My bet is for clearance, it's tight on the drivers side.

 

Man That's a really nice truck. I would go crazy not driving her.
If was up to me I would just get her to run and stop and drive her a while.
Let her tell me what she wants or needs.
She looks great as is for now.

 

nice looking BBW, but then again I LOVE all 56 big windows. I'm surprised your truck didnt have the factory radio in it. Mine didnt either but mine is a 3 speed truck.

Proud to say mine is one of the 6,000 produced, and my truck was also a "black plate" truck

 

Nice truck!

Glad to see you got the picture thing handled.

 

No. That was simply Ford's better idea for an exhaust crossover than under the engine where it belongs. I always thought it was crazy. But it does keep the heat away from the steering box and the driver's feet, and leaves more room for clutch and shifter linkages.

 

That is indeed a very nice '56. I did not even know they built an automatic truck in 1956. I've always been fond of this year because my first job at the young age of 13 was hauling drink bottles for my uncle's grocery store in a long bed '56. That was in the late 70's, and his '56 was nowhere as nice as yours is today! Keep us updated on your progress with this treasure.

 

Yes, the crossover pipe on top and in front is one of the outstanding features of the Y-block. Some guys hate them' some like them. When young guys with no Y-block experience see my engine, they can't believe it. Not real pretty but it does set the Yblock apart.

 

That is exactly what I'm doing. It ran when parked. So once I get all the goo out of the way it should fire.

 

Its fascinating for me a.anyways to see how it was done back then. I do plan on keeping the crossover for the shock and awe effect. Not looking to build a powerhouse just yet.

 

Raven, that truck is way too gone to be saved! So, just sell it to me and I'll see if I can do anything with it. Seriously, that truck is great. And, I would say that you even have the original carb because it has a special bracket holding a dash pot. That was only put on the cars and trucks with automatic transmissions to prevent them from stalling when the throttle was released abruptly. Document the build so that you and your offspring will have the memories for decades to come. May I suggest a nice coat of maroon paint with steely wheels? Good luck, Jag

 

Im gonna have to check into that. Thanks for the info!


Well im back in town to play with the truck. A friend gave me his newer f100 spare. I now have three 15" steel rims! I plan on draining fluids and pulling the carb for a cleaning. Not a lot of time to do much. Wish I had a shop. Waterpump is here. Waiting on the starter and genny. Ill have some more pics tomorrow.

 

Well today was a fun day. Made a good lil deal of progress. Basically finished cleaning up,off and under the truck. The bed was loaded with about 10 years of walnut tree leaves sticks and nuts. Plus what was left of the old bed had to come out. I like a clean work area. Especially if i have time i get OCD about it. I think it make the project whatever it may be easier and more enjoyable. Once i got the junk out of the way i took a leaf blower and got rid of all the dust n dirt. I wiped out the interior. Gave everything a good once over. Hell i even cleaned the windows. Suprisingly the BBW is still in one piece. The driver and passenger windows are cracked bad. along with the windshield. The wing/vent windows are not cracked but the coating is bubbling. Hers pics of it cleaned up a bit more.














HERES A B&W FOR FUN










I noticed when i first untarped the truck that the weather stripping around the doors was cooked beyond belief. It also was almost in a paste form in spots. Reminded me of black silicone thats not all the way dried. Any way it rusted the doors a bit. So me and my dad went at it with scrapers and removed it all. The driver door has a few small holes as you can see in the pics to follow. I guess it was trapped moisture or the chemicals in the stripping haha. What do you all think? As i want to keep as many parts as possible. A new door is down the list of i dont know.

DRIVER DOOR BOTTOM



DRIVER DOOR TOP





DRIVER DOOR SIDE




On the other hand the passenger door has some rust but no holes or heavy pitting.

PASSENGER DOOR TOP








Now as for the major rust area on the cowl panel. I was able to remove the endless stock pile of dirt and open up the area to better asses damage. All looks manageable. Heres a few pics.

FROM INSIDE THE FENDER LOOKING BACK







MOST OF THE CRAP THAT FELL OUT





As for motor work i pulled the fuel pump and carb. for cleaning/rebuild. I also poped the valve cover to take a closer look at things. Found nothing bad just sludge. What do you all think? Run it?

DRIVER



PASSENGER




Last i leave you with a question. Are these the original door handles?

 

Welcome and Nice complete truck!Nice to find one with everything there!

 

Your door looks repairable. There are no new steel doors but Bond (old Gibbons fiberglass) sold through Terry's F100 makes a fiberglass replacement door.

Your body rust is pretty typical for a truck from my neck of the woods but is rough for a California truck. Not to worry all can be repaired with home made or vendor patch panels. OBTW the view from inside the fender isn't as bad as you might think, there's an access panel that covers most, if not all, the hole in your picture. You should crawl under the truck and look at the cab mounts. Here in the Midwest they too are frequently rusted (all can be bought NEW from vendors) try Midfifty's in Arizona.

If I was you I'd just get the engine running. Once it's running maybe run something like "sea foam" to clean out the sludge.

Lastly those are NOT stock door handles. Looks like the window cranks may be correct but there's not enough there to be sure. Both handles should match.

Looks like your well on your way! Keep those pictures and questions coming.

 

The driver's door isn't too bad. You will want to fix it after you see the price of good used driver's door...