I have 52 F-3. There appears to have been a light of some type in the center of the front lower panel just below the grille. I've looked at many pics and can't find an example. I see the depression in the panel on many trucks, but no light.
Can anyone tell me about this light? Or is it something else?

 

I'm not sure if I'm following you. Are you saying you have a light in the center of your grille, or you think there may have been a light in the center of your grille? Either way, there never was one originally. Any lights on the front of your truck besides the headlights and the parking lights directly below would have been added after assembly.

The depression and knockout plug in the lower grille panel is the crank hole.

 

If you're talking about the depression shown here, I've been told it's a "knockout" for a hand crank. If there was previously a light there, a PO added it, as I have never seen anything mounted there.

EDIT: You beat me to it Wayne!

 

Thanks. That makes me feel better. Someone has had a light there, it was rusted away leaving nothing but the screws. I'll be sure to clean it up and leave it.
Did the hand crack actually work on these trucks. I had nev heard of that before. I thought they were discontinued years earlier.

 

The engines were low enough compression that they could be turned over and started with a hand crank. But by '51/52, the engines no longer had the special hook-bolt on the front of the crankshaft for the hand crank to fit into. That's why the hole in the panel was filled with the knockout plug. Just more of a carryover from bygone days, but still there for the die-hards if they wanted to use it.