I just thought I would make my first post and introduce myself. My wife and I just purchased a 52 F-1 as our first project together. I've worked on cars , trucks and motorcycles since I was in junior high, but this is my first stab at an F-1 and the very first time that I've even layed hands on a flathead V-8.
I've always loved the old fat fendered trucks and my wife wanted to get in on a project with me so she could learn how to work on vehicles too, so we set out to find a likely candidate for our build. We found our F-1 locally (in Kansas City, MO) and made a deal with the owner to take it off his hands since he had decided that it was more of a project than he wanted to take on. The truck had been sitting in a garage for the past 20 some years when he bought it last year from a fellow who was going through a divorce.
The truck was loaded onto a rollback and delivered to my workshop last week. Since then I have disassemble and removed the bed, cleaned out the cab (after removing the seat and gas tank) and I am now removing the front end sheet metal. We were amazed at how nice the cab and doors are on this truck, no dents, no rust and even the paint on the dash looks great after wiping off the dust.
I plan on cleaning up the frame with the cab in place, checking out the engine and hopefully firing it up before I remove it and the tranny so I can clean up the engine bay and the front of the frame. I purchased a full set of used fenders, front and rear, this past Friday. All four fenders need a little work but they aren't in too bad of shape. Those will get a good shot of primer when finished and then I will get to work on the rest of the sheet metal.
I am purchasing a complete front suspension that already has a new disc brake conversion kit installed, along with new leaf springs and shocks, and a 9 inch rearend this evening. The guy bought an 52 F-1 that had been chopped, channeled and had a great deal of work completed before the previous owner ran into some financial problems (I didn't ask, LOL). The guy I am buying the parts from is going to make a full blown custom, so he's giving me a great deal on parts that he won't be using. By the way, he's the guy I got my fenders from too!
So, once I figure out how to post pictures, I will be putting them on here from start to finish and in between. The actual finished product may be many years down the road, but we want to have a driver by mid-summer.
I've followed along on A LOT of posts on this site over the past couple of weeks and I can tell that I will be asking A LOT of questions as I move forward, the site seems to be the place to find out what I need to know!
Thanks and I hope everyone has a great day,
Jim

 

Look forward to seeing pictures of this great project,

- Torklift Jen

 

Thanks! I think I've figured out how to post a pic. Here's a try at it.

 

Welcome to the site.

Tony