Congrats on your new project and hope you can get stateside soon to start work. Welcome to FTE.

 

Looks like you will have some work to do but still a good project. For $500 you haven't over invested. The A arms and disc brakes are worth that much... hopefully they did a good job on that!

Good luck to you and don't forget to post your progress. Welcome to FTE!

 

Ben - I noticed in another post were you mentioned using the springs that came off the Explorer. Did you have any issues using them?

Thanks for any input

Brad

 

Let me try to make this as gentle as I can: I believe you are going to find a whole lot of rust under that quickie paint job. You are going to learn a lot about how to do body work, how to weld etc.
Here's a fact most of us learned the hard way: I costs about $12-18K to put a safe drivable truck on the road (not a show winner, just a basic 30 footer) assuming you can do most all the work yourself. Doesn't matter if you start with a 9000.00 already licensed vehicle that needs an interior or a paint job, or a 500.00 field find. The difference is how long it will take until you can drive it and if you like to drive or like to build. The former can be done in 6 months to a year with a minimal amount of effort/work and you can be driving it around. This is good for someone who prefers driving over building and/or doesn't have a dedicated shop, a lot of tools and equipment or skills. The latter will take 5-10 years of intense dedicated work, require a dry, bright, reasonably heated/cooled (depended on climate so you can work comfortably in it year round) workspace with utilities (220V electrical at least) that can be dedicated to the truck for the duration of the build. You can build in a smaller space, but a 2 car garage is a comfortable size shop to work and store parts and tools in. Don't plan on using it for much additional household storage or for parking a daily driver inside as well. You will need a large assortment of mechanic's and bodyman's tools, a good sized 220V compressor that can power air tools and spray painting equipment, MIG welder, torches and/or plasma cutter, portable and stationary power tools, and basic knowledge of how to use them. What ever work needs to be farmed out will increase the overall cost of the build 50- 300%. You will also need a sympathetic supportive SO who isn't going to mind grease and oil, rust, dust and dirt dragged into the house on you and your clothes, or the bank account being raided. They also must not mind occasionally tripping over parts and pieces and having extra parts and/or parts vehicles sitting around for extended periods of time. You must enjoy the build more than the driving, or have a great deal of patience.

 

Congrats On the new project, I think it looks Great and alot of fun to work on and make it your own. My 1958 Ford f250 looked rough and I have put alot of elbow grease and it is very exciting to see what it was to what it looks like now. Take alot of Pictures, I LOVE that style of truck Ford F1, Remember do little by little so it doesn't break the bank. GOOD LUCK !!!

 

Hey Brad,
A general overview of the Rear End swap alternatives for our trucks can be found here - for your late night reading pleasure.

1948 through 1960 Ford F-1 and F-100 Rear Axle (differential) Swaps .: Articles

"89 -01 - Ford Explorer 59 in. flange to flange.
All Explorer rear ends are the same 5 on 4.5 bolt pattern.
8.8" rear ends - come with 3.25, 3.55, 3.73 and 4.11 gears.
89-94 = drum brakes only.
94-97 = drum or disc brakes
97-01 = disc Brakes only
Can use an 8" rim with 3 in. backspacing and P235/75R-15 tires

2. Volvos - a cheap and "secret" 8.8 source is rear wheel drive Volvos from roughly 77-96. Most ratios are in the 3.5 to 4.1 range, lockers and rear discs are fairly common. Early patterns are metric, after 87 they are Ford SAE. Widths vary a bit depending on brakes but most I've used (not in trucks though) are about 54" between axle tube ends (that should provide an axle flange to axle flange width of around 58 - 60 inches). Easy to remove the coil spring perches and add
leaves. Many retain the very rugged and visually appealing trailing arms."

Our Experience with the 8.8 Explorer Axle:
Our's came from a 2001 Explorer so we got the 3.73 rear gearing, rear disc brakes, & locking differential. I was a little worried about putting Explorer rear springs under a pickup bed. You go from the stock F1 8 spring set up to a modern 3 spring Explorer set up & we still wanted to haul stuff & do pick up things. We haven't had any issues - it rides fine & we've used it for normal pickup work & it's been good.

Other Issues I'd highlight on the 8.8 swap:
o The Explorer 8.8 changes your rear bolt pattern to a car pattern 5x4.5in. It was ok with us as we went with a Mustang II front end with matching pattern.

o The 8.8 installation isn't plug & play. You have to move the shock perches so there is some minor grinding & welding.

o The 8.8 is a little narrow for our 1950 so we had to use spacers to get the wheels lined up in the fenders correctly. Somewhere between a 1 to 2 inch spacer depending on your wheels, etc.

o We also flipped the springs after taking a look at the stance of our truck. We wanted the rear a little lower.

o We didn't have an Emergency Brake in our truck so we took it from the donor Explorer & it worked great - a very nice set up for our truck.

Summary - If you are staying with a stock front end - Personally I'd go with the 9 inch so you match up with the 5x5in. bolt pattern. Also they fit perfectly so most folks don't need spacers. If you don't mind the 5x4.5 pattern the 8.8 is a good alternative & I like the gearing & 4 wheel disc brakes.

Good luck over there.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1 351W/AOD

 

The rusted out portions of the fenders at the running boards is normal, as is the fender bracing areas. The good thing is that there are no compound curves and they are made of fairly thick metal. A mig welder, some 16-18ga sheetmetal, and some patience and you can do the repairs yourself fairly easily. I had never done body work and was able to get mine to look DD good enough.

 

Get a decent body hammer set and learn to LOVE being 'patient' - I lost track on how many hours I have spent with the hammer in my hand and I am (maybe) half way done with bodywork!!

 

Another "North County" '49. Outstanding !

 

DON'T buy one of those body tool kits at a place like Harbor Freight, Those are clubs and the faces are not shaped properly. I recommend buying the inexpensive book The Key to Metal Bumping It was originally written in the 50s, so the pictures show that era cars, but the info is still valid, it is the best book I have read on the subject and there is a section on tools, featuring Martin tools (the book is now published by Martin) Martin, Snap-on and early Crafts man tools can be found used on ebay for less than the garbage ones.

 

Don't let the rust repair scare you. I had some of the same problems, and with some patience, a few of the right tools, and the right attitude you can fix it. There is tons of useful information on this site, and everyone is very helpful. I have been on here for over a year, and have NEVER seen any derogatory comments. Plenty of opinions, usually with solid information to back up those opinions.

Have you ever done any body work, welding, etc? If not, Ax has a great thread on welding, that thread alone gave me the confidence to repair the rotted fenders on my truck.

here's a pic of the (almost) finished fender...

 

I have welded a little bit but it has been a few years, I have also done body work in the past. I am just excited to have something to work on again. I miss wrenching on cars.

 

I can appreciate your comments as I too have recently got the urge to pick up the wrenches again! Lots of fun working on these "back to basics trucks" compared to the late model plastic mobiles. Have fun with yours!

 

Here's a link to my welding tutorial for your reading pleasure.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-practice.html

 

Thanks AX - I will definitely read through to help refresh my memory.