTW, my vote would actually be not to mix and match the cabs and grills of the two different styles. The cabs are different, different dash and larger back window. You also cannot intersperse the front clip pieces, they don't fit together.

 

Even if you busted out the torch and the welder and WERE able to blend the two types, you'd end up with a 'monkey spreader' or worse yet, the dreaded 'manure face'.......